Study Reveals the Top 10 Phobias in New Jersey
There are more fears and phobias than I thought. When I set out to learn more about the top 10 phobias in New Jersey, a quick Google search revealed that there are over “500 listed phobias.”
How Many of Us Have a Phobia?
Around 19 million Americans have a specific phobia, with many having more than one. With such a significant amount of people having a phobia, EmpireStakes.com set out to find out which fears people are turning to Google for help the most.
They analyzed Google searches around all things phobias, to reveal what were the most searched over the past year.
I was more interested in the New Jersey data. As I walk around and pass strangers on the street each day, I wonder, “Hmmm, what are they afraid of?”
Based on what I’ve learned about phobias, I think that I can honestly say that I don’t have any. I originally thought that I must be afraid of something. There must be some kind of phobia I have. I asked my wife, Kathleen, “Do I have any phobias?” She thought about it and said she didn’t think so. She has a fear of heights, snakes, and mice. But, are they considered phobias?
I wondered to what extent one would need to react to consider it a phobia. She’s not afraid to be on one of the upper floors of a tall building, so is it truly a phobia?
Harvard says, “A phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity or situation. It is a type of anxiety disorder. A person with a phobia either tries to avoid the thing that triggers the fear or endures it with great anxiety and distress.”
Top 10 Phobias in New Jersey
Rank | Name of fear | Yearly Searches in New Jersey |
1 | Fear of small holes | 145,200 |
2 | Fear of deep water | 43,200 |
3 | Fear of vomiting | 34,800 |
4 | Fear of confined spaces | 28,800 |
5 | Fear of heights | 12,700 |
6 | Fear of spiders | 12,250 |
7 | Fear of large objects | 12,000 |
8 | Fear of germs | 8,640 |
9 | Fear of being stared at | 7,080 |
10 | Fear of dogs | 3,840 |
To find the Top 10 Phobias in New Jersey of most searched-for phobias, they pulled a list of the 50 most common across America. Then they used Keywordtool.io which showed how often each fear was Googled over the past year.