Phobias

A phobia is a fear. The fear is often irrational and can have a significant impact on a person’s life. I am going to list some phobias for you and how they may impact a person’s life. Of course there are many different phobias; therefore I will not be able to cover them all in this article.

Ablutophobia-Fear of Washing or Bathing

If a person has Ablutophobia their life can be quite difficult. Ablutophobia is a fear of bathing or washing. This phobia can have a deep impact on the ablutophobiac’s life. First of all, it can have a serious impact on one’s social life. I mean, of course the person with Ablutophobia will not have good hygiene; therefore, they probably do not smell very good. I know deodorant is a good thing, but let’s face it; it can only help for so long.

Second, the person’s own family may not be able to be close to them for the lack of hygiene. This can result in overwhelming feelings of sadness and emptiness. The sufferer will feel rejected and have a great desire to overcome this phobia. I would recommend that the ablutophobic start slowly to face the fear and overcome it. It will be difficult, but it can be done. Follow these steps:

1. Start by staring at the water for an hour a day. Do this for about a week.

2. Put your big toe your thumb into the water at the same time. Leave them in there for about two hours. Do this for the whole second week.

3. Around the third week you should be a little comfortable, so jump in and sit in the tub. I know you will be trembling with fear, but I promise it will be worth it. You can do it.

Tip: If you can manage to use the soap and shampoo at this point, it will help you progress so much faster with your social life; and to regain the closeness of your family.

4. Each day repeat and if you followed my tip, you should be doing much

better.

5. Seek Counseling from a professional

Cacophobia-Fear of Ugliness

A person with Cacophobia may be in a bit of a predicament. I mean, let’s face it; there are some really ugly things in this world. It could be difficult to avoid all of them.

Let’s just paint a scenario here for a person who has just developed Cacophobia. He married his beautiful wife at sixteen years of age. She was stunning and could draw every eye when she entered a room. However, 20 years down the road he woke up one morning and things had changed.

He looked at her as she arose from her fluffy pink pillow and her thick red hair was standing straight up on top of her head. He looks at her body and she weighs 300 pounds. Her teeth have all rotted out and her breath smells like rotten eggs; not a pretty site. Suddenly, he starts shaking and can’t breathe. He calls the ambulance and thinks he is having a heart attack. Upon arriving at the hospital they tell him that he is just having an anxiety attack. After further research, he discovers he has Cacophobia.

What is this person to suppose to do? He can’t just avoid all ugly people. I think I might be able to help, although I only have two suggestions in this area.

1. Divorce your wife and avoid any public places where ugliness might be lurking (basically everywhere)

2. Seek counseling from a professional.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long Words

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (it’s a good thing I don’t have that fear, just typing it would cause me anxiety) is the fear of long words. This phobia should not really be a major life altering phobia. After all, the general population just uses small basic words anyway. I would just recommend that the person suffering from Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia just avoid the following:

1. High School (exception to some small country schools)

2. College (some community colleges may be OK)

3. The doctor

4. Seminars

5. Some internet sites

6. Some forums online

7. Seek counseling from a professional

Koinoniphobia- Fear of rooms

Koinoniphobia can add many restraints to the phobia suffer. If you are afraid of rooms, you are in trouble. After all, rooms are everywhere. I suppose that cavemen never had to worry about this fear. Here are my suggestions for the Koinoniphobia suffer:

1. Find a cave and live there

2. Live in a tent

3. Live on a pontoon boat

4. Live in a box

5. Seek counseling from a professional

Somniphobia- Fear of sleep

I thought that I knew a person that had Somniphobia. He would stay awake all the time. When you seen him, he had this crazy, wide-eyed look about him and was always running around as if they had consumed 500 cups of coffee. I just told myself, “He has a bad case of Somniphobia.” However, in the end, I learned that he was just strung out on crystal myth. Nevertheless, I do have some suggestions for the true Somniphobia suffer:

1. Jump on the trampoline for 10 hours-you will fall asleep and realize that sleep was not a bad thing

2. Run a daycare center with 500 children in it-You will overcome this fear real quick

3. Swim from one side of the ocean to the other. If you ever make it to your destination, I am sure you will have no trouble sleeping.

4. Seek counseling from a professional

There are many, many more phobias and I could not possibly put them all in this article. However, in reality, everyone suffers from some type of phobia (fear). Try to find humor in your phobia, face it and overcome it. You will have a better quality of life.