Table of contents:

1. Octophobia - fear of the number 8
2. Somniphobia - fear of sleeping and falling asleep
3. Taffephobia - fear of being buried alive
4. Coulrophobia - fear of clowns
5. Philophobia - fear of falling in love
6. Ichthyophobia - fear of fish
7. Genophobia - fear of sex
8. Abemarophobia - fear of missing a bus stop
9. Acerophobia - fear of sour taste
10. Plutophobia - fear of wealth and being rich
11. What physical and mental symptoms might indicate that we are suffering from a phobia?

A phobia is a neurotic disorder, the main symptom of which is a persistent fear of certain situations, phenomena or objects, associated with avoidance of the causes causing it and making it difficult to function in society. Among the most well-known phobias we can include arachnophobia or claustrophobia. However, there are phobias that few people have heard of. Among them we can include:

1. Octophobia - fear of the number 8

For sufferers of this phobia, living at number eight, going on holiday in the month of August, being eighth in a queue, buying something in number eight - is not an option.

2. Somniphobia - fear of sleeping and falling asleep

This disorder is detected in many people every year. This phobia can interfere with normal physical, mental and emotional functioning. Prolonged sleep deprivation negatively affects mood, behaviour, makes it impossible to perform daily duties, causes constant fatigue, and can cause a deterioration in quality of life. As a result, the disorder can cause anxiety, irritability, aggression and even depression.

3. Taffephobia - fear of being buried alive

This fear was particularly strong in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and in the first half of the 19th century. People suffering from teraphobia often give instructions in their wills about how their body should be handled after death, in order to be absolutely sure that they are dead. This is because they believe that doctors sometimes make incorrect diagnoses about deaths due to the unpredictability of human nature and the fact that medicine can be complicated.

4. Coulrophobia - fear of clowns

Coulrophobia is a completely irrational fear. Sufferers are not afraid of clowns in their natural environment (the circus), but panic if they see them in the street or elsewhere. Although coulrophobia is not included in the ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases, this does not mean that it does not exist. People suffering from fear of clowns admit that they are disturbed by the clowns' asymmetrical body parts (large heads and feet, strange hairstyles) and their artificial behaviour and make-up.

Coulrophobia, or fear of clowns, photo: panthermedia

5. Philophobia - fear of falling in love

The risk of this phobia usually occurs when a person has a history of emotional turmoil regarding love. Philophobia can also be a chronic fear. Philophobia is defined as an abnormal, persistent and unfounded fear of falling in love, which has a major impact on quality of life. In addition to the fear of emotional involvement, it can be accompanied by other symptoms such as excessive sweating, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, feelings of anxiety, nausea and feelings of restlessness. The worst aspect of philophobia is the loneliness that accompanies it.

6. Ichthyophobia - fear of fish

Ichthyophobia is a fear of fish, whether alive (swimming in the sea or in an aquarium) or dead (raw at the market or fried on a plate). Usually the stimulus for this phobia is one of the fish's body parts (eyes, scales, fins or gills). A specific variant of ichthyophobia is galeophobia, or fear of sharks. Galeophobia was born in the wave of stories about man-eating sharks and films such as 'Jaws'.

7. Genophobia - fear of sex

This phobia is not the usual fear or minor stress of a bed situation that accompanies many people, especially at the beginning of a relationship. Genophobia sufferers have a panicky fear that they cannot tame. The fear is so great that it paralyses the sufferer to such an extent that he or she is even afraid to enter into closer relationships with partners. Not only sexual intercourse itself becomes excluded. Even cuddling or kissing is avoided by the genophobic person, because these already cause him or her to panic.

8. Abemarophobia - fear of missing a stop

Abemarophobia is the morbid fear of missing one's stop or station while travelling. People affected by this phobia become stressed and anxious when travelling on a particular mode of transport because of a deep-seated fear that they will not manage to get off at their destination. To prevent this, they look out of the window of the train, coach, etc. all the time, and this still does not give them peace of mind.

9. Acerophobia - fear of sour taste

Acerophobics avoid lemons, grapefruit, sour apples and other tart gifts of nature by a wide margin.

10. Plutophobia - fear of wealth and being rich

Sufferers of this condition are generally content with what they have and do not seek to multiply their income. Such people are unlikely to accept an inheritance from a wealthy aunt, cross off a lottery ticket or invest in the stock market.

What are unusual phobias?, photo: panthermedia

What physical and mental symptoms can indicate that one is suffering from a phobia?

Among the physical and psychological symptoms that may indicate that we are suffering from a phobia of some kind, we can distinguish:

• breathing problems,
• rapid heartbeat,
• muscle trembling,
• hot flashes or chills,
• a feeling of choking,
• pain or pressure in the chest,
• dry mouth,
• confusion and disorientation,
• nausea,
• dizziness,
• headache,
• a feeling of uncontrollable fear on contact with the trigger,
• feeling that the source of this fear must be avoided at all costs,
• a problem with functioning normally in contact with the trigger,
• awareness that the fear is irrational, unreasonable and exaggerated,
• inability to control one's reactions despite knowing that the fear is irrational,
• panic attack.