What are the most common phobias in the world, according to experts

A phobia It is a disorder based on an intense, irrational and disproportionate fear towards different situations or objects. For this reason, there are those who believe that there are as many types of phobias as there are people in the world, since people can develop fear towards multiple situations, actions, objects or living beings.

This level of excessive panic is what makes the difference between phobia and fear, as in phobia anxiety It is activated to the point of being disabling. Furthermore, the phobia goes further, influencing the development of the person in different areas of life.

The fear that characterizes phobias is excessive. And you can well say that it is the fear of a threat that does not fit reality or something like that panic What it triggers is exaggerated for that type of situation or stimulus.

About 10% of the world’s population suffers from some type of phobia.. Phobias can be very different and come from different situations, but the point they have in common is disproportionate anxiety and intense feelings of fear and discomfort when faced with the situations or objects that generate that panic.

To know where phobias come from, we must first keep in mind that fear exists emotion primary or basic, that is, it is innate and seems to warn of danger and protect.

However, phobias They are not brought from birth, but rather they are generated throughout life due to direct or indirect negative experiences, sources of information, sensitivity or because stimuli are more likely to cause them.

The different types of phobias are classified under the category of disorders of anxiety in the DSM-V, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.

Three main types of phobias

• Social phobia: intense and persistent fear and anxiety in interactions with other people, where the subject feels observed and judged by others.

• Agoraphobia: intense fear and anxiety in crowded places where it is difficult to escape or where there is no possibility of asking for help.

• Specific phobias: fear or anxiety regarding specific objects, actions or situations that are perceived as phobic stimuli.

Fear of flying, the most common phobia

He Fear Flying is the most common type of phobia. THE aerophobia It is the panic that a person feels at the idea of ​​having to fly, experiencing a deep fear before taking flight.

In this list we must distinguish between people who have respect for flying, i.e. those who do not find it a pleasant sensation and who would like to avoid it, from those who suffer from the real phobia of flying.

Then they place the acrophobia, which is the irrational and profound fear of heights. In these cases, people who suffer from it usually suffer from sweating, dizziness and unsteadiness on balconies, stages, football stadiums, theaters and attractions.

THE claustrophobia or the fear of closed spaces such as elevators, tunnels, caves or subway platforms is another very common one and usually causes difficulty breathing and a feeling of lack of oxygen due to the belief that you cannot escape.

Meanwhile, the zoophobia It is another of the most recurrent types of phobia and is an irrational panic towards any type of animal. In specific cases we can talk about the most well-known ones such as the fear of spiders, arachnophobia, or of dogs, cynophobia.

It is also frequent fear of driving or amaphophobiawhich can manifest itself following having suffered a road accident or having witnessed one, or it can also arise innately.