Does standing on the fifth-floor balcony give you weak knees? Is the mere mention of spiders enough to make you scream? Or maybe you can’t stay in a room without at least one lamp?
Don’t worry, you are not alone; we all have our fears. In fact, scientists state that fear is one of the most human emotions, one that comes from ancient times. Those who claim they fear nothing either don’t want to reveal their weak spots or haven’t discovered what terrifies them yet.
“Phobia” comes from Greek and translates as “fear.” Scientists use this word to name fears of various things – for example, claustrophobia, which is the fear of closed spaces. Phobias can vary significantly between something pretty understandable, like a fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), to something rather weird, let’s say, a fear of long words. You might think the person is making it up the first time you hear about it.
Why would anyone be afraid of words, and what’s so scary about long words specifically? Yet this phenomenon exists, and we should respect other people’s fears. Remember that somebody might not understand why you are afraid of flying. It might sound ironic, but the scientific name for the fear of long words consists of 35 (thirty-five!) letters.
Arachnophobia, or fear of spiders, is probably the most common phobia, alongside fear of snakes, heights, and flying. It is estimated that at least one in three women and one in four men are afraid of spiders. It is difficult to say what the rarest phobias are, but some weird examples include fear of clothing, fear of beards, and fear of work (I think now and then we all have this phobia at least a bit).
There are various reasons why people develop phobias, and scientists are still studying the deeper roots and possible treatments. But if you want to learn all about phobias that sound rather weird, read about them in our article. If you are feeling courageous today, let us know in the comments what your greatest fear is.
#1 Irony’s Favorite Word
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – fear of long words.
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#2 Wait, Am I Still Remembered?
Athazagoraphobia – fear of forgetting or being forgotten.
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#3 Wait, a phobia for peanut butter?
Arachibutyrophobia – fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth.
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#4 Fear of fearing? Same energy.
Phobophobia – fear of phobias.
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#5 Not your average bedtime fear
Zemmiphobia – fear of the great mole rat.
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#6 Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner?
Pentheraphobia – fear of your mother-in-law.
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#7 When Worry Gets Creative
Panphobia – fear of everything.
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#8 Wish That Ocean Was a Pool
Thalassophobia – fear of the ocean or deep, open water.
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#9 Work? Hard pass.
Ergophobia – fear of work.
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#10 Nope, Not Sleeping In This Coffin
Taphophobia – fear of being buried alive.
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#11 Dinner plans? Hard pass.
Deipnophobia – fear of dinner parties.
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#12 Guess Which Number’s Public Enemy No. 1
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666.
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#13 Family Photo? Hard Pass
Syngenesophobia – fear of relatives.
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#14 Honestly, Same Energy
Decidophobia – fear of making decisions.
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#15 Commitment Issues, But Make It Science
Gamophobia – fear of marriage/relationships/commitment in general.
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#16 Wait, there’s a word for that?
Peladphobia – fear of bald people.
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#17 When Your Right Side Gets a Little Too Clingy
Dextrophobia – fear of having objects to your right.
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#18 When Winning Feels Scary
Kakorrhaphiophobia – fear of failure.
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#19 When superstition hits different
Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.
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#20 Who invited the nightmares?
Coulrophobia – fear of clowns.
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