Gelotophobia: The Fear of Being Laughed At

No one likes to be laughed at especially if they don’t know why they are being laughed at. If you’re a sensitive person, like me, being laughed at can be cruel and unusual punishment. Those who cannot handle being laughed at may develop a very serious phobia called Gelotophobia.

Gelotophobia is the irrational and sometimes debilitating fear of being laughed at. Those who suffer from this phobia may hear someone laughing across a room or store and think that the person is laughing at them. This can cause the person to become extremely anxious and start sweating and trembling.

Gelotophobia became a distinct phobia and was given its name about ten years ago. It is currently being researched and statistics are still being gathered to determine exactly how many people are affected by this phobia throughout the world. As of the most recent studies approximately 14% of people in the United States are affected by this phobia.

Alektorophobia: The Fear of Chickens

Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens. This fear can be of a live chicken, uncooked chicken or a fear of the feathers or eggs of a chicken. Alektorophobia is caused by a traumatic event that involved a chicken. If someone has been chased or pecked by an angry chicken then it would be possible for them to develop this phobia.

This phobia can be mild to severe. A person may fear uncooked chicken, but still be able to be around live chickens or they may be terrified of live chickens, but still be able to eat the chicken. The most severe case of Alektorophobia would be a person who fears anything that has to do with chickens and cannot even look at or touch a chicken in any form.

Lachanophobia: The Fear of Vegetables

Lachanophobia is the fear of vegetables. I hated eating vegetables when I was kid, but I don’t think I was afraid of them. This is one of those extra interesting phobias, and of course I’m finding difficulty finding information about it. I would really like to know what triggers this phobia. Are you born with it? Is it every vegetable or just a few?

If anyone has any information on this phobia please leave a comment. If I find any more information I will update this post.

Venustraphobia: The Fear of Beautiful Women

Imagine trying to talk to a beautiful woman and you feel your heart begin to race, you get sweaty and you can’t think straight. If this has happened to you then you may have Venustraphobia.

Venustraphobia is the fear of beautiful women. Basically those who have this phobia find it impossible to talk to beautiful women. Their anxiety levels increase dramatically and they are physically and mentally incapable of initiating or sustaining a conversation with this woman.

One possible cause of Venustraphobia is negative experiences with women in the past. If you get turned down over and over, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to fear approaching another woman. This may increase the second possible cause of Venustraphobia which is a negative self-image. If you don’t feel good about yourself then approaching someone that you feel is out of your league is impossible to do.

If you suffer from this phobia please share your experiences. Not only will it help you to talk about, but it will also help the world to understand that phobias like these are real.

Selachophobia: The Fear of Sharks

Selachophobia is the abnormal and persistent fear of sharks. Those who suffer from this phobia usually will not swim in the ocean and some will not swim in any kind of water, even swimming pools. This phobia can be so severe that looking at pictures or seeing sharks on TV can send their anxiety levels sky-rocketing.

The movie Jaws may have a lot to do with an increase in the number of people who suffer from Selachophobia. This is much like the possibility that the movie It may have contributed to more people developing Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.

I wouldn’t say that I have Selachophobia, but you won’t find me hanging out in the ocean anytime soon. For those of you who do have it, hang in there. You can overcome it.

Amathophobia: The Fear of Dust

Amathophobia is the fear of dust. It is also known as Koniophobia. I live in West Texas and I’m glad I don’t have to deal with this one. West Texas is one of the worst places someone with Amathophobia could live. The sand is always blowing and keeping the dust off the furniture is a full time job.

Those with Amathophobia are highly aware that the dust is not a threat to them, but they still have an extreme fear of it. They constantly clean and they don’t like going anywhere that may be dirty. Some may think that this phobia is silly, but all of us who have phobias understand how they can consume you. Imagine cleaning your house over and over again and you still feel that it’s not clean enough or how about having to visit friends or family whose houses aren’t clean enough for you to feel comfortable in. This causes some crazy anxiety and there is nothing silly about that.
Amathophobia is very serious and if you are suffering from it get help as soon as possible. Life is hard enough to deal with without having to deal with these pesky phobias. It’s never too late to get your life back.

Bad Days: Dealing with Phobias

I can usually go for at least a week at a time without my phobias disrupting my life, but sometimes it seems like my phobias are kicked into overdrive and I can't get a moment of peace.

My major phobia is pyrophobia, the fear of fire. The smallest trigger can keep me buggin' for weeks at a time. During these times I smell smoke when there is nothing, I'm paranoid about leaving the stove or anything else turned on and I hate leaving the house because I'm scared it will catch on fire while I'm gone. Recently there was an explosion not far from where I live and it shook my house. Out of curiosity I had to watch the video of it and I can't get it out of my head now.

I understand why I fear fire, but I don't understand why I take my fear to the level that I do. I have a new heater that works perfectly fine, but it still scares me because the old one caught on fire. Christmas makes me nervous because of all the lights on the tree and the house. I won't leave the dryer on when I leave the house and if the AC makes a weird noise I freak out because I think it's going to catch on fire. It's just not normal and the older I get the more I hate it.

The only thing I can do is take it one day at a time. I try not to hide from my phobias. It only makes it worse. I feel that every day I am able to face my phobias, is one more day of freedom I have from them.

What are your phobias and how do they affect your life? If anyone has any tips on how to deal with specific phobias please let us know. The only people who understand phobias are those of us who have them.