Mind-Bending Facts presents you: Weird Phobias!

Everyone has a weird phobia, in someone else’s opinion. I, for one, am scared of dogs, and I’ve been this way since I was only 10 years old. Other people keep telling me how bizarre it is because dogs can’t hurt anyone, right? Well, I don’t think so, but as much as I love these animals, I still feel shivers down my spine when I see one approaching me on the street.

So what you might think is a weird phobia might be pretty common for someone else. However, there are indeed a couple of things that many people are scared of, and they really seem like weird phobias. Think about people who feel anxious when they see the color yellow. Is that common? No, it’s not, and in today’s article, we’re going to talk about all sorts of things that people feel terrified about.

You surely know about some pretty common phobias, such as acrophobia, which is the fear of heights, or arachnophobia, which is the uncontrollable fear of spiders, but let’s discover some mind-bending facts because there are many that you probably haven’t heard about. Are you ready? Let the weird phobia journey begin!

1. Nomophobia

Oh, well, we start off this list with a strong one, and we can say that it’s the modern human’s weird phobia, because nomophobia means being scared to be without your smartphone.

Is there someone who isn’t always on their phone, either scrolling on Instagram, watching YouTube videos, watching a show while eating lunch, or talking via video call with friends and family members? Probably not.

In this modern world we live in, there are many of us who feel anxious when our phones are not with us, when they don’t have service, or when our batteries are low. And these things could all trigger a severe amount of anxiety, which experts say affects people who are guilty of smartphone addiction.

Researchers decided to study this weird phobia, and they discovered that it’s quite common and that half of both women and men they questioned were victims of nomophobia. Are you one of them? I’ll tell you first: I’m definitely 80% nomophobic. Leave a comment below and let us know.

2. Xanthophobia

Let’s get back in time with a couple of paragraphs and discuss this weird phobia called xanthophobia — the fear of the color yellow. People who experience this are afraid of anything that could be in this hue, such as clothes, shoes, flowers, accessories, and even school buses.

They’re so anxious when they see this color that they even avoid yellow food. You can imagine that it’s a weird phobia that is hard to live with because you can find this shade almost anywhere.

3. Arachibutyrophobia

The next weird phobia on our list is called arachibutyrophobia, which means the fear of delicious peanut butter being stuck to the roof of your mouth. This might be caused by some negative experiences with PB, and some people are so scared of this that they even completely quit eating the tasty peanut butter.

Of course, this might also be caused by a fear of choking, so we can say that it’s understandable, considering the fact that PB is a sticky food. Did you know about this one?

4. Plutophobia

This is surely a weird phobia for many people in the world, but hey, everyone’s different, right? Plutophobia, also known as the fear of being wealthy or the fear of money, affects people who don’t like having too many dollar bills and hate having to deal with them.

What we can consider hard to understand in a case like this is the fact that people who are plutophobic are more likely to sabotage their successful careers because they’re scared they’re going to become rich.

Experts say that the entire mindset based on this weird phobia might be the fear of having too much money and then being robbed. Now it seems a little more understandable, right? Nobody wants to have thieves in their home.

5. Ablutophobia

The fifth weird phobia on our list is ablutophobia, also known as the fear of cleaning oneself. So yes, there are some people who have an anxious fear of taking a bath or washing their bodies.

Experts say that this fear is typically developed during childhood, and if parents don’t take action while the child is still little and can change their thoughts and behaviors, it could stay there even when they’re adults.

This weird phobia can be a real problem for people because those who are ablutophobic fear showering and bathing, and that could lead to annoying and strong body odors, which can then lead to social isolation.

While we might say that this is a weird phobia, it can actually be triggered by an unpleasant and scary situation someone’s been in, such as a dreadful event that involved water. There are also other cases in which people who are ablutophobic might also suffer from aquaphobia, which means the fear of water.

6. Globophobia

Have you ever heard of globophobia? That’s surely a weird phobia, because it means being anxious when you see or get in contact with balloons. Experts say that people who have this type of phobia feel an immense amount of anxiety when they see a real-life balloon or even one in a picture or on television.

This is a rear fear, and it sometimes develops during childhood because of a traumatic experience involving a balloon, such as popping one and being frightened by the sound, or it can also be associated with another not-so-weird fear, coulrophobia, which is the fear of clowns.

7. Pogonophobia

Another weird phobia that is real is called pogonophobia and it means being scared by a person who has a beard. Typically, children don’t like being in contact with bearded people because their hair is very stiff compared to their soft skins, but there are cases in which adults have the same weird phobia.

While it might be easier to teach a kid how to get along with someone who has a beard, it can be difficult for adults to do the same thing because pogonophobia is a type of anxiety that can make them avoid beard people in general. People who suffer from this can also avoid looking at pictures of individuals who have beards or refuse to have any sort of contact with bearded people.

What do you think about this weird phobia? Have you ever heard of it?

8. Vestiphobia

This one is indeed a weird phobia and it’s called vestiphobia, which means the fear of clothing. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to live with this type of anxiety, especially since our daily activities involve clothing.

But as experts say, for the most part, people are afraid of a specific clothing item, while other people are afraid of garments that are extremely tight and don’t allow their bodies to move freely.

There’s also a scientific explanation behind this, saying that this can be caused by an allergy to a type of fabric or a terrifying event associated with a particular garment. For instance, there have been many cases in which former soldiers developed anxiety related to military clothing, and that surely isn’t a weird phobia because the life of a military soldier can definitely be traumatic.

Whether you have a weird phobia or not, there are many remedies that can help you ease your anxiety symptoms. If you want to learn more tips and tricks on how to feel better, here’s a good book for you!

Are you looking for more interesting mind-bending facts? Here’s an article that you’re going to love: Future Coastal Flooding Will Be a Nightmare for These 28 Cities!