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When it comes to phobias, the struggle is all too real. Whether you're an arachnophobe (eek, spiders!) or an acrophobe (ahh, heights!), phobias can be inconvenient at best and debilitating at worst.

But what is a phobia exactly? Defined as an 'overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal' by the NHS, phobias are serious business and far more intense than your standard fears.

While you'll be familiar with some phobias - claustrophobia (the fear of being in small or enclosed spaces), for example - you might not be as well versed in some of the lesser-known ones. Catoptrophobia (the fear of mirrors), phobophobia (the fear of phobias) and ombrophobia (the fear of rain) are all legitimate phobias that can cause great distress.

Even celebrities are far from immune to phobias. Join us as we dive head-first into the many phobias of your favourite stars. Celebs: they're just like us, after all.

Scared of: fish

"I’m super-scared of sea creatures," RiRi told Blender Magazine back in 2007. "Even tiny fish. One time I was in the water - and the water in Barbados is so clear you can see your feet - I saw all these tiny fish swimming around my feet, and I had a panic attack. I just froze. This man had to lift me out of the water.”

Fast forward eight years and Bad Gal took to shark-infested waters (three sand tiger sharks, to be precise) for a shoot with US Harper's Bazaar. Quite what her stance on fish was at that point is TBC but whether you suffer from a fear of sharks (AKA galeophobia) or not, swimming with them is pretty boss.

Scared of: spiders

Kanye West is ultra confident on stage. For example, headlining Glastonbury in 2015, he shouted: "You are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet."

But behind closed doors, the rumour goes that Yeezy is a massive arachnophobe, and even gets Kim Kardashian to deal with any scuttling eight-legged critters that might darken their door. While such reports are unsubstantiated by Kanye himself, if they are true, then we fully sympathise with his fears.

Scared of: spiders and being buried alive

Answering some quick-fire questions for MTV, everyone's favourite rule-maker Dua Lipa revealed that she had two prominent fears: "I hate spiders and I hate the idea of being buried alive."

Not familiar with the latter? Sharing some similarities with claustrophobia, taphophobia (the fear of being buried alive) is rooted in the fear of enclosed spaces and being trapped and, although seemingly unlikely, is a pretty common fear.

Scared of: pigeons

A phobia of pigeons can be a real day-to-day hindrance because, let's face it, they're everywhere. One star not so keen on the winged creatures is Niall Horan...

"I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows," he told The Sun in 2012. "I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window and went for me while I was having a wee. That was enough. I think pigeons target me."

Luckily for Niall, his former 1D bandmate - a certain Mr Styles - was on hand to keep the feathered fiends at bay: "Niall's really scared of pigeons. We have to protect him."

Scared of: cling film and whispering

Cling film, plastic wrap, food wrap; whatever you call it, scared of it.

"My phobias are cling film and whispering. Cling film, I'm not into touching at all. I don't like it. I can't consume food that clingfilm has covered. It's weird. Foil anytime! Also I hate whispering. I don't like it when I can hear people's mouths moving as well."

A quick internet search shows that Grimmy isn't alone in having these specific fears (there's a forum dedicated to cling film phobics) but they don't have an official title, a la arachnophobia, just yet.

Scared of: sharks and the ocean

Much like RiRi, Camila Cabello is not a fan of the sea or the creatures that inhabit it. Speaking to Buzzfeed earlier this month, the singer revealed that her phobia came to the, erm, surface on a recent family holiday...

"I really have to get over my fear of sharks and the ocean. If I'm in the ocean and my feet can't touch the sand I won't do it, I freak out. I went to Cancún this year with my family, and we went scuba diving, and I literally was having an anxiety attack while scuba diving. I was like, 'It's right behind me! I know it, it's right behind me!' It was not, I'm still here, but it was horrible. I peed a little bit in the ocean, and I was like, 'The shark can trace my pee, I know he's coming!'"

If you, like Camila, are interested in getting over your phobia then click below to read our advice pages and find out what steps you can take to banish or manage it.

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