I woke up last Monday morning with a bit of apprehension as to whether I had to go to work or merely stay home after being cautious about the prevailing alert watch regarding a major snowstorm to hit the area. Despite the early signs of the dreaded natural calamity I still proceeded only to regret when snow thickened by more than an inch when I stepped out of the office by 5 in the afternoon.
Days before Juno’s landfall it was predicted to have the potential to set an all-time snowfall record that created an unprecedented panic wave. The supposed catastrophic snowstorm already cited an alarming situation in food markets where everybody went frantic about stocking up and hunkering down staple necessities. The ripple effect sent concerned officials to advise schools, offices, every community facilities, and public transportation to close and suspend operations.
By mid-day of January 26, the relentless snowing and occasional wind blows instantly created hazy visibility that blurred city skyscrapers from view. Just hours before midnight city streets were deserted like a ghost town and time stood still…as if merely waiting for the worst to happen.
An overnight continuous snowfall occurrence created less damage than expected. The hyper-touted potentially crippling blizzard was nothing but a usual snowstorm stripped off of the “exceptional-strength-of-magnitude power that put the public in an inevitable panic attack.”
Later, American meteorologists publicly offered their apologies for an inaccurate prediction. Despite the furious reaction from the hullabaloo majority was just thankful that this side of the east coast was spared from power outages, snowstorm surge, high winds, and undetermined damages like the ones suffered by those directly hit by the blizzard.
Yes, we were spared from such stressful ordeals but we cannot deny the fact that that false prediction had undeniably caused chionophobia or an intense aversion to snow and its aftereffects. It’s a fact that a large number of people, especially seniors, have developed chionophobia that could linger and get serious.
But what actually is a phobia? There are huge medical cases related to different kinds of fears arising not only from exceptional sources but even from very common ones. I guess it’s just but timely that we be familiar with this kind of fretful mental confusion.
Phobia is defined as an extreme or irrational fear or aversion to something. It is a kind of anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has a relentless dread of a situation, living creature, place or thing. Individuals with phobia go to great lengths to avoid a perceived danger which is much greater in their minds than in real life.
This anxiety disorder can interfere with an individual’s life and uncontrollably hinders his progress. It sometimes causes panic attack or the fear of a disaster or losing control of a given situation even when there is no real danger. This panic disorder is a serious condition that strikes without reason or warning that could lead to nervousness and in extreme cases, heart attack.
But how are phobias named? Greek mythology has a great part in phobia’s origin and etymology. It was derived from the name Phobos (which means “fear” in Greek) who was the personification of fear in Greek mythology. He was the offspring of Aphrodite (the Greek goddess of love, pleasure, joy, and beauty) and Ares (son of Zeus and Hera and the Greek god of war).
The term “phobia” was believed to have been used widespread during 1786 and since then the term was translated into different languages most common of which are: African (fobie), Bulgarian (fobija), Mandarin (kongjuzheng), French (phobie), Hindi (bhiti), Japanese (kyofusho), Korean (gongpojeung), Welsh (ffobia), Arabic (ruhab), Swedish (fobi), and English (phobia).
Since the main suffix word was in Greek any word that followed should be in Greek but the rule in coining the word has been broken many times in the past especially within the medical profession which is steeped in Latin. Later the use of both Greek and Latin became acceptable and even some English prefixes were also considered.
For a broader understanding and better knowlegeability, here is a compact list of the most commonly known phobias: Ablutophobia (Fear of washing or bathing), Acarophobia (Fear of itching of insects), Acerophobia (Fear of sourness), Achluophobia (Fear of darkness), Acousticophobia (Fear of noise), Agliophobia (Fear of pain), Agoraphobia (Fear of open crowded places like markets), Agraphobia (Fear of sexual abuse), Agrizoophobia (Fear of wild animals), Agyrophobia (Fear of crossing streets), Aichmophobia (Fear of needles or pointed objects), Ailurophobia (Fear of cats), Amathophobia (Fear of dust), Amaxophobia (Fear of riding in a car), Anemophobia (fear of wind), Anthrophobia (Fear of flowers), Antlophobia (Fear of floods), Anuptaphobia (Fear of staying single), Apiphobia (Fear of bees), Arachnophobia (Fear of spiders), Arithmophobia (Fear of numbers), Astrapophobia (Fear of thunder and lightning), Atephobia (Fear of ruins), Autophobia (Fear of being alone), and Automatonophobia (Fear of dummies, animated creatures, or wax statues).
Bacillophobia (Fear of microbes), Bathophobia (Fear of depth), Batrachophobia (Fear of amphibians), Caligynephobia (Fear of beautiful women), Carcinophobia (Fear of cancer), Carnophobia (Fear of meat), Catoptrophobia (Fear of mirrors), Chiraptophobia (Fear of being touched), Chronomentrophobia (Fear of clocks), Claustrophobia (Fear of enclosed spaces), Climacophobia (Fear of stairs), Coimetrophobia (Fear of cemeteries), Coitophobia (Fear of sexual intercourse), Coulrophobia (fear of clowns), Cyclophobia (Fear of bicycles), Cynophobia (Fear of dogs or rabies), and Cypridophobia (Fear of prostitutes or venereal diseases).
