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Fear of new things
Fear of new things An irrational fear of anything new, of innovation, of new situations, places, or things. Also called neophobia. In animal behavior, neophobia refers to the tendency of an animal to avoid or retreat from an unfamiliar object or situation. All phobias are unreasonable sorts of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. They represent a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. 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.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Phobias
Anxiety disorders in which the essential feature is persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that the individual feels compelled to avoid. The individual recognizes the fear as excessive or unreasonable.
Panic
A sudden attack of anxiety.
Anxiety
A psychological and/or biological response to stress. Feelings of anxiety involve discomforting apprehension or concern, which may include symptoms such as cognitive difficulties, hypersensitivity, dizziness, muscular weakness, breathing difficulties, irregular heart beat, sweating, and sensations of fear. Typically, anxiety is a natural and healthy response to life experiences. However, exaggerated or chronic anxiety often indicates an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can be produced by external stress (exogenous anxiety) or internal stress (endogenous anxiety).
Cognitive
The mental process of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Fear of animals
An abnormal and persistent fear of animals termed "zoophobia. A phobia is an unreasonable fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. 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. "Zoophobia" encompasses fears of specific types of animals such as of spiders (arachnophobia), birds (ornithophobia), bees (apiphobia), etc. It is literally a zoo-ful of beastly phobias.
Fear of bacteria
An abnormal and persistent fear of bacilli (bacteria). A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. 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. Another term for bacillophobia is bacteriaphobia.
Fear of bees
An abnormal and persistent fear of bees. A phobia can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. 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.
Fear of being buried alive
An abnormal and persistent fear of being buried alive is called taphephobia.A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. 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.
Fear of birds
An abnormal and persistent fear of birds. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety about encountering and even being attacked by birds although they may realize their fears are quite irrational.
Fear of blood
An abnormal and persistent fear of blood. Sufferers of this very common phobia dread the sight of their own blood, the sight of the blood of another person or an animal, and sometimes printed or filmed images of blood or even thoughts of blood. Blood may remind them of their own vulnerability to injury and of the eventuality of death. Some sufferers of hemophobia experience an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Other sufferers experience an atypical phobic reaction characterized by a decrease in blood pressure and heart rate, causing paleness and weakness. They may even faint. Those with the latter reaction may develop a new fear: the fear of fainting.
Fear of blushing
An abnormal and persistent fear of blushing. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their anxiety results from worry about being the focus of attention and the subject of embarrassment. Attempts to suppress blushing often have the opposite effect. Sufferers of erythrophobia tend to avoid social gatherings and workplace projects that require them to interact with, or speak before, groups of co-workers.
Fear of bridges
An abnormal and persistent fear of bridges, especially crossing bridges. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may result partly from the fear of enclosure (claustrophobia) or the fear of heights (acrophobia). Phobic drivers may worry about being in an accident in busy traffic or losing control of their vehicles. High bridges over waterways and gorges can be especially intimidating, as can be very long or very narrow bridges.
Fear of cats
An abnormal and persistent fear of cats which produces an undue anxiety reaction even though sufferers realize their fear is irrational.
Fear of children
An abnormal and persistent fear of babies and children. Sufferers experience anxiety even though they realize their fear is groundless. Rearing a child or being around active children can both produce anxiety.
Fear of closed spaces
Fear of closed spaces, of being closed in or being shut in as in elevators, tunnels, or any other small confined space is termed claustrophobia.
Fear of cold
An abnormal and persistent fear of cold, including cold weather and cold objects. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. To avoid cold, they may live in a warm climate, dress more warmly than necessary, stay indoors on cold days, and avoid cold foods and ice cubes.
Fear of crossing bridges
An abnormal and persistent fear of crossing bridges. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may result partly from the fear of enclosure (claustrophobia) or the fear of heights (acrophobia). Phobic drivers may worry about being in an accident in busy traffic or losing control of their vehicles. High bridges over waterways and gorges can be especially intimidating, as can be very long or very narrow bridges.
Fear of crossing streets
Abnormal and persistent fear of crossing streets, highways and other thoroughfares; fear of thoroughfares themselves. Sufferers experience anxiety even though they realize that streets, highways and other thoroughfares pose no threat commensurate with their fear.
