Own Your Phobia

*Dedicated to my friend Jack, who is convinced the squirrels are out to get him.


Fear is a good thing. It is a protective device held over from the first biological imperative--fear of the mastodon made early human protect him- or herself and others. It motivates--fight or flight, you move when you are afraid. It discourages sloth--fear of losing lends itself nicely to productivity.

Then again, fear exacerbated can inundate, overwhelm, paralyze. Irrational fear, that is, a.k.a. phobia, can issue forth a well of anxiety that stymies even the most active of thinkers and doers.

PHOBIA NAME PREFIX ORIGIN IRRATIONAL FEAR OF

acrophobia…………….. Gr., acron…………………………. height (heights)

agoraphobia………….. Gr., agora……………………….. marketplace
(place where escape is less or impossible

algophobia ……………. Gr., algos…………………………. pain

androphobia………….. Gr., andros………………………. man (men)

aquaphobia……………. L., aqua………………………….. water

astraphobia……………. Gr., aster (star).........….. lightning

autophobia…………….. Gr., autos (self)…………….. being alone/by self

aviophobia…………….. L., avis (bird)……………….. flying

bacillophobia………….. L., sing. bacterium………. (germs)

claustrophobia……….. L., claudere………………….. to shut (closed space)

coitophobia…………….. L., coire, fr. coitus……….. to come together
(have intercourse)

dentophobia…………… Fr., L., dent, dens…………. teeth (dentist/dental)

equinophobia…………. L., equus……………………….. horse (horses)

gephyropbia…………… Gr., gephyra………………….. bridge (bridges)

gynophobia……………. Gr., gyno………………………. woman (women)

homophobia…………… Gr., haima…………………….. blood

nyctophobia………….. Gr., nyx………………………… night

phonophobia…………. Gr., phono(s)………………. sound

xenophobia…………… Gr., xenos………………….. stranger (foreigner)

zoophobia…………….. Gr., zoion……………………. animal (animals)

A relatively cheesy anecdote (or allegory) tells of how Fear knocked on the door and when Love answered, Fear ran away.

I get this in the most pragmatic of terms: if you are afraid, say, of giving that speech, focus on the topic of your speech. If it is something you love, you will get so into it that you will forget you are afraid.

Exaggerated, irrational, fear of public speaking, though, I can’t offer any tricks.

But a good [not made-for-TV] therapist can.


For more definitive lists or information, check out the following:

Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADDA). To Check for a Specific Phobia/Phobic Disorder.

BehaveNet Clinical Capsule. DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria for 300.23 Social Phobia.

MedlinePlus. Phobias.

OjoHaven. The Phobias.

Runck, Betty. Useful Information on Phobias and Panic. Hopkins Technology.