Phobias

I was watching a programme on television this week on the various phobias that people have. Having my own phobias; namely arachnophobia plus claustrophobia, I am always interested to see how other people deal with theirs and what new treatments are out there. There are the usual common garden variety ones; like agoraphobia and claustrophobia - nice to know that I am not alone here! to the more bizarre ones like a feer of Knees- Genuphobia!

It seems that there is a phobia for every single thing these days. No more do we just get on with it, we develop a phobia for it and then spend years in therapy or taking pills in the name of what I am not sure. We seem to have become emotionally fragile human beings thes days.

Phobias often develop as a result of a bad experience with the subject that becomes the centre of the phobia. The correct pyschological term for it is an irrational or persistent fear to something, as well as an overwhelming desire to avoid the thing in question. It can often take over the persons life to the extent that they are unable to leave the house, face certain situations etc. It can be debilitating and devastating, and the consequences have never fully been appreciated.

Here are a few of the more uncommon and unknown phobias. By the end of this you might have one yourself!

Anything new- Neophobia, Bald people- Peladophobia, Bridges or of crossing them- Gephyrophobia, Cemeteries- Coimetrophobia, Color purple- Porphyrophobia, Cooking- Mageirocophobia (one I can identify with!), Decisions: making decisions- Decidophobia (I think a lot of us suffer from this one!), Dolls- Pediophobia, Flutes- Aulophobia, Girls, young or virgins- Parthenophobia, Horses- Equinophobia or Hippophobia. Justice- Dikephobia.