Fear of demons
An abnormal and persistent fear of evil supernatural beings in persons who believe such beings exist and roam freely to cause harm. Those who suffer from this phobia realize their fear is excessive or irrational. Nevertheless, they become unduly anxious when discussing demons, when venturing alone into woods or a dark house, or when watching films about demonic possession and exorcism.
Fear of depths
An abnormal and persistent fear of depths. Sufferers of this fear experience anxiety even though they realize they are safe from falling into or being consumed by depths. The feared object may be a long, dark hallway, a well or a deep pool or lake.
Fear of dogs
An abnormal and persistent fear of dogs. Sufferers of this fear experience anxiety even though they realize that most dogs pose no threat. To avoid dogs, they may barricade yards or refuse to travel except in an enclosed vehicle.
Fear of drinking alcohol
An abnormal and persistent fear of drinking alcohol. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety about addiction to alcohol and the effect this addiction can have on their body.
Fear of dust
An abnormal and persistent fear of dust. Sufferers of this fear experience anxiety even though they realize dust poses no threat.
Fear of feces
An abnormal and persistent fear of feces (bowel waste). Sufferers of this fear experience anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They go out of their way to avoid coming into contact with feces or sometimes even seeing feces.
Fear of flowers
An abnormal and persistent fear of flowers. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize they face no threat from flowers. Any genus or species of flowers can instill fear, as can any flower part, such as a petal or stem.
Fear of flying
An irrational fear of flying is called aerophobia. Aerophobia also refers to irrational fear of fresh air or drafts of air.
Fear of ghosts
An abnormal and persistent fear of ghosts. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They may fear going into woods, empty houses or dark places and may react with alarm at strange or unexplained noises.
Fear of going to bed
An abnormal and persistent fear of going to bed. Sufferers of this fear experience anxiety even though they realize that going to bed normally should not threaten their well-being. However, because they worry about having nightmares or wetting the bed, they often remain awake and develop insomnia. Insomnia then can become a real threat to their well-being.
Fear of having a malformed child
An abnormal and persistent fear of bearing a malformed child is termed teratophobia. A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder.
Fear of heat
Thermophobia. An abnormally excessive and persistent fear of heat, including hot weather and hot objects. Sufferers from this fear experience anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. To avoid heat, they may live in a cold climate, wear light clothing, stay indoors on warm days, and avoid hot water and hot foods.
Fear of heights
An abnormal and persistent fear of heights. Sufferers experience severe anxiety even though they realize as a rule that heights pose no real threat to them.
Fear of horses
An abnormal and persistent fear of horses. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even when a horse is known to be gentle and well trained. They usually avoid horses entirely rather than risk being kicked, bitten or thrown. They may also fear other hoofed animals such as ponies, donkeys and mules.
Fear of insects
An abnormal and persistent fear of insects. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize that most insects pose no threat. To avoid insects, they may frequently clean rooms and carpets, sweep hallways, spray insect-killer or seal off doors and windows.
Fear of intercourse
An abnormal and persistent fear of male-female sexual intercourse. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety because they are preoccupied with failing in some way while having heterosexual intercourse. Among the symptoms of coitophobia are failure to achieve an erection (erectile dysfunction) and failure to achieve orgasm (anorgasmia, or anorgasmy).
Fear of joy
An abnormal, excessive, and persistent fear of experiencing joy or pleasure. Sufferers with this most puritanical of phobias typically feel guilty about experiencing pleasure even though they usually realize rationally there is nothing at all wrong with taking pleasure. Their guilt usually arises from the fact that they are participating in a pleasurable activity while others around them or in the world at large are experiencing nothing but illness, grief, economic hardship and other painful problems. Their guilt may also arise from the belief that life is best lived ascetically (similar to the idea that, for a medicine to do good, it must taste bad).
Fear of loneliness
An abnormal and persistent fear of loneliness, of being alone. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize that being alone does not threaten their well-being. They may worry about being ignored and unloved, or they may worry about intruders, strange noises or the possibility of developing a medical problem.
