Fear of bananas, long words and more: the top 10 weird phobias that actually exist

The fear one feels is usually a normal reaction to trying to protect oneself from something that poses a threat. Fear, in particular, has helped humanity to evolve, keeping it from inevitable death in a dangerous world. But in addition to fears, people also have phobias, which, although similar in nature, are more of a psychological condition.

Everyone knows about people who are afraid of spiders, of heights or flying. But mankind is also aware of more absurd phobias, which are nevertheless real and can cause great suffering to those who live with them.

John Hopkins Medicine explains that a phobia is more than a fear, LiveScience writes. People with phobias do everything they can to avoid the source of their uncontrollable and overwhelming fear and may experience panic attacks when forced to face the object of their phobia.

Top 10 Little Known Phobias That Actually Exist

Tripophobia

Tripophobia is a fear or aversion to repeated patterns of holes. People with this condition can experience intense and unrelenting fear when they see objects such as bubble wrap, honeycomb, and seed pods.

A 12-year-old girl was known to have no mental disorder and did well in school, but was afraid of the sight of bread with seeds, cheese with holes in it, and clothes with polka dots on them. The mother became concerned about the girl's condition when she panicked and ran away when she saw the perforated concrete walls in the bathroom.

Globophobia

Globophobia is a fear of balloons, according to a British Medical Journal article. People with this phobia may experience intense fear at the sight, touch or even smell of balloons. Most people, however, are afraid of the sound of the balloons popping.

Vestiphobia

Vestiphobia is a fear of clothes, according to a report in Grand Rounds magazine. People with the disorder may have a fear of certain clothes, or they may be afraid of clothes that fit tightly around the body, making them feel constricted.

In extreme cases, the patient may be completely isolated from society to avoid having to dress up.

Bananophobia

Bananophobia is exactly what you thought it was - fear of bananas. One such case was reported by the Daily Mail. It was about a woman who had been so afraid of bananas all her life that she couldn't even be in the same room with them without feeling nauseous.

However, psychotherapy sessions helped the woman get rid of her phobia.

Arahibuterophobia

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the palate, according to an article in Food Bites magazine. Although this unpleasant feeling is not uncommon, people with arachibutyrophobia are very afraid of it. The person is not afraid of peanut butter itself, and only the feeling of "stickiness" causes panic. This is why patients may also avoid any other foods that have a similar consistency.

Hippotomonstrosispedalophobia

Hippopotomonstrosepedalophobia, or sesquipedalophobia, is not a fear of hippos, but a phobia of long words, the BBC reported. The name of the condition may sound like a cruel joke to those who suffer from it, but it is not without meaning. "Sesqui" from Latin means "one and a half," and "pedal" means "foot." So "sesquipedalophobia" literally translates to "fear of a foot and a half," or fear of a very long word.

This phobia is often caused by early experiences of shame and embarrassment in the pronunciation of long words. It can have a particular effect on dyslexic patients.

Omphalophobia

Omphalophobia is a fear of belly buttons. People with this condition cannot touch the belly button area, look at someone else's belly button, or even think about it without feeling bad.

Phobophobia

Phobophobia is the fear of phobias, according to a 1983 case study published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. The researchers described it as "free-floating anxiety" and a significant contributing factor to panic attacks.

People with this condition may fear the physical sensations that accompany fear, such as shortness of breath or palpitations. They may feel that these symptoms are life-threatening or could cause irreparable harm. They may also fear that they will develop a certain phobia.

According to the researchers, phobophobia is usually diagnosed along with anxiety disorders.

Trichophytosis

According to a 2022 article in the TNNMC Journal of Mental Health Nursing, trichophytosis is a fear of hair. People with the condition may be afraid to wash their hair, get their hair cut, or be around furry animals.

Toilet phobias

The term "toilet phobias" is used to describe a number of conditions in which people have difficulty going to the bathroom, according to the National Phobics Society.

These phobias can manifest as a fear of being too far from the toilet, a fear of using public toilets, or a fear that others might see or hear you using the toilet.

People with these conditions may go to extreme lengths to avoid going to the bathroom. We know of the tragic case of a 16-year-old girl who was so afraid of the toilet that she died from not being able to empty for almost two months.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL told about five strange phobias of Ukrainian stars.

Subscribe to the channels of OBOZREVATEL in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.