Phobia

Phobia
An unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. For example, extreme fear of spiders is called arachnophobia, and fear of being outside is known as agoraphobia. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques. In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy. The word "phobia" is from the Greek "phobos" (fear).
* * *
Any objectively unfounded morbid dread or fear that arouses a state of panic. The word is used as a combining form in many terms expressing the object that inspires the fear. [G. phobos, fear]
- animals zoophobia.
- being beaten rhabdophobia.
- being buried alive taphophobia.
- being dirty automysophobia.
- being locked in clithrophobia.
- being stared at scopophobia.
- birth of malformed fetus teratophobia.
- blushing ereuthophobia.
- cats ailurophobia.
- children pediophobia.
- choking pnigophobia.
- climbing climacophobia.
- corpses necrophobia.
- crossing a bridge gephyrophobia.
- crowds ochlophobia.
- dampness hygrophobia.
- dawn eosophobia.
- daylight phengophobia.
- deep places bathophobia.
- deserted places eremophobia.
- dogs cynophobia.
- dolls pediophobia.
- eating phagophobia.
- electricity electrophobia.
- enclosed space claustrophobia.
- everything panphobia.
- filth rhypophobia.
- forests hylephobia.
- germs microphobia.
- ghosts phasmophobia.
- God theophobia.
- heights acrophobia.
- home, returning to nostophobia.
- human companionship anthropophobia, phobanthropy.
- ideas ideophobia.
- insects entomophobia.
- jealousy zelophobia.
- machinery mechanophobia.
- many things polyphobia.
- marriage gamophobia.
- men (males), androphobia.
- metal objects metallophobia.
- microorganisms microphobia.
- minute objects microphobia.
- mirrors spectrophobia.
- missiles ballistophobia.
- moisture hygrophobia.
- movements kinesophobia.
- nakedness gymnophobia.
- names nomatophobia, onomatophobia.
- neglect of duty, omission of duty paralipophobia.
- night nyctophobia.
- novelty neophobia.
- odors olfactophobia, osmophobia, osphresiophobia, bromidosiphobia.
- open spaces agoraphobia.
- parasites parasitophobia.
- phobias phobophobia.
- places topophobia.
- pointed objects aichmophobia.
- poverty peniaphobia.
- precipices cremnophobia.
- pregnancy maieusiophobia.
- rain ombrophobia.
- religious objects, sacred objects hierophobia.
- responsibility hypengyophobia.
- robbers harpaxophobia.
- school p. a young child's sudden aversion to or fear of attending school, usually considered a manifestation of separation anxiety.
- semen, loss of spermatophobia.
- sharp objects belonephobia.
- simple p. SYN: specific p..
- sinning peccatiphobia.
- skin of animals doraphobia.
- skin diseases dermatophobia.
- snakes ophidiophobia.
- social p. 1. a persistent pattern of significant fear of a social or performance situation, manifesting in anxiety or panic on exposure to the situation or in anticipation of it, which the person realizes is unreasonable or excessive and interferes significantly with the person's functioning; 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when specific criteria are met.
- speaking laliophobia.
- specific p. 1. a persistent pattern of significant fear of specific objects or situations, manifesting in anxiety or panic on exposure to the object or situation or in anticipation of them, which the person realizes is unreasonable or excessive and which interferes significantly with the person's functioning; 2. a DSM diagnosis that is established when the specific criteria are met. SYN: simple p..
- spiders arachnephobia.
- stairs climacophobia
- stealing kleptophobia.
- strangers xenophobia.
- thirteen triskaidekaphobia.
- touching, being touched aphephobia, haphephobia.
- traveling hodophobia.
- uncleanliness automysophobia.
- vaccination vaccinophobia.
- vehicles amaxophobia, hamaxophobia.
- voices phonophobia.
- walking basiphobia.
- wind anemophobia.
- women (females), gynephobia.
- writing graphophobia.

