Phobias often appear in our conversations with friends, in the media or books. But do we really understand what they are? And how can they affect our lives?
Currently, there are more than 470 known phobias of all kinds. Some of them are quite common, such as fear of heights or fear of open spaces. A person suffering from a phobia does everything to avoid the stimulus that causes them discomfort, and this behavior can interfere with normal functioning in everyday life.
According to the American National Institute of Mental Health, as much as 12.5% of the population has to deal with a phobia during their lives. Each year, 9% of adults experience a specific phobia. Looking at the global scale - phobias can affect each of us!
Phobias that can take over our lives
It is worth knowing that fear and phobia are not the same. Panic, e.g. at the sight of a large spider, may be a natural symptom, but if you do not feel paralyzing fear, overwhelming, inability to move - you probably do not have arachnophobia. While not a pleasant feeling, fear and some level of anxiety are "normal" emotional responses to a real or perceived threat. A phobia, on the other hand, is an overwhelming fear of objects or situations. It can have a huge impact on people's lives by making them want to avoid the stimulus that causes the problem. People with a phobia may spend a lot of time thinking and worrying even about the imaginary presence of arachnids, and avoid places and activities where spiders may be present.
The arachnophobia we are talking about is one of the more common phobias, just like claustrophobia or aviophobia. However, there are fears that few people experience. Which phobias are the rarest?
1. Xenophobia: Fear of the color yellow
Xenophobia is a fear that few people know about. You probably haven't even heard of it. It's nothing more than the fear of... the color yellow. It evokes anxiety, fear at the very thought of this shade, let alone in a clash with it in everyday life. In the case of people suffering from xanthophobia, meeting someone in yellow clothes, the need to touch an object in this color, or staying in a yellow room can end in a panic attack.
2. Chrometophobia: Fear of spending money
Most of us worry about money. We fear poverty, loss of property, rampant inflation. However, the irrational fear of spending money is nothing more than chrometophobia. According to fearof.net, the term chromophobia comes from the Greek words chrimata meaning money and phobos meaning fear. This phobia is sometimes called chrematophobia.
According to dr Aimee Daramus, author of Understanding Bipolar Disorder: The Essential Family Guide, some of the symptoms of chrometophobia are:
- extreme fear of spending money that can interfere with daily functioning,
- anxiety or panic at the thought of spending money,
- tendency to avoid spending as much as possible
In addition, the psychologist states that chrometophobia can manifest itself in different ways, depending on the person. While one person may count their money repeatedly to be sure, another may be afraid to touch it, manage it, talk about it, or even think about it.
3. Somniphobia: Fear of sleep
People with somniphobia experience excessive sleep-related anxiety, may have trouble concentrating during the day, may delay falling asleep, and experience physical sensations such as a rapid heartbeat and nausea at the prospect of going to bed.
Fear of falling asleep can take control of your life and make everyday functioning difficult. Often people suffering from somniphobia believe that sleep can harm them. Among some common symptoms of this phobia are:
- obsessive thinking about sleep,
- physical symptoms of panic when trying to fall asleep,
- fear of dying in a dream.
The exact causes of somniphobia are not fully known, but it happens that it is related to sleep parasomnias, i.e. sleep disorders such as sleep paralysis or nightmares. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that sleep anxiety may be a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder related to changes in the nervous system and hypervigilance that occurs in people with PTSD.
4. Cosmemophobia: Fear of jewelry
Do you know someone who may have a panic fear of touching jewelry? Anxiety so physical that it can be repugnant and even make you vomit? This is cosmophobia, the fear of jewelry, and in some cases even metal objects. This phobia is not very common, moreover - not many official scientific papers have been published on it.
One person who openly talks about his cosmophobia is 12-time NASCAR rally winner Dale Earhardt Jr., who confessed in a television interview that he has been afraid of jewelry since he was a child.
The fear of jewelry can cause anxiety and even physical symptoms, such as having to wash your hands after touching something metal. In some cases, even looking at chains or rings causes fear.
5. Ombrophobia: fear of rain
Like most of the rarer phobias we've described, ombrophobia is very little known. People suffering from this anxiety feel an uncontrollable fear of getting wet in rainwater. This name was initiated by the nineteenth-century botanist - Juliusa Wiesnera. Another name for this phobia is pluviophobia..
