10 Most Common Phobias

What Are The 10 Most Common Phobias?

One may never get a definitive answer to the question "what are the 10 most common phobias?" Looking at lists various experts on the subject have put together will show a certain degree of agreement, though not complete agreement. It can be interesting though, to look at such a list, or a list of phobias in general, and see which, if any apply to you.

A phobia is a fear of either an object or of a situation that does not either is an exaggerated fear, or one that does not have a rational basis. One most certainly feels fear if confronted by a large vicious dog. That's normal. A fear of any member of the canine family, right down to the miniature Chihuahua, is not normal, and is a phobia, Cynophobia to be exact. Insofar as situational phobias are concerned, few of us are comfortable when confined to a tight place. That's natural, but being terrified of getting into and elevator, even an empty one, or not going near a long pipe, for fear of being forced to crawl through it, and becoming stuck halfway through, is a phobia, Claustrophobia.

Afraid Of Clowns? - Most of the 10 most common phobias make some sense to the most of us, although there are a number of other phobias which seem downright silly. One of the more common phobias, perhaps the most common one is Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. Those who have this fear significantly outnumber those who have no fear of the creepy, crawly little things. One the silly side of the phobia categories one could include Genuphobia, the fear of knees, or Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. This latter phobia might be understandable to anyone who as read the book, or seen the movie "It", by Stephen King, which features a decidedly unpleasant clown. Sometimes small children can be scared by a clown, and the experience might stick with them.

Afraid Of Purple? - Other phobias that don't qualify as one of the 10 most common phobias include Cyberphobia, Dentophobia, Equinophobia, or Obrophobia, the fear of computers, dentists, horses, and rain, respectively. Some people have a dread fear of certain colors. One suffering from Porphyrophobia, a fear of the color purple, might have an easier time of it than one who is a victim of Leukophobia, the fear of the color white, and certainly will find life easier to cope with than would a Chromophobic person, who fears all colors. Another who would have a hard time coping with life would be a person suffering from both Megalophobia and Microphobia, the fear of large things, and a fear of small things, respectively.

Just what are the 10 most common phobias? Any answer is open to argument, but in this list chances are that at least 7 or 8 of the 10 will make most lists.

Top 5 Phobias:

The Next 5 Most Common:

Some of us have no phobias to speak of, a few of us may have several. Most of us likely had one or more during childhood, which we managed to grow out of, or away from. What did you get out of reading this? Perhaps a case of Phobophobia – a fear of phobias.