There is plenty to be afraid of in this world, but most people are still able to go about their day-to-day lives.
Those with very real phobias, however, live each day very differently, and we all need to be very sensitive of these fears. We may not understand their fear or where it came from, but a phobia can dictate how the sufferer lives each day.
Phobias are types of anxiety disorders focused on specific objects or situations. Phobias can come and go, but when they are present, the person with the phobia will go to great lengths to avoid that irrational fear.
We've all heard of the fear of clowns (coulrophobia) and the fear of spiders (arachnophobia), but the range of things that people have an immense anxiety over spans much wider than that.
These 11 phobias are all extremely real to those who suffer from them, but their existence may come as a huge surprise to the rest of us!
Did you know about these phobias? Which other ones did we leave off our list? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
Thumbnail sources: Flickr 1, 2, 3
1. Turophobia
Turophobia is the fear of cheese. It's not common, but those who suffer may link specific cheeses or all cheeses to a traumatic event. The rare severe sufferer may even burst into tears when walking past the grocery store.
2. Scopophobia
Scopophobia is the fear of being looked at or stared at. It is both a social phobia and a specific phobia that sometimes stems from ridicule during childhood.
3. Oikophobia
People who suffer from oikophobia have an immense fear of specific home appliances. Perhaps something happened early on in life involving a household appliance that put the person in grave danger.
4. Globophobia
Oprah Winfrey has globophobia. She can't go near balloons for fear they may pop. For some who suffer from this phobia, it is the fear of balloons in general, while for others, it's the sound the balloon makes when it pops. It's very difficult for these folks to go to birthday parties or other events where there may be balloons present.
5. Xanthophobia
Although yellow is often thought to be the happiest color, those suffering from xanthophobia are intensely afraid of any and all things yellow.
6. Aibohphobia
"Race car," "civic," and "12321," are all things that would frighten someone with aibohphobia, the fear of palindromes. Palindromes are words, phrases, or numbers that can be read either backward or forward with the same result.
7. Barophobia
Barophobia is the fear of gravity. Sufferers are scared that gravity will either crush them or cease to exist, causing them to float away into space.
8. Decidophobia
Decidophobia is the fear of making decisions, discussed at length by a Princeton University professor, Walter Kaufmann. Folks who cannot bear the weight of gauging pros and cons rely on others to make decisions for them. Then they will side with those authority figures on almost any subject without thought, be they a parent, a pastor, or a politician.
9. Nomophobia
Nomophobia is a relatively new phobia, as it's the fear of being out of contact with one's mobile phone. As technology advances, many tech-based phobias are coming to the surface, but this is by far the most common.
10. Phobophobia
This is the fear of phobias, or rather, the feelings that come along with having a phobia. This is different from other phobias in that there is nothing in the environment that triggers the fear, but rather something more like general anxiety.
11. Agyrophobia
Agyrophobia is the irrational fear of crossing the street. Folks who suffer from this condition are afraid that crossing the street, even when there is no threat at all, will result in deadly consequences.
Did you know any of these phobias existed? Did we miss any interesting ones from our list? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with your family and friends on Facebook!
