Typology of fears. The most common fears and phobias

In our article “Fear. What to do with him?" We talked in detail about fear, as well as what significance it has for a person. It was there that we explained why it is so important and necessary in the lives of each of us, why it is so good that it is characteristic of all of us. Today we would like to talk about fear, mostly non-judgmentally.

Regardless of whether fear is rational or irrational, you need to understand it in order to determine your further actions and generally be able to assess your condition. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the main features of fear. Next, we will tell you about what forms of fears exist and introduce them to the most common types.

Forms of fears

Fears can be classified according to different criteria. We will talk about some of them below, but for now we will consider the classification of emotional states that are in one way or another related to fear, based on the intensity, objectivity and strength of perception. Everything here is extremely simple, because you yourself are familiar first-hand with such things as:

• Calm. A state of complete emotional peace, when nothing worries a person, he is comfortable psychologically, he does not experience any negatively colored states associated with fear.
• Anxiety (fear, worry). A state in which a person feels the uncertainty of the situation and expects a bad turn of events. Most often, anxiety has no objective stimulus and is irrational.
• Excitement. A condition arising from anxiety and representing its intensified form. With it, a person experiences more intense nervous excitement, because doesn’t know what could happen to him and is afraid of it.
• Fear. A condition caused by a real or perceived threat. Let us remember that there is a healthy fear that warns against danger, and there is an unhealthy fear that has no basis. This is what you need to be able to cope with.
• Horror. A condition caused by intense fear. It can plunge a person into numbness, trembling, shock. A person’s active reaction to horror is absent; he is unable to eliminate the source of fear.
• Panic. A condition that is another extreme form of fear, but it is not expressed in numbness, but in the fact that a person begins to be controlled by his feelings. His actions are not subject to any logic and often harm him.

We can also identify another condition associated with fear. This is a state of fearlessness. In the case of a real threat, it can lead to extremely dire consequences. A state of fearlessness can be observed in people with an exaggerated and unhealthy sense of self-confidence, people who do not have a sense of self-preservation and suffer from mental disorders (we are not talking about situations where circumstances require being fearless).

But this is only an initial classification of fears, giving a general idea of ​​how fear can be expressed in general. Next we present another classification - developed by the Soviet and Russian psychiatrist and psychotherapist Boris Dmitrievich Karvasarsky. He divided fears into eight large groups:

• Spatial fears (this includes bathophobia - fear of depth, acrophobia - fear of heights, agoraphobia - fear of open space, claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces, etc.)
• Social fears (this includes neophobia - fear of any change, heterophobia - fear of the opposite sex, etc.)
• Fear of diseases.
• Fear of death.
• Fear of sex.
• Fear of harming others.
• Fear of fears (it is this fear, by the way, that causes all phobias).

However, the classification of fears by B. D. Karvasarsky is quite complex and relative. The Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist Sigmund Freud approached the categorization of fears more specifically, dividing fears into two classes:

• real fears;
• neurotic fears.

Canadian-American psychiatrist Harold Irwin Kaplan classified fears in a similar way. He divided them into:

• constructive fears;
• pathological fears.

But the most interesting thing is that these two scientists agreed that the first fears (real and constructive) are necessary for a person so that he can save his own or someone else’s life, and the second (neurotic and pathological) can be considered as a sign of an illness that destroys a person .

There is also an interesting theory from stress research specialist Yuri Viktorovich Shcherbatykh, proposed by him in 2000. According to his concept, there are three types of fears:

