Meet The 7 Weirdest And Most Curious Phobias

Phobias are defined as an intense and irrational fear of a person, an object or a situation that involves little or some danger. Do you want to know the strangest and most curious phobias out there? We list some of them in this article.

The word comes from the Greek term “Phobos” which means “panic”. In Greek mythology, Phobos was also the son of Ares, the god of war, and of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. He personified fear. Alexander the Great prayed to “Phobos” before each battle to ward off fear.

Sigmund Freud studied phobias in detail. He found that they are usually formed in childhood, and also that they follow a chain of meanings: First, the person has a traumatic experience. This experience is then so painful and so strong that the person transfers the anguish it causes to an object, a situation, or a person that is related to the trauma in an arbitrary way.

In other words, the victim of a phobia is actually not afraid of the object, person, or situation for which he appears to be panicking. What she actually fears is a traumatic experience arbitrarily associated with that object, situation, or person.

From the point of view of psychiatry, phobias correspond to an anxiety disorder. The victim of a phobia develops intense panic attacks when exposed to what causes the fear. To many people this may sound absurd, but that’s just what phobias are: unreasonable from our point of view. A sample of this are the 7 weirdest and rarest phobias we’ll talk about next.

Crematophobia, one of the weirdest phobias

It’s hard to understand that in today’s world there are people who are afraid of money, but they do exist. This strange fear is called “crematophobia”. Some people with this phobia fear touching money simply because it looks dirty, full of bacteria, or disease-causing.

In other cases, the subject is more puzzling. Money is unconsciously rejected and, therefore, the person takes actions, without realizing it, to lose or not to gain money. That’s what happens to people who, for example, constantly lose grades or invest in “nonsense” that no one else cares about. There are often negative or painful experiences behind this strange fear.

catisophobia

While it may seem hard to believe, there are people who are afraid of sitting down. This is what is called “Catisophobia”. People with this problem sweat, shiver and even feel their breathing changed when they see a chair they need to sit on. Sometimes it’s also a specific type of chair that triggers panic.

Why does anyone get one of these phobias? It is usually a manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder. What is behind this is a painful and frightening experience. For example, as a child a person was punished by being forced to sit for a long time or in appalling conditions. Or the person went through an episode of torture or deep emotional pain while sitting in a chair.

Hexacosioi-hexecount-hexaphobia

This is really one of the weirdest phobias out there. It is also known as “Thrihexaphobia” and is the extreme fear of the number “666”. Anything related to this number, directly or indirectly, causes an apprehension that is difficult to control in these people. It’s similar to what happens to many people regarding the number “13”.

As is well known, the number “666” is biblical and is associated with “the beast”. That is why many people believe that it is a number that brings bad luck, that announces calamities and disasters. When these people see such a number on a license plate or on a grocery bill, for example, they panic. They believe something bad is going to happen. One of the most famous Hexacosioi-hexeconta-hexaphobics is Ronald Wilson Reagan whose name, ironically, is made up of three words of six letters each.

Coulrophobia, another of the weirdest phobias

Despite being one of the most curious phobias, it is also relatively common. It’s about the fear of clowns. Many children feel this fear. And why not? Clowns make up in a way that’s not exactly discreet. Their large eyes and exaggerated mouths can make, if they try hard, any child to run away in fear. That’s why they were often used as protagonists in horror films.

The fear of clowns corresponds mainly to the fear that their appearance can provoke. Not, obviously, to your activity. Some parents force their children to expose themselves to clowns because it doesn’t seem logical to them to feel this fear. The problem is that by forcing children to face a fear so directly, they are only able to incubate a phobia that could remain dormant for a lifetime.

Clinophobia

It’s the fear of going to bed. It is one of the most varied phobias that exist, as fear is born from very different sources. Some people believe that if they lie down to sleep in bed, they can die in their sleep. Interestingly, they don’t feel the same fear if they sleep in a chair or a sofa.

Other people believe that the dark and the covers can hide some demon. Others, a little more realistic, feel that if they lie down in bed to sleep, they will no longer control their sphincters. Obviously, almost all clinophobes have problems with insomnia, since at bedtime they become easy prey for anxiety.

Hippotomonstrosquipedaliophobia

Another of the strangest phobias is the fear of big words. And strange words too. It is curious that exactly a very large and very curious word is used to name this obsessive fear. How can a person ask for help if he is afraid to say the name of the problem?

The truth is, fear is not about the words themselves. Fear refers to not understanding or not being able to pronounce words correctly. What is behind this phobia is the fear of being embarrassed or feeling at a disadvantage. Obviously, it’s a phobia associated with shyness.

Abutophobia

Almost everyone knows someone who is afraid of dirt. These are people who wash their hands every five minutes and feel disgusted with anything that might contain some dirt. Well, at the opposite extreme are the ablutophobics. People who panic from soap and water.

In the most extreme cases, these people go months and even years without bathing. They feel that water and soap can make them sick. And indeed, some people believe that it is possible to drown in the shower. Others are very afraid of feeling wet. What is behind this is often a traumatic experience associated with cleaning.

The list of the strangest phobias is extremely long. There are people who are afraid of needles, clouds, trees, in fact almost any kind of object. Some phobias are very common, such as the phobia of rats or injections. Other very curious ones, like the ones we just talked about. And while the topic may sound fun, the truth is that those who suffer from these phobias suffer a lot.

We all have some of these irrational fears. They don’t matter if they don’t limit our daily life. On the other hand, if they become an obsession or negatively and persistently alter our routine, the matter becomes more complicated. The good thing is that with proper treatment, virtually all phobias can be overcome.