Mental and emotional symptoms of lilapsophobia include

- Obsessive thoughts

- Difficulty thinking

- Feeling of unreality or being detached

- Fear of losing control or going crazy

- Anticipatory anxiety

- Terror

- Desire to flee or hide

Physical symptoms of lilapsophobia include

- Dizziness, shaking, palpitations, lightheaded, or faint

- Shortness of breath

- Accelerated heartbeat

- Chest pain or discomfort

- Shaking

- Feeling of choking

- Sweating

- Nausea

- Numbness or tingling sensations

Many lilapsophobes also suffer autophobia, fear of being alone. Sufferers often make arrangements with people they know to help soothe the fear.

Like many phobias, lilapsophobia is caused by an unwanted experience, specifically tornadoes or hurricanes that cause injuries, destruction, or loss of loved ones to self or others they know. People who survive those storms should seek professional advice, especially to determine if a person is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. This phobia can even be caused by learning news about tornadoes or hurricanes using the media, like television, internet, radio, or newspaper, even though they happened far away from homes.

If a person learns that someone in the family has the phobia, then that person is more likely to suffer from it.