21 Phobias Every 20-Something Probably Has

1. Anuptaphobia — Fear of staying single. We all have those moments where we think we’ve suffered through enough broken hearts and failed relationships and fear that we’ll end up alone.

2. Atelophobia — The fear of imperfection. This strikes down the best of us. There’s always that inner inkling that who we are and what we do doesn’t equate to perfection.

3. Phonusamittophobia – The great fear that you will lose your phone. This happens at every party I go to, every subway I enter (I am terrified it falls through the little crack between the platform and the train), and even when I’m in bed.

4. Obesophobia/Pocrescophobia – The fear of gaining weight. I guess if you have this you probably have carbophobia or the innate fear of carboyhydrates!

5. Disposophobia — The fear of throwing stuff out. This applies to all hoarders, all memory box keepers and antique collectors. It’s time to throw stuff out or you’ll end up either in an episode of Hoarder or worse yet, buried alive.

6. Kainolophobia — The fear of anything new. This affects the ones who are afraid of change, who cling to their present lives or prefer to live in a rut than to experience the world.

7. Macrophobia – The fear of long waits. This happens every time you make plans with a procrastinator. You end up sitting at the edge of the curb waiting for your ride for 3 hours until you’re eventually macrophobic each time.

8. Intextophobia — The fear that you just sent a text to the wrong person. I guess you can also have Snapchatophobia or Emailerrorophobia —the fear that you’ve snapped and emailed the wrong person.

9. Decidophobia — The fear of making decisions. I can relate to this. Sometimes I freeze up when I have to order a drink from Starbucks and I can’t even decide on a size. Regardless of how big or small the decision, the phobia is real!

10. Nomophobia — The fear of no cell phone service. I always get slightly panicked when I get into the subway because I know that it’s a service-less zone and my nomophobia doesn’t hesitate to act up!

11. Agmenophobia — The fear that the queue you join will be slower than the other one. Every time I am with friends we always split up and join every line. I guess we’re all a little agmenophobic when it comes to joining the shortest line!

12. Ipovlopsychophobia — The fear of having one’s photograph taken. This happens if you’re at a party you shouldn’t be at or if your hair is not at its best but a random photographer shows up at an event and you find yourself darting to and fro to avoid him.

13. Kakorrhaphiophobia — The fear of failure or defeat. Competitive people can relate to this. Whether its exam time or a race for the last bagel, you always harbor that tiny fear that you will be defeated!

14. Gerascophobia — Fear of growing old. When we were 13 we thought that 20 was going to HUGE and now we’re 20 and 25 seems golden but after 30s and 40s and 50s you start freaking out about growing old. It’s the constant fear that the clock is ticking and your life is running away from you.

15. Soceraphobia — Fear of parents-in-law. For all the engaged 20s, this is a logical fear. The fear of your parents-in-law and if they will like/accept you or not is definitely a cause for concern!

16. Deipnophobia — Fear of dining or dinner conversations. If you have the previous phobia then you probably also have deipnophobia, the fear of having a dinner conversation. Whether it’s the parents-in-law dinner or a corporate dinner, this phobia is lurking somewhere.

17. Rhytiphobia — Fear of getting wrinkles. Your body in your 20s is probably the best it’s ever going to be unless you’re like those celebrities who don’t age and pull a Benjamin Button effect where they look younger the older they get. Rhytiphobia becomes a series fear when you first notice the tiniest crinkle in your brow.

18. Katagelophobia — Fear of ridicule. So you’ve decided that you’re going to be brave and give that long lost singing talent of yours a try again but you can’t shake the feeling that people will laugh at or ridicule you. Every time you leave your comfort zone be prepared for a mild case of katagelophobia because not everyone will be supportive.

19. Agateophobia — Fear of insanity. This may sound weird but I’m sure we’ve had those times where we irrationally wonder if we’re going crazy. It happens more than we’d like to admit. I stumbled upon symptoms of Schizophrenia once and for the whole week I “diagnosed” myself until I was certain I was going insane.

20. Thantophobia — The fear of dying. Besides getting old, the fear of dying increases the older we get. Morbidity and morbid thoughts are probably directly proportional to age. Wills, life insurance and even the occasional street crossing is enough to set thantophobia in motion.

21. Phobophobia — The fear of developing a phobia. After this comprehensive, queer list, some people may develop the fear or being struck down by one of these fears so beware!