Many of us suffer from — irrational persistent terrors, ranging from the common arachnophobia (fear of spiders) to phobophobia (a fear of phobias) themselves.

These rarely affect the daily lives of most sufferers. But at its most extreme a phobia can cause crippling anxiety, preventing people from seeking medical help or stopping them ever leaving their home.

Phobia experts Eva and Nik Speakman enlighten us about the most common phobias in the world and advice on how you can fight your fears for good.

GLOSSOPHOBIA

The most common phobia is the fear of public speaking. Nik says: “People’s phobias can be caused by an incident in childhood. “Reading something out in the classroom and being laughed at by your peers can develop into a phobia of public speaking.”

ACROPHOBIA

Eva suffered from this fear of heights 10 years ago, but was treated by Nik. She says: “This is another very common phobia that can often lead into other phobias including fear of flying or fear of fairground rides.”

EMETOPHOBIA

Believe it or not, there is a phobia for people who throw up. Many go to great lengths to avoid people who are ill. Eva says: “The fear of vomit is common and its repercussions can be immense. Sufferers will avoid doctors, hospitals, certain foods, restaurants and pubs in case anyone around them is ill. “A lot of them become housebound because they worry about germs. Or they won’t have children because they fear having attacks of morning sickness.”

AGORAPHOBIA

The fear of open spaces can be a crippling phobia because it stops people leaving their home. Eva says: “This is people protecting themselves from the outside world because of something that happened to them.”

CLAUSTROPHOBIA

This fear of confined spaces is often born out of personal experience such as being trapped somewhere as a child.

MEDICAL PHOBIAS

Nik says: “People can be terrified of hospitals, injections or GP surgeries. The danger is this can sometimes stop them seeking help when they need it.”

ARACHNOPHOBIA

Eva says: “Spiders are a big one around this time of year because they come in from the cold. People feel invaded. Similarly over the summer, there is a spike in phobias of bees and wasps, while the fear of flying is heightened when people go on holiday.”

— Daily Mirror