Unusual phobias

Unusual phobias

To fear is to be human, but for some people, having a phobia can be a debilitating fact of life.
Some phobias can be quite common, such as claustrophia, or fear of enclosed spaces, aracnophobia, or fear of spiders, aviophobia, or fear of flying, and acrophia, or fear of heights.
These phobias can be easily understood by those not affected, perhaps because they trigger some discomfort in most people.
But for those truly affected, they can trigger serious emotional and physical responses, including panic attacks.
We have compiled a list of real, but unusual phobias, keeping in mind that those affected experience real distress from their condition.

Coulrophobia is the fear clowns, and not necessarily restricted to evil ones. Though this is a recent creation, a study at the University of Sheffield found that children in hospitals were frightened by clown themed decor.
Disposophobia is the fear of losing or disposing of things, and may be related to obsessive compulsive disorder. Those affected tend to assign great value to things of objectively limited value. It results in living spaces so cluttered as to be unliveable, and tends to result in unsanitary conditions.
Osmophobia, also known as olfactophobia, is the fear of smells, where odours, particularly foul ones, can trigger migranes. Some of those affected can treat the condition by being exposed to pleasant odours.
Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13, which in some cultures is an unlucky or evil number. Its origins are unclear, but it is still widely feared, with highrise building in some countries skipping the floor altogether in their elevator numbering.
Anthophobia is strong fear of flowers. While those affected understand that they pose no threat, the sight or thought of flowers causes them anxiety.
Gymnophobia is a fear of nudity, even though it is understood to be harmless. It is related, rather, to a general fear of sexuality, a fear of being physically inferior, or that being naked leaves them exposed and unprotected.
Aside from these real phobias, that can be very trying for those affected, we've found a few that are amusing and, fortunately, entirely fictitious:
Anatidaephobia is the fear that a duck is watching you, and was coined by author Gary Larson for his cartoon series The Far Side.
Luposlipaphobia, also coined by Gary Larson, is the fear of being pursued by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. It was devised by Charles M. Schulz for his Peanuts comics. It does happen...
Venustraphobia is fear of beautiful women, devised in a satirical article by BBC News. The definition: "Ever shudder with revulsion when Miss World happened to be on the TV or get a nauseous feeling while watching catwalk models strut their stuff? Well it could be down to a fear of beautiful women."
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia is the fear of long words, combining the words hippopotamus, monstro, sesquipedali (meaning a long word), and phobia. It does not appear in any reputable dictionary.