Almost everyone has an irrational fear or two—of mice, for example, or your annual dental checkup. For most people, these fears are minor.
But, when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, they’re called phobias.
Having Phobias is as equal as being weird but is there any more bizarre than this top 10 list of Phobia?
10 – Turophobia, Fear of Cheese
Sufferers of Turophobia usually associate cheese with a traumatic memory.
From cheddar to mozzarella turophobes often have to run away if they so much as see a slice of cheese.
Some may fear one type of cheese while others may fear cheese altogether.
9 – Chorophobia, Fear of Dancing
Chorophobia is the irrational fear of or aversion to dancing, often based on one’s unwillingness to become aroused, excited, or ecstatic.
Chorophobia is also a fear of any event, outcome, situation or person that resembles, relates or symbolizes “dancing” of any form or kind.
People suffering from Chorophobia will do anything and everything to avoid Dancing of any form or kind.
Any event, person or situation that resembles, relates to or symbolizes “dancing” can trigger this fear of Dancing off.
Usual symptoms of chorophobia are shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, panic, and avoidance of places where dancing would take place.
This Dancing phobia is generally caused by some influence of dancing in the person’s life through the media, cinema, childhood experiences, family experiences, dreams, books, news events, etc.
Chorophobia is often associated with other fears, such as the fear of embarrassment (or social phobia) or the fear of crowds.
8 – Lutraphobia, Fear of Otters
There are some pretty valid reasons to fear these furry little creatures, since they don’t mesh well with the human race.
They may look sweet and harmless, but they exhibit some traits that can be off-putting.
One thing that otters do that can be loathsome to some is spray.
Animals spray to mark their territory and the musky, animal stench of otter spray is not generally appreciated by humans.
Otters also have very sharp teeth, and they won’t hesitate to use them in defense. An otter bite can really hurt! If you observe an otter and the way it feeds, you’ll see that its sharp teeth can be threatening.
Like all animals, otters must prey on other creatures to stay alive. While they appear cuddly and playful, they are efficient predators in their own way.
7 – Aulophobia, Fear of Flutes
Fearing a musical instrument is more common than you might expect.
The appearance and sounds of certain musical instruments can produce a stress reaction in sensitive people: those who are afraid of the flute suffer from Aulophobia.
The flute is an elongated, thin tube. Flutes are part of the woodwind group of instruments.
Sound is produced by blowing over an oval opening near one end. The different sounds the flute makes are very pleasing to some, but, for those with Aulophobia, they are grating.
People who fear flutes may also dislike watching people play them.
They may be put off by the pursed lips and constant blowing required of a flutist (also known as a flautist).
The high-pitched sounds of the flute may be particularly irritating to those who dislike the instrument.
Those with sensitive hearing may shrink from the range of tones produced by this woodwind.
6 – Omphalophobia, Fear of Belly Buttons
The belly button is part of our normal anatomy.
This is a constant reminder that we were once connected to our mothers inside the womb and it seems unlikely that one will fear it but those who fear belly buttons are said to have omphalophobia.
People could have been triggered by false beliefs such as playing with one’s belly button too much and puncturing it accidentally can kill you instantly.
This has been passed on in some cultures from the elderly and they forbid people to clean their belly button. Others might also fear the belly button because of the deformity or dimple it creates in the abdominal wall.
For others, they might have a friend who had a belly ring which got infected and nearly died because of it.
People with this fear will try their best not to manipulate their belly buttons. They will not touch it when taking a bath and some may go to the extent of putting a cover or plaster over their belly buttons to protect it.
They will not go to places where they would expect to see belly buttons such as the beach where most people are in bathing suits with exposed navels.
5 – Consecotaleophobia, Fear of Chopsticks
Consecotaleophobia is the fear of chopsticks. Consecotaleophobia is considered to be a specific phobia, which is discussed on the home page. Consecotaleophobia is also related Sinophobia (fear of Chinese or the Chinese culture) and Japanophobia (fear of Japanese or the Japanese culture).
