Optophobia: The Fear of Opening One's Eyes

Optophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of opening one’s eyes.  Most people have had at least one occasion where they have experienced the fear of opening their eyes.  I know it’s happened to me several times.  Sometimes when I’m trying to fall asleep I’ll get a feeling that someone is in the room and I’m afraid to open my eyes to check.  This is one of the phobias that can be completely life altering.  I have experienced only seconds at a time of this fear.  I can’t imagine if it lasted any longer or become a permanent fear. 

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Optophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?

Opiophobia: The Fear of a Medical Doctors Experience of Prescribing Needed Pain Medications

Opiophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of a medical doctor’s experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients.  I’m not surprised that this is a documented phobia.  I have Fibromyalgia and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and both cause excruciating pain at times and because of the way doctors are about prescribing pain medication I’m afraid to ask for it when I really need it, because I don’t want to give the impression that I’m a pill popper.  I’m allergic to Codeine so that limits my options quite a bit anyway.  The first time I was prescribed pain medicine was by an ER doctor and he gave me something made with Codeine.  He told me that it was far enough down in the “family” that I shouldn’t have a reaction.  I made the mistake of trusting him and let’s just say that the uncontrollable puking and giant itchy hives took my mind off the pain.  The bottom line is that you can’t always trust doctors and doctors are always going to make assumptions when it comes to prescribing pain medication.  This creates a very frustrating world for those with chronic pain illnesses and can result in Opiophobia.

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Opiophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?

*If you or someone you know has Fibromyalgia check out my other blog: Surviving Fibromyalgia.*

Ophthalmophobia: The Fear of Being Stared At

Ophthalmophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of being stared at.  I absolutely hate being stared at, especially when I’m out in public and I can feel eyes on me. When people I know stare at me I feel like if they stare long enough they’ll notice all my flaws.  I wouldn’t say it’s at phobia status yet, but I can definitely understand how it could be.

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Ophthalmophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?

Siderophobia: The Fear of Stars

Siderophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of stars.  This phobia is extremely rare and may be connected to the fear of aliens, fear of the dark or the fear of being away from home.  Siderophobia is also known as Astrophobia.

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Siderophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?

Selenophobia: The Fear of the Moon

“…spooky effects have been ascribed to the phases of the moon….But when the statistics are redone properly, the correlation with lunar phase always evaporates….Yet many sensible people—including police officers and emergency room staff—continue to believe otherwise.” – Steven Strogatz

Selenophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of the moon.  I feel like the main cause of this phobia comes from the belief that there is a correlation between the phases of the moon and insanity, along with other beliefs that certain things are caused by the phases of the moon.  I’ve heard all my life that if there was a full moon then someone was going to have a baby.  Horror movies tend to play off of this too, which increases the fear in those with Selenophobia.

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Selenophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?

Panthophobia: The Fear of Suffering and Death

Panthophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of suffering and death.

A phobia is a strong, persistent fear of situations, objects, activities or persons.  The main symptom is an excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject. Other phobia symptoms include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and an overall feeling of dread.  Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders.

Do you suffer from Panthophobia?  Please share your story.  How was it triggered and how does it affect your life?