The word phobia comes from the Greek word,
“phobos”, which is related to having a fear of something, or often what we might
call an irrational fear. We are sure you’ve all heard of arachnophobia,
which means a fear of spiders, or hydrophobia, which means a fear of water. According to the National Institute of Mental
Health, 19.2 million U.S. adults suffer from phobias, with some of the most common being
a fear of spiders, a fear of snakes, a fear of heights, and a fear of flying. But today we’ll focus on the freakiest fears,
in this episode of the Infographics Show, Weirdest Phobias People Suffer From. 10. Turophobia
This is a totally irrational fear of cheese. Yes, there are some people on this planet
that just can’t go near a piece of mature cheddar. They run for the hills when the waiter hangs
over them with the Parmesan. Turi comes from the Greek meaning cheese,
and you know the rest. The English media in 2016 reported about a
university student with this phobia, who called her first contact with cheese “traumatic.” However, she did say that mozzarella wasn’t
as scary as the other cheeses. 9. Omphalophobia
This is the fear of the naval, or what we call the belly button. It might mean these people can’t abide anyone
going near their belly button, or that they freak out when close to another person’s
belly button. This is a pretty important part of the body,
given that it connected us to our mothers. Only recently in 2018, the UK press featured
a 25-year old student doctor who suffered from this phobia, with the Daily Mail saying
that she “suffers panic attacks and is physically sick” when she sees someone’s navel. As for the other way around, she said, “If
someone touches mine, it feels like they are touching my insides and I can feel it all
through me.” She may struggle to become a doctor if she
doesn’t get over that. 8. Papaphobia
When some people find out that that guy who likes to wear a white spearhead hat will be
in town, they decide to take a vacation. The guy is the pope, and Papaphobia is a fear
of him. It’s thought this fear is related to other
fears concerning being terrified of religious objects. When these people see the pope, their heartbeat
quickens, they sweat profusely, and sometimes feel nauseous. Apparently if these folks do see the man,
they should quickly swallow a Xanax or some similar type of anti-anxiety medication. 7. Nomophobia
Nomophobia is weird, but according to reports it’s becoming very common among the younger
generation. It means the fear of being without your cellphone,
or fear of being without a charge, or even without connection to the Internet. Psychology Today says some people are so scared
to be without this thing they shower with it, sleep with it, take it literally everywhere. In fact, cell phone addiction has become a
big topic in the media, but some might be surprised that people are petrified of being
without their device. A recent UK study consisting of over 2,100
people found that 58 percent of men suffered from this phobia, as did 47 percent of women. In the U.S. it is worse, with 66 percent of
all phone users suffering from nomophobia. The Guardian in 2017 said this detachment
from the smartphone increases heart rate and blood pressure, causes anxiety, and generally
affects users the way drug addicts first feel in the early stages of withdrawal. These “screenagers” have put their lives
into this little bleeping box and as most psychologists will tell you, that box was
created to be as addictive as anything. Welcome to the world of digital heroin. 6. Ephebiphobia
Talking about these smartphone junkie teens, some people have a fear of them! Yes, Ephebiphobia is an irrational fear of
teenagers or generally young people. We doubt sufferers need to see ID before they
get the sweats. In every generation you get those old folks
decrying the youth of the day, saying they don’t respect this or that, or in U.S. comedian
Doug Stanhope’s opinion, that the digital generation is just not reckless enough. But apparently this aversion to our cute kids
is on the rise. The Guardian interviewed one 16-year old who
said, “I've had people cross the road to avoid me.” But that was due to the age-old fear of kids
possibly being aggressive to old people. Kids these days are subject to moral panic,
with older people telling them they are spoiled, too easily offended, until it comes to the
point some people just don’t want to be anywhere near youths. But this seems to happen in every generation. One of the first books on the subject from
the 1980s said, “Nearly every generation of young people has been chastised for being
‘out of control’ or aberrant in some way. Adult claims of degeneration among the young
can be found in nearly every previous decade.” Only Doug Stanhope dislikes the young, he
says, because they aren’t aberrant enough. 5. Phagophobia
This one must really suck. Phagophobia is the irrational fear of swallowing. We are told it is sometimes confused with
a fear of eating or certain conditions related to weight, but it’s closer to the fear of
choking. The amount of research on this must mean it’s
quite common. One site tells us, “A person’s throat
muscles will flex and spasm during their panic attack, closing the throat and expelling any
unwanted items out of the mouth.” This could mean water, food, or medications,
so it’s very serious. The answer is therapy. 4. Triskaidekaphobia
The fear of the number 13. This person might also have a general fear
of numbers, which is numerophobia. Others fear the number 4, which is Tetraphobia. But as for 13, what does that mean? Well, it’s mostly related to superstition,
sometimes related to myths, religion, and that generally the number 13 is not a nice
number. We have a show on this topic if you want to
know more. As Time magazine reported, it’s less a psychological
malady than it is a silly superstition. For this reason, some businesses leave out
the number on aisles, chairs, floors, or rooms, and believers will stay clear of the number
if they do see it. 3. Ablutophobia
This is not a good phobia to have if you are actively trying to find someone to date, because
it means being terrified of washing, or bathing. It’s more common in kids than in adults,
but a few hundred years back in Europe, many people had this phobia. These days it’s thought to be related to
traumatic experiences as a child when bathing. 2. Dextrophobia
This is certainly one of the most irrational of irrational fears. It’s the fear of having things to the right
of you. According to one source, it’s related to
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and sufferers will find themselves cluttering
things in the home or office all to the left side. They don’t like standing to the left of
people or even driving in the left lane. Other people may have levophobia, which is
a fear of things being to the left of them. If someone has both phobias then they are
really in trouble. 1. Phobophobia
You could say our last phobia might make sense after you’ve watched this show, so it’s
the right way to end. As you might guess, it means the fear of having
a phobia. So, if you are feeling left out right now
as you have no phobias, you might one day acquire this phobia. From the description, it sounds like a panic
attack. The anxiety forms in the unconscious, and
then suddenly the person will feel dizzy and tense; their heart will pound, they will sweat,
and be aware of something bad about to happen. This anxiety disorder can manifest as panic
at any time, because the person is always fearing getting a phobia, sometimes of something
they love. As strange as it sounds, it’s actually one
of the most common phobias on this list. We’ll leave you with this quote from Franklin
D. Roosevelt: “All we have to fear, is fear itself.” Aint that the truth. So, do any of you out there you have any phobias? Let us know more about it in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other video
called FBI vs CIA - How do they compare! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
