It is known that phobias are irrational disorders, but there are cases that never cease to amaze.
The 25 strangest phobias of the human being
People who have phobias can suffer a lot from them . This is a highly exaggerated fear response to a stimulus that is generally harmless. This irrationality can be treated in psychotherapy, with the cognitive-behavioral model being the one that offers the best extinction response.
Do not forget that people with phobias suffer a lot in certain situations. Fortunately, there are certain fears that are very easy to avoid in urban contexts, such as snakes, for example, but others are much more difficult to avoid. Next we will see the rarest phobias that exist and what is the avoidant behavior of people who suffer from them.
1. Parthenophobia
Parthenophobia is one of the rarest phobias that can exist. It is about the fear of virgin girls . The person who suffers from it can become anxious if she is in front of any young girl who could be a virgin.
2. Penteraphobia
This fear is going to bring a smile to more than one, but it is not funny to those who suffer from it. We speak of penteraphobia or fear of the mother-in-law . For some people, talking to the mother of their partner represents a great source of anxiety.
3. Tripofobia
Trypophobia is the fear of a set of holes, pits, or gaps . It is one of the rarest fears that exist, as it increases when the holes are of similar size and are very close together. There are many more people than we realize who have this strange fear.
4. Fobophobia
Phobophobia is one of the most twisted phobias. It’s about the fear of being afraid . People who suffer from it are the most hypochondriacal, and feel great fear at the thought that they may have fears.
5. Levofobia y dextrofobia
Some people develop fears of things that are in a certain location in space. Levophobia is the fear of objects to the left of one’s body , while dextrophobia is the fear of objects to the right .
6. Pogonophobia
Pogonophobia is the phobia of beards . The fashion of growing a beard has surely made pogophobics have a harder time than in the past.
7. Hypnophobia
Hypnophobia is the fear of falling asleep . It is also known as somniphobia or clinophobia, and those who suffer from this fear fear that they will no longer be in the conscious world. This phobia produces serious sleep disorders.
8. Omphalophobia
Omphalophobia is also one of the rarest phobias. It is the fear of navels . Any idea related to the navels creates a terrifying anguish for those who suffer from this phobia. Touching one is the omphalophobe’s worst fear.
9. Fagophobia
Phagophobia is the fear of swallowing . Without a doubt, eating and drinking can become a real odyssey for people who suffer from this phobia, with malnutrition being a very common consequence.
10. Lacanofobia
Without leaving the theme of food, we find lacanophobia. It’s about the fear of vegetables . A very irrational phobia that obviously makes the person not eat fruits or vegetables. This is very bad news for the overall health of the body.
11. Numerophobia
Numerophobia is the fear of numbers . They are very hard phobias because numbers are everywhere, and people who suffer from this fear develop real obsessions. Mathematics is avoided at all costs.
12. Barophobia
Barophobia is known as the fear of gravity , although it is not exactly like that. It is imprecise, and what happens to these people is that they are afraid of the sensations caused by changes in perceived gravity. They avoid elevators, amusement parks, or even escalators.
13. Phalacrophobia
Phalacrophobia is the fear of bald people . Looking at a bald person produces a lot of anguish for those affected, although the idea of touching a bald head can be worse. The fear of going bald is also very intense.
14. Catisophobia
Catisophobia is the fear of sitting down . Undoubtedly a very difficult fear to bear that he usually has the explanation of having suffered a traumatic experience while sitting. Kidnapping, torture, or even hemorrhoids could be the cause.
15. Chromophobia
Chromophobia is the phobia of colors . Traumatic experiences are usually described to explain these irrational aversions, but there are still more specific fears. An example of this is xanthophobia (fear of the color yellow) or chlorophobia (fear of the color green).
16. Caetofobia
Caetophobia is the fear of hair . The thought of hair from other people or animals is terrifying for these people, and we no longer talk about the idea of touching it. There are cases where you are even afraid of your own hair.
17. Alliumfobia
As if it were vampires, there are people who have alliumphobia, that is, fear of garlic . The strong smell of garlic is a nightmare for people who suffer from this phobia, but also thinking about it or touching it.
18. Linonofobia
Linnophobia is the fear of threads, strings, ropes, and chains . A phobia that seems very irrational but that, like others, may have its origin in some type of traumatic experience such as a kidnapping.
19. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is fear of the number 666 . A very complicated name (which takes the Greek as its root) that is explained by a previous fear of Lucifer. If a person with this phobia sees the number 666, he feels great fear because he associates it with a sign from Satan.
20. Ceraunophobia
Ceraunophobia is the fear of being struck by lightning . Normally the ceraunophobic is also afraid of thunder and storms, irrational fears but much more common in the population.
21. Omatophobia
Omatophobia is the phobia of eyes . Omatophobics suffer a lot of fear when thinking or seeing images of eyes. Sometimes what terrifies them the most is that the iris is a certain color.
22. Chionophobia
Chionophobia is the fear of snow , whether it is falling or already deposited on the ground. The feeling of touching it is even more distressing, and living in certain parts of the world can be really traumatic for chionophobic people.
23. Mageirocofobia
Mageirocophobia is the fear of cooking . The idea of having to cook generates a lot of stress for the mageirocophobic and that is why he always manifests the maximum avoidance behaviors when preparing food. One of the rarest fears that exist in terms of food.
24. Anablephobia
Anablephobia is the phobia of looking up . The idea of tilting your head up and looking at what is there is something terrifying for people who suffer from this fear, whether they are indoors or outdoors.
25. Alectorofobia
There are many fears of animals such as snakes and spiders, but there are other cases in which animals give rise to some of the strangest phobias that exist. This is the case of alectorophobia or fear of birds , in which common birds such as chickens or hens are feared.
Bibliographic references
- Christophe, A. (2006). Psychology of fear. Fears, anxieties and phobias. Barcelona: Editorial Kairos .
- Craske, M., Martin M.A. y David, H.B. (2006). Mastering your fears and phobias. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- LeDoux, J. (2003). The emotional brain, fear, and the amygdala. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 23 (4-5), 727-738.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.