A fear of failure can affect everyday situations involving getting it wrong, making mistakes, failing and failure. It may lead to putting things off, over-preparing, repeatedly checking, seeking reassurance, or turning down opportunities that feel too exposing.

Possible triggers

Starting a task with an uncertain outcome, entering a competition or submitting work for assessment.

Name origin

From Greek atychia (misfortune or failure) and -phobia.

Also known as

Kakorrhaphiophobia

Flooding is the focus, rather than water in every setting.

Possible triggers

Receiving a flood warning, seeing water levels rise or watching flood footage.

Name origin

Combines antlo- (flood) with -phobia (fear).

A fear of flour can affect everyday situations involving baking flour, handling flour, white powder and flour dust. It may lead to restricting foods, checking ingredients or preparation, avoiding meals, shops or restaurants, or relying heavily on familiar choices.

Possible triggers

Opening a bag of flour, seeing flour on a worktop or taking part in baking.

Name origin

From Greek aleuron (flour) and -phobia.

A fear of flowers can affect everyday situations involving garden flowers, floral smell, bouquet and pollen. It may lead to avoidance, checking, reassurance-seeking or changing everyday routines so that contact with the trigger feels less likely.

Possible triggers

Receiving a bouquet, entering a florist's shop or sitting beside a flowering plant.

Name origin

From Greek anthos (flower) and -phobia.

A fear of flutes can affect everyday situations involving high pitched instrument, flute sound, wind instrument and flute. It may lead to scanning for the sensation or visual cue, avoiding particular environments or objects, leaving situations early, or arranging surroundings to prevent encountering it.

Possible triggers

Hearing flute music, seeing someone prepare to play a flute or encountering a flute performance.

Name origin

From Greek aulos (flute) and -phobia.

A fear of flying can affect holidays, work travel, visiting family and any journey that would normally involve an aeroplane. It may lead to avoiding flights, choosing much longer routes, worrying well in advance or cancelling trips because of take-off, turbulence or being in the air.

Possible triggers

Examples include the aircraft taking off or landing, feeling turbulence during a flight or seeing news coverage of an aircraft accident.

Name origin

From Greek aer (air) and -phobia.

Also known as

Aviophobia

A fear of garlic can affect everyday situations involving cooking garlic, garlic smell, raw garlic and garlic breath. It may lead to restricting foods, checking ingredients or preparation, avoiding meals, shops or restaurants, or relying heavily on familiar choices.

Possible triggers

Smelling garlic during cooking, seeing garlic on a menu or being served food containing it.

Name origin

From Latin allium (garlic) and -phobia.

Gold itself is the focus, rather than metals in general.

Possible triggers

Handling gold jewellery, seeing a gold display or being offered a gold item.

Name origin

Combines Latin aurum (gold) with Greek-derived -phobia (fear).

A fear of heights can affect balconies, stairs, bridges, ladders, flights, viewing platforms or routes with steep drops. Physical sensations such as dizziness, unsteadiness or a strong urge to move away can make even protected places feel unsafe.

Possible triggers

Examples include looking down from a balcony, climbing a ladder, crossing a high bridge or using an upper floor of a multi-storey car park.

Name origin

From Greek akron (peak or summit) and -phobia.

A fear of human-like figures can affect shops, museums, theme parks and displays containing mannequins, wax figures, robots or animatronics. It may lead to avoiding particular venues, keeping distance from figures or leaving when something looks or moves too much like a person.

Possible triggers

Walking past shop mannequins, visiting a wax museum or encountering a lifelike mechanical figure.

Name origin

From Greek automatos (self-moving) and -phobia.