What are the different types of phobias? 

Phobias can develop around any object or situation, and some people may have multiple phobias. They can be roughly categorised into two groups: 

  • specific phobias 
  • complex phobias. 

Specific phobias

These are phobias about a specific object or situation, such as spiders or flying. They often develop in childhood or adolescence and for some people they will lessen as they get older. 

Some of the more common specific phobias are: 

  • animals (such as dogs, insects, snakes, rodents) 
  • the natural environment (such as heights, water, darkness, storms, germs) 
  • situational (such as flying, going to the dentist, tunnels, small spaces, escalators) 
  • body-based phobias (such as blood, vomit, injections, choking, medical procedures, childbirth) 
  • sexual phobias (such as sexual acts or fear of nudity) 
  • other (such as certain foods, objects, costumed characters). 

However, there are many more specific phobias. 

If you are afraid of something you have to see or do a lot, this can start to have a serious impact on your everyday life. If you have a phobia about something you don’t come into contact with very often, this can sometimes have less of an impact on you. However, you may still experience fear and anxiety even when the object or situation is not present, meaning that your phobia can still affect you on a daily basis. 

Complex phobias

Complex phobias tend to have a more disruptive or disabling impact on your life than specific phobias. They tend to develop when you are an adult. 

Two of the most common complex phobias are social phobia and agoraphobia. 

Social phobia (also called social anxiety or social anxiety disorder) 

A lot of people can find social situations difficult, or feel shy or awkward at certain times – this is completely normal. If you have social phobia, you will feel a sense of intense fear in social situations, and will often try to avoid them. You might worry about the social event before, during and after it has happened. 

Social phobia can be extremely debilitating and can make it very difficult to engage in everyday activities such as: 

  • talking in groups or starting conversations 
  • public speaking 
  • speaking on the phone 
  • meeting new people 
  • talking to authority figures 
  • eating and drinking in front of others 
  • regular trips out to the shops or bank 
  • going to work. 

You might worry about these social situations because you fear that others will judge you negatively or you will offend others by something you say or do. You may also worry about others noticing you are anxious if you start to blush, sweat or stumble over your words. 

Having social phobia can have a huge affect on your daily life. It may affect your self-confidence and self-esteem and can make you feel extremely isolated. It can make it very difficult to develop and maintain relationships and can interfere with your ability to work and perform everyday tasks such as shopping. 

“I have suffered from phobias since I was three years old and couldn’t cope with the social demands of a playgroup. I then went on to suffer from School Phobia right through to my teens, then various phobias surrounding college and work, which led to me becoming unemployed, isolated, agoraphobic and severely depressed.”

Agoraphobia 

Agoraphobia is widely thought to be a fear of open spaces, but it is more complex than this. The essential feature of agoraphobia is that you will feel anxious about being in places or situations that it would be difficult or embarrassing to get out of, or where you might not be able to get help if you have a panic attack. 

If you have agoraphobia you are likely to experience high levels of anxiety and may avoid a variety of everyday situations such as: 

  • being outside the home alone 
  • being in open spaces 
  • being in a crowd of people 
  • travelling by car, bus or plane 
  • being in enclosed spaces such as a lift or in a shop. 

Having agoraphobia can have a serious impact on the way you live your life, and many people with agoraphobia find it hard to leave their home. 

Agoraphobia can sometimes develop after a panic attack. You may start to feel extremely anxious and worried about having another panic attack, and may feel your symptoms returning when you’re in a similar situation. To manage your anxiety, you may start to avoid that particular place or situation. Avoiding particular situations may help in the short term but it can affect the way you live your life and may make your phobia worse. 

Agoraphobia can develop due to a number of different causes, such as panic disorder – but not all people with agoraphobia have panic disorder. 

If you experience agoraphobia, it is common to also dislike being alone (monophobia) or to become anxious in small confined spaces (claustrophobia).

Previous page Next page