Fear of heights, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of clowns, fear of spiders- these are quite among the common phobias there are out there. Phobias can make our lives a living hell. These can make us think crazy things, get paranoid, be reasonably scared, make us do things we don’t normally do and make us run for the hills.
It is medically defined as an anxiety disorder that makes people feel terrified about something that’s not really dangerous at all. People who have phobias experience sweaty hands, difficulty in breathing and panic attacks.
Most of the phobias are understandable but there are just some phobias that make you question why they even existed in the first place. Ever wonder what are some of the weirdest phobias of all time?
Ablutophobia – Fear of Bathing
Who wouldn’t love a good old bath right? It refreshes you, energizes you and focuses your mind a whole lot better. So would you even believe that there are some people who are scared of taking a bath? Well, we all know they’d be smelling pretty nasty.
Xanthophobia – Fear of the Color Yellow
Yellow is such a merry color. It can brighten up any room and it can even make it look larger. But unfortunately, not every is fond of yellow, and a small fraction of them are scared of yellow.
Nomophobia – Fear for No Internet Connection
Ah life can be superbly hard without internet connection especially because much of our day to day activities are integrated with it. School works are communicated through emails or Facebook, Work uses a whole lot of the emails for giving out memos and reports. It’s quite normal to be annoyed when there’s you get no reception, but some people are not just annoyed, but they get awfully scared about it.
Philopobia – Fear of Falling In Love
This might just be something that comes right out of those pocketbook novels out there, fear of falling in love. You don’t buy it? Well, this one’s very common but still very strange in all ways and chances are you’ve already met one who has just this problem.
Hypnophobia – Fear of Sleep
Lots of people who have hypnophobia are scared that they wouldn’t wake up anymore and they’re not just worried about it but they’re superbly sure of its likability. You can imagine how hard it is for these people to focus on anything at all.
Spectrophobia – Fear of One’s Reflection
If you think that only vampires are afraid of their reflection, then you should think again, because there are number of people who fear seeing their own reflection as well. They fear that they would see someone they don’t recognize, or someone that’s too hideous to even lay eyes on.
Gymnophobia – Fear of Nudity
Now this is not just the fear of seeing oneself without clothing, but also seeing others nude. People who have this do fear nudity because they feel like they’re unsafe and unprotected once stripped off of their clothing. Who wouldn’t fear being vulnerable right?
Vestiophobia – Fear of Wearing Clothes
If you so thought that fear of nudity is crazy, then you would definitely find yourself shocked to know that there are some individuals who are afraid of wrapping themselves with really tight clothing. Which is why, they tend to wear loose clothes instead or they just run around without anything on at all.
Venustrophobia – Fear of Beautiful Women
Ever met a guy who goes all panicky when he sees a gorgeous woman walking right past him? It’s quite normal to be very sweaty when someone so attractive is there, but having panic attacks because of that is a phobia that can cause a man a lot. Being scared of beautiful women may seem really irrational, but aren’t all phobias irrational anyway. You might think that this is impossible, but it wouldn’t be included in the list if it weren’t real anyway.
Cacophobia – Fear of Ugliness
There are a lot of ugly things in this world. That it is the ugly truth that we face every single day, but it turns out that not a lot of people can suck it up.
Pedophobia – Fear of Kids
Kids can be two things, a bundle of joy or a source of terror and although it’s already established that not a lot of people are a huge fan of kids, there are some who don’t just hate them, but they fear them too.
Didaskaleinophobia – Fear of Going to School
When we were kids we had those days when we just wanted to stay in bed and skip school. It’s fun and it’s really relaxing. You know, it’s always great to not worry about those cruel home works and those lengthy lectures that we don’t really pay attention to. But there are just instances that people develop the fear of going to school and you can thank the bullies for most of that.
Heliophobia – Fear of Sunlight
They’re not like Edward Cullen who doesn’t shy away the sun and sparkle like an amazing jar of glitters, but instead they fear of getting sunburns and other skin problems from the harsh rays of the sun.
Novercaphobia – Fear of Stepmothers
Who knew that Cinderella and Snowhite could create such fears inside a person’s head. For a person who has Novercaphobia, they fear that their cruel stepmother would do something to them. Ah, so much for watching fairytales!
Neophobia – Fear of New Things
It’s always more convenient to follow a routine in life. It keeps us moving in a very organized way. However, there are times when we need to do new things for us to progress and there are some people who just can’t shake off the fear of doing just that. They feel like doing something new would derail them from their original plan.
Ergophobia – Fear of Work or the Work Place
Now this is different from not wanting to work because that’s laziness. Believe it or not, people who have this fear are not making it up, but they are actually afraid to work. According to psychologists, it’s more of a combination of different fears such as social anxiety and the fear of failing on something that was assigned to them.
Oikophobia – Fear of the Content of the House
This could be anything that’s inside the house like bathtubs, equipment, furniture and appliances. Imagine how difficult it could be when you can’t remove that specific item that you’re afraid of because you need it, say for instance the fridge?
Haphephobia – Fear of Being Touched
If you’re around of a person with this type of fear, know that they have nothing against you. It’s just that they have this weird phobia of being touched. Now that could be a real problem when they get into the dating stage. It must be agonizing for them to be intimate with their partner.
Hylophobia – Fear of Wood, Tree and Forest
You would probably guess that people with this type of phobia may not have any furniture, equipment or materials in their home that’s made of wood. However, it could be extremely difficult for them when they go outside as they are most likely to find something that’s made of wood and there are also trees. While this may seem as an irrational fear, it’s usually caused by a traumatic experience that may have been forgotten like being attacked with a piece of wood. So if you think about it, it’s not really that irrational as there’s a reason behind it.
Coulrophobia – Fear of Clowns
If you know of people like this, make sure not to surprise them with clowns on their birthday or it would be the worst one for them. While many think of clowns as funny and amazing, those with this kind of phobia think otherwise.
Descendophobia – Fear of Walking Downstairs
You probably wouldn’t dream of having a second story in your home if you have this as you would need to go down the stairs if that’s the case. It could be risky to go down the stairs if you have this fear since you could get dizzy, which is something that people with this phobia often experience. You might fall down and hurt yourself. There’s also this phobia of moving upwards or climbing the stairs, which is called ascendophobia. You guessed it right, they are from the words descend and ascend.
Gephyrophobia – Fear of Crossing the Bridge
The famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Tower Bridge in London and Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia may not excite you like other people if you have this fear. It’s best to find a place that’s away from rivers or any body of water that would need you to cross a bridge. The good news is that there are cities that provide driving service for crossing the car to the other end of the bridge, which would be convenient for you.
Eisotrophobia – Being Scared of Own Reflection
The reason behind this fear is that the person is afraid to see that there’s something wrong in him, like physical deformities. It could also be the fear that something would just show up in the mirror when they look at it.
Chorophobia – Fear of Dancing
Well, this isn’t just the fear of dancing itself, but anything associated with it like parties, club, ballrooms and the like. If you have this phobia, I bet you wouldn’t enjoy watching Dancing with the Stars or Got to Dance!
Omphalophobia-Fear of Bellybuttons
One of the reasons why some people have fear of bellybuttons is that they find the image of umbilical cord and womb attached to it disturbing. There are also those that feel that their inside will go out of their bellybuttons. People suffering from this are not just afraid of other people’s navel but their own too. So when you show off your hot bod to that person you like, make sure that he/she doesn’t have omphalophobia. You might just make that person collapse instead of being turned on.
Ever heard of such fears? They may seem a little bit strange but they do exists and some people we know might just have these things. What about you? What are your phobias? Do you think they’re weird too? Let us know!
