Bizarre Phobias

Tom wrote to ask about the reality of a site called The Phobia Clinic. At first glance, the site definitely looks like it represents a real business that's selling a program to help people overcome their fears. The strangeness comes when you dig into some of the fears that they claim they can cure, and you have to wonder... do such fears or anxieties really exist? For example, they can cure you of Arachibutyrophobia (that's a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth), Ballistophobia (a fear of bullets... but why would anyone want to overcome their fear of bullets? Isn't that a good thing to be afraid of?), Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words... the name of the anxiety alone probably sends sufferers into convulsions), and the list goes on and on. Despite all the weird anxieties, I think that the Phobia Clinic is real enough, in the sense that they'll take your money and offer some kind of 'cure.' But I'm skeptical about whether their cure actually works.

Psychology

Posted on Fri Nov 21, 2003



Comments

My mother has a thing against ears. She always comments about people's ears, and asks frequently if her ears are showing. Is that wierd? She also will not admit it, but she is hydrophobic. She will take a bath or shower, but if we want to go to the ocean, lake or pool, she will comment about being careful about getting your head in the water, and how can anybody dive or swim because it's so "unnatural."

My mother had a friend who has a fear of tomatoes because "they are ugly." She wouldn't touch a tomato, or permit one to be in her sight. She would eat ketchup, but never ever want to look at any tomato, even canned or sun-dried. That's wierd.
Posted by Linda  on  Fri Jan 05, 2007  at  03:19 PM
I am So glad to hear that I'm not alone. The sound of cardboard boxes scratching against eachother, even thinking about cardboard, sends chills down my spine, ooohhh... - sort of like nails against a chalkboard. Also styrofoam makes me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. The worst is when I have to open boxes with styrofoam packing..OMG.
Posted by Kathy  on  Tue Jan 09, 2007  at  07:46 PM
I realized today that i have a fear of fingertips touching fabrics or any material. Before today I never understood what was going on, I always have had long nails since i can remember...and today i chewed them all completely off...And I lost my remote in the couch and i couldnt even bare to touch the cushion with my fingertips..I had to put a glove on just to pick it up...and before, Whenever people would scratch their leg through their pants or anything I would cringe, tense up and grit my teeth and I just want to SCREAM!

Now what the heck is that called??? How can i stop that..I cant stand not being able to touch fabric without a glove on, its getting OLD!

please help lol
Posted by Sara Ventimiglia  on  Fri Jan 12, 2007  at  01:58 AM
Dose anyone know what the fear of belly buttons is called?
I hate them, i cant stand seeing people put their fingers in them or touching my belly button. It freaks me out sooooo badly.
Posted by jo  on  Mon Jan 15, 2007  at  12:42 PM
My daughter has been told by psychiatrists that fear of touching paper is a real problem and it is out there. Hers is an obsessive compulsive disorder and also a sensory disorder as well. She cannot touch dry feeling paper. Only smooth feeling paper such as magazines. She must have lotion on her at all times to keep moisture in her hands. She only touches toilet tissue because she has to obviously. Just saying the word PAPER around her makes her cringe. Also being near people whistling is very difficult for her to be around. But I do not have an actual name for this either.
Posted by Sheila Pachesny  on  Fri Jan 19, 2007  at  10:27 PM
Umm ok since a few years ago I relized that whenever I look at feet for more then two seconds I start to have a panic attack. I start to get really sick and uncomfotable...even with my own feet. I hate for people to touch my feet. I also refuse to touch other peoples feet as well. Do you know what that phobia is called?? I know what caused me to be scared of feet...But what I don't know is what it's called.

