Obesophobia: The Fear of Gaining Weight

Obesophobia or Pocrescophobia is the abnormal fear of gaining weight. This phobia is listed as a rare disease by the Office of Rare Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

This phobia begins with a simple desire to lose weight and then it turns into a compulsive desire to avoid all things that will cause weight gain. The more these things are avoided, the more they are feared. Gaining weight is seen as a failure to those with Obesophobia and therefore they experience an abnormal fear toward anything that will cause them to fail.

This phobia is life-threatening. Not eating properly can have devastating effects on your health. If anyone suffers from this phobia, how has it affected your life?

Feeling Out of Control

Phobias can make you feel out of control very quickly. You realize that you shouldn't be feeling the way you are, but yet at the same time you don't know how to make it stop. It doesn't take long before the irrational fears take over your life. "Why can't I just be normal?" How many of you have asked yourself that question? I ask it on a regular basis. It would be so nice to go to bed and not worry about my house burning down or to be able to go to the circus without freaking out over the clowns.

Not only do you have to deal with the fear, but you also have to deal with all the people around you who don't understand what you're going through. They're quick to judge and make fun of you. Sometimes this part of it becomes harder to deal with than the actual phobia. There's nothing like someone else making you feel crazier than you already do.

Does your phobia make you feel out of control? If so, do you have any tips on how to get things back under control?

Androphobia: The Fear of Men

Androphobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of men. This phobia results in the avoidance of situations where men are present. That’s pretty much everywhere.

Like most phobias, androphobia is triggered by a traumatic event at a young age. In my opinion I feel that it can be triggered at any age by physical and emotional abuse, rape or any other life changing event that involves a man.

This is definitely one of those phobias that have to leave you not only afraid, but alone. If you don’t want to go where a man will do then you can’t go out to eat, go to the store or to the movies. Everywhere you go, you will run that risk of having to be near a man. I think this phobia will lead to severe anxiety problems.

If you have Anthrophobia let us know what it feels like and how you cope.

Claustrophobia: Fear of Enclosed Spaces

Claustrophobia is one of the more common phobias. It is the fear of enclosed spaces. It is classified as a situational phobia because it is triggered by a certain situation.

Claustrophobia usually develops as the result of a traumatic event during childhood such as being trapped in a small space or other events later on in adulthood that result in being confined to a small space.

The symptoms of claustrophobia include sweating, accelerated heartbeat, nausea, fainting, light headedness, shaking, hyperventilation and fear of actual imminent physical harm.

I personally know the symptoms of claustrophobia all too well. I’ve suffered from it for as long as I can remember. It’s irritating to say the least. I hate going to the doctor because I hate being in those little rooms with the door closed. I can’t sleep with my bedroom door closed, I have to open the blinds and curtains as soon as I wake-up and the inner door of my house as to be open while I’m awake. I don’t even like closing the bathroom door, especially when I’m taking a shower.

Would anyone else with this phobia like to share their triggers?

Heliophobia: The Fear of the Sun

Heliophobia is a morbid fear of sun exposure. Natural sunlight provides us with vitamin D and many with this phobia tend to have vitamin D deficiencies. Vitamin D aids in the prevention of depression, osteoporosis, heart disease and certain cancers.

I don’t always like to be out in the sun, but I’m not afraid of it. I have great sympathy for anyone who has this phobia. It has to be hard to function normally. If you have this phobia I would really like to know what a day in your life is like. Some day hopefully everyone will understand what it’s like to live with a phobia.

Bovinophobia: The Fear of Cattle

Bovinophobia is an irrational fear of cattle and other domesticated ungulates. There are a couple of reasons why people have this phobia. Some with the phobia may have had a bad encounter with cattle before, such as being chased or intimidated in some way. Others may not have had an encounter but just strongly believe that a cow or bull will attack them if they get too close. Whatever the reason, Bovinophobia is a real fear and is nothing to joke about.

I’m very glad I don’t have this phobia since a herd of cattle just moved in down the street. However, a house guest of mine is a bit apprehensive about our new neighbors. She was chased by a bull when she was young and is terrified of any type of cattle now. She’s actually the reason why I looked this one up. I had never heard of it before now.

Are you scared of cows? Tell us why and how they make you feel.

