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There are over 500 named phobias that you can find listed on the Internet, and probably even more than 500 websites devoted to the subject! Keeping up with the ever-growing list of phobias can seem to be a Herculean task. This article focuses on those specific to social relationships. 
Sociophobia
Social Phobia is the fear of society or people in general, and is one of the most common phobias. The social anxiety that is experienced affects not only relationships with others, but exaggerates the fear of public failure. Those that suffer from this condition are painfully self-conscious in public, thinking that others are looking at them, judging them, laughing at them. This is rarely the case, but the person who is afflicted is convinced that it is true. Common examples are:
- Fear of society or people in general: Anthropophobia; Sociophobia
- Fear of crowds: Agoraphobia; Demophobia; Enochlophobia; Ochlophobia
- Fear of old people or of growing old: Gerontophobia
- Fear of men: Androphobia; Arrhenphobia; Hominophobia
- Fear of women and beautiful women: Gynephobia; Gynophobia; Caligynephobia; Venustraphobia
- Fear of the opposite sex: Heterophobia; Sexophobia
- Fear of children: Pedophobia
- Fear of being alone or of oneself: Autophobia; Eremophobia; Isolophobia; Monophobia
- Fear of staying single: Anuptaphobia
- Fear of being forgotton or ignored or forgetting: Athazagoraphobia
- Fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations: Social Phobia
- Fear of dependence on others: Soteriophobia
- Fear of marriage: Gamophobia
- Fear of being touched: Aphenphosmphobia; Chiraptophobia; Haphephobia; Haptephobia
- Fear of undressing in front of someone: Dishabiliophobia
- Fear of sexual love or sexual questions: Erotophobia
- Fear of sex: Genophobia
- Fear of feeling pleasure: Hedonophobia
- Fear of sameness, monotony or of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual: Homophobia
- Fear of sexual perversion: Paraphobia
When Failure Appears Imminent
The well-known singer, Barbra Streisand, has suffered for more than 25 years with social phobia, brought on in 1967 when she was performing at a concert in Central Park. She forgot the lyrics to several of her songs, which caused her great embarrassment and resulted in her avoiding public performances for years. Similar phobias include:
- Fear of being ridiculed: Catagelophobia; Katagelophobia
- Fear of opinions: Allodoxaphobia
- Fear of ugliness: Cacophobia
- Fear of being stared at: Ophthalmophobia
- Fear of being laughed at: Gelotophobia
- Fear of failure: Atychiphobia
- Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise: Doxophobia
- Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism: Enosiophobia or Enissophobia
- Fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak: Glossophobia
Fear of relatives
Step parents or in-laws can give considerable anxiety to many, especially if the relationship results from, or is accompanied by, a traumatic experience, such as the loss of a parent:
- Fear of your step-mother: Novercaphobia
- Fear of mother-in-law: Pentheraphobia; Novercaphobia
- Fear of parents-in-law: Soceraphobia-.
- Fear of relatives: Syngenesophobia-.
- Fear of step-father: Vitricophobia-.
Fear others will harm you
A healthy fear of those that might harm you is normal, and a good form of protection. When the fears become irrational or extreme they cross over into phobias:
- Fear of bad men, burglars: Scelerophibia
- Fear of sexual abuse: Agraphobia; Contreltophobia
- Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman: Bogyphobia
- Fear of being robbed: Harpaxophobia
Getting treatment for social anxiety
People suffering with social anxiety are frequently misdiagnosed, and tend to be labeled as "schizophrenic", "manic-depressive", "clinically depressed", "panic disordered", and "personality disordered". However, with accurate determination of their condition by a qualified physician those with social phobias can experience effective and long-lasting treatment through cognitive-behavioral therapy.
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