Your Frights and Fears: A Quiz About Phobias

Even heroes have their limits. Indiana Jones faced his ophidiophobia, fear of snakes, when he came across thousands of the slithering creatures in the 1981 film “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Jones’ fear -- shared by a quarter of Americans -- began when he fell into a bin full of snakes as a child.

Aviophobia, or fear of flying, is common. Even experienced crew members can get it. In fact, fear of flying is a major cause of airline and Air Force personnel being grounded.

Some people are bothered by bumpy flights or bad weather. They can be scared of having a panic attack or feel anxious in tight spaces. Others are terrified they are going to die in a plane crash.

If you panic at the idea of seeing someone make balloon animals while wearing white makeup and a red wig, you are not alone. Coulrophobia -- an abnormal fear of clowns -- is no laughing matter.

If your child is afraid of the dark or says monsters are hiding under the bed, don’t worry too much. That doesn’t mean he has nyctophobia, an extreme fear of the dark or night. Most children outgrow these normal worries.

A phobia is an intense fear that upsets your life. It causes strong emotional and physical reactions. People with phobias know they are overreacting.

If you had arachibutyrophobia, finding a PBJ in your lunch bag would be a nasty surprise. People with this phobia are afraid of peanut butter sticking to the roof of their mouths. Peanut butter isn’t the only food people are afraid of. Fear of asparagus is also real. It’s called spargarophobia.

Near the end of his life, Howard Hughes was so afraid of germs that he burned his clothes if someone near him got sick, and wore tissue boxes on his feet to protect them. 

Hughes’ mysophobia -- intense fear of germs -- probably began in his childhood, when his mother checked him every day for diseases.

You won’t find anyone with acrophobia on a high roller coaster, a ladder, or a tall building. Acrophobia is a fear of heights.

Sometimes a fear of heights comes from being trapped someplace high without an easy way down. Someone with acrophobia can have a panic attack and be so terrified that he can't move.

If the idea of losing your cell phone makes you panic, some counselors would say you have nomophobia (no-mobile phone phobia).

Although leading medical groups don’t include it in their lists of official phobias, it’s clear that some people are very attached to their phones. One small study found that 73% of students even slept with their phones.

People who have this phobia are afraid of being trapped in a busy place, such as a bank, with no way to get out easily. The fear can be so extreme that some people stay in their homes. Most people who have agoraphobia develop it in their 20s.

Phobias can come from an upsetting event during childhood. A person who fears birds may have been frightened as a child by a bird flying into his home. The causes of phobias aren’t always clear but having phobias seems to run in families.

If you are afraid of getting a phobia, you might have phobophobia. Some other unusual phobias include:

• Amathophobia -- fear of dust
• Peladophobia -- fear of bald people
• Phartophobia -- fear of passing gas in public

The word phobia comes from the Greek word for flight, terror, and strangulation.

Confronting a phobia could make it worse. Therapists recommend that people face their fears slowly, over time.

For example, someone afraid of flying would work up to getting on a flight. First, he might look at a photo of a plane. Then watch a video before going to the airport to see a plane take off. Finally, he might be able to fly. Other phobia treatments focus on changing negative thoughts and behaviors.

Because triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, is so common, many buildings don’t label the 13^thfloor. People who live or stay on the actual 13^thfloor might be less anxious because they believe they are on the 14^thfloor.

In some Asian cultures, the number four is a source of fear. In Mandarin, Japanese, and Cantonese, the word for four sounds like the word for “death.”