Exactly What Are You Afraid Of?

We all have fears. But do we all have phobias?

The main difference between a “regular” fear and a phobia is the degree. For instance, someone with a “regular” fear of dogs will get nervous if their neighbor's German Shepherd or Husky barks at them. In contrast, a person with cynophobia won't take their children to the park because there might be a dog there.

Counseling and/or "exposure therapy" can go a long way in helping someone manage their fears.

Here are just some of the interesting and sometimes-odd phobias I've heard of. Some of them have more than one name, but I'm giving the name I've heard most often. I know this list is rather long, but I hope it will prove to be interesting.

Acrophobia-fear of heights (guilty!)

Agoraphobia-Fear of open spaces or being stuck in crowded outdoor places like markets or fairs

Ailurophobia-fear of cats, also called elurophobia, felinophobia, galeophobia and gatophobia.

I found it interesting that there are many more words for the fear of cats than for the fear of dogs. I would think more people would be afraid of dogs than cats because of the sheer difference in size, but that's just me.

Algophobia-fear of pain

Androphobia-fear of men

Anthropophobia-fear of society or people in general

Arachnophobia-fear of spiders (again, guilty!)

Astraphobia or Astrapophobia-fear of thunder and lightning

Astrophobia-fear of stars or celestial bodies in general

Autophobia-fear of being alone

Aviophobia or Aviatophobia-fear of flying

Bacteriophobia-fear of bacteria.

Barophobia-fear of gravity

Bathmophobia-fear of stairs or steep slopes

Batrachophobia-fear of amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders etc)

Belonephobia-fear of pins and needles.

Carcinophobia-fear of cancer

Carnophobia-fear of meat

Chiraptophobia-fear of being touched

Cibophobia-fear of food

Claustrophobia-fear of closed-in spaces

Clesiophobia/cliethrophobia-fear of being trapped in an enclosed area, such as being buried or trapped inside your car

Climactophobia-fear of stairs, both climbing and falling down

Coulrophobia-fear of clowns

Cynophobia-fear of dogs. Depending on what you read, it's also the fear of rabies. I've had rabies shots, so this is a quite valid fear!

Demophobia-fear of crowds (a type of agoraphobia, also called enochlophobia)

Dendrophobia-fear of trees

Domatophobia-fear of houses in general

Dromophobia-fear of crossing the street

Dysmorphophobia-fear of deformity or abnormal appearance in general

Entomophobia-fear of insects

Enissophobia/enosiophobia-fear of criticism or having committed some sort of mortal sin or unforgivable offense

Eosophobia-fear of sunlight or sunrises

Ephebiphobia-fear of teenagers

Equinophobia-fear of horses

Francophobia-fear of France or French culture.

Frigiophobia-fear of cold or cold things

Gephyrophobia-fear of crossing bridges.

Glossophobia-fear of public speaking

Gerontophobia-Fear of growing old or of old people.

Hemophobia-fear of blood

Herpetophobia-fear of reptiles or other "creepy-crawlies". 

Heterophobia-fear of the opposite sex in general

Hopolophobia-fear of guns

Hylophobia-fear of forests

Hypochondria-fear of illness in general

Iatrophobia-fear of doctors

Ichtyophobia-fear of fish

Insectophobia-fear of insects

Iophobia-fear of poisons

Mysophobia-fear of germs

Nosophobia-fear of having a specific disease. For instance, sometimes a medical or nursing student might study a disease and somehow become convinced that they have it. A person may also opt for unnecessary medical procedures (i.e. removal of uterus or breasts) if they're convinced that they'll get a genetic disease, even if they haven't shown any symptoms in the past.

Nyctophobia-fear of the dark

Ophidiophobia-fear of snakes

Orinthophobia-fear of birds

Paraskavedekatriaphobia-fear of Friday the 13th

Stenophobia-fear of narrow spaces or things

Siderophobia-fear of stars

Thanatophobia-fear of death

Triskaidekaphobia-fear of the number 13

Trypanophobia-fear of needles

Xenophobia-Fear of strangers or foreigners

Xenoglossophobia-fear of foreign languages

Zeusophobia-fear of God or deities in general

For more phobias, visit http://phobialist.com. If nothing else, you'll find it interesting.

Is It Just Anxiety? Or Should I Be More Worried?

Is it just anxiety, or should I be more worried?

I'm sure we can all think of times when our anxiety has gotten the best of us. But when does anxiety stop being something everyone experiences and starts becoming a problem that needs professional help? Here are a few signs that you many need some extra help dealing with your anxiety.

• Are you using alcohol or drugs to calm yourself down? It might not be a problem to have a glass of wine every now and then, but turning to a harmful or potentially-harmful substance can create a dependency problem that will create a lot more stress than it relieves. The same goes for smoking and overeating.
• Does your anxiety get in the way of your normal daily activities? For instance, does it cause problems at work? I have had it where my anxiety caused me to make mistakes at work and alienate my co-workers. Does it keep you from doing the things you want to do? Do you find yourself excessively irritable, or otherwise having problems getting along with people that you didn't have before?
• Are you completely unable to control your anxiety?
• Is your anxiety disproportionate to the situation? For instance, do you immediately start worrying that your husband has gotten into a terrible car wreck every time he's late coming home from work? Are you worrying more about something that others would see as 'no big deal', or when you don't have a real reason to worry? Are you unable to 'shake' your concerns, even after they've been proven to be invalid?
• Have you basically tried everything you can think of to help get rid of your anxiety (yoga, exercise, etc), but nothing helps?
• Are your sleeping or eating patterns disrupted? Do you have problems with restlessness or concentration?
• Is your anxiety caused by any particular event, or has it been going for several months with no real discernible cause?

