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Phobias are irrational, paralysing fears of some really quite unexpected things:

* Acrophobia - fear of heights

* Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces

* Ailurophobia – fear of cats

* Aibophobia – fear of palindromes (try reading it backwards)

* Algophobia – fear of pain

* Anthophobia – fear of flowers – not to be confused with…

* Anthrophobia – fear of people and human contact

* Arachnophobia – fear of spiders

* Arithmophobia – fear of numbers or arithmetic

* Astraphobia (a.k.a. *  Brontophobia,*  Keraunophobia, or * Tonitrophobia) – fear of thunder and lightning

* Aviophobia - fear of flying

* Bathysiderodromophobia: fear of undergrounds/subways/metros

* Belonephobia – fear of pins, needles etc.

* Chronophobia – fear of time

* Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed spaces (also *Clithrophobia/Cleithrophobia)

* Cnidophobia – fear of stings

* Coulrophobia – fear of clowns

* Cyberphobia – fear of computers and technology

* Cynophobia – fear of dogs

* Demophobia – fear of crowds

* Didaskaleinophobia - fear of going to school

* Disposophobia – fear of losing or disposing of things, often not valuable ones

* Enochlophobia – fear of crowds

* Ergasiophobia – fear of work

* Erythrophobia or Ereuthrophobia - fear of blushing or the colour red

* Euphobia – pretty much the opposite of euphoria: the fear of good news

* Gymnophobia – fear of nudity (either your own or others’)

* Herpetophobia – fear of reptiles such as lizards and snakes

* Hippophobia – fear of horses

* Hodophobia – fear of road travel

* Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - the fear of long words!

* Hydrophobia - fear of water (also rabies, because rabid animals won’t go near water)

* Iatrophobia – fear of doctors

* Nosophobia – fear of catching disease

* Nyctophobia – fear of the night or of darkness ( also * Achluophobia)

* Ophidiophobia – fear of snakes

* Osmophobia or * Olfactophobia - fear of smells, where foul odours can trigger migranes

* Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th (see also * Triskaidekaphobia below)

* Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts (N.B. not phantasmophobia, which would make more sense)

* Pteronophobia – fear of being tickled with feathers

* Spheksophobia – fear of wasps

* Tachophobia – fear of speed

* Taphephobia – fear of being buried alive

* Thalassophobia – fear of the sea

* Triskaidekaphobia - fear of the number 13

* Trypanophobia – fear of injections

If you want a complete list of phobias and their definitions (I got several of the above from there) go to http://phobialist.com/index.html