26 Weird Phobias You've Probably Never Heard Of
The basic human emotion is fear, which signals a real danger. However, when people's fears defy logical explanation, objects, phenomena, situations or living beings that do not carry any danger cause excessive anxiety and uncontrollable horror - this is already a serious mental disorder called a phobia. We have collected for you 26 of the strangest phobias that you may have never heard of.
(Total 26 photos)
1. Androphobia - fear of men. People suffering from this phobia feel uncomfortable and nervous when talking to men. In extreme cases, this fear can lead to total avoidance of the company of men. (Photo: Roberto Westbrook/Getty Images)
2. Lakanophobia - fear of vegetables. Some people are afraid to eat vegetables because they think their seeds will sprout right inside them. But the fear of traditional Japanese sushi simply does not exist. In the world, not a single case of fear of such a delicious and popular dish all over the world has been registered. (Photo: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
3. Anemophobia - fear of the wind. Symptoms of this phobia are short, irregular breathing, increased sweating, dry mouth, and nausea. (Photo: Lane Oatey/Getty Images)
4. Barophobia - fear of gravity (attraction). People suffering from this phobia are afraid that universal gravity can crush them or, conversely, that it will disappear and then they will “float away” to nowhere. (Photo: Kimball Hall/Getty Images)
5. Batmophobia - fear of stairs and steep slopes. People suffering from this phobia are very much afraid of losing their balance. (Photo: UIG via Getty Images / Getty Images)
6. Chionophobia - fear of snow, which can lead to severe winter depression. (Photo: Martin Barraud/Getty Images)
7. Eisoptrophobia - fear of mirrors or one's own reflection in a mirror. (Photo: Spohn Matthieu/Getty Images)
8. Dendrophobia - fear of trees. The sight of trees in people with this phobia causes severe panic attacks. (Photo: Michael Blann/Getty Images)
9. Oikophobia - fear of home or returning home. Symptoms are difficulty breathing, panic attacks, excessive sweating, and crying. (Photo: Leon Harris/Getty Images)
10. Felinophobia, or fear of cats. People who are afraid of cats experience dizziness, nausea, dry mouth, rapid heartbeat, inability to speak and think, and even panic when they encounter these cute creatures. (Photo: Samantha T. Photography / Getty Images)
11. Gamophobia - not to be confused with homophobia - fear of marriage or commitment. (Photo: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
12. Koinoniphobia - fear of rooms filled with people. People suffering from this phobia do not feel well in public spaces. (Photo: Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images)
13. Arachnophobia - fear of spiders. People suffering from this phobia, when they meet an innocent spider, begin to sweat profusely, they become either hot or cold, they develop chest pains and symptoms of suffocation. (Photo: Ezra Bailey/Getty Images)
14. Mageirocophobia - fear of cooking. People suffering from this phobia are afraid of accidentally setting themselves on fire or poisoning others with their poorly prepared dish. (Photo: Gazimal/Getty Images)
15. Megalophobia - fear of large objects and objects. People suffering from this phobia, seeing huge objects, fall into a panic. (Photo: Peter Cade/Getty Images)
16. Misophobia - fear of dirt and germs. Misophobia is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and is manifested, in particular, by very frequent compulsive handwashing. (Photo 6 Ambre Haller/Getty Images)
17. Obesophobia or pocrescophobia - fear of gaining weight. It is often found in cultures where a lot of attention is paid to a slim figure. This phobia can lead to serious illnesses such as bulimia or anorexia. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez/Getty Images)
18. Papyrophobia - fear of paper. This phobia is often related to the fact that paper can take many forms. (Photo: altrendo images / Getty Images)
19. Tetraphobia: fear of the number 4. This is a very rare phobia that manifests itself in the fear of everything related to this number. (Photo: Blend Images - JGI / Getty Images)
20. Rhytiphobia - fear of wrinkles. (Photo: pinkypills/Fuse/Getty Images)
21. Selenophobia - fear of the moon. Fear is associated with a disturbing foreboding that when the moon appears in the sky, dangerous creatures come out of their hiding places. (Photo: RA Kearton/Getty Images)
22. Uranophobia or Ouranophobia: fear of going to heaven after death. This fear is closely linked to religious beliefs. (Photo: Ken Welsh/Getty Images)
23. Venustraphobia or caligynephobia is the fear of beautiful women. Often occurs after a traumatic experience in a relationship with the beautiful half of humanity. (Photo: rolfo/Getty Images)
24. Wiccaphobia - fear of witches and witchcraft. (Photo: Colin Anderson/Getty Images)
25. Xanthophobia - fear of yellow. Sometimes even the very word “yellow” can cause panic in people suffering from this phobia. (Photo: Andreas Jones/Getty Images)
26. Stretchophobia - fear of yoga. This recently described phobia is nothing more than a fear of the unusual position or curvature of the human body. It often happens with people who are just starting to practice yoga. (Photo: Radius Images/Getty Images)