The strangest phobias

Many of us are afraid of the dark, air travel, or enclosed spaces. There are countless different phobias, because each of us is individual, like our fears. In this article, you will learn about the most amazing and unusual phobias diagnosed in humans.

Recently, there are more and more phobias in the world associated with modern technology. There is an explanation for this: with the development of technology, our world has changed very quickly, and most people are afraid of any changes, because they are associated with instability and surprise. There are seven of the most common gadget fears.

• Nomophobia is the fear of losing your mobile phone. Have you ever forgotten your smartphone when leaving the house even for a little while? If you experienced significant discomfort from this situation, anxiety close to panic, and a feeling of protection, then you may have nomophobia. This name comes from the English "no mobile phone". For the first time, the term was coined by researchers back in 2008, when it became clear from experimental data that more than 50% of the subjects felt palpable fear when they were left without connection. Now the spread of this disease is only progressing.

• Cyberophobia is a fear of computers. This is a completely natural phenomenon, since computers are everywhere now around us, and artificial intelligence is actively developing. Many people wonder what will happen if all the power of electronic technology turns against a person.In extreme cases, this phobia even has physical symptoms: patients feel nausea and dizziness when they see computers. This fear really prevents many people from living, since in the modern world it is extremely difficult to protect oneself from computers. However, psychologists successfully help patients solve this problem.

• Socionetophobia is a fear of social media. Indeed, in the era of the development of online communication, many are afraid to create accounts and upload personal data there - a photo, real name and surname, and so on. Fear stems from the bias that accounts can be monitored or manipulated. Some, for example, don't want family and friends to see them on a dating site. Others are afraid to post personal photos with their family on their page so that their superiors do not see them at work. Psychologists are also successfully solving this problem.

• Trollephobia is another unusual modern disease. Trolls are people who leave negative comments in order to get certain emotions and answers from the interlocutor, deliberately harm his personal reputation or his project. Unfortunately, there are indeed many trolls among the users of modern social networks, and not everyone knows how to ignore their provocations with dignity. Most often, the disease occurs in vulnerable people who are dependent on the opinions of others, as well as in overly suspicious and distrustful people. They strive for anonymity, are afraid to draw attention to themselves in the virtual space, and refrain from public comments.

• Emojiphobia is another extraordinary fear that has emerged with the rise in popularity of emojis on the Internet. Emojiphobia sufferers are afraid to put any symbol inappropriately and fear that the interlocutor will misunderstand them based on the smiley. To one degree or another, many have this phobia: now the overwhelming majority of users use positive emoticons in any context, fearing that a simple sentence with a dot will be read aggressively. Most often, this phobia does not last long, but appears periodically and very selectively. This is due to the fact that on the Internet we correspond with colleagues at work, and with bosses, and with relatives, and with friends.

• Selfiphobia is the fear of turning out badly in selfies. Despite the fact that fear sounds quite comical and strange, psychologists say that it is a real disease that is difficult to treat. The psychological problem is more typical for young girls, but sometimes it overtakes male youth and even older people. With the development of social media, many active users require constant approval from their followers. For the sake of good photographs, sometimes they even do plastic surgery. As a prevention of this phobia, it is recommended not to spend too much time on social networks and focus not on your own photos, but directly on communication.

• Treadophobia is the fear of leaving comments on social networks or in discussions on forums. Usually such people are quite shy and withdrawn in life. Some become more relaxed on the Internet, while others shut down even more and completely refrain from public communication.This is due to the fear that an unsuccessful comment will remain in the discussion thread, negatively affect the reputation of the writer, and become the object of ridicule. Treadophobes are very afraid of criticism, they are afraid to receive threats or insults in response to their opinion. Very often they solve the problem by creating anonymous accounts and they feel much more comfortable with them.

Very different things can cause fear in a person. If most people react with surprise to unusual phobias, these are real problems for patients. Consider things, objects and phenomena that provoke anxiety and fear.

