We all know the meaning of phobia and how it makes our lives miserable. The fear of darkness, the unknown, heights, water and insects are pretty normal and we might think that these are the only phobias known to man. But like us, you are also in for a surprise. Have a look at the most weirdest phobias actually known to the medical world.
10. Spectrophobia – Fear of mirrors or one’s own reflection.
Spectrophobia or eisoptrophobia is a kind of specific phobia involving a morbid fear of mirrors and the dread of seeing one’s own reflection.
It is attributed to the fear of self-knowledge and fright from exhibitionism. It is an exaggerated or irrational fear of mirrors or one’s own reflection. It is debated that Spectrophobia is related to fear of ghosts or Phasmophobia. But, by definition it is the fear of self-actualization. It may arise as the fear of losing one’s perception of personal beauty, or the fear of accepting anomalies on one’s persona like moles or marks that are a reminder of painful events from one’s past. It could also be termed as a symptom of denial of certain events that have left marks on one’s persona.
In other cases schizophrenia is also coined as a reason for Spectrophobia. But, it is one weird though dreadful disorder as one can not avoid mirrors or reflections in today’s world. It can be easily identified and also treated like other phobias.
9. Ablutophobia – Fear of Bathing
Ablutophobia is the persistent, abnormal and unwarranted fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning. This phobia is a situational specific phobia. Ablutophobia tends to be more common in children and women than in men and especially with those people who are very emotional. Such a phobia makes you feel dejected and lonelier. It might be an impact of an event from the past linking bathing, washing or cleaning to emotional trauma. The original catalyst would be a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by any event seen on Television, films or even witnessing someone else experience trauma.
It is different from fear of water or hydrophobia as the person is not afraid of the water, but the cleaning. He might not care about the water if it’s not being used to clean him/her. Those suffering form Ablutophobia experience – dizziness, breathlessness, excessive sweating, heart palpitations, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, becoming mad or losing control.
The Self-help NLP or Neuro Linguistic programming technique has proved to be an effective treatment for this phobia.
8. Anthophobia – Fear of Flowers
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Anthophobia is a persistent fear of flowers. Though sufferers generally understand that they face no threat from flowers, they invariably experience anxiety at the sight or thought. Any genus or species of flowers can instill fear, as can any flower part, such as a petal or stem. Anthophobia is also referred to as the fear of small harmless things, such as a small torn piece of paper.
Anyone could have this phobia, if you kind of freaked out when your girlfriend brought you flowers, you might have Anthophobia. And if you have never received any flowers like me, you should go buy flowers for yourself just to be sure.
Chorophobia – Fear of Dancing
Dancing is a very common part of our lives. It’s an expression of our mood, joy and energy. Asking someone to prom, annual dance or even dancing together at a wedding is a swell way to find a mate. But, what if someone is afraid of the very core of the idea? Chorophobia is an persistent fear of dancing. It might be any form of dancing, couple or even single. Mostly sufferers believe that they don’t feel like dancing, but they don’t realize that they are afraid of it. In most cases people realized this anomaly when they just had to dance like at a club or at prom. In extremities, some have found out about this when they felt anxiety and nausea at the time of their wedding dance.
The treatment for Chorophobia is the same as for other phobias, but it is hard to recognize. Sometimes it is just seen as the reluctance or a part of one’s personality not to indulge in things like dancing.
Genophobia – Fear of Sexual Relations
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Genophobia is the physical or psychological fear of sexual relations or sexual intercourse. The word comes from the Greek terms genos, meaning “offspring,” and phobos, meaning “fear.”
People who suffer from the phobia can be intensely affected by attempted sexual contact or just the thought of it. The extreme fear can lead to trouble in romantic relationships. Those afflicted by Genophobia may stay away from getting involved in relationships to avoid the possibility of intimacy. This can lead to feelings of loneliness. Genophobic people may also feel lonely because they may feel embarrassed or ashamed of their personal fears. This type of phobia can be developed due to any trauma sustained during sex. People that were molested as children are mostly found to be Genophobic.
