7 Phobias You Might Have Without Even Knowing It

A phobia is a specific, irrational fear of something. It isn't an extreme case of common fear; rather, it's something more. For example, someone with the fear of flying would be afraid to go up in a plane, whereas someone with the fear of riding a car would be afraid to drive. These tend to be irrational fears, with most people suffering from the odd phobia having gone through a specific, identifiable event, that has left them terrified of their certain fear. Here are seven phobias, that you might have.

Achluophobia - Fear Of Darkness

One of the most common fear is the fear of the dark. Most people with achluophobia feel absolute terror, when exposed to even small amounts of darkness. Even a cave can be too much for some people. Some sufferers find complete darkness unbearable, others feel it's just merely a little too much. Some people have achluophobia without even realizing it.

It is sometimes triggered by a traumatic event, that makes the sufferer fear the dark even if they weren't afraid before. Although it is not obvious, a person with achluophobia should try to conquer their fear. This could be done in two ways. The first is to expose yourself to as much darkness as possible. For some people this might involve going into a cave or other dark place. For others it might involve taking a trip out in the middle of the night. Whichever way you go about it, you need to face your fears and conquer them.

Aeroacrophobia - Fear Of Open High Places

This is another fear, that might not be on many people's list, but it should be. The reason why is because a lot of people suffer from this form of phobia. It is common for people to be afraid of planes, heights or anything, that makes them feel small. A lot of people don't know, that it is possible to have this phobia and many people with it have never even told anyone about it. Those that suffer from this phobia usually have a very negative and distorted view of themselves.

They feel as though they are worthless and that nobody could possibly love them. As a result, they keep everything locked up inside. As most people do, the sufferer spends their life trying to prove how brave, strong and worthwhile they are. There is no cure for this condition, but it shouldn't stop you from trying to overcome it. Once again, the best way to do this is exposure. Go out and do the things, that you normally would and just ignore any feelings of fear.

Aichmophobia - Fear Of Needles Or Pointed Objects

This is fairly self-explanatory, but not everyone suffering from this will actually be afraid of needles. For some people, being stuck with a needle could actually be quite pleasurable. It's all about perception. For others, they could find a simple sewing needle to be extremely painful. In any case, this fear is quite common. It is not particularly easy to overcome this fear, as it requires a great deal of self-confidence to overcome.

However, it is definitely possible. The first thing you need to do is find out why you are afraid of needles. Is it because of a past experience that caused this, or is it something else? For people with this phobia, the best way to overcome it is exposure although there are also some drugs, that can be used to help. Otherwise, even just talking to someone about it can help.

Anuptaphobia - Fear Of Staying Single

This is a fairly new form of phobia, first appearing during the late 20th century. For some reason, people are becoming increasingly afraid to stay single. This is a particular problem for young people, as once they hit their twenties, they tend to think they should get married and have children. There is no real cure for this phobia, however one can try to overcome it, or just deal with it.

Since no one likes being alone, one way of overcoming this is to surround yourself with people. Join a club or something similar. Another way is to find a hobby, that you can do on your own. This can be something as simple as taking up photography or as complex as playing music. The other way is to find someone to share your life with.

Apiphobia - Fear Of Bees

This is a rare fear, but it should be on your list. The reason is because there is not really a clear reason as to why someone would be afraid of bees. For some people, they just happen to be the one, who is afraid of bees. For others, there is a reason such as a past experience with bees, that caused this fear. I personally have this and the reason is, that because I was beaten twice and it is very painful. The memory is still vivid enough, that I am afraid of them to this day.

One can get over this fear in a few different ways. The first way is to just get over it. The fear is very unusual and irrational, meaning that you shouldn't really worry about it. The other way is by facing your fears. Obviously, the bee keeper in the local forest is the ideal way to do this. The sooner you get over this irrational fear, the sooner you can move on with your life and conquer the next irrational fear.

Aquaphobia - Fear Of Water

Water is a necessary element for life, and for some people they just can't swim. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they are genuinely afraid of water. The second is that they were never allowed to learn how to swim, when they were young. As a result, they grew up believing, that they were weak and incompetent, which of course they aren't.

The first way of dealing with this is to get over it. There is plenty of lifeguarding and other places to work with water. The second way of dealing with this is to find some sort of activity, that you enjoy doing in water. Swimming is obviously an option, but water sports such as surfing or kayaking are also good options.

Arachnophobia - Fear Of Spiders

This is a very common phobia, affecting over nine out of ten people at some point in their lives. I'm not going to go into great detail about the biological function of spiders, instead I'm just going to recommend one of the better ways to get over it: keep a spider as a pet. This is the best way to get over your fear of spiders, because you can actually get close to them and study them. Of course, it is best to get a friendly spider, but you can probably befriend a rather unfriendly spider and it will still be much better, than going over old photos of friends and family screaming while large spiders clinged to their faces.

In any case, the first thing you're going to want to do is to get a spider. You can find them relatively easily, either in the wild or from a local pet shop. Once you've got one, you should keep it in a glass box. Make sure to put the box in a dark place, like the corner of your bedroom closet would work. Once you've got your spider safely in a box, you will be able to go as close to it as you want. Get a book on spiders and study them, reading up on what kinds of spiders are safe to keep as a pet and how you can take care of them.

If you are interested in to find out what other phobias out there, you can visit this website.

Lead image source: Unsplash