• Buttons are a familiar part of life for us, but some people can be seriously intimidated. This disease is called kumpunophobia. Phobia is quite rare, but very uncomfortable for the patient, because buttons surround us everywhere.
• Vegetables are also a source of uncontrollable fear for some. Severely ill patients have a rapid heart rate, uneven breathing, nausea, and trembling. Some people cannot even eat the product next to which the vegetable was lying. This phenomenon is called lacanophobia.
• Psychologists have called the fear of rain ombrophobia. Often it is formed from early childhood: when we are afraid of a thunderstorm and do not leave the house, or when parents forbid walking in the rain so as not to catch a cold. Also, this natural phenomenon for many is associated with sadness and loneliness: if a person is currently in an unstable emotional state, it is rain that can aggravate depression. The reasons for the fear of rain are different for each patient, so the treatment is also very different.
• The fear of small holes is one of the most famous strange phobias. She is not as rare as it might seem. Patients experience fear and disgust for objects with holes - these can be all kinds of sponges, exotic flowers or honeycombs. Fear manifests itself on an unconscious level and has no obvious reasons or explanations. This disease is called trypophobia.
• Horophobia is a fear of dancing. Usually shy people or individuals who are in poor sports form suffer from this phobia: they themselves do not like to dance and will never do it in public. However, the phobia spreads more widely: patients avoid any situations associated with dancing, be it ballet or disco in a club. Sometimes a phobia can be associated with childhood trauma - usually it shows a person's self-doubt.

Sometimes people are not horrified by inanimate things, but by people. Moreover, these can be both social groups and completely specific individuals. Such phobias are rare, however, they are a real problem in treatment, because the causes of their occurrence are very variable.

Most often, this fear manifests itself in parents who do not know how to behave with their own child in his transitional age and cannot find contact with an adult son or daughter. Also, elderly people often avoid clusters of adolescents: there is too great a cultural gap between them, the elderly do not understand the slang, lifestyle and clothing style inherent in young people, therefore adolescents are often afraid.

There is papaphobia - this is the fear of the Pope. Fear is extremely rare and often results from trauma. This phobia is associated with fear of religious rites, priests and any attributes of a particular religious culture.

Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns. The phobia seems unusual, but it has become more common lately. It is connected with the fact that the clown's face is brightly painted like a mask, which does not allow us to understand his true emotions and intentions: this uncertainty gives rise to distrust and a sense of danger. Sometimes the fear of clowns also occurs in children.

There are tons of weird phobias that we don't even think about. Some fears may seem very stupid from the outside, but in other situations we recognize ourselves. Consider other more surprising and unusual phobias today.

• An interesting phenomenon is haptophobia - this is the fear of touching other people. Patients experience great stress when in crowded places, in crowds or on public transport. Sometimes even friendly touches of acquaintances in a company cause panic: contact only with very close people whom they can fully trust will be comfortable for haptophobes. Sometimes emotional discomfort is accompanied by physical pain. There is also a fear of touching men or women - this is often associated with trauma.
• Fear of decision making is another absurd phenomenon called decidophobia. Many of us crave freedom and the opportunity to control our lives as much as possible, but those suffering from this phobia are trying to evade responsibility in every way. In part, this may be due to the type of personality: insecure and fearful people are more likely to suffer from this disease. Sometimes a phobia occurs after a tragic life event that follows a decision.
• Caliginephobia is another extremely unusual disease involving the fear of beautiful women. More often than not, this is typical for men: they can be inexperienced adolescents, once rejected adult men or representatives of homosexual orientation. Such men feel insecure in communication and in every possible way avoid interaction with spectacular representatives of the fair sex. Sometimes the disease occurs in women, because they see a rival in the object of their phobia.
• Ablutophobia is the fear of bathing and taking a shower. In its extreme states, it can be very unpleasant, up to physical discomfort. The causes of this phobia differ from person to person: some feel too vulnerable in the bathroom and are afraid of being attacked, while others are afraid of water because of the risk of drowning and drowning.
• There is an irrational fear of suffering any phobias - this is phobophobia. This is not an easy phenomenon to understand, but obsessive thoughts about the danger of becoming a victim of this or that phobia significantly spoil the life of patients. Psychologists solve this problem depending on individual reasons.

See below for 26 strange phobias.