25 strange phobias: what is yours? (26 photos)

It is believed that at least 25% of adults suffer from one or more phobias. Most phobias are caused by some form of trauma experienced early in life, or even one moment that leaves a permanent scar on the mind. But some phobias seem very strange. Even if they are real to the sufferer, an outsider may simply not understand them. Meanwhile, they are not so rare. Here are 25 strange phobias: maybe one of them is yours?





Zoophobia - fear of animals



Does your heart beat faster when you approach an animal? Do you avoid visiting friends if you know they have pets? If so, you may have some form of zoophobia - an intense fear of animals.

Some people with zoophobia are afraid of all animals, but they are a minority. Most people with zoophobia fear a specific animal. The most common are ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) and arachnophobia (fear of spiders). Other, less common animal phobias are cynophobia (fear of dogs) and entomophobia (fear of insects).

If you have any form of zoophobia, you are not alone. Zoophobia in all its forms is one of the three most common phobias.

Hypertrichophobia - fear of hair





People with this phobia have a strong aversion to hair. For some, only stray hairs or strands of hair cause stress, while others are afraid of all hair and will stay away from people with long luscious hair, afros, or those with very thick hair.

One of the reasons for this phobia may be related to one of the germ phobias. Because hair is often dirty or greasy and may harbor germs or lice, sufferers of the phobia have an aversion to it. They may experience physical nausea from touching them or even being near them.

Pogonophobia - fear of beards



It's not just the hair on your head that can cause serious distress to someone. People may also feel very anxious about other people's facial hair. In other words, they suffer from pogonophobia, an extreme fear of beards.

Pogonophobes are thought to associate facial hair with poverty or homelessness. They think people with beards are dirty or sick. Another reason may be that people with beards have a large portion of their face covered, which phobia sufferers associate with the bearer being mysterious, untrustworthy, or malicious. Considering the popularity of beards these days, times must be tough for pogonophobes!

Chorophobia - fear of dancing



People love to dance. You work hard all week at work, waiting for Friday night to go to the club, have a good time and dance the night away. But a person with chorophobia would prefer to continue working.

Chorophobia is the fear of dancing. Unlike most other phobias, which arise from a traumatic experience, chorophobia can be caused by other reasons, such as being raised in a strict religious family where dancing is considered a sin, or an intense fear of being touched.

You might say, “So just don’t dance! What do you think? “Well, imagine never getting into any relationship because it might end in marriage. People dance at weddings, so you should avoid falling in love, because what's the point? This is how anxiety works and how destructive a phobia can be. It can destroy a person's entire life.

Omphalophobia - fear of the navel



Everyone has a belly button, except, according to rumors, Alfed Hitchcock. But people with omphalophobia would like it not to exist.

Omphalophobia - fear of the navel. This is a so-called “specific phobia” that focuses on one small detail. This is completely irrational, but no less destructive.

People with this condition believe that the belly button may somehow become unraveled, causing severe pain or possibly death. In their minds they know that this simply could not happen. But they are not able to fully believe it.

Cucumber phobia



For others, it's too weird and stupid to be true. But this phobia exists. Most likely due to acerbophobia, which is the fear of sour things, pickles cause irrational panic and anxiety in some people at the mere thought of them. In this case, the source of fear can be both the taste and the appearance of the vegetable.

Erythrophobia - fear of blushing



Erythrophobia is a vicious circle: it can be summarized as follows: extreme fear of blushing due to embarrassment causes anxiety and panic, which causes flushing of the face or chest, which causes embarrassment due to blushing, which causes even more fear, anxiety and panic...

Clearly, the cycle of fear can be endless, leading to long-term depression and anxiety disorders. Fortunately, it is an easily treatable phobia that most people overcome.

Atelophobia: fear of imperfection



Sometimes people can be extremely critical of themselves. One of the things that most people struggle with is the feeling that they are not good enough. Imposter syndrome prevents many people from reaching their full potential.

Atelophobia goes far beyond what most people consider “perfectionism.” A person suffering from it is afraid of making even one small, simple, insignificant mistake. This causes people to avoid any and all situations in which there is even the possibility of error.

People with atelophobia likely grew up in a strict family where they were constantly criticized for everything. They are accustomed to applying this criticism to their own perception of themselves - to the point of phobia.

Urophobia - fear of urine or urination



Urophobia is an irrational fear of urine or urination. It can take two forms. You can be afraid of other people's urine or your own urine at the same time.

Irrational fear and anxiety can make necessary trips to the bathroom an almost traumatic experience. And getting a pet, such as a dog or cat, is out of the question.

Nomophobia - fear of not having a smartphone



Nomophobia is a new phobia that has developed as society's dependence on technology has increased. Its most likely causes are fear of loneliness and isolation. We have become so dependent on our devices for literally everything that we really can’t imagine ourselves without them, or even the ability to use them for any period of time.

There is another reason why people become addicted to their phones, and it has nothing to do with mental problems. This is dopamine. When dopamine is released into your circulatory system, it makes you feel happy, motivated, or excited. Every time you skim social media, check your email, or receive a text message, a small dose of dopamine is released, literally acting like a drug. You experience a moment of euphoria every time you enter your password. Over time, your body begins to physically need dopamine, in much larger doses. Essentially, nomophobia is caused by addiction, not fear. People are addicted to the sensations they get from their phones.

Thanatophobia - fear of death



People with this disorder usually include those who have experienced the traumatic death of a loved one or witnessed someone pass away. It is estimated that three to ten percent of all people experience an intense fear of death. One interesting part of this is that while young people fear death, older people fear the process of dying.