Cam
Posted by cammie  on  Wed Jan 24, 2007  at  06:13 PM
Does anyone know the name of the phobia for losing fingernails is? Ever since I was the unfortunate witness of an accident involving bicicle stokes, I have had this fear of losing my nails. I have looked all over for the name. I know there is a fear of losing teeth but Im not to sure about nails.
Posted by alyssa  on  Sun Jan 28, 2007  at  01:10 PM
i am terrified of a boob. not both ..... just 1! i guess its just b/c the nipples look like eyes staring out at me!!! I mean its usually the left one, and when i see thAT LEFT PEAK, i have to cry &i run awway from it, & thats why i only have sex with a girl when her bra is on, or when her left boob is covered up by a napkin....its b/c of my old daycare teacher that had 3 boobs!!!yes 3. it was always just another lump there...scary!!!
Posted by nik  on  Mon Feb 12, 2007  at  03:45 PM
fear of porclin dolls
Posted by n/a  on  Tue Feb 13, 2007  at  02:47 PM
I have searched high and low for the name of the fear of styrofoam. The noise, the smell, the touch...I can't do it. I get severe panic attacks.
Posted by Sarah J  on  Thu Feb 22, 2007  at  07:19 AM
I have this realy weird fear of being tickled. If you even just say you're gonna tickle me, i'll actually scream. I tremble and i run away. I've heard of the fear of being tickled by feathers, but being tickled at ALL makes me do these unusual things. Of course, since i scream, my riends ticle me all the time. IM GOING INSANE! at the end of every day my throat is actually coarse from screaming and i cover myself with mi hands as i walk to my dorm. I need help PRONTO! any ideas?
Posted by miri  on  Wed Mar 07, 2007  at  08:08 PM
I actually have a friend who is afraid of baked beans, and another firned said she also knows someone who is afraid. It must be quite common! Anyone know a name for it?
Posted by Bethan  on  Wed Mar 14, 2007  at  02:56 PM
I am an Omphalophobic. omphalophobia is the fear of bellybuttons.
Posted by Rachel  on  Thu Mar 29, 2007  at  06:03 PM
I'm So Glad People Have Responded To My Post On Fear Of Dwarves And Midgets. It Is Both Comforting And Eye-Opening To See That I Am Not Alone. Hopefully One Day This Fear Will Be Further Studied And Become A Treatable Nuisance Of The Past. If There Is Anyone Else Who Has Any Information Concerning The Fear Of Dwarves..Please Share. It Would Be Greatly Appreciated.




Rene
Posted by Rene  on  Fri Mar 30, 2007  at  11:25 PM
I've always been afraid of midgets, too. It's totally irrational and embarrassing but I think that somehow they're contagious. There must be some evolutionary reason for this phobia.