• Natural fears. This includes everything that is justified by natural phenomena (hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, thunderstorms, etc.). Such fears are completely justified and even adequate people are susceptible to them. It is human nature itself to fear everything unknown (we repeat once again that we talked about this in the article “Fear. What to do with it?”, as well as in the article “Psychological foundations of fear”). Despite the fact that today people perfectly understand the origin of most natural phenomena, fear of them remains, and it is natural. This category of fears also includes the fear of various animals, insects and other living creatures.
• Social fears. Yu. V. Shcherbatykh, taking as a basis the results of various sociological surveys, came to the conclusion that the greatest fear among people is, of course, the threat of war. And this fear is characteristic even of those who have never participated in hostilities. Among other social fears, he names fear of crime, hooliganism and disorder, fear for one’s loved ones, fear of death, fear of poverty, fear of public speaking and publicity in general, fear of change and some others.
• Inner fears. As children, many of us were frightened by some kind of woman or little gray wolf who would come and take us away if we did not obey. We have grown up, but many people still have the fear of looking in the mirror at night, looking under the bed, or pulling their leg out from under the blanket. A person’s imagination, which received the corresponding message in childhood, is capable of generating a variety of monsters that no spiders or hurricanes can compare with. And it is very, very difficult to stop being afraid of such things (by the way, read our article “What Famous People Were Afraid of,” where there is a lot of confirmation of what was said).

The line between these three groups of fears is very thin and extremely difficult to see. For example, if a person experiences internal fear of the quagmire that is sucking him in, it can to a certain extent be attributed to both social and natural fear. Fears can cleverly intertwine with each other and have an inexplicable impact on a person.

But the classification of fears does not end there, because there is also a gradation by age:

• Childhood fears. When a child just begins to live, his gene stock of reflexes works. So, the baby may be afraid of being thrown up when he hears loud noises or sees strangers. Such reactions are normal and constructive, but life moves on. If parental upbringing was incorrect or the child was influenced by some special circumstances, he may develop neurotic fears. For example, if a child was punished by being locked in a closet, he may develop claustrophobia, and if his mother once lost him in a shopping mall, he may begin to fear open spaces and large crowds of people.
• Fears of an adult. An adequate adult understands perfectly well that there is no Boogeyman in a dark closet, but he can be terrified by the mere sight of snakes, spiders or praying mantises. Likewise, he may be afraid that a loved one will leave him, or experience stage fright; to be afraid of being worse than others or to consider oneself unworthy of many benefits; overly control your other half or constantly worry about your children, etc.
• Fears of older people. The fears of older people may differ from those of children and adults. They are specific. In addition to the fear of the dark, mice and hurricanes, there may be a fear of getting sick and becoming a burden to your family. But at the same time, the fears that previously bothered us disappear, for example, the fear of being misunderstood by others, the fear of not experiencing love in life. However, some fears can go to extremes: grandmother, afraid of strangers, does not open the door even to her relatives, grandfather, fearing transport, does not come closer than 200 meters to the road, etc.

This is the primary classification of fears. In fact, this topic is worthy of more careful study and serious scientific work. But we only set ourselves the task of showing how diverse this unique phenomenon called fear is, and we hope that we were able to accomplish this task.

You can read about how to work with fears in the articles “Fear. What to do with him?" and “Method of systematic desensitization to combat fears,” and we will continue this material with very interesting information. As you know, fear can become uncontrollable and obsessive, i.e. develop into a phobia. So below we will talk about the most common phobias of people.

From indifference to phobia ↑

There are 3 degrees of human response to external stimuli:

1. Fearlessness, slight apprehension, indifference . Such emotions are fortunate to be experienced either by those who do not know what they are doing (forgivable for them), or with an atrophied sense of self-preservation or exaggerated confidence in happiness and, or, on the contrary, those who are tired of living. An extreme, abnormal condition.
2. Fear warning of danger . Needless to say, this healthy, normal sense of self-preservation has so far saved our civilization from extinction. Is it abnormal to fear for your loved ones, warning them of danger? Fear war and do everything to prevent it from happening. Be afraid of bee stings and wear protective clothing.
3. Panic, phobia . The same extreme level of fear, only with the opposite amplitude. In this state, it is not the person who controls their feelings, but they control them. Fear is spreading. A sick person (deviation from the norm - illness) is already afraid of fear itself, his consciousness is subject only to internal panic. Get a phobia.

The most common phobias

A phobia is a manifestation of irrational fear or increased anxiety associated with real or expected objects or situations that cause fear. This is an obsessive state that worsens under specific conditions and cannot be explained logically. Under the influence of a phobia, a person is afraid and tries to avoid certain situations, activities or objects.

