Do you have a phobia? A phobia is described
as “an extreme or irrational fear or aversion to something”, and
having a phobia about something is by no means uncommon. Together with Acorn
Stairlifts, we take a look at both common phobias and those which are less
heard of.
For example, how many of us are scared of
spiders? In some people the mere sight of a spider can trigger a near
hysterical reaction, screaming and wanting to run away. In the most countries, the
spiders which can actually harm you are extremely rare, that response could
seem irrational and difficult to understand.
Yet this fear of spiders is one of the most
common phobias – arachnophobia. Other relatively common phobias include the
fear of heights (acrophobia), the fear of confined spaces (claustrophobia), the
fear of dogs (cynophobia), the fear of injections (trypanophobia) and the fear of
flying (pteromerhanophobia).
You could argue there’s nothing irrational
about these fears; after all, dogs might bite, aeroplanes might crash and who
would be enthusiastic about having needles stuck into them. It could also be
that some of these fears are pre-programmed into us, part of a primeval
survival instinct that most people simply overcome better than others. In some
cases a phobia might have been brought on by a specific incident or trauma, or
it might just develop gradually over time.
But it is the level of fear associated with
these things that makes them irrational and marks them out as a phobia. It’s one
thing to be wary of a strange dog, quite another to be terrified of all dogs to
the point of inducing severe anxiety and even hysteria.
So it’s likely that many of us will have a
phobia about something, even if only a mild one. However, there are also some
very strange fears out there which are surprisingly common – so much so that
they have been officially classified as a phobia. Here are 10 phobias which,
while you might never understand them, are all too real to those who have them!
the fear of cheese. A surprising number of people are really scared of cheese,
whether it’s the sight of it, the smell, the feel or the taste. For some
turophobes it is just one type of cheese, while for others any cheese could
bring on a cold sweat.
the fear of clowns. Stephen King’s film “It” has a lot to answer for!
The scary clown has been found in popular culture for generations, and for some
people any clown is scary. Some sufferers will not even venture into McDonald’s
in case clown mascot Ronald McDonald raises his painted head.
fear of being without mobile phone coverage. Now here’s a modern phobia that
our ancestors need never have feared. Its name (short for no-mobile-phobia) was
only coined less than a decade ago, but a growing number of sufferers exhibit
an extreme fear of losing signal, running out of battery or even losing sight
of their mobile phone.
fear of the colour yellow. Anything yellow, even the sun, can trigger anxiety
in people with this phobia. Even the word “yellow” can bring on a
reaction. Be careful who you give daffodils to!
fear of the number 13. What starts out as a quaint superstition can bloom into
a fully fledged terror of the number 13 in some people. It is often associated
with fear of Friday the 13th, when some sufferers simply refuse to emerge from
under the duvet. Others just avoid anything related to the “unlucky”
number.
fear of beards. Facial hair has made a comeback in recent years, with
“hipsters” sporting full bushy beards, but for some people it is the
stuff of nightmares. Some psychologists suggest it is because it is hard to
read the facial expressions of a man with a beard, and thereby fathom his intent.
Or it could just be an inherited fear of Vikings.
fear of the Pope. Being a practising Catholic could be a tough one if you’re
afflicted with this phobia. Seen as a branch of hierophobia (fear of holy
individuals and sacred things), it can be triggered by a trauma associated with
the Pope or the papacy.
fear of the naval. Just seeing or thinking about a belly button can repulse
people with this phobia. It also extends to touching another person’s naval or
having their own naval touched or seen.
fear of falling asleep. Repeated nightmares or worrying that you might die
while asleep can result in an extreme fear of ‘the land of nod’. Others just
worry that too much of their precious time is wasted on sleep when there’s so
much else to do. The inevitability of falling asleep only makes the fear worse.
the fear of crossing bridges. People with this phobia will go to extreme
lengths to avoid crossing a bridge. Journeys have to be meticulously planned,
often involving long diversions, or avoided altogether. Some sufferers only
fear driving across a bridge, a fear so real that in certain American cities
you can pay someone else to drive your car across a bridge.
Finally there is one more phobia to mention; phobophobia is the fear of phobias, and specifically of the feelings of anxiety and distress associated with them. Honestly, it exists. Any help that you independentlivinghelp.com is there for all your needs.