Fear of marriage
An abnormal and persistent fear of being married. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they may rationally realize that the married state itself poses no threat to them. They may fear the challenge of living with another person and the responsibility of rearing a family. Or they may worry about failing as a sexual partner.
Fear of men
An abnormal and persistent fear of men. Sufferers experience anxiety even though they realize they may face no real threat.
Fear of mirrors
An abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Because their fear often is grounded in superstitions, they may worry that breaking a mirror will bring bad luck or that looking into a mirror will put them in contact with a supernatural world inside the glass.
Fear of money
An abnormal and persistent fear of money. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They worry that they might mismanage money or that money might live up to its reputation as "the root of all evil." Perhaps they remember well the ill fortune that befell the mythical King Midas. His wish that everything he touched be turned to gold was fulfilled, and even his food was transformed into gold.
Fear of nudity
An abnormal and persistent fear of nudity is called gymnophobia. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked or being seen naked, or both. Their fear may stem from anxiety about sexuality in general, from a fear that their bodies are physically inferior, or from a fear that their nakedness leaves their bodies--and their personalities--exposed and unprotected.
Fear of oneself
An irrational fear of oneself, an intense self-fear that is groundless.
Fear of pain
An abnormal and persistent fear of pain. The fear is excessive, beyond that which is expected under the circumstances, producing an anxiety reaction.
Fear of pleasure
An abnormal, excessive, and persistent fear of pleasure. Sufferers with this most puritanical of phobias typically feel guilty about experiencing pleasure even though they usually realize rationally there is nothing at all wrong with taking pleasure. Their guilt usually arises from the fact that they are participating in a pleasurable activity while others around them or in the world at large are experiencing nothing but illness, grief, economic hardship and other painful problems. Their guilt may also arise from the belief that life is best lived ascetically (similar to the idea that, for a medicine to do good, it must taste bad).
Fear of public places
This irrational fear is called agoraphobia. It applies to open areas, especially those from which escape could be difficult or help not immediately accessible. Persons with agoraphobia frequently also have panic disorder.
Fear of self
An irrational fear of oneself, an intense self-fear that is groundless.
Fear of sexual intercourse
An abnormal and persistent fear of male-female sexual intercourse. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety because they are preoccupied with failing in some way while having heterosexual intercourse. Among the symptoms of coitophobia are failure to achieve an erection (erectile dysfunction) and failure to achieve orgasm (anorgasmia, or anorgasmy).
Fear of sharks
Excessive and persistent fear of sharks is termed galeophobia. Sufferers from this phobia experience anxiety even though they may be safe on a boat or in an aquarium or on a beach. Hollywood films depicting sharks as calculating, vengeful diabolical monsters have no doubt enkindled the fear of sharks in many persons. So have validated reports of sharks venturing into rivers and lakes.
Fear of socializing
Excessive fear of embarrassment in social situations that is extremely intrusive and can have debilitating effects on personal and professional relationships. Phobias are persistent, irrational fears of certain objects or situations. People plagued by phobias recognize that their fears may be excessive or unreasonable, but are unable to overcome them.
Fear of solitude
An abnormal and persistent fear of solitude, of being alone. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize that being alone does not threaten their well-being. They may worry about being ignored and unloved, or they may worry about intruders, strange noises or the possibility of developing a medical problem.
Fear of spiders
An abnormal and persistent fear of spiders. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize the risk of encountering a spider and being harmed by it is small or nonexistent. They may avoid going barefoot and may be especially alert when taking showers or getting into and out of bed.
Fear of the dark
Pathological fear of the dark, an abnormal and persistent dread of the dark. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they may rationally realize that the dark does not pose a threat commensurate with their fear.
Fear of the number 13
A morbid fear of the number 13. Also known as triskaidekaphobia.
Fear of thunder
An abnormal and persistent fear of thunder that causes undue anxiety even though sufferers realize that thunder itself poses no threat to them. When outdoors during a thunderstorm, they may suffer excessive anxiety. When indoors, they may hide under beds or desks, behind sofas, or in closets.
