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Have you ever felt shaky, have sweaty palms, or feel your heart pounding? If so, you were probably experiencing anxiety. Its normal for people to feel uneasy or anxious every once and awhile, whether it be your first day of school, a new job, or even a first date, but sometimes, this anxiousness is associated with a fear of certain objects or situations; phobias.
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder characterised by an unreasonable or irrational fear associated with exposure to specific objects or situations. We have all heard of (and possibly experienced for ourselves) common phobias, such as Acrophobia (fear of heights), Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and Mysophobia (fear of germs). In the U.S., it is estimated that 12.5% of adults experience at least one specific phobia at some time in their lives.
In addition to the more common phobias (such as the ones mention above), there are literally hundreds of diagnosable, specific phobias in existence, some a lot more stranger than others. Here are 10 strange phobias that you may never heard of:
1. Omphalophobia
This is a fear of something common among all human beings and something we are all born with: a belly button. The word Omphalophobia is derived from the Greek Omphalo, meaning navel. People with Omphalophobia are literally terrified of their own belly button, or sometimes, other peoples' belly buttons. Touching, or even the mere thought or sight of a belly button, can make an Omphalophobiac feel afraid or disgusted. This is in complete contrast to Navel Fetishism, which is a sexual attraction to belly buttons.
2. Genuphobia
Like Omphalophobia, this is also a fear of a body part that we all have in common: knees. Sure, knees may not be the most attractive boy part, but for some people, they are terrifying. Genupphobia (derived from the Latin word for knee, Genu) can involve a fear of one's own knees, someone else's, or even the act of kneeling. Interestingly enough, there are a number of phobias that are associated with different body parts, such as ishicascadiggaphobia (fear of elbows) and even geniophobia (fear of chins).
3. Cacophobia
Cacophobia (derived from the Greek word kakos, meaning bad) is the fear of ugliness; be it ugly objects, or even people. Cacophobes believe that ugly things or people are associated with evil entities, and that even looking at them may cause these evil entities to attack. Believe it or not, there is also a phobia associated with beauty, more specifically, beautiful women, called Venustraphobia (also known as Gynephobia).
4. Triskaidekaphobia
Some people may believe in superstations, such as their "lucky numbers" they play the lottery with. However, Triskaidekaphobia is an extreme superstition, specifically regarding the fear of the number 13. Many cultures around the world regard 13 as an unlucky number, as it is associated with a number of historical disasters. As such, Triskaidekaphobia is closely associated with Paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th) as well as "the number of the beast", Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia (fear of the number 666).
Fun Fact: Did you know that the famous horror novelist, Steven King, has Triskaidekaphobia?
5. Turophobia
We all have certain foods that we dislike, but some people have a genuine phobia of food in general(Cibophobia), and even specific foods, such as Turophobia, a fear of cheese. Turophobes have a severe aversion to cheesy foods, like pizza, and have a hard time being near cheese or even hearing the word "cheese". Other food phobias include Mortuusequusphobia (fear of ketchup), Alliumphobia (fear of garlic), and even Arachibutryophopia (the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth).
6. Sinistrophobia
Did you know that only 10% of the world's population is left-handed? Sinistrophobia is a fear of left-handedness. It is thought that this phobia may be attributed in part to left-handedness being seen as taboo in some cultures. Sinistrophobia is not to be confused with Levophobia, which is a fear of objects on the left side of the body (which it is the opposite of Dextrophobia, fear of objects on the right side of the body).
7. Hylophobia
If you ever enjoyed having a tree-fort as a child or going camping in the woods, you probably don't have Hylophobia, which is an irrational fear of wood, forests, and/or trees. To a Hylophobiac, a story of Winne-the-Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood may be too much to handle. A more specific form of Hylophobia is Nyctohylophobia, which is the fear of wooded or forested areas specifically at night. If that's the case, you probably shouldn't watch The Blair Witch Project...especially alone, at night.
8. Porphyrophobia
We all have a favorite color (or colors). But did you know that some people can have a fear of color (Chromatophobia), and even specific colors, such as Porphyrophobia, the fear of the color purple. To a Porphyrophobic, even the lovable purple dinosaur, Barney, can be terrifying! Interestingly, there is a phobia related to every color: Cyanophobia (fear of the color blue), Xanthophobia (fear of the color yellow), Prasinophobia (fear of the color green), Chrysophobia (fear of the color orange), Rhodophobia (fear of the color pink), Kastanophobia (fear of the color brown), Leukophobia (fear of the color white), and Melanophobia (fear of the color black).
9. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Did you know that the longest word in the English dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis? Ironically, the very long word Hippopotomonstrosesuiquipedaliophobia (pronounced Hippopoto-monstro-sesuiquipedalio-phobia) is the fear of long words. A Hippopotomonstrosesuiquipedaliophobiac might also have Anagnosmaphobia (a fear of reading), as well as Bibliophobia (a fear of books).
10. Phobophobia
Lastly, there is the phobia of all phobias, Phobophobia, the fear of phobias (which is a bit of a paradox). Phobophobia is literally the fear of fear itself, and the anxious and uneasy physiological feelings associated with it. Unlike hypochondriasis, which is a fear of developing a disease, Phobophobia is a self-fulfilling prophecy; the fear of phobias can lead to actually developing a phobia.
To learn about more strange phobias, check out Phobia Wiki
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