Heliophobia – Fear of Sunlight (Vampire Madness)
Heliophobia is a problem that afflicts hundreds of people, but one that suffers from a lack of true research. The Pacific Health Center suggested that many people have been staying away from the sun because of growing fears about skin cancer. Sufferers of Heliophobia would keep out of the sun and would mostly be just thought of as ‘night owls’. They are terrified at the sight of daylight and tend to keep it as dark as possible. They stay in basements or cellers and spend an abnormal amount of time on in house activities. Television, movies and especially vampire stories have come quite handy in inflicting Heliophobia.
Heliophobia was considered a “telltale sign” of vampires in many cultures. So I guess the new twilight vibe can also inflict Heliophobia.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – Fear of the ‘number 666’
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a Greek word. It literally means “fear of six hundred sixty-six”. It is the fear that originated from the Biblical verse Revelation 13:18 which indicates that the number 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ.
Outside the Christian faith, the phobia has been further popularized as a motif in various horror films. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobes will strongly avoid things related to the number 666. A prominent example is Nancy and Ronald Reagan who, in 1989, when moving to their home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles, had the address of 666 St. Cloud Road changed to 668 St. Cloud Road. Some women also expressed concern on giving birth to a child on June 6, 2006 (abbreviated 6/6/06). The release of ‘The Omen’ on 6/6/06, along with other referrals to this number in films like ‘The number 23’ etc. are an example of Hollywood use of this number.
In 2006, the BBC listed hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia and its definition as fact #64 in its “100 things we didn’t know this time last year”.
Nomophobia – Fear of being out of mobile phone contact
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. The term, an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone phobia”, was coined during a study by the UK Post Office who commissioned YouGov, a UK-based research organization to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users. The study found that nearly 53 percent of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they “lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage”. The study found that about 58 percent of men and 48 percent of women suffer from the phobia, and an additional 9 percent feel stressed when their mobile phones are off.
The study compared stress levels induced by the average case of nomophobia to be on-par with those of “wedding day jitters” and trips to the dentists. More than one in two nomophobes never switch off their mobile phones.
Phobophobia – Fear of having a Phobia.
Phobia
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Phobophobia is the fear of phobia(s), and more specifically, of the internal sensations associated with that phobia and anxiety. Phobophobia comes in between the stress the patient might be experiencing and the phobia that the patient has developed as well as the effects on his life, or in other words, it is a bridge between anxiety/panic the patient might be experiencing and the type of phobia he/she fears, creating an intense and extreme predisposition to the feared phobia. Nevertheless, Phobophobia is not necessarily developed as part of other phobias, but can be a important factor for maintaining them. Phobophobia differentiates itself from other kind of phobias by the fact that there is no environmental stimulus per se, but rather internal dreadful sensations similar to psychological symptoms of panic attacks.
Telephone phobia – Fear of making or taking phone calls.
Telephone phobia (telephonophobia, telephobia) is reluctance or fear of making or taking phone calls, literally, “fear of telephone”.
Sufferers typically report fear that they would fail to respond appropriately in a telephone conversation, and fear finding nothing to say, which would end in embarrassing silence, stammering, or stuttering. The associated avoidance behavior includes asking others (e.g., relatives at home) to take their phone calls and exclusive use of answering machines. As a result, the sufferers avoid many activities, such as scheduling events or clarifying information.
As it is common with various fears and phobias, there is a wide spectrum of severity of the fear of phone conversations and the corresponding difficulties. In 1993 it was reported that about 2.5 million of people in Great Britain have telephone phobia.
Known as “La Isla de la Munecas”, by the Spanish, The Island of the Dolls is perhaps the creepiest tourist attraction in Mexico. Located within an extensive network of canals, south of Mexico City, the island is a place of mystery and superstition.
