The Final Fears

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  This is my final blog about fears and phobias and I must admit that I enjoyed writing about the different types fears and phobias.  However, I promise to leave all you bloggers with a memorable list of the wackiest phobias (in my opinion) all the way from A to Z.

Before I reveal my list of what I think to be the wackiest phobias, let’s take a brief look at phobias I covered throughout these few weeks.

The first few blogs in the month of January included:

•  Nomophobia - the fear of losing your cell phone
•  Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - the fear of long words
•   Glossophobia - fear of public speaking

The blogs in the month of February included:

• Soceraphobia - fear of in-laws
• Claustrophobia - fear of enclosed spaces
• Zoophobia - fear of animals

The blogs in the month of March included:

• Arachnophobia - fear of spiders
• Coulrophobia - fear of clowns
• Coasterphobia - fear of roller coasters

Finally, the blogs in the month of April included:

• Atychiphobia - fear of failure
• Mysophobia - fear of germs

Now let's take a look at those wacky phobias!

A-Z List of the Wackiest Phobias

• Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions
• Bibliophobia- Fear of books
• Clinophobia- Fear of going to bed
• Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions
• Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news
• Francophobia- Fear of France or French culture
• Geniophobia- Fear of chins
• Hierophobia- Fear of priests or sacred things
• Ideophobia- Fear of ideas
• Judeophobia- Fear of Jews
• Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down
• Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables
• Mnemophobia- Fear of memories
• Nomatophobia- Fear of names
• Omphalophobia- Fear of belly buttons
• Philophobia- Fear of falling in love or being in love
• Q - There is no phobia for the letter "Q"
• Rhytiphobia- Fear of getting wrinkles
• Sophophobia- Fear of learning
• Testophobia- Fear of taking tests
• Urophobia- Fear of urine or urinating
• Venustraphobia- Fear of beautiful women
• Wiccaphobia: Fear of witches and witchcraft
• Xenoglossophobia- Fear of foreign languages
• Y- there is no phobia for the letter "Y"
• Zelophobia- Fear of jealousy

I hope you enjoyed my blogs and my list of the most wackiest phobias from A-Z!  If you didn't like my list, try making your own list of phobias! Visit http://phobialist.com/ or http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm.  Until next time bloggers...have a fearful day!

Ew! Germs!

We have all see people walk out of the bathroom without washing their hands.  We’ve all seen children pick their nose then touch an object.  We have all been exposed to germs. Germs are everywhere and they are mysophobia sufferer’s worst nightmare!

According to psychologist, Lisa Fritscher, mysophobia is the fear of germs. Yet, this phobia refers to an “unhealthy fear of contamination”. For example, it is normal and wise to be concerned about issues such as cross-contamination of foods, exposure of bodily fluids from others and maintaining good hygiene. However, if you suffer from mysophobia, these normal concerns become exaggerated.

Mysophobia is linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD. According to Fritscher, one of the most common symptoms of mysophobia is frequent hand washing, which is also a common symptom of OCD. However, the motivation for the hand washing is different. People with OCD feel obligated to wash their hands as a way to relieve stress.   On the other hand, people with mysophobia feel compelled to complete the act specifically to remove germs.

Symptoms of mysophobia include:

·      Shaking,

·      Heart palpitations

·      Sweating

·      Crying when exposed to dirt or bacteria.

These symptoms may occur only when the object of your phobia is visible.  For example, digging in a garden. These symptoms may even occur when the person suffering from mysohobia believes that germ contact may have occurred, such as shaking hands with someone or using a doorknob.

Mysophobia sufferers may also demonstrate unusual behaviors. For example, they may take multiple showers each day. They may even carry and use hand sanitizer frequently and may be unwilling to use public restrooms, share food or take public transportation.

Since people with mysophobia fear germs carried by others, the condition can lead them to avoid social situations, such as work parties, holiday get-togethers and meetings. When and if the person does decide to participate, they may find themselves avoiding physical contact and sanitizing their hands more frequently.

Over time, these behaviors can lead to isolation. Friends and relatives might not understand, and they could perceive you as hostile or even paranoid. Sometimes other phobias can develop from mysophobia. Mysophobia sufferers could develop social phobia, in which a person fears contact with other human beings.  Sometimes mysophobia sufferers eventually chooses to isolate themselves altogether, which leads to agoraphobia, which is the fear of being trapped in a situation where escape is impossible or embarrassing, or help is unavailable in case of a panic attack.

Fortunately, mysophobia can be successfully managed. It is important to visit a mental health professional as soon as possible because the condition tends to worsen over time.  According to Fritscher, cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most common form of treatment for mysophobia. Sometimes the therapist may encourage the mysophobia sufferer to explore the root of the phobia, which can help control the symptoms of the phobia.

Although germs are repulsive, try not to the let them get in the way of you living your life. 

Also, make sure you stay tuned for my next blog, as I will discuss the top weirdest phobias!

Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight!

Take a minute to yourself and stop and think.  How do you feel when you succeed on a project, a math test or even at a sport?  How do you feel when you fail?  Do you give up?  Do you let failure ruin your day or do you see failure as a chance to try again? 

 According to www.allaboutcounseling.com, atychiphobia is the fear of failure.  This fear can be so powerful that it can hold back an individual from completing anything that he or she cannot be successful at. This phobia can become very serious. 

Symptoms of this phobia include:

·      Extreme mental anxiety

·      Digestive Issues

·      Headache

·      Muscle Tension

·      Panic

These symptoms will usually arise in an individual suffering from atychiphobic when he or she is asked to do a new task. The mental process of the individual will also become so filled with fear that the individual may  “break down” when put into situations that may end in failure. If the phobia remains untreated, symptoms will continue to worsen over time. A loss of motivation and drop in self-confidence will soon follow.  This may lead to even more severe symptoms, such as depression. 

Overcoming the fear of failure is entirely dependent on how willing, motivated and determined an individual is to make the personal change. While there is no complete cure to atychiphobia, there are methods to overcome this phobia by changing your thought process to better cope with frightening situations.

Prescribed medication is usually not encouraged for most patients. As there is no cure for atychiphobia, many doctors see these drugs as “hiding” the problem instead of actually treating the problem. Other treatment methods are available and have shown some positive results in treating atychiphobic behavior.

Counseling is the most popular option to treating this phobia. By visiting with a trusted counselor, an individual will be able to open up and create new coping strategies to deal with stressful situations. 

Self-help methods, as well as other strategies like hypnotherapy, can also be useful in dealing with the fear of failure and can help the patient understand that failure is part of life.

If you feel that you may be suffering from this phobia it is important to get help.  Talk to a counselor and remember to not let the fear of failure keep you from trying.  Remember that with failure comes success.

Make sure to check back next week for a new phobia!  Your phobia may be next!