If you think you may have a problem with anxiety or anything else in your life, you owe it to yourself to at least have it looked into. It's perfectly normal to have anxiety or worry about difficult situations in your life. For instance, if you lose a job or have a death in the family, it's normal to spend some time grieving or worrying. In fact, I would say it is expected! However, if the worrying gets in the way of your daily life or starts causing problems in your relationships, it's time to talk to your doctor. Even if you haven't been diagnosed with a specific medical condition such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), depression or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, (OCD) you could still benefit from seeing a therapist. A therapist can teach you techniques to help you deal with things in your life in a more productive way. Sometimes medication helps, but only your doctor can tell you which course of treatment is best for you. Either way, it's worth the effort to get your life back.

Is It Normal Worry, Or Could It Be OCD?

When you hear the term 'OCD', what do you think of? For some, it's taken as a joke because the media tends to make fun of it. If you've ever seen the cable series Monk, you've seen how Tony Shalhoub's character is a total clean freak who carries anti-bacterial wipes with him everywhere he goes. Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets carries his own silverware with him anytime he goes out to eat and has several jars of M&Ms separated by color. They go to extremes that are easy to make fun of. For people with the disorder, however, it is no laughing matter. The compulsive behaviors and obsessions we laugh at in the movies can be very disturbing when we have them in real life. We all have worries, but how can we tell if they are actually due to OCD?

OCD stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It is an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive and uncontrollable thoughts, as well as behaviors that come from these thoughts. For instance, Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub's character) carries around anti-bacterial wipes and hand sanitizer because he is deathly afraid of the germs most of us come across without thinking. This is an example of an obsession. A person with OCD may have 'rituals' they feel led to perform, such as checking the locks on their doors a particular number of times a day or constant hand washing. These are examples of compulsions.

A more complete definition of 'obsessions' is uncontrollable thoughts that are extremely distressing and may interfere with daily activities. They usually come out of the clear blue sky-for example, looking at your husband and thinking of the Holocaust, thinking you have a deadly disease or imagining yourself harming one of your pets. As you can imagine, these thoughts can be very unsettling and difficult to get rid of. They are things you would never do or think of normally but, due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, are not 'filtered out' they way they normally would be.

Compulsions, on the other hand, are behaviors that are done repeatedly in response to anxiety. What's interesting is that the behavior doesn't always have anything to do with the anxiety itself. For instance, it's not very likely that having your M&Ms color-coded is going to stop your husband from getting into a car wreck. Even if the person knows this, however, it doesn't stop the compulsion. They literally cannot control themselves, which can cause major problems in things such as work and relationships.

The good news is that OCD is very treatable. Since the disorder is considered a 'spectrum', the symptoms and behaviors vary in severity from person to person. The anxiety experienced can be traced back to an imbalance of serotonin levels in the brain. Because of this, medicines called Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil have been very effective in helping people with OCD control their thoughts and behaviors. Not everyone is helped by these drugs, however, so some opt for more traditional forms of treatment like psychotherapy or relaxation techniques.

OCD and OCD tendencies can be very disturbing to a person who deals with them. However, with proper diagnosis and treatment, people with OCD can live very productive lives. Only a licensed doctor or therapist can diagnose and treat OCD, so be sure to get checked out if you think you might have it. You deserve to live a healthy and happy life.

Eat yourself happy-foods that can help with depression or anxiety

You've probably heard of 'brain food', but what does that term refer to? Some people think it only refers to foods that can help your thinking process, but it means so much more than that. For some people, there are certain foods that can help us fend off mental issues such as depression and anxiety. I'm not talking about the way some of us (me included!) eat when we're sad or anxious to make ourselves feel better; I'm talking about foods that actually help with the chemical imbalances in our brains that can cause problems like this. If you have experienced depression or anxiety and would like to know what foods can help with it, read on.

Just so you know, this isn't a way to get out of taking medications if your doctor has prescribed them. While every system in your body works better when you are eating well and in good shape, your doctor wouldn't prescribe the medications if s/he didn't think you needed them. That said, these tips can supplement any current regimen you have for your mental health.

Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fatty acids have gotten a lot of attention in recent years, and for good reason. These have multiple health benefits, one of which is helping your brain manufacture and properly absorb serotonin. Since these fats are not created within the body like other nutrients, it's essential to get them in your diet. One of the biggest sources of omega-3 fats is from oily fish such as salmon, shad, mackerel, tuna and sardines, but they can also be found in various kinds of nuts and oils. Canola oil and soybean oil, which you may already have in your cabinets for cooking, are good sources of these fats. Dark green leafy vegetables have them too, so be sure to eat your vegetables!

Selenium. The jury is still out on whether this mineral has a therapeutic effect on depression or anxiety, but studies have shown an association between consistently-bad moods and a lack of selenium intake. The good news is that it is found in foods that are already a part of a healthy diet. Lean meats, seafood, whole grains, legumes, nuts and low-fat dairy products are rich in selenium. You probably already have some of these foods in your refrigerator.

Vitamin D. A large amount of the Vitamin D that we get comes from sunlight, so this could be one reason many of us have lower moods in the winter than we do in the spring and summer. Foods such as fish, eggs and dairy products are also high in Vitamin D, so consuming these foods can help make up for the lack of sunlight we might experience at some times of the year.

Antioxidants. The same 'free radicals' we've heard about being associated with aging can also affect the brain. Vitamins C and E are particularly high in antioxidants, as is beta-carotene. Some foods that are high in these nutrients are fresh fruits, potatoes, broccoli, carrots and spinach. Margarine, vegetable oils and nuts are also high in Vitamin E.

As you can see, there are several foods and food categories that can help the brain develop and absorb the chemicals necessary to fight depression and anxiety. While they won't 'cure' people with more serious problems, they go a long way in ensuring our well-being. Eat up!