Below is a list of the most common phobias in alphabetical order:

• Agoraphobia is the fear of open spaces. People with this fear prefer to always be indoors.
• Aquaphobia is the fear of water. In its hypertrophied form, it can develop into a fear of drinking even a sip of water.
• Acrophobia – fear of heights. Fear causes climbing to any heights, from a stool to mountains.
• Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. It is considered characteristic of most people in the world.
• Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning. A very common fear that causes people to take shelter during a thunderstorm.
• Aerophobia is the fear of flying and aircraft. It is a hindrance for many people who want to travel.
• Hemophobia is the fear of the sight of blood. At the sight of blood, even on TV, a person with such a phobia may lose consciousness.
• Gerontophobia is the fear of old age. Most often, this fear is observed in middle-aged people.
• Homophobia is fear, or rather rejection, of homosexuality and people with non-traditional sexual orientation.
• Dentophobia is the fear of dentists. People with this phobia would rather endure severe toothache than sit in the dentist's chair.
• Kacorrhaphiophobia is the fear of failure. Characteristic mainly of people focused exclusively on success.
• Cynophobia – fear of dogs. Another type of phobia that is common to a huge number of people.
• Claustrophobia is the fear of closed spaces. A person with an aggravated form of this phobia begins to panic in an ordinary elevator.
• Xenophobia is the fear of strangers. It can develop on sexual, interracial and religious grounds.
• Mysophobia is the fear of germs and dirt. A person with this fear is uncomfortable touching any objects outside his home, where there is always perfect cleanliness.
• Monophobia is the fear of loneliness. It can be expressed as a fear of being abandoned by a loved one, being alone in the world, or being alone in a room.
• Necrophobia is the fear of the dead. A clear example of fear of the unknown.
• Nyctophobia is the fear of the dark. Despite the fact that it mainly affects children, it is also observed in a huge number of adults.
• Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes. Another example of a common fear. It is a subtype of hypertophobia - fear of reptiles.
• Social phobia is the fear of public attention. This can even include the fear of appearing in public places.
• Thanatophobia is the fear of death. This fear paralyzes a person’s will and prevents him from living a normal life.
• Trypanophobia – fear of needles, pricks and injections. A regular vaccination becomes a test of strength for people with this phobia.
• Trypophobia is the fear of open wounds and any holes in the skin, both on one’s own and on the skin of any living organism in general.

We, of course, could list a dozen other common phobias, but if you wish, you can do your own little research, for example, read what people are afraid of on the Internet. And we will add some zest to our article and briefly list some of the strangest phobias found in the modern world:

• agmenophobia – fear that the queue a person is standing in will move slower than the one next to it;
• acribophobia - fear of not understanding the essence of what you read;
• hapotophobia – fear of being touched;
• hexakosioyhexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number “666”;
• genophobia – fear of intimacy;
• hippopotomonstrosesquipedalophobia – fear of long words;
• dextrophobia – fear of objects located on the right;
• decidophobia – fear of making decisions;
• Domatophobia – fear of houses and any buildings;
• dorophobia – fear of giving and receiving gifts;
• Ignorophobia – fear of not receiving a response to a message you read;
• Imojiphobia – fear of being misunderstood after sending an emoticon or sticker;
• cyberphobia – fear of computers;
• kumpunophobia – fear of buttons;
• Lacanophobia – fear of vegetables;
• macrophobia – fear of long waits;
• nephophobia – fear of clouds;
• nomophobia – fear of being without a smartphone;
• omphalophobia – fear of belly buttons;
• Papaphobia – fear of the Pope;
• penteraphobia - fear of mother-in-law;
• Pogonophobia – fear of beards;
• punctumophobia – fear of messages with a period at the end;
• reterophobia – fear of making a mistake in a word or not seeing an erroneous autocorrect;
• Selfiphobia – fear of taking a poor-quality selfie;
• social network phobia – fear of social networks;
• philophobia - fear of falling in love;
• Chairophobia – fear of laughing in inappropriate conditions;
• Chorophobia – fear of dancing;
• chronophobia – fear of time;
• epistemophobia – fear of gaining knowledge;
• Ergophobia – fear of any work.

