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15 of the Strangest Fears
As the world advances, so does our technology, our societies and our ways of doing things. Along with progression, comes change and for some people that can be awfully frightening.
The human mind can come out with some of the darkest and strangest thoughts. It is endless what a person can end up being fearful of. There are the most common fears like heights, snakes or water for example, but it would surprise you how many other fears and phobias exist for people all over the world.
These fears can be highly debilitating and very real even if they sound totally crazy and ridiculous. Let`s brace ourselves and explore the strange world of phobias starting with…
15. Hylophobia
This is the fear of forests or any wooded areas, yes a bunch of trees and plants. It is understandable how a dark, creepy woods area can set off some alarms in you. There have been so many horror movies released where the witches live in the forest, that you can`t just ignore it. There are many tales of haunted forests, included the Aokigahara forest in Japan, that is also known to have ghosts that lure people in and then commit suicide.
14. Turophobia
This may sound sacrilegious to any chef or foodie, but this disease is actually having the fear of cheese. The texture of cheese often frightens these people and they would never consider eating it. People who suffer from this can sometimes not even be able to say or hear the word cheese and some even start breaking out in a cold sweat.
13. Nomophobia
This is a fear that definitely only developed recently as technology has advanced. These people suffer from a fear of being without their mobile device. Sad but true, it is a very common fear in Western society. If you look at everyone walking down the street or on the bus, you can guarantee half of them have their heads down staring into a screen. Times have changed and technology is not always an improvement to society.
12. Somniphobia
This unfortunately is a fear that can impact your health immensely. It is actually not so uncommon and can understandably be rational. This is found in children sometimes when they fear the boogy man might come get them in their sleep. Lack of sleep can leave people really cranky and angry and is overall really unhealthy.
11. Philophobia
This phobia is a fear of getting emotionally attached, or falling in love. This happens often when someone gets badly hurt or suffers an emotional trauma. Having this fear impacts their life negatively by increasing depression and preventing the person from getting into new relationships.
10. Ithyphallophobia
This phobia is definitely strange and not common. It is the fear of thinking, having or seeing an erect penis. It sounds comical, but think about how much that would impact your life. It is usually found more in women than in men. In order to treat this phobia, deep counselling and therapy sessions are strongly advised.
9. Sanguivoriphobia
This phobia is when you have a great fear of vampires. You would think that that would be impossible after the release of Twilight, but it still exists for some. Although they are fictional characters, some people believe that vampires are actually real. The symptoms of this phobia can appear when someone reads about or sees a depiction of a vampire.
8. Pentheraphobia
This may seem like some type of joke, but this phobia is the fear of your mother in law. It is mostly recognized with associating the mother in law with getting in between the couple. The fear could have been brought on by traumatic events of the past and can cause really irrational thinking. Some symptoms may include shortness of breath, excessive sweating and inability to articulate.
7. Heliophobia
This is the fear of the sun, sunlight or any kind of bright light. They are usually brought on by associating the sun with a negative impact, for example a sunburn or skin cancer. This can sometimes get so bad, that people who suffer avoid going outside all together and isolate themselves from exposure, which is not healthy. Vitamin D deficiency is very common with people who suffer from this phobia.
6. Haphephobia
This is the fear of touching or being touched and is often found in people who have suffered a form of sexual abuse. It can be a trigger reminding them of the incidents. It can be very difficult to lead a regular life. Think about how many times you shake hands for a meeting or someone pats you on the back. Little touches we give or receive in our daily lives are totally altered for people who suffer from this fear.
5. Decidophobia
This fear relates to making decisions. The term was actually only made official in 1973, but this fear has been around forever. They do not want the control of making a decision and would rather someone else take over the responsibility. This can lead to a dependency on other people to run their lives. Decisions can range from something minor like when to go grocery shopping to major life decisions like buying a house.
4. Phagophobia
Phagophobia is having a fear of swallowing. This is a very dangerous fear to have because it affects your eating and drinking, which keeps you alive. The fear triggers a gag reflex when the person tries to swallow making it difficult to even take medication. The consequences of this can sometimes be forced anorexia, extreme weight loss and depression.
3. Arachibutyrophobia
Believe it or not, this is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. It is not the fear of peanut butter itself, but of the sticking factor. Like any fear, it ranges in extremes. Some people will be able to eat small quantities of peanut butter, while others avoid it all together. This phobia makes more sense when you think of how many people suffer from peanut allergies. The association with arachibutyrophobia and having an attack seem somewhat reasonable.
2. Anatidaephobia
This fear is strange indeed, it is the belief that somewhere in the world there is a duck or goose simply watching you. Although it is rare, it is still a big problem for those who suffer. They feel that they are constantly being watched and that can create a lot of trouble in their daily lives. Treatment for this fear is suggested with self-help techniques, exposure therapy and hypnotherapy.
1. Phobophobia
This is the fear of phobias in general and the anxious feelings associated with them when suffering. There is no specific outside stimulus but more of a general psychological anxiety the mind creates, leading to panic attacks and stress. It can become very cyclical and troubling to find a way out because it is a general fear of being anxious and fearful. The biggest problem with this phobia is that there is no specific knowledge of what exactly is troubling the victim.