Five Phobias You May Not Know Of

Phobia is defined as a persistent, irrational, intense fear of a specific object, activity, or situation (the phobic stimulus), fear that is recognized as being excessive or unreasonable by the individual himself.

Many of us know the common phobias. One of which is claustrophobia, a fear of confined spaces or being trapped in a confined space. That one is really common. I see it all the time at the hospital where I work. Another is arachnophobia, a fear of spiders. At times I suffer from this and with no delay my husband becomes my hero. However, I feel it’s ok to have a healthy fear of some things. What about those that are not so common, those we never hear of?

For example, mageirocophobia, a fear of cooking. I have never heard of this but might be able to use it a few times to get to go to a nice Italian place; or what about spargarophobia, a fear of asparagus. Personally, I love asparagus alongside salmon covered in pesto sauce. I suppose if I look at them long enough, they could terrify me. I mean look at ‘em, they are kind of aggressive.

Enough of food related phobias, let’s move on to phartophobia. Phartophobia is a fear of exactly what it sounds like, a fear of passing gas (i.e. farting) in a public place. Let’s face it; it’s just rude to do so! Oh, but our later phobia makes more sense now, I could have a fear of eating something that would cause me to pass gas (which asparagus could do), especially in public!! Bromidrophobia is a fear of body odors. Hmmm……I could be afraid of my own farts?

Last but not least is ablutophobia, a fear of bathing. Doesn’t every child go through this phase? We all hear the stories of parents fighting to get their children in the tub or shower. Not me! I remember getting dirty on purpose just so I could take a bath, loved every minute of it.

In this hub, I was making light of a not-so-funny matter. On a serious note, every phobia is caused by some traumatic event in that individual’s life. Usually stemming from a childhood experience; however, they can develop later. Some phobias become so serious they are considered a disorder and the individual needs medical attention. One last fact, most people who have phobias are women, although, men can have them too.