We are all subject to various fears and phobias, making a list of the most common phobias in America an easy one to compile, and one that everyone should be able to relate to. While many of us may be ashamed of some of our fears, the fact is we all share many of the same common phobias, to the point that they could be even be considered natural human reactions to certain situations.
On the other hand, the ones we aren’t afraid of can naturally seem kind of silly to us, since those things come across as completely tame or harmless in our minds. In some cases, those fears and phobias develop because of life experiences, why can explain why some people have some of the lesser common fears that others don’t.
However, even when not speaking of the most common phobias in America, it’s sometimes simply the case that the person was essentially born with that fear, and nothing that happened in their life was going to change that. To know more about such phobias and how they can develop, check out What Is a Phobia? See The 10 Most Feared.
Now, let’s begin our own list of the 15 most common phobias in America.
15. Fear of Wolves
The fear of wolves, also known as Luposlipaphobia is quite a common phobia, though it will seem rather strange to those who don’t live anywhere near wolves, and naturally have no fear of them as a result. Nonetheless, fear of wolves makes it to our list and involves being scared of the thought of being relentlessly chased by timber wolves.
14. Fear of a Specific Place
In addition to this, some people also tend to suffer from agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in any open space.
13. Fear of Losing Phone Connectivity
This is a very common phobia among the people nowadays and this fear of losing one’s phone connectivity while traveling to some remote location is known as nomophobia.
12. Fear of Water
Aquaphobia or fear of water is a very common phobia, especially among people who cannot swim. The fear of drowning could become a person’s worst nightmare.
11. Fear of Clowns
Coulrophobia is the scientific term for the fear of clowns, a fear that famously afflicted legendary Seinfeld character Cosmo Kramer. This is very common among children and even seen in adults as well.
10. Fear of Snakes
Ophidophobia is known as the fear of snakes and this is by far one of the most common phobias in America, as well as other parts of the world. They’re just so darn creepy with their limbless, slithering bodies, and forked tongues…*shiver*
9. Fear of Spiders
The fear of spiders or arachnophobia is more common in women than in men, by four times to be precise, and is commonly played up as a sign of women’s frailty as a result.
8. Fear of No Escape
Often, people mistake the fear of leaving the house for Agoraphobia, which is the fear of no escape. Agoraphobia is when people are scared of being trapped in shopping malls, bridges, concerts, elevators and so on.
7. Fear of Social Situations and People
This social phobia usually starts around the teen years, when people are afraid to speak in public, or a social gathering or among crowds, though young children can be extremely shy as well.
6. Fear of Heights
The fear of heights or in other words acrophobia is very common. These people are afraid of heights even if it is a few stories above the ground level, and may imagine the helplessness of them falling from those heights.
5. Fear of the Dark
Nyctophobia is known as the fear of the dark. Extremely common in children which lands it at number five on our list.
4. Fear of Thunder and Lightning
Severe weather conditions such as storms and hurricanes generate a weather phobia or a fear of thunder and lightning among many.
3. Fear of Flying
Aviophobia or the fear of flying, may be co-morbid, which is having more than one phobia in the same person, with acrophobia and claustrophobia the fear of closed-in spaces.
2. Fear of Dogs
Cynophobia is known as the fear of dogs. It deals with the thought of getting chased by dogs or dog bites which results in an uncontrollable fear of the otherwise beloved animals.
1. Fear of Closed Spaces
Claustrophobia or the fear of being closed in is an anxiety disorder in which a person has an irrational fear of having no escape. It frequently results in a panic attack and is raised by certain situations such as being in a small room without any windows, a crowded elevator, or being in an airplane. This is the most common of the most common phobias In America, and numero uno on our list.