Daemonophobia (Fear of demons), Didaskaleinophobia (Fear of going to school), Diderodromophobia (Fear of trains or railroad travel), Dipsophobia (Fear of drinking), Dishabiliophobia (Fear of undressing infront of someone), Doraphobia (Fear of furs or animal skin), Dystychiphobia (Fear of accidents), Electrophobia (Fear of electricity), Equinophobia (Fear of horses), Epistaxiophobia (Fear of nosebleeds), Gephydrophobia (Fear of crossing bridges), Gerascophobia (Fear of getting old), Gymnophobia (Fear of nudity), Hadephobia (Fear of hell), Hagiophobia (Fear of sacred statues), Heliophobia (Fear of the sun), Hemophobia or hematophobia (Fear of blood), Herpetophobia (Fear of reptiles), Heterophobia (Fear of the opposite sex), Hobophobia (Fear of beggars and bums), Hylophobia (Fear of forrest), and Hypegiaphobia (Fear of responsibilities).
Iatrophobia (Fear of going to the doctor), Ichthyophobia (fear of fish), Illyngophobia (Fear of vertigo or dizziness when looking down), Iophobia (Fear of poison), Ithyphallophobia or Medorthophobia (Fear of seeing, thinking, or having erect penis), Kymophobia (Fear of waves), Kenophobia (Fear of empty spaces), Lachanophobia (Fear of vegetables), Laliophobia (Fear of speaking), Lilapsophobia (Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes), Liticaphobia (fear of lawsuits), Lockiophobia or Maieusiophobia (Fear of childbirth), Lygophobia (Fear of darkness), Melanophobia (Fear of color black), Murophobia (Fear of mice), and Myrmecophobia (Fear of ants).
Necrophobia (Fear of death or dead), Noctiphobia or Nyctophobia (Fear of the night), Novercaphobia (Fear of step mother), Obesophobia (Fear of gaining weight), Ombrophobia (Fear of the rain), Oneirophobia (Fear of dreams), Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), Opthalmophobia (Fear of being stared at), Ostraconophobia (Fear of shellfish), Paraskavedekatriaphobia (Fear of Friday the 13th), Pediophobia (Fear of dolls), Peladophobia (Fear of bald people), Phalacrophobia (Fear of becoming bald), Pharmacophobia (Fear of taking medicines) Phasmophobia (Fear of ghost), Philemaphobia (Fear of kissing), Philophobia (Fear of falling in love), Placophobia (Fear of tombstones), Pogonophobia (Fear of beards), Porphyrophobia (Fear of color violet), and Pyrophobia (Fear of fire).
Ranidaphobia (Fear of frogs), Rhabdophobia (Fear of being beaten by a rod), Rhytiphobia (Fear of getting wrinkles), Rupophobia (fear of dirt), Scatophobia (Fear of fecal matter), Sciaphobia (Fear of shadows), Scoleciphobia (Fear of worms), Seplophobia (Fear of decaying matter), Soceraphobia (Fear of parents-in-law), Staurophobia (Fear of crosses or crucifix), Stenophobia (Fear of narrow places), Taphophobia (Fear of being buried alive), Thalassophobia (Fear of the sea), Teratophobia (Fear of bearing deformed child), Tomophobia (Fear of surgical operations), Trypanophobia (Fear of injections), Triskaidekaphobia (Fear of the number 13), and Thanatophobia (Fear of dying).
Vaccinophobia (Fear of vaccination), Verminophobia (Fear of germs), Vitricophobia (Fear of step-father), Wiccaphobia (Fear of witches), Xanthophobia (Fear of the color yellow), and Xenophobia (Fear of strangers).
The intense fear that has been crippling one’s life is curable regardless of how long one has suffered from it and despite the dreadful life limitations one had endured because of fear.
These medical disorders and abnormal anxieties are treatable according to Jan Heering, the founder and President of Amsterdam’s Morpheus Institute and psychological trainer who had conducted extensive research on phobia treatment
Harmful effects of such phobias could ruin not only people’s career but his life as well. Throwing up, fainting spells, panic attacks, and excessive perspiring are common physical effects of phobias. If left untreated, a phobia may worsen to the point in which the person’s life is at a standstill.
Both cognitive therapy and exposure therapy combined with relaxation training have been found to be effective in treating phobias. Overcoming phobias through constant discussion about their fears, refraining from avoiding stress-causing situations, visualization, and positive attacks to the source of fears are recommended prognosis in achieving significant case improvements.
For comments and suggestions, please email to: [email protected] or [email protected]