And this list of phobias does not exhaust the topic, which suggests that it is possible to find some kind of fear, even in a mild form, in almost any person in the world. Moreover, with the passage of time and changes in the specifics of each era, new, sometimes completely absurd, fears appear.

Of course, we sincerely hope that no fears or phobias cause you discomfort in life. If this is still not the case, read our article “Fear. What should you do with him?” in order to better know your enemy and overcome him. However, getting acquainted with this article is useful and simply for general development.

We wish you good luck and successful work on yourself, no matter what it concerns!

We also recommend reading:

• Storytelling
• What is fear and how to overcome it
• How to overcome the fear of a white page
• Interesting and unusual facts about fear
• Overcoming Fear
• Psychology of fear
• Your main fear
• Fear: psychological foundations and famous scientific studies of this phenomenon
• Systematic desensitization method to combat fears
• How to cope with fear: a selection of useful materials
• How to deal with fears

Key words:1Psychoregulation

About people’s fears depending on mental properties

Our psyche has 8 vectors. Each of them may have its own specific fear. Here are some examples:

• The strongest fear of a person with a sound vector is the fear of going crazy, of losing control of consciousness.

A sound engineer is the owner of abstract intelligence. He connects himself, his I, not with the body, but with the soul (his feelings) and consciousness (thoughts). The sound artist is drawn to the knowledge of the intangible. He is interested in how all observable reality is structured and by what laws it is governed. Since childhood, he has been asking questions about why everything around him exists and why he himself lives.

Finding answers to questions involves first and foremost the ability to think clearly. Mental illness deprives the sound artist of the ability to think, understand, be aware and thus fulfill his unique role for all humanity. Therefore, “not thinking” is the same as “not being” for the owner of the sound vector. Hence the fear of going crazy.

• The biggest fear of a person with an anal vector is the fear of disgrace.

Owners of such properties are the most loyal members of society. Their main values ​​are respect and honor. They, like no one else, care what other people think about them, what assessment they give to their behavior and actions.

Accumulating and transmitting knowledge to others is the natural role of carriers of the anal vector. Therefore, stressful situations for them are exams and test work. Or, for example, a report where you need to share experience and knowledge with other people, that is, a public speaking. In such situations, the fear of disgrace can manifest itself very strongly.

The fear of disgrace sets not only psychological characteristics, it is also associated with physiology. By nature, those with such properties have a special sensitivity to the anal sphincter. At times of extreme stress, they may experience stool retention. But in anticipation of stress, on the contrary, diarrhea occurs. Therefore, it is not uncommon that before an important presentation or test, a carrier of the anal vector runs to the restroom many times. And his fear of disgrace also hiddenly carries in itself a completely direct physiological meaning: it is the fear of losing control over the anal sphincter of the body at the wrong moment.

• About the fears of people with the skin vector. Special tactile sensitivity and sensitive skin are a special sign of such a person.

Skin people are afraid of becoming infected with something through touch, of catching an infection through the skin. Skin people are susceptible to such conditions under severe stress and prolonged lack of fulfillment. These are ambitious people, striving for property and social superiority. They can experience severe stress due to demotion or material losses. And persistent severe conditions arise when, over a long distance, such a person is systematically unable to achieve his ambitious goals.

When fear takes on an obsessive form, then the carrier of the skin vector fanatically washes his hands after touching any objects. Treats them every minute with an antiseptic, even while sitting at home.

So, in each of the 8 vectors, people’s fears are unique and they are connected with the structure of their psyche and with their special erogenous zones.

Manifestation of fears of varying intensity

There are many feelings that are directly or indirectly similar to fear. From them you can create a whole scale of the origin and growth of feelings. Degrees:

1. Calm.
2. Excitement.
3. Anxiety.
4. Fear.
5. Horror.
6. Panic.

What other manifestations of fear or feelings close to it do you know? Share your observations in the comments.