It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events (i.e. traumatic events) and internal predispositions (i.e. heredity or genetics).
Many specific phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age. Social phobias and agoraphobia have more complex causes that are not entirely known at this time.
It is believed that heredity, genetics, and brain chemistry combine with life-experiences to play a major role in the development of phobias.
As with any phobia, the symptoms vary by person depending on their level of fear.
The symptoms typically include extreme anxiety, dread and anything associated with panic such as shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, nausea, inability to articulate words or sentences, dry mouth and shaking.
4 – Megalophobia, Fear of Large Objects
Megalophobia is not a phobia in the usual clinical sense as people with megalophobia typically do not preemptively fear large objects, but they can get startled and can get panic attacks by the appearance of large objects.
Frightening objects are most often man made structures and less often natural occurring objects like hills. Even knowing that a large object will appear will typically not help the megalophobic.
Examples of megalophobic events/symptoms include the patient being outside and hears an approaching airplane, looks up and expect to see an airplane, but when the patient sees the plane the plane is larger and/or closer than suspected and the patient gets startled and/or experiences a panic attack.
Turning a corner and seeing a large structure like a windmill; nuclear power plant; oil refinery; crane;
Sufferes of Megalophobia can typically visit large cities like Manhattan, and be awestruck with the size of buildings, but not suffer from anxiety attacks or panic attacks.
Seeing small unexpected objects will not trigger the panic attack. For a megalophobia event to occur both surprise and large objects has present.
Symptoms (similar to that of all other extreme phobias) can include, but are not limited to acute panic attack, breathing difficulty, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, and nausea.
Sometimes, these feelings can become overwhelming.
3 – Dutchphobia, Fear of Dutch
Dutchphobia is an intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. While adults with dutchphobia realize that these fears you know your dutchphobia is illogical.
But it has persisted because your subconscious has attached the idea of the netherlands, the dutch, dutch culture to all those negative emotions.
Dutchphobia is usually caused by an intense negative experience from your past. But your mind can also create that fear seemingly without basis.
2 – HippopotomonstoseSquippeddaliophobia, Fear Of Long Words
It is possible to develop a phobia of virtually anything, no matter how innocuous it might actually be.
The fear of long words is certainly uncommon, but its rarity does not change how devastating it can be for those who suffer from it.
The common name for this fear, however, is a bit sarcastic in nature.
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is probably taken from the root word “sesquipedalian,” which means “long word.” Therefore, sesquipedaliophobia is technically more correct.
But somewhere along the line, someone added references to the hippopotamus, a large animal, and monsters to make the word sound even more intimidating.
How ironic that the name for the fear of long words is, itself, 35 letters long.
1 – Panphobia, Fear of Everything
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Panphobia, on the other hand, is a literal fear of everything. It may also include a non-specific fear of the idea of fear, which will bring on common anxiety and panic attacks. There is no single, proven cure of Panphobia and sufferers will usually have to learn to cope with the symptoms for their entire life.
Seeking out professional medical therapy, often combined with prescription medication, has shown progress in helping people deal with Panphobia and better manage stressful situations.
This rare phobia is known to most commonly arise after a traumatic personal event.
Since the phobia can be described as an overwhelming fear of a nondescript evil, the “root” of the problem usually does not lie in any single place or object, but rather the specific event.
In some rare cases, the phobia may be passed on genetically and affect randomly.
A change in brain chemistry may also be a cause of Panphobia, which some medications may be able to temporarily treat or suppress.
The medication is usually used in combination with professional therapy techniques in order to re-train a person’s brain into reducing anxiety levels and seeking out the root of the fear.
Living with an irrational fear of everything around you will eventually limit your lifestyle, control your life and your social outlets.
While there is no cure to treat Panphobia, visiting with a professional psychologist will help you sort out your fears and help you create coping strategies to manage your anxiety and prevent you from panicking.
Ask a friend or loved one to aid you in this process and seek out the best methods to get you back to living a healthier, happier lifestyle.
