Understanding Fear: What Are Phobias and How Common Are They?

Phobia – From the Greek: φόβος, Phóbos, meaning “fear” or “morbid fear”
Phobias: a persistent (and often irrational) fear of an object or situation.
Greek physician Hippocrates (470-410 B.C.E.) first described phobias
500 years after Hippocrates, Roman doctor, Celsus used the word hydrophobia for a patient who feared water.

NOW:

400: number of phobias recognized by the medical profession.

Top 10 Phobias

Percent of US Population

1. Fear of public speaking – Glossophobia 74…