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

The fear that a person experiences is usually a normal reaction to trying to protect oneself from something that poses a threat. Fear, in particular, helped humanity evolve by keeping us from dying in a dangerous world. However, 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, heights, or flying. Still, humanity also knows more absurd phobias that are real and can cause great suffering to those who live with them.

Johns Hopkins Medicine explains that a phobia is more than fear, LiveScience writes. People with phobias do everything possible 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 exist in reality

Trypophobia

Trypophobia is a fear or aversion to repeating patterns of holes. People with this condition may experience intense and overwhelming fear when they see objects such as bubble wrap, honeycomb, and seed pods.

There is a story about a 12-year-old girl who had no mental disorders and was doing well in school but was afraid of the sight of bread with seeds, cheese with holes in it, and polka-dotted clothes. Her mother became concerned when she ran away in panic after seeing the perforated concrete walls in the bathroom.

Globophobia

Globophobia is a fear of balloons, according to an article in the British Medical Journal. 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 that occurs when balloons burst.

Vestiphobia

Vestiphobia is a fear of clothing, according to a report in the journal Grand Rounds. People with this condition may be afraid of certain clothes or they may be afraid of clothes that fit tightly around the body, making them feel constrained.

In extreme cases, the patient may completely isolate themselves from society to avoid the need to dress.

Bananophobia

Bananophobia is exactly what you think it is: a fear of bananas. One such case was reported by the Daily Mail. It was about a woman who was 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.

Arachibutyrophobia

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

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia 

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

This phobia is often caused by early experience of shame and embarrassment when pronouncing long words. It can particularly affect patients with dyslexia.

Omphalophobia

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

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 be afraid of the physical sensations that accompany fear, such as shortness of breath or heart palpitations. They may feel that these symptoms are life-threatening or could cause irreparable harm. They may also fear that they will develop a specific phobia.

According to researchers, phobophobia is usually diagnosed together 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 this condition may be afraid to wash their hair, cut their hair, or be around furry animals.

Toilet phobia

The term toilet phobia is used to describe a number of conditions in which people have difficulty using the toilet, according to the National Phobics Society.

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

People with these conditions may go to extreme lengths to avoid using the toilet. There is a tragic case of a 16-year-old girl who was so afraid of the toilet that she died because she could not defecate for almost two months.

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