Somniphobia - fear of falling asleep



The basic idea of ​​somniphobia is that the worst thing about sleep is not falling asleep, but what can happen to you while you sleep: nightmares or night terrors, or even sleep paralysis, which can be really scary. Fear of these things can cause insomnia, stress, anxiety and fear of sleep. Anxiety can cause interrupted sleep as your mind tries to subconsciously cope with the stress in the form of dreams, thereby increasing the effects of the phobia.

Everyone knows that sleep deprivation can cause many physical problems and illnesses, shortening your life expectancy. So we can say that somniphobia can lead to death.

Chromophobia - fear of flowers



Chromophobia is the fear of flowers. Usually a person is afraid of one or two colors. Two examples are fear of the color yellow (xanthophobia) or fear of the color violet (porphyriaphobia).

This type of phobia is usually associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism or Asperger's syndrome. With Asperger's syndrome or autism, it is almost impossible to understand what is causing the phobia. With PTSD, it is likely that what caused the trauma is related to color.

Coulrophobia - fear of clowns



It's amazing how many people are afraid of clowns. There is a theory that the source of this phobia is caused by the idea that the bright, happy makeup they wear doesn't match their faces underneath it. Current pop culture icons such as the Joker and Pennywise have only furthered this perception.

Kenophobia - fear of open spaces



A person with kenophobia experiences horror when being in open space or in a void. It would be very difficult for him to find himself in an empty arena before a concert or even to enter a large empty hall.

Such people also have an irrational fear of empty spaces, such as a large open field or pasture. In these places they feel unprotected, which leads to severe anxiety and panic attacks.

Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter



Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. It is considered one of the easiest phobias to treat.

If you once saw someone with a peanut allergy have a reaction after accidentally eating something with peanut butter, that memory may remain in your subconscious and trigger a phobia. Another possible cause may be related to a general fear of suffocation. Fear of suffocation is common. If you have arachibutyrophobia, this should not be taken lightly.

Sometimes a phobic person may show physical signs of their fears. For those who are afraid of choking, the swallowing process becomes difficult. Essentially, a phobia causes symptoms that feed the phobia, which makes the symptoms worse. This vicious circle of panic and horror sometimes lasts a lifetime.

Fictofabricophobia - fear of fictional characters



Fictofabriphobia usually develops in childhood, when children are read bedtime stories. The child hears the story and then falls asleep, allowing the characters and worlds he just heard about to enter his consciousness while he sleeps.

A child's brain absorbs information at an amazing speed. The reason they are fascinated by fictional characters is because they believe they are real. This is understandable given that parents, the child's most trusted confidants, tell them this is the case. For the unfortunate, as they grow older, part of this belief remains locked in their brain and causes extreme anxiety and panic.

Plutophobia - fear of money



Plutophobia is the fear of money, wealth, or rich people. People with plutophobia are primarily afraid of the responsibilities associated with money and all the headaches that come with it. They feel enormous anxiety at the thought of managing and being responsible for large sums of money. If you look at all the lottery winners who have ruined their lives because of their “luck,” you will begin to understand where these feelings come from.

Ablutophobia - fear of swimming



For most people, a nice, relaxing bath or long, hot shower is something they look forward to. For people with ablutophobia, these things can be absolutely terrifying.

Ablutophobia is an intense fear of bathing, showering, or doing laundry. It is usually associated with a traumatic event in childhood, such as a near drowning in the bathtub or being abused. Ablutophobia is mainly found in toddlers and young children. Fortunately, most people simply outgrow ablutophobia as they get older. But for others, this fear can be long-term and debilitating, and cause real problems for the sufferer.

Gelotophobia - fear of laughter



Gelotophobia is the fear of ridicule from other people. When a person suffers from the sound of laughter, he thinks that they are laughing at him.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - fear of long words



Some people consider this phobia to be a joke or a hoax, and the American Psychological Association does not recognize it as a real phobia. But she is real. It is thought to arise from a negative experience such as reading aloud or speaking in front of a group of people and being laughed at for mispronouncing some other long word. This can be quite traumatic for any young person and will leave a lasting impact.

Heliophobia - fear of sunlight



Fear of sunlight is different from photosensitivity, which is an allergy to UV rays. Heliophobes cannot even think about going outside in daylight. Obviously, this phobia can result in sufferers never being able to live a normal life.

The causes of heliophobia are believed to be rooted in sun exposure. Perhaps a heliophobe once had a particularly bad sunburn, or is afraid of getting skin cancer. But whatever the reason, heliophobia is a serious disease.

Eisoptrophobia - fear of mirrors



Vampires aren't the only creatures with an aversion to mirrors. People with esoptrophobia are also ridiculously afraid of them. Sometimes people with esoptrophobia avoid or fear mirrors due to body dysmorphia issues because they are disgusted by what they see in the reflection. For others, the irrational fear comes from superstitions or urban legends related to mirrors. They may be afraid of mirrors because if one breaks, they will face seven years of bad luck.

There are also those who have heard legends such as "Bloody Mary", where a spirit will appear and kill you if you say her name three times in a mirror while standing in a darkened room. And some people have probably just watched too many horror movies.

Panophobia - fear of everything



Panophobia is not an official diagnosis. Today, this phenomenon is more often referred to by the more accurate medical term “generalized anxiety disorder” or “panic disorder.” People who suffer from it feel that they cannot live or function because they are convinced that something terrible will happen to them.

Phobophobia - fear of phobias or fear



Phobophobia is the intense fear of having a phobia. It can be caused by the fact that at some point in your life you have experienced overwhelming fear - to the point of chest pain or vomiting. And since then, you haven't been able to dispel the fear of how you feel when you're afraid.