A fear of sexual intercourse can affect relationships, physical closeness, communication and decisions about intimacy. It may lead to avoiding consensual sexual situations, withdrawing from relationships, seeking reassurance or feeling unable to make intimacy choices based on what you actually want.

Possible triggers

Anticipating intercourse, discussing it with a partner or entering an intimate situation where it might be expected.

Name origin

From Latin coitus (coming together) and -phobia.

Also known as

Genophobia, Cypriophobia

A fear of sexually transmitted infection can affect everyday situations involving infection from sex, sexual health, STD and STI. It may lead to avoiding intimacy or difficult conversations, pulling back from relationships, seeking reassurance, or making choices primarily to prevent the feared emotional or physical situation.

Possible triggers

Discussing sexual health, waiting for a sexual-health test result or reading about sexually transmitted infections.

Name origin

From Latin Venus (love) and -phobia.

Also known as

Cypriphobia

A fear of sexual topics can affect everyday situations involving intimate conversation, talking about sex, sexual discussion and sexual imagery. It may lead to avoiding intimacy or difficult conversations, pulling back from relationships, seeking reassurance, or making choices primarily to prevent the feared emotional or physical situation.

Possible triggers

Hearing a sexual topic discussed, encountering sexual imagery or anticipating an intimate conversation.

Name origin

From Greek eros (love or desire) and -phobia.

A fear of shadows can affect everyday situations involving shadow on wall, moving shadow, dark silhouette and shadows. It may lead to delaying bedtime, staying alert when tired, changing sleep routines, needing reassurance, or avoiding situations associated with sleep or night-time.

Possible triggers

Seeing a moving shadow, noticing a silhouette on a wall or entering a dimly lit space with strong shadows.

Name origin

From Greek skia (shadow) and -phobia.

A fear of sharks can affect everyday situations involving deep sea predator, shark attack, shark fin and ocean shark. It may lead to scanning surroundings, avoiding places where the animal might appear, asking other people to check or deal with it, or leaving suddenly when one is seen.

Possible triggers

Watching shark footage, visiting an aquarium with sharks or anticipating swimming where you imagine sharks might be present.

Name origin

From Greek galeos (shark) and -phobia.

Also known as

Selachophobia

A fear of sharp objects can affect everyday situations involving sharp edge, pointy object, knife and blade. It may lead to avoiding touching, using or being near the object, asking others to deal with it, changing routines, or checking surroundings for the trigger.

Possible triggers

Examples include being near a knife during food preparation, using scissors or seeing pins and other pointed objects on a work surface.

Name origin

From Greek aichme (point) and -phobia.

Also known as

Belonephobia

A fear of shellfish can affect everyday situations involving crab, lobster, prawn and seafood. It may lead to scanning surroundings, avoiding places where the animal might appear, asking other people to check or deal with it, or leaving suddenly when one is seen.

Possible triggers

Seeing shellfish at a fish counter, being served a shellfish dish or encountering shells with animals inside.

Name origin

From Greek ostrakon (shell) and -phobia.

A fear of sin or wrongdoing can affect everyday decisions, relationships, religious practice and situations involving moral uncertainty. It may lead to repeated checking, reassurance-seeking, confession, avoidance or difficulty moving on from ordinary mistakes because they feel unusually significant.

Possible triggers

Making a moral decision, recalling something you regard as wrong or hearing a discussion of sin.

Name origin

From Greek hamartia (error or sin) and -phobia.

Also known as

Enosiophobia, Peccatiphobia

A fear of sitting down can affect everyday situations involving being seated, sitting still, chair and sitting. It may lead to restricting movement, avoiding activities or positions, monitoring bodily sensations, or changing routines to prevent the feared motion or lack of motion.

Possible triggers

Being offered a seat, preparing to sit through an appointment or lowering yourself into a chair.

Name origin

From Greek kathizo (to sit) and -phobia.

Also known as

Thaasophobia, Cathisophobia

A fear of skin disease can affect everyday situations involving visible skin change, skin condition, skin disorder and rash. It may lead to monitoring symptoms, checking the body, searching for reassurance, repeatedly seeking medical certainty, or avoiding reminders of illness.

Possible triggers

Reading about skin disease, noticing a skin change or anticipating an appointment about a skin concern.

Name origin

From pellagra (a skin disease) and -phobia.