(My mother cannot stand the site of a loose eyelash on someone's face.)
Posted by MLE  on  Wed Apr 11, 2007  at  07:28 PM
About the fear of Midgets:
I do not have this fear to the extent of a phobia, but my sister does. I remember once we were in Amsterdam in a clup, and really high on some mushroom and dancing like crazy, and she spotted a little person dancing in the floor, she freaked out into a bad trip and spent the rest of her days in the hotel room. She claims it is because of a B-movie she saw when she was 6 in which a group of midgets were lynching a nun. The name of the movie was translated "I don't want to be born" into Turkish.
I asked a psychiatrist friend of mine, and he said it might be related to a primal survival mechanism of "leaving the odd one out". That is, when facing a person with genetical abnormality, the brain urges one to stay away with the irrational fear that the abnormality can be contagious. We know that most cultures in ancient times killed babies that were born with bigger than usual heads, small or no limps or digits.
Posted by Umut  on  Fri Apr 13, 2007  at  06:59 AM
Ok..this subject was mentioned but I didnt see anyone with an actual chalk phobia. I am freaked out by chalk. It makes me feel like it will never get it off of me if I touch it. I won't even let my kids have sidewalk chalk. I almost quit a college algebra class because the teacher used the chalkboard. I was able to convince him to switch to the dry erase. Its not just the dryness-its the impending dread of that scratching noise too. OMG everyone thinks I'm crazy. I also HATE my elbows touched. WEird, huh?
Posted by Heather  on  Fri Apr 13, 2007  at  09:49 AM
I HAVE A FEAR OF WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR FIRST AT SCHOOL, IT BOTHERS ME SO MUCH! AND I ALSO HAVE A PHOBIA OF HEARING CERTAIN WORDS USED TWICE IN A ROW NEXT TO ANOTHER WORD USED TWICE IN A ROW.
Posted by Shannon  on  Mon Apr 16, 2007  at  02:09 PM
I have a terrible phobia of the movie "The Ring" and "The Grudge". I didn't see the grudge, because the previews would give me panic attacks. I also have a phobia of soap...IF i use it (at home, I don't use it in public), I have to make several trips back to rinse off whatever was washed. Whenever I get into a situation where The Ring is involved (catching a glimpse of something on tv), i have what i think are convulsions, but i don't know what they are called, they are very physical (my stomach muscles contract up and i can't breathe at all) and almost always include some form of self-mutilation, usually hitting my head on a wall, with a shoe, whatever is near...thinking about someone getting soap on me can also induce these attack-things. PLEASE help I don't know what to do about the convulsion-like-episodes, and has anyone ever heard of a fear of soap or a specific movie?
Posted by Julie  on  Tue Apr 17, 2007  at  10:05 PM
Help.My son is in grade 6 and has thus paper phobia. He cannot touch paper especially after the shower. It seems to be getting worse. Can we fix this? Can we improve it? How can I help him? Is ther anyone who has got over this problem or found a way to improve the phobia.
Posted by Lisa  on  Sun Apr 29, 2007  at  05:56 AM
Omg I'm so glad I found this site!! I have a massive phobia of wet toilet paper. I have no idea why and it sounds so stupid that I never tell anyone!!! I freak out when going in swimming pool toilets...wet toilet paper all over the floor just makes my skin crawl!!
Posted by Helen  on  Sun Apr 29, 2007  at  03:36 PM
I'm glad I'm not the only one out there with a strange quirk - i really dislike cardboard and some paper, especially newspapers. I don't class it as a phobia yet as if i really have to handle it i will grin and bare it. It's not all cardboard, just the unshiney shuff, like raw cardboard as i call it. I think it developed from working in a shoe shop and dealing with boxes all the time. I hate the feel on my hands especially after i have washed my hands. It makes my skin crawl. Sometimes i forget i'm carrying cardboard and i when i realise (soon after) i drop whatever im carrying. Pizza boxes is the worse and the sound of them opening, yuck. I've dropped one in the middle of the street before without realising. The sound of cardboad on cardboard makes my skin itch. Everyone finds it funny and not really serious so rub it in my face, scratch it ect.. I'm glad there is others out ther and a name for it Papyrophobia so i can prove to the sceptics that i'm not just strange!!
Posted by Angelmouse  on  Tue May 08, 2007  at  06:26 AM
Right, so i have a fear of chalk, in school i couldnt even watch someone right with it, i cant stand the sound, it makes me spasm all over. one kid in my math class ate a piece just to gross me out, and i puked. yea its that bad, i cant touch it or anything, and somehow this also ties in with snow....you know like when its so cold that the snow crunches? i cant walk on it because of the feeling and sound. Also, grinding teeth....gyyyaaaahhhhhhhh! and when the dentist scrapes your teeth with that pointy thing!

not sure how but all of this ties together for me.

does anyone know what the name for any of those phobias is??? please!
Posted by Samantha  on  Fri Jun 08, 2007  at  10:18 AM
Please, please tell me what the fear of achilles tendons is. I'm deathly afraid of them. I hate the word. It's hard to just type this. They physically hurt when I even hear the word. I've passed out in movies because of certain things happening. Please, please, please what the name?
Posted by Dwayne  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  12:22 AM
Achilles tendonitis.


Sorry, sorry... had to be said. I couldn't help myself.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  09:25 AM
My mother has Arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of her mouth. Really. Well, at least she started out with Arachibutyrophobia, but now she just hates peanut butter, and when I say "hate," I mean HATE. She can barely stand to have it in the house. Heck, she can barely stand to have it in the same hemisphere.
Posted by Kathleen  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  12:19 PM
About that achilles tendon fear of Dwayne's...well, you might try looking here: http://www.phobialist.com/

