Photo Credit: LiveScience

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, phobias affect about 10% of adults. However a recent survey (1) in the UK informs us that there may be as many as two in three adults suffering from Nomophobia (the fear of being without a cell phone).

Here are 12 other phobias that may stir fear in our hearts:

1. Cynophobia:

   The fear of dogs.

   Although this phobia is often associated with specific personal experiences, such as being bitten by a dog during childhood, one can also fear dogs by virtue of knowing that there are 14,000 dog attacks a day with the majority of them involving children and almost all of them by a loving family pet.

2. Ophidiophobia:

   The fear of snakes.

   Often attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural influences. I have a gallery of women who have overcome their fear of snakes here.
   

3. Pteromerhanophobia:

   The fear of flying.

   This fear has become more widespread as more and more Muslims travel by air into western countries. If, in addition to fear of flying, you also have fear of blowing up in the air, one airline has made their planes terror-proof.

4. Acrophobia:

   The fear of heights.

   This fear can lead to anxiety attacks and avoidance of high places, and especially since 9/11, fear of being in tall buildings.

5. Arachnophobia:

   The fear of spiders.
   
   This phobia tends to affect women more than men. However, since more women are harmed by Muslim men than by spiders, women should be more afraid of being married to Muslim men.

6. Agoraphobia:

   The fear of situations in which escape is difficult. For example, crowded areas, elevators, bridges, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic attack. Many thus afflicted cease leaving their home. Muslim women in third world countries may not develop this disorder since they aren't allowed to leave their homes alone anyway.

7. Mysophobia:

   The fear of germs or dirt. Muslims generally do not develop this fear - in fact many like germs and dirt and are quite content to live in squalor and filth. Which reminds me of a joke from my article Gross Muslim Jokes:
   

   A cop in London stops a Muslim leading a cow down the street. He asks "What are you doing with a cow in the middle of town?"

   The Muslim says, "I am taking it home to keep it in my house."

   The copper asks, "What about all the flies, the shit and the stink?"

   The Muslim thinks a moment and replies, "The cow will just have to get used to it."

8. Nyctophobia:

   The fear of night or darkness. Again, not a problem for Muslims: Islam has kept Muslims in the dark for 1400 years.

9. Toxiphobia:

   The fear of being poisoned. The mathematician Georg Cantor, the inventor of set theory, had this particular illness.
   

10. Astraphobia:

    The fear of thunder and lightening.

11. Claustrophobia:

    Fear of being trapped in small confined spaces. It is estimated the anywhere from 5-7% of the world population is affected by severe claustrophobia. Muslims who have lived in small tents in the desert all their lives rarely develop this disorder.

12. Islamophobia:

    The fear of Islam. While many phobias involve an irrational fear of something that actually poses little to no actual danger, those with Islamophobia have every reason in the world to fear Islam. Comparable to Naziphobia, KKK-phobia, or fear of any entity that is really out to destroy you.