Additionally, ombrophobia falls into the category of „environmental phobias”, which also includes hurricanes (lilapsophobia), snow (chionophobia), cold (cryophobia) and wind (ancraophobia).
Anxiety is accompanied by various somatic symptoms, i.e. faster breathing and heart rate, chest pain, increased muscle tension, nausea or sweating of the palms. The causes of a phobia can usually be traced to the past of the person affected by this fear. Some have experienced traumatic events related to this element or other weather phenomenon.
6. Hippopotomonstroseskuipedaliophobia - Fear of long words
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - the very name can cause fear. It is strange that it was applied to this phobia, which refers to an irrational fear of pronouncing long and complex words! A person suffering from this phobia will avoid mentioning such terms. Often this phobia is accompanied by social shyness and fear of ridicule. Due to the complexity of the word for this phobia, the words sesquipedaliophobia or largsophobia are now used.
According to psychologists, the very basis of this phobia is not precisely explained, but it is assumed that it may be related to, for example, neurotic disorders or problems with understanding the complexity of words.
7. Omphalophobia: Fear of navels
Omphalophobia is the fear of one's own body, and most often of the belly button. This phobia refers to the fear of seeing or touching one's own or other people's navels. Sufferers of omphalophobia have severe anxiety when bathing because they cannot look at or touch their belly button.
Some people are terrified of seeing the belly button, which results in, among other things, avoiding swimming pools, beaches or changing rooms. The occurring physiological symptoms include irritability, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, feeling of rage along with anger, as well as a feeling of complete helplessness. Undoubtedly, it is one of the rarest phobias with not fully known grounds.
Omphalophobia comes in three categories:
- People with the mildest form of phobia are afraid to touch their belly button. They also don't want anyone else to touch it - and they won't touch another person's belly button.
- In the second category, the sight of someone touching the belly button, or the sight of the belly button itself, causes shivers and anxiety.
- In the last case, just looking at the belly button (whether it is yours or someone else's) or just thinking about it causes a feeling of anxiety and terror.
One of the famous people who admitted that they suffer from omphalophobia is Khloe Kardashian.
8. Alektorophobia: Fear of chickens
Are you afraid of chickens? This fear seems quite irrational, just like cosmophobia. Meanwhile, there is a group of people who have a paralyzing fear of chickens and roosters. We are talking about alectrophobia, which is an intense fear of thinking about these birds, meeting them, or listening to their sounds. Interestingly, according to psychologists, the phobia is not related to the fear of other animals or to ornithophobia in general, that is, the fear of all birds.
Fear of roosters can be so strong that it causes recurring nightmares, intrusive thoughts. Nicolae Sfetcu w książce “The Bird’s World” describes that alectrophobia can concern not only living creatures, but also transfer to the fear of chicken eggs or feathers. Some people also have a fear of boiled chicken. Niektórzy odczuwają również strach przed gotowanym kurczakiem.
9. Papaphobia: Fear of the Pope
Papaphobia is fear of the pope or anything related to him. Some experts believe that this is part of the phobia of saints or ecclesiophobia,i.e. fear of churches. Psychologists also recognize that it is one of the varieties of social phobias. Some associate it with the white coat syndrome due to the color of the papal robes. However, this is more of an "internet" theory that has not found any scientific confirmation.
The mere thought of the pope, photos or mentions on television can cause anxiety. The phobia is not directed at a particular church father, but rather at the institution itself
10. Pogonophobia: Fear of beards
This phobia was discovered in 1851 and refers to the irrational fear many people have of beards, especially long and bushy ones. Although facial hair does not pose a threat to human health, pogonophobia feel fear and nausea when they see someone with facial hair. People suffering from pogonophobia indicate several reasons for their fear, including:
- Negative or traumatic experiences with a bearded person,
- Association of facial hair with disease or being unclean,
- Stereotypes about people with beards,
- Not understanding the cultural norms that require people to grow facial hair.
Remember that the Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu - National Louis University offers the Institute of Diagnostics, Opinion and Psychological Assistance, where you can apply for help.
