SelfHelpCollective.com

Are you ready for some Strange Fears?...

... and are YOU a fellow sufferer?

• Do you also shudder at the thought of spiders, clowns or germs?
• Do you have a fear of long words like Hippopoto-monstroses-quippedalio-phobia?
• Or do you have a fear of flowers?

Well, if you answered yes to any of the above then you do have strange fears. But the good news is: You're not alone; and you can do something about it (see below)!

But first, let's look at an example list of said fears...

Fear of flowers and/or fear of spiders image :-O

Strange Fears

What they say...

You wouldn't believe what people are frightened of! Think of an object or an activity and someone, somewhere, is frightened of it! Maybe it's due to a bad experience in their past, or maybe they just plain freak out when they do or see that certain something! And maybe you're the same?

Anyway, the list of fears below is not intended as definitive. And my explanations to the fear are not particular scientific, either (so please do share your experience or wisdom by all means). But it does get us started. And it certainly reveals the strangeness to our fears.

STRANGE FEARS LIST:

Fear of Long Words
Fear of Flowers
Fear of Clowns
Fear of Germs
Fear of Spiders
Fear of Bugs
Fear of Hair
Fear of Elevators
Fear of Driving
Fear of Fear

Let's have a closer look at this list! (And if you have one of these fears listed below, then please feel free to contact us and share your experience!)

• Fear of Long Words
  Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
  
  Yes, some people actually fear long words! Is it about revealing their ignorance or lack of intelligence, I don't know! I do know that the person who came up with the latin name for this fear had a sense of humour, though!
  
  
  
• Fear of Flowers
  Anthrophobia
  
  This strikes me as one of the oddest fears indeed. But a visitor to SelfHelpCollective.com (Jen Morrie) assured me that this fear was very real to her. And this is what Jen said of it: "Fear of flowers is an irrational fear triggered by flowers, leaves, petals, stems (especially in my case). This fear makes life difficult because I can't go outside without someone with me if there are flowers; I had an anxiety attack when we had flowers to paint in art class etc..."
  
  
  
• Fear of Clowns
  Coulrophobia
  
  I guess some clowns can look sinister, but still this seems an odd thing to be frightened of. Doesn't it?
  
  
  
  
• Fear of Germs
  Mysophobia
  
  Hmm, this is probably due to over-anxious parenting during a child's early life or, or it's about some kind of fear of death (dying from the germs, I guess)
  
  
  
• Fear of Spiders
  Arachnophobia
  
  This is the only strange fear I used to suffer from. How can such big creatures (people) be frightened of such tiny ones (spiders)? Well, I guess some spiders are poisonous! (Fear or spiders is an ideal fear to cure via self-hypnosis)
  
  
  
• Fear of Bugs
  Entomophobia also known as insectophobia
  
  Similar to fear of spiders, really!
  
  
  
• Fear of Hair
  Chaetophobia (or Trichopathophobia, Trichophobia, or Hypertrichophobia)
  
  Now this sounds like an irrational fear for sure. But hair can get dirty, I guess (fear of germs), and then the sight of loose hair on clothes or a hairbrush will cause anxieties... Strange!
  
  
  
• Fear of Elevators
  Clautophobia
  
  There is some uncertainty about the name of this fear right now, but it does sound like some kind of fear of heights or fear of small places type fear. And whilst I'm not a big fan of lifts (as I like to call them) but I will get in one, if I have to! (Thankfully, the power of your mind and self-hypnosis can defeat this phobia)
  
  
  
• Fear of Driving
  Hodophobia
  
  This fear is very real and affects many. Quite literally, people just can't face driving their car - suffering from anxiety attacks if they do (see fear of fear, below).
  
  
  
• Fear of Fear
  Phobophobia or being afraid fear
  
  Psychology Today talks of the fear of fear itself as a kind of panic attack - tightness in the chest, shortness of breath or a hurried heartbeat! It's usually brought on by facing a major change in your life. And it's probably best dealt with via a visit to a psychotherapist (though some panic attacks can be stopped via self-hypnosis alone)

Strange fears - what YouTube has to say...

You'll find more fears that are strange a la YouTube here. The creator of this particular video doesn't take these fears too seriously (nor can they spell too well!), but it's still an interesting look into how 'odd' we can all be, sometimes!

It includes some fears I've already mentioned - fear of long words - but some are new (e.g. anablephobia - fear of looking up). Enjoy...

Strange fears - what I say...

Okay, I've had to have a bit of a think about my own odd fears. And that's because I certainly don't fear long words, germs, flowers, clowns, spiders (not since I lived in Malawi, Africa for two years - now those spiders were big!) etc.

So what do I fear, then, that's a bit, er, odd? Well...

Well, I have a fear of being wrong but that's not a strange fear - everyone fears this, one way or another! (Don't they?)

Okay then, I fear... (hmm, this is difficult)

Okay, off the top of my head, I have a fear of slugs, frowning faces (not really!), people laughing at me, missing out on all the fun and... (the really strange fear in this list)...

I have a fear of being buried alive!

Hmm, well I didn't know that (until I had a good long think). Fascinating. And, come to think of it, a bit scary too!

Thankfully, I know that my fears can be cured via the power of the mind and self-hypnosis. Same goes for you and yours too.