It's just a list (a very LONG list) of phobias, and it's indexed both alphabetically and by feared thing, so maybe you can find something there. I didn't see anything, but I didn't look very closely. And even if you don't find it, well, the lesson you learn from the phobia list is that it is, in a way, really normal to have irrational fears, it's just that people don't always agree on what those things ought to be.
Posted by Kathleen  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  12:42 PM
i have a deathly fear of napkins. i hate the way the feel and when they rub together, i always use a towel to wipe my hands, or even my pants. i hate them especially when they get wet. sometimes i will throw up. also, i have a phobia of midgets. i feel like their diaphragms are being crushed since they are small. AH
Posted by marisa  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  06:00 PM
i also have a fear of breaking that string under my tongue, it would hurt so bad! and i HATE when the fork scrapes on the plate.. also i hate when you scratch the top of the car ceiling with your nails GAHH i cannot even think about it. i think im the only person weird enough to have all these odd phobias.
Posted by marisa  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  06:02 PM
i have a phobia of seaweed. if i see it i will gag.
Posted by Emily  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  06:04 PM
:gulp: OMG!! chris from new york, i like so totally know what you mean!! whenever my hands are dry i just like put them in a fist and wait for them to sweat so that they aren't completely dry. and when my hands ARE dry, sometimes like in the mornings, when i feel paper or like any dry stuff i just have to suck in my lips and put my hands in fists until they aren't dry, like i said before. omg. does anyone know the name of this phobia? if so, please tell me.
Posted by kristin  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  08:38 PM
:gulp: NEVERMIND!! i went to phobialist.com and i know the word for the fear of dryness! omg! it's Xerophobia. YAY! i have xerophobia. well not yay, but at least i know what it is
Posted by kristin  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  08:46 PM
:gulp:OMG! abby in florida who posted her comment on fri. dec. 29, 2006 at 8:34 pm i guess, you're like SO totally right with that touching rocks or chalk or anything rough, your whole body tenses up. that like happens to me too! if it IS uncontrolled reflexes, that sucks, but it might be a phobia. anyone know the name?
Posted by kristin  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  09:01 PM
:gulp:OMG! samantha that posted in this page, above me a little, that posted on fri. jun. 8, 2007 at 8:18 am i like so totally know what you mean with the fear of chalk and like the dentist scraping your teeth with that pointy thingy!! i can't stand it! the only things that i don't have similar to your comment are the snow crunching thing and the teeth grinding thing. i actually don't have a fear of those. but i like really understand your other fears! it might have to do with dryness or something, but i would also like to have all of my fears linked together cuz they are already kinda. and some of them, like the ones you listed, there aren't phobias for!! does anyone know the name of them?
Posted by kristin  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  09:22 PM
:gulp:OMG for the one i posted before [sorry for posting so many 😊] Chionophobia is the fear of snow! just to let you know, samantha
Posted by kristin  on  Wed Jul 11, 2007  at  09:37 PM
ey i have homophobia i am not scaired of gay people but the freak me out and make me very angry just know ing they are there makes me mad i dont even like gay girls and im a dude does any1 know how 2 help over come this i dont wanna hate gay people i just do oh and ps seaweed fear girl sea weed is an ingrediant in most tooth pastes lol
Posted by Alex Ferguson  on  Fri Jul 13, 2007  at  12:29 PM
Omgosh i have this insane fear of styrofoam and its ALWAYS the packaging of gifts so im beginning to hate christmas and birthdays (though not phobias lol but i dont want them to come) Any time i see styrofoam i HAVE to walk away and if someone touches it im completely paralyzed. After they stop i feel the need to grind my teeth together and scratch my nails on a hard surface like jeans or plastic. Just typing this is making me grind my teeth. I don't even know if their is a name for that phobia and i guess its not the name so much that im concerned about but if anyone knows how to help it i would appreciate hearing from them.
Posted by i goby Hugs  on  Tue Aug 07, 2007  at  11:43 PM
i have a fear of midgets...i feel so bad but i cant help it! i told my boyfriend and he didnt believe me until one time at the casino there was a midget worker and i tryed so hard not to look but he made me and i cryed...i felt horrible. luckely the midget didnt see me.
can anyone relate????
Posted by angelina  on  Sat Aug 11, 2007  at  02:35 PM
i hate cardborad and lollypop sticks they make me cry, if some one put them on me i would screem
they make me feel sick, i can't stand them
Posted by jordan  on  Mon Aug 13, 2007  at  11:48 AM
I have a fear of glue. Does anyone know what this is called? I've checked the Phobia List website and it's not there, and using Search Engines comes up with nothing.

