Phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion of something. There are hundreds of phobias, many of which have a designated name and most of which have a personal story behind them. These things can range from just a fear that is merely disliked to a phobia in which may cause someone to completely avoid a situation.
Alli Fields is a UVU student that deals with a slightly different case of arachnophobia. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders, but for Fields, her fear does not simply come from the spiders themselves but from their speed.
“I once read that some spiders could crawl across a football field in a very short amount of time,” Fields said. “Ever since then the way spiders move has freaked me out.”
Claustrophobia is another common fear.
Claustrophobia is the fear of small spaces. Student Kiahna Campell admits that she suffers from claustrophobia.
Campell shared the interesting story behind her fear of small spaces, saying, “One time in seventh grade I got locked in a locker for a very long time. It was a terrifying experience and ever since then I’ve hated small spaces.”
Another common fear, especially among those that live by the coast, is galeophobia. Galeophobia is the fear of sharks. Alex Merino lived in California and loved going swimming in the ocean every chance he got, but after watching a shark documentary he became a little weary of swimming because of the chance of being bitten by a shark.
“I didn’t let it stop me,” Merino said. “I still love swimming, but I’m always a little weary.”
Merino then shared a story from when he was little when he thought a shark had bitten him.
“I was just a little kid and I was swimming in the ocean when I felt a sharp pain on my ankle,” Merino said. “I ran out of the water only to find a crab pinching me.”