The concept of the category “fear”. Research on fear theories

Fear, like a shadow, has haunted man since time immemorial. Primitive man, who was constantly exposed to danger, also had it. But his fear was of an instinctive nature, arising in immediate danger to the life of both the person himself and his immediate environment. Fear is an integral link in the evolution of the human race, because... it prevented reckless and impulsive actions that were too life-threatening.

In modern civilizations, there is an ever-increasing number of objects, events, conditions, situations that are frightening or could potentially be frightening. This is probably what explains the fact that fear is the subject of scientific research and knowledge more often than any other emotion.

Fear is an emotion that arises in situations of threat to the biological or social existence of an individual and is aimed at the source of real or imagined danger.

Fear is a powerful emotion that has a noticeable effect on an individual's perception, thinking and behavior. Compared to other emotions, it has the most restraining effect. With fear, perception is limited and a person becomes functionally unresponsive. Fear can slow down your thinking and make it narrower in scope. It leads to muscle tension, and when terrified, the subject can become stunned and completely motionless. Fear greatly reduces the number of degrees of freedom in behavior.

Unlike pain and other types of suffering caused by the real action of life-threatening factors, fear arises when they are anticipated. Depending on the nature of the threat, the intensity and specificity of the experience, fear varies in a fairly wide range of shades (apprehension, fear, fear, horror). If the source of danger is uncertain or unconscious, the resulting state is called anxiety. Functionally, fear serves to warn the subject about impending danger, allows one to focus attention on its source, and encourages one to look for ways to avoid it. When fear reaches the intensity of affect (panic fear, horror), it is capable of imposing behavioral stereotypes (flight, numbness, defensive aggression). In human social development, fear acts as one of the means of education: for example, the formed fear of condemnation is used as a factor in regulating behavior. Since in society the individual enjoys the protection of legal and other social institutions, a person’s increased tendency to fear is deprived of adaptive significance and is traditionally assessed negatively. Formed fear reactions are relatively persistent and can persist even with the understanding of their meaninglessness. Therefore, cultivating resistance to fear is usually aimed not at getting rid of a person, but at developing the ability to control oneself when it is present. Inappropriate fear reactions are observed in various mental illnesses.

How to get rid of fear - techniques and exercises

The feeling of fear is useful, but sometimes it can really ruin a person’s life. For example, fear of dogs prevents you from moving around the city calmly, visiting dog-loving friends, and feeling safe. But there are techniques and techniques to help overcome fears.

AWARE technology

The author of the method is A. Beck. It helps to cope well with obsessive and anxious thoughts. The meaning of the exercise is deciphered as follows:

• A cknowledge & Accept - To be aware of and accept the problem.
• W atch – Look at fears from the outside.
• A ctions – Act despite your anxiety.
• R repeat – Repeat the required number of times.
• E xpect - Expect an improvement in your condition.

The steps are worth considering in more detail:

1. Realize and accept. There is no need to give up your own feelings and convince yourself that they don’t exist. You should allow yourself to feel fear, anxiety, worry, irritation.
2. A look at fears from the outside. Observe your thoughts and feelings, but do not evaluate them. It's like things come and go.
3. Act. Try to behave in life as if fears have long been overcome and are a thing of the past. However, you should not try to solve the problem through avoidance.
4. Repeat as many times as necessary. The previous point must be repeated until the new thinking takes root in the mind and the person begins to feel confident.
5. Expect improvements. It is important to be completely confident in yourself, hope only for the best, but never rush things.

Diary

The previous practice is best done in a diary. Describing each step, especially the second.

Before you start working with your fear, we recommend answering a few questions in your diary:

• What is my situation now? Describe what you like and dislike about your behavior regarding fear.
• How do I want it to be? Describe your goal, namely what you will be like and how your life will change after working through the emotion.
• What will I do in the next month? Describe your actions, what techniques and exercises you will do, what changes in your behavior, what useful habits you will add, etc.

Every day, share your thoughts with your diary, note what went well and what didn’t, what was difficult and what was easy. Analyze, draw conclusions and correct behavior.

It's good if you share your observations in the comments. This will help you structure your thoughts and figure out what’s not working. And of course it will motivate other participants to meet their fear.