Thanks in advance. ;3
Posted by Tagg  on  Thu Aug 23, 2007  at  03:25 AM
There's a woman in my office that has a phobia of cardboard. Why is that and what is the proper term for that?
Posted by Jacqueline  on  Tue Aug 28, 2007  at  09:39 AM
Oh dear... I knew googling my napkin phobia would turn up *something*. I've been terrified of wet/crumpled napkins for as long as I can remember. If you wet a napkin and put it near me, I WILL scream, even in a restaurant. I can't stand to see people crumple up their napkins and throw them in their empty food boxes/drink containers; it makes me physically ill. I also hate when people use wet toilet paper to clean stuff... Like cuts. When I was little the grown-ups always used to clean my cut knees with wet toilet paper and it used to stick in the cut!! Or leave rolled up specks of toilet paper all over me!!!
Posted by Meghan  on  Wed Aug 29, 2007  at  04:31 PM
I have a phobia i think thats what you would call it of my hands drying whehn i get out of the bath or shower or even when i have just washed them, i am unable to touch anything when i get out of the bath until i have plastered my hands in cream the thought of it makes me cringe!!! there is only one other person i know who has this and its my cousin! is this classed as a phobia?? Also we can not stand certain things on our hands susch as powder, chalk, dust dried clay or mud! HELP!!!!
Posted by Serena  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  05:39 AM
Wow, someone feels the same as me. I absolutely HATE napkins. Touching them makes me shiver. And when you rub a nakins against itself. (I literally just got the goosebumps).
Posted by Gil Semple  on  Thu Aug 30, 2007  at  04:19 PM
i have a fear of oompa loompas. now i dont have a fear of midgets or little people but even the song from the movie can put me on edge. i sweat when i hear about them or hear the song. what is this fear called?
Posted by mathias  on  Sun Sep 02, 2007  at  06:42 PM
Hi i can not stand the touch of carpets jeans or wool clothing, i also can not stand touching most things after i have washed my hands, it actually puts me off washing them, i also can not bear to go to sleep with out vaseline on my feet or cream because of the feeling of the bed sheets on my feet, so dry it awfulalso walking on carpets especially cord carpets, urgggh helllp
Posted by leanne  on  Sun Sep 16, 2007  at  12:57 PM
i have the fear of something touching or peircing the middle of my hands. weird, right? i hate it. if someone even holds out their hand and pokes their own palm i freak out. it's really uncomfortable for me.
Posted by lily  on  Thu Sep 27, 2007  at  11:04 PM
I have a fear of touching paper when my hands are wet oreven a little damp... does anyone know what this is called? I really wanna know. I've looked just about everywhere there is to look and found nothing.
Posted by Sano  on  Mon Oct 01, 2007  at  06:57 PM
So I've been searching for this phobia and I can't find it anywhere. I have this fear of losing my fingernails. Even as I'm typing this I keep pressing my fingertips together as if to keep them in place. Nails on a chalkboard, digging into something with my nails or watching someone do it, scary movies with threats and removal of nails...you name it. freaks.me.out!!! Anyone feel the same or know the name?
Posted by Jerrold  on  Fri Oct 05, 2007  at  01:30 AM
MY name is Emily and my whole life I have had a fear of Fingernails and Toenails. Everytime something is wrong with nails I freak out and shivver up and go crazy. All my friends fell so bad for me cause almost everywhere i go somebody is biting their nails, or doing somehting abd to them.
I've looked the internet to see what the name is called but I can't find it.
I would really love it if you could help me.
I want to overcome this fear but I just can't. =[
Posted by Emily Smith  on  Sun Oct 07, 2007  at  04:30 PM
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