The effect phobias have on people can be very detrimental to emotional and mental health. Here is a list of some weird and funny phobias to help you better understand the causes of human fears.
1. Nomophobia – fear of not having a mobile phone
Perhaps the most incredible 21st century-generated phobia is a nomophobia attributed to people who cannot bear the thought of being unable to contact them through a mobile device. Recent studies have shown that about 50% of mobile phone users feel slightly anxious and very uncomfortable if, for some reason, they cannot use their mobile phone. And some of them are seized by widespread irrational panic in such cases.
2. Ephebiphobia – fear of youth
Fear and disgust for youth is a force that destroys families, communities, and society at large. Known as ephebiphobia, this phenomenon is a widespread cultural force that drives adults to run away from children to restaurants, voters to campaign against high schools, and older people to move out of areas where teenagers live.
3. Scopophobia – fear of becoming an object of consideration
The list of funny and strange phobias continues with scopophobia, which causes awkwardness when looking at a person by other people. It may seem incredible, but scopophobes are afraid of drawing attention to themselves. As a result, they shun people and become unsociable. Other people’s views cause paranoia in them; they stay at home all the time or retire, as far as possible, completely refusing to leave their world. If they go out, they close as much as possible.
Scopophobia is indeed an extremely destructive phenomenon for the normal functioning of any person suffering from it. It can be caused by terrible events that happened to be experienced and that had a traumatic effect. These people may have faced rejection and ridicule because of any differences from others.
4. Phagophobia – fear of swallowing
Phagophobia is a type of neurosis characterized by an obsessive fear of choking on food while eating, caused by painful causes. Such reasons may be impaired swallowing, for example. In milder cases, phagophobes consume only soft and liquid food.
5. Phobophobia – fear of phobias
Yes, that happens too. As you might have guessed, phobophobia is the fear of starting to suffer from any phobias. Irrational fear of suffering from irrational fear is irrational fear itself. Therefore, people suffering from an irrational fear of having irrational fears are aware of their irrational fear every day. Confused? How do you think these poor people live?
6. Chorophobia – fear of dancing
Dancing is a popular form of exercise and a universal theme in many cultures around the world. However, there are still people out there who would rather sit out this song, even at social gatherings, because they are too shy to dance. This irrational fear of dancing is called chorophobia. Still, it is a fear of the process itself and any person, place, event, or situation associated with or symbolizing dancing.
7. Neophobia – fear of everything new
This is one of the most benign types of phobias that allows a person to live an ordinary life if only to hang in time and do nothing to bring novelty to life. Moving, changing jobs, other innovations in the usual, customary life schedule can cause panic.
8. Ablutophobia – fear of washing/bathing
Ablutophobia is the official name for the all-consuming and truly destructive fear of everything associated with the process of bathing, washing, or washing in general. These apply to the patient himself and everyone around him and can result in severe medical conditions and the possibility of extreme desolation. As with many other phobias, there is little explanation for when or for what reason an attack of ablutophobia may occur. But fortunately, it is on the list of the rarest types of phobias, at least the most acute cases.
9. Trichophobia – fear of hair
Trichophobia refers to an uncontrollable fear or extreme aversion to tossing hair, which applies both to the patient himself and to those around him. One has only to say that such individuals cannot be called pet lovers, and the prohibition of any furry in the house is a rather tricky tip of the iceberg. Just imagine the feeling of nausea looking at a comb with hair, the urge to scream or cry when next to a person with hair attached to his clothes, or lingering insomnia caused by the sight of an inch in a plate.
10. Caligynephobia – fear of beautiful women
Beauty should delight and cause a desire to strive for it, but not in any way frighten. But there is caligynephobia, which refers to unjustified fear of beautiful women. It is more common in adolescents and men, especially representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation.
11. Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors
It is also called Eisoptrophobia, and it refers to the fear of seeing oneself in a mirror or awe in front of mirrors in general. This phobia can be triggered by some traumatic event where the victim believes they saw a ghost in the mirror. Also, the reason may be watching a horror movie in which mirrors are present.
12. Chrometophobia – fear of money
Excessive fear of money is undoubtedly one of the strangest phobias that you might not even know about. The fear of money can seem ridiculous when everyone else is in dire need of it. Some scientists believe that this phobia stems from obsessive-compulsive disorder, which stems from the fear of germs on banknotes.
Chrometophobia should not be confused with the fear of getting rich. Sufferers of this rejection prefer using credit cards instead of money.
13. Peladophobia – fear of bald people/baldness
This is the absolute opposite of trichophobia. Are you worried about finding a bald person nearby? Then you can be a prime example of a person who has peladophobia. But what could be in a person without hair that induces such an attack of panic? The cause can come from early childhood or be hereditary.
14. Kathisophobia – fear of sitting or sitting down
If you need to sit down every time you are overwhelmed by anxiety, it is difficult for you to breathe, sweat, and have kathisophobia. Fear of sitting can be the result of a traumatic event involving pain or punishment through sitting.
15. Ergophobia – fear of work
You can, of course, justify everything by laziness, but the fact is that there is an officially recognized fear of work, which is called ergophobia. This kind of phobia goes far beyond the work itself and can be an extreme dread of activity in general, causing the patient to be unable to do anything productive.
No matter how strange and ludicrous the phobia may be, it does not seem banal for people who have fallen under its tormenting influence. If you can’t deal with your fear, seek medical attention. But don’t let any phobia stop you from living an everyday, whole life.