Cacophobia: The Fear of Ugliness

Cacophobia is the fear of ugliness or of things that are ugly. I couldn’t find a lot of information about this one. some of the main triggerI am very curious to know what causes this phobia and whats may be. Ugliness can be unpleasant, but I can’t imagine having a phobia towards it. What exactly is considered to be ugly? If anyone suffers from this phobia, please tell us more about it.

Eisoptrophobia: The Fear of Mirrors

Can you imagine looking into a mirror and having an anxiety attack? Many people suffer from Eisoptrophobia and mirrors can literally cause them to have an anxiety attack. Eisoptrophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors. It is also known as Catoptrophobia.

This phobia is often caused by superstitions and movies. Some fear that breaking a mirror will bring them bad luck or that looking into a mirror will summon the supernatural. Some also feel that they are being watched through the mirror. No matter the cause or how irrational the fear is, it is very real to those who suffer from it.

I know of a few movies that use mirrors to create fear among the viewers. One in particular had me freaked out for a while, but my fear was nothing close to what those with Eisoptrophobia have to deal with.

If this phobia is part of your life I would like to hear more about it from your perspective.

Somniphobia: The Fear of Sleep

Do you feel anxious before you go to bed at night? If you do then you may suffer from Somniphobia. Somniphobia is the fear of sleeping or going to bed. Those who suffer from this phobia are afraid of what will happen to them or around them while they are asleep. They are also afraid that if something does happen they won’t wake up. Some are afraid that they will die in their sleep.

I get a bit anxious at bedtime when I’m home alone, but that’s usually the only time. I think it’s mostly due to my pyrophobia though. I’m afraid the house will catch on fire and I won’t wake up. It’s really amazing how much we let fear dictate our lives. Maybe I could relax a little more if I didn’t have to deal with all this fear. What would your life be like without fear?

Do you have Somniphobia? Let’s talk about it.

Anthrophobia: The Fear of Flowers

Anthrophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of flowers. Those who suffer with this phobia experience anxiety from any type of flower even though they realize that the fear is irrational and that there is no threat.

Most of the time Anthrophobia is caused by associating a traumatic event with the flowers that were also present at the time. It can also be caused when the phobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. This is the cause of most phobias.

Some experience this phobia all of the time and others just experience it when there is a direct trigger present.

Anthrophobia is another one of the phobias that is hard to understand. If you suffer from this phobia please shed some light on the subject and help everyone understand this phobia and all other phobias a little better.

Dendrophobia: The Fear of Trees

Dendrophobia is the irrational fear of trees or of the forest. It is a very common phobia, but it is not well-documented because those who suffer from the phobia don’t like to talk about it because they fear ridicule from others.

Although it is an irrational fear, it is a very real fear to those who suffer from Dendrophobia. The fear is so intense that they have severe panic attacks and anxiety. It must be really hard to deal with being afraid of trees.

If you have Dendrophobia leave a comment and tell everyone your story. Knowledge is very powerful. If people can gain more knowledge about phobias, maybe they will begin to understand what we go through and won’t be so quick to judge.

Iatrophobia: The Fear of Doctors

Iatraphobia is the fear of going to the doctor or of doctors in general. It is classified as a social phobia and is especially serious because it may result in someone not receiving proper medical care.

There are many possible causes of Iatraphobia including a traumatic event involving doctors or in a doctor’s office, being intimidated by a doctor, the smell of medicine in a doctor’s office, emotional unavailability of doctors, fear of catching other illnesses while in the doctor’s office, fear of having procedures done, fear of negative outcomes and fear of pain from needles, resetting broken bones, etc.

As with most phobias, a person with Iatraphobia may experience the following symptoms when presented with a trigger: breathlessness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly and anxiety attacks.

I don’t have a fear of doctors; I’m just not too fond of them these days. I do know a few people though who wouldn’t go to a doctor if their life depended on it. Although going to a doctor isn’t always pleasant experience it is sometimes necessary to prevent or treat life-threatening illnesses. Many people go undiagnosed with serious ailments and suffer the ultimate consequence…death.

Do you have Iatraphobia? I would love to hear your story. There’s no better information on the subject of phobias than from someone who suffers from them.