The fear of flying, small spaces and heights are fairly common. A lot of our fears develop from a past experience or some classical conditioning. But some fears are just deep, dark and well…. absurd, to the extent that they may seem ridiculous to everyone around. We’ve put together seven strange fears that people around the world experience. Yes, these are for real and are a lot more common than you think. Dr Ashish Gambre, Psychiatrist, SRV Hospital, Mumbai says, “A phobia is an extreme fear of a certain place or thing. Many people complain of various kinds of phobias, some of which are unheard of, but they exist. Basically an irrational and obsessive fear of a particular thing is called a phobia.”
Here are some absurd, bizarre and strange phobias that affect people more than you’d think!
Arithmophobia:
The fear of numbers.
So if you’ve ever panicked looking at a lot of numbers it’s probably because you are feeling arithmophobic.
Nomophobia:
The fear of being without mobile phone coverage.
This one is very relevant. It’s so difficult for us to spend even a minute without our cell phones. But if you see someone obsess over their cellular network, remember they are nomophobic.
Ombrophobia:
The fear of rain.
“Rain is often associated with dullness and depression as the surroundings become gloomy,” says Dr Gambre. But the fear could also be a result of an accident or childhood warnings that negatively affected the individual.
Sciaphobia:
The fear of shadows.
There are people who fear their own shadow as they think it will harm them. This could be due to a past experience. Sciaphobics always want to be in a well-lit room to stay away from their own shadow.
Agoraphobia:
The fear of crowds.
An intense fear of being in crowded spaces makes people with agoraphobia feel suffocated and can even lead to a panic attack. So hanging out or socialising at music concerts or events are a big no-no.
Germophobia:
The fear of germs.
Germophobes are obsessed with cleanliness and hygiene. They fear that germs will affect them by infecting them with a disease. It’s more of an obsessive-compulsive disorder which makes the person take extra precautions for sanitation and cleanliness, which could turn out to be quite annoying for the people around.
Trypophobia:
The fear of holes.
Trypophobia is when a person is scared of any kind of holes. It is an intense and irrational fear that a person feels while looking even at harmless things like lotus leaves or honey comb, which have multiple holes.
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