A fear of angels can affect everyday situations involving divine beings, religious imagery, angel figure and wings. It may lead to avoiding certain places, images, stories or times of day, checking surroundings, seeking reassurance, or staying away from reminders of the feared idea.

Possible triggers

Seeing an angel statue, encountering angel imagery or hearing a story about angels.

Name origin

From Greek angelos (messenger) and -phobia.

A fear of anger can affect everyday situations involving someone shouting, angry people, argument and aggression. It may lead to suppressing feelings, avoiding situations likely to trigger the emotion, monitoring your reactions, or withdrawing from experiences that would otherwise matter to you.

Possible triggers

Hearing an angry tone, noticing your own anger rising or anticipating a disagreement.

Name origin

From Latin angor (distress) and -phobia.

A fear of angles or sharp corners can affect everyday situations involving sharp corners, triangular shape, pointed corner and angles. 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

Sitting beside an angular table, encountering a sharp-edged object or looking at a pattern of pointed angles.

Name origin

From Greek gonia (angle) and -phobia.

A fear of animal fur or skin can affect everyday situations involving furry animal, animal skin, leather and hide. 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

Being near a furry animal, touching a fur-trimmed item or encountering an animal-skin display.

Name origin

From Greek dora (skin) and -phobia.

A fear of animals can affect everyday situations involving being bitten, wild animals, animal attack and zoo animals. 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

Examples include visiting someone who keeps pets, entering a zoo or watching animals in a nature documentary. The particular animals involved vary from person to person.

Name origin

From Greek zōon (animal) and -phobia.

A fear of ants can affect everyday situations involving ants in house, ant nest, ant colony and ant trail. 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 ants along a kitchen surface, noticing an ant trail outdoors or sitting near an ant nest.

Name origin

From Latin formica (ant) and -phobia.

Also known as

Myrmecophobia

The fear is tied to a particular location or setting that matters to the individual.

Possible triggers

Approaching the particular place associated with the fear, seeing a photograph of it or anticipating a return visit.

Name origin

From Greek topos (place) and phobos (fear).

A fear of a particular specific illness can affect everyday situations involving specific disease, single diagnosis, one illness and particular condition. It may lead to monitoring symptoms, checking the body, searching for reassurance, repeatedly seeking medical certainty, or avoiding reminders of illness.

Possible triggers

Hearing about the particular illness you fear, reading information about it or anticipating a relevant test.

Name origin

From Greek monos (single) and pathos (disease) with -phobia.

This informal name describes fear associated with a stepmother. Family disagreements, personal boundaries or a response to genuinely harmful behaviour should not automatically be labelled a phobia.

Possible triggers

Anticipating a family visit involving a stepmother, receiving a call from her, or being expected to spend time together.

Name origin

Latin noverca means stepmother. It is combined with phobia, from Greek phobos, meaning fear.

A fear of atmospheric or air pressure changes can affect everyday situations involving air pressure, weather pressure, pressure changes and storm pressure.

Possible triggers

Reading a forecast about changing air pressure or anticipating a marked change in atmospheric conditions.

Name origin

From Greek atmos (vapour) and sphaira (sphere), combined with -phobia.