* * *

pho·bia 'fō-bē-ə n an exaggerated and often disabling fear usu. inexplicable to the subject and having sometimes a logical but usu. an illogical or symbolic object, class of objects, or situation compare COMPULSION, OBSESSION

* * *

n.
a pathologically strong fear of a particular event or thing. Avoiding the feared situation may severely restrict one's life and cause much suffering. The main kinds of phobia are specific phobias (isolated fears of particular things, such as sharp knives), agoraphobia, claustrophobia, social phobias of encountering people, and animal phobias, as of spiders, rats, or dogs (see also preparedness). Treatment is with behaviour therapy, especially desensitization, graded self-exposure, and flooding. psychotherapy and drug therapy are also useful.

* * *

pho·bia (foґbe-ə) [Gr. phobos fear + -ia] a persistent, irrational, intense fear of a specific object, activity, or situation (the phobic stimulus), fear that is recognized as being excessive or unreasonable by the individual having it. When a phobia is a significant source of distress or interferes with social functioning, it is considered a mental disorder (sometimes called a phobic disorder); in DSM-IV phobias are classified with the anxiety disorders and are subclassified as agoraphobia, specific phobias, and social phobias. For a list of specific phobias (e.g., triskaidekaphobia), see Appendix 4. phobic adj

Medical dictionary. 2011.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • ...Phobia — Cover to the standard edition of the album Studio album by Benassi Bros. Released …   Wikipedia

  • Phobia — (рус. фобия)  иррациональный неконтролируемый страх. Известно несколько фильмов с оригинальным названием Phobia, см. Фобия (фильм). В музыке: Phobia (альбом Breaking Benjamin) Phobia (альбом The Kinks) См. также Список фобий …   Википедия

  • ...Phobia — Phobia est le second album du groupe Benassi Bros, formé de Benny Benassi et de son cousin Alle Benassi.Il a été créé en 2005 et est la suite de l album Pumphonia de leur débuts. Il fut disque d or en France, avec l énorme succès des singles Ev …   Wikipédia en Français

  • …Phobia — Phobia …Phobia  второй, после Памфонии альбом проекта итальянских братьев Бенасси  Benassi Bros.. «Phobia»  гораздо более легкий альбом, нежели предыдущий, и таким успехом не пользовался. Был выпущен в марте 2005 года. Треклист Make me feel (feat …   Википедия

  • phobia — 1786, fear, horror, aversion, Modern Latin, abstracted from compounds in phobia, from Gk. phobia (in widespread popular use with native words from c.1800), from phobos fear, originally flight (still the only sense in Homer), but it became the… …   Etymology dictionary

  • -phobia — [fəubiə US fou ] suffix [in nouns] [: Late Latin; Origin: PHOBIA] 1.) technical a strong unreasonable dislike or fear of something, which may be part of a mental illness ▪ claustrophobia (=fear of being in a small enclosed space) ▪ aquaphobia… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • -phobia — [fō′bē ə, fō′byə] [Gr phobia < phobos, fear: see PHOBE] combining form forming nouns fear, dread, hatred [photophobia, Russophobia] …   English World dictionary

  • phobia — I noun abhorrence, abject fear, alarm, antipathy, anxiety, apprehension, aversion, awe, detestation, dislike, distaste, disturbance, dread, fear, fright, horror, loathing, obsession, panic, repugnance, terror, trepidation, unreasoned alarm,… …   Law dictionary

  • -phobia — [ foubiə ] suffix used for making nouns describing a strong feeling of disliking or being afraid of someone or something: technophobia (=not liking new technology, especially computers) arachnophobia (=fear of spiders) …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Phobia —    Film policier de John Huston, avec Paul Michael Glaser, Susan Hogan, John Colicos.   Pays: États Unis   Date de sortie: 1980   Technique: couleurs   Durée: 1 h 30    Résumé    Les expériences tentées par un psychanalyste sur des criminels… …   Dictionnaire mondial des Films

  • phobia — [n] fear anxiety, aversion, avoidance, awe, detestation, disgust, dislike, distaste, dread, fear, hang up*, hatred, horror, irrationality, loathing, neurosis, obsession, repulsion, resentment, revulsion, terror, thing*, thing about*; concepts… …   New thesaurus

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”