Arachnophobia, or a fear of spiders, is one of the 10 most common phobias.

Arachnophobia – Arachnophobia is an exceptionally strong and common fear of spiders. Even among spiders that could cause absolutely no harm, there is a strong fear of their presence.

Agoraphobia – Agoraphobia is often recognized as being a fear of open spaces, but it is not necessarily just a fear of being outside in ea field, but is a fear of being outside of a safe and sheltered place, or even being immersed in a crowded place. This phobia often causes panic attacks as the reaction to its occurrence.

Claustrophobia – Claustrophobia is the exact opposite phobia of agoraphobia. With this fear, the person is overwhelmingly terrified of being inside enclosed or confined spaces. These spaces can include trains, busses, cars, elevators, airplanes, storage rooms, and other areas that are closed-in.

Social Phobia – Social phobia typically begins as social anxiety where there is discomfort with social interactions. However, this can grow to the point where interactions with most other people can be overwhelming enough to cause tremendous fear or even panic attacks. The most common manifestation of this phobia is problems with public speaking (which can actually become a unique phobia in itself) and of interviews.

Acrophobia – Acrophobia is a fear of being high up, or of heights themselves. This can include being on a balcony, looking out a high window, or being at the edge of a cliff. It doesn’t mean that the person needs to be very high up, just that there is a drop.

Aquaphobia – Aquaphobia is a fear of water and an associated fear of drowning within that water. Two percent of all people are estimated to have this fear.

Aviophobia – Aviophobia is a fear of flying. It occurs regardless of the fact that it is among the safest forms of transportation. Typically it occurs in conjunction with other phobias such as claustrophobia or the fear of not being in control.

Dental Phobia – Dental phobia is rampant throughout the Western world, with an estimated fifteen percent of people being afraid of the dentist for the fear of needles, drills, white coats, or other aspects of the experience.

Fear of Commitment – The fear of commitment either socially or with other aspects of a person’s life is often associated with other fears, such as that of rejection. It leads to the avoidance of long-term relationships and of continued situations such as a career.

Mysophobia – Mysophobia often manifests as an obsessive compulsive disorder as it is a fear of germs and leads people to behave in an extreme way to try to eliminate those germs – such as through repeated washing of hands and avoiding things that are viewed to be unclean, sometimes including other people.

Those without social anxiety disorder may experience fear in new social situations from time to time. This is quite normal and is built in to put us at our best. Some people are just born shy, but they do learn to overcome that and attend functions that make them uneasy. However, for others, the fear is so overwhelming that they overcome this by avoidance. This severely limits quality of life and results in loneliness and anxiety. Sometimes, social phobia leads to panic disorder when someone must venture out where they are uncomfortable.

Everyone worries about what new people will think of them. However, those with social anxiety disorder worry about things obsessively. They may think that everyone is staring at their nose, deeming it huge and unsightly when in reality there is nothing wrong with their nose and no one is paying them any mind. They may think they chew food strangely and will not eat in front of anyone. Someone without social anxiety may check their teeth after eating to be sure no food is stuck there, but those with this condition are sure they always have something there and everyone is laughing at them when they are not looking.

They symptoms of this disorder may mimic someone who is simply shy by nature. A person may think everything they say is stupid, so they will not partake in any conversation. They will be quiet, blush very easily, and may stammer quite often when they do attempt to speak to someone they do not know very well. Those with social phobia often rehearse what they are going to say or what they are going to do before they encounter a situation they can not avoid. They may practice walking because they feel they look funny, or spend hours obsessing about what to wear.

There are physical sensations that come with social anxiety disorder. These are shaking of the hands and excessive sweating when confronted with social situations. Those with this condition may have extreme bouts of diarrhea when they think about interactions with others. They may also have confusion and racing thoughts, along with a racing heart beat and shortness of breath. They may have panic attacks and develop severe depression as well.