Fear of thunderstorms
An abnormal and persistent fear of thunderstorms. Sufferers experience anxiety even when they realize the risk of harm is very small. Consequently, when indoors they might seek shelter under a bed, in a closet or in a basement. They generally keep a watchful eye on the sky and remain alert for reports of electrical storms.
Fear of travel
An irrational and unreasonable fear of travel is called agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a very complex phobia. It usually manifests as a collection of inter-linked phobias. For example, many agoraphobics fear being left alone (monophobia), dislike being in any situation where they feel trapped (exhibiting claustrophobia type tendencies), and fear travel away from their "safe" place, usually home.
Fear of vomiting
An abnormal and persistent fear of vomiting. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They usually are especially worried about vomiting in public and embarrassing themselves. Consequently, they often avoid office meetings, banquets, dances and other social gatherings. The anxiety produced by this phobia can cause stomach "butterflies" and nausea.
Fear of water
An abnormal and persistent fear of water. Sufferers of aquaphobia experience anxiety even though they realize the water in an ocean, a river, a lake, a creek or even a bathtub may pose no imminent threat. They generally avoid such activities as boating and swimming. Around the house, they may fear the water in a shower or tub and even desist from bathing therein.
Fear of women
An abnormal, irrational and persistent fear of women. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize they face no threat.
Fear of work
An abnormal and persistent fear of work. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety about the workplace environment even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may actually be a combination of fears, such fear of failing at assigned tasks, fear of speaking before groups at work, or fear of socializing with co-workers.
Fear of worms (parasitic)
An abnormal and persistent fear of being infested with parasitic worms called helminths. The technical term for this fear is helminthphobia. The eggs of parasitic worms can contaminate air and water, particularly where hygiene is poor. They can also contaminate foods such as pork and beef as well as pets and wild animals, objects such as toilet seats, and feces (bowel waste).
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Fear of loneliness
An abnormal and persistent fear of loneliness, of being alone. Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize that being alone does not threaten their well-being. They may worry about being ignored and unloved, or they may worry about intruders, strange noises or the possibility of developing a medical problem.
Fear of marriage
An abnormal and persistent fear of being married. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they may rationally realize that the married state itself poses no threat to them. They may fear the challenge of living with another person and the responsibility of rearing a family. Or they may worry about failing as a sexual partner.
Fear of men
An abnormal and persistent fear of men. Sufferers experience anxiety even though they realize they may face no real threat.
Fear of mirrors
An abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Because their fear often is grounded in superstitions, they may worry that breaking a mirror will bring bad luck or that looking into a mirror will put them in contact with a supernatural world inside the glass.
Fear of money
An abnormal and persistent fear of money. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They worry that they might mismanage money or that money might live up to its reputation as "the root of all evil." Perhaps they remember well the ill fortune that befell the mythical King Midas. His wish that everything he touched be turned to gold was fulfilled, and even his food was transformed into gold.
Fear of new things
Fear of nudity
An abnormal and persistent fear of nudity is called gymnophobia. Sufferers of this phobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked or being seen naked, or both. Their fear may stem from anxiety about sexuality in general, from a fear that their bodies are physically inferior, or from a fear that their nakedness leaves their bodies--and their personalities--exposed and unprotected.
Fear of oneself
An irrational fear of oneself, an intense self-fear that is groundless.
Fear of pain
An abnormal and persistent fear of pain. The fear is excessive, beyond that which is expected under the circumstances, producing an anxiety reaction.
Fear of pleasure
An abnormal, excessive, and persistent fear of pleasure. Sufferers with this most puritanical of phobias typically feel guilty about experiencing pleasure even though they usually realize rationally there is nothing at all wrong with taking pleasure. Their guilt usually arises from the fact that they are participating in a pleasurable activity while others around them or in the world at large are experiencing nothing but illness, grief, economic hardship and other painful problems. Their guilt may also arise from the belief that life is best lived ascetically (similar to the idea that, for a medicine to do good, it must taste bad).
Fear of public places
This irrational fear is called agoraphobia. It applies to open areas, especially those from which escape could be difficult or help not immediately accessible. Persons with agoraphobia frequently also have panic disorder.
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