whether you want to admit it or not you're scared of something and be it spiders ghosts tight spaces or your crazy ex that won't stop sending your messages it's normal to be just a little bit fearful there are some phobias however that are downright strange join us as we take a look through the top 15 most unusual phobias
number 15 geniophobia when you look at someone's face chances are that you'll quickly notice their eyes nose mouth and skin however if you're someone with geniophobia your eyes immediately circle down to their chin that's because these people have a fear of chins and while people with quote normal chins generally won't scare them anyone with very sharp angled chins double chins or so-called deformed chins can cause them extreme anxiety generally speaking geniophobia is caused by the childhood trauma of either falling on your chin getting into a fight and injuring your chin or getting bullied because of your chin weird we know in any case therapists will often use several different types of behavioral therapies as treatments so that sufferers are able to better handle their anxiety around this pointed piece of anatomy
number 14 cutely a phobia chances are that you eat with a fork knife and spoon every single day but if you happen to be former one direction star liam payne then spoons would be out of the question that's because he suffers from a very rare condition known as cutaleophobia which is a fear of spoons according to liam he's fine with using his own spoons but has an aversion to using the spoons of others and this is because when i was a kid i was a bit naughty at school but when you were naughty they made you do the washing up i had to wash all these nasty spoons and it just stuck with me after i don't know what people are doing with their spoons and i don't want to know end quote thus while going out for dinner with liam payne would be a dream for many we suggest not taking him to a soup restaurant
number 13 lutrophobia most people would agree that otters are very cute creatures after all while otters have strong teeth and a powerful bite they're almost benign animals that pose no real danger to humans however if you suffer from lutrophobia then you see things differently as this phobia is the fear of otters while this may sound a little silly sufferers of this phobia believe that otters are extremely dangerous and as a result they will often go so far as to live in an urban setting away from bodies of water in order to avoid otters yet it shouldn't come as a surprise that this phobia is extremely uncommon
number 12 hippopotamus drosis quipidaleophobia while this may seem like some sick joke it turns out that the phobia of long words is a word so long that it's nearly impossible to pronounce interestingly enough it turns out that this phobia is a very real thing and it's usually attributed to those who experience a great deal of anxiety when faced with long words it often stems from the time when the sufferer was in school as often as an episode of embarrassment after failing to pronounce a long word can trigger this phobia however this phobia can be corrected with gradual exposure but the process often beginning with a sufferer first seeing long words then thinking about them and finally saying them out loud regardless we're sure that even if you don't have this phobia the name for it probably gives you a bit of a headache
number 11. gelliophobia most people like to watch a good comedy skit but for those with galleophobia things that are funny can often be the source of a lot of anxiety that's because this phobia is the fear of laughter laughing or being laughed at by someone this disorder often starts at a young age where events such as being bullied or being reprimanded for laughing at inappropriate times can lead to an actual fear of laughter and as a result sufferers often find that social situations where they're expected to laugh are a source of anxiety since they don't know how to act or react when confronted with jokes as such the reaction to these situations is often a feeling of discomfort and for some panic attacks and heart palpitations are even a possibility therefore while many people try to laugh away their problems this simply isn't possible for those with galliophobia
number 10 dipnophobia we get it talking at the table can be awkward and be it getting grilled about what you did today or having a political debate with extended family members on thanksgiving it's normal to have some mild annoyance toward these types of confrontations however if you suffer from dipenophobia then you likely take this annoyance to a whole new level since this phobia is the fear of dinner conversations to be clear dyphnophobia does not relate to being scared of the food itself but rather to the idea of having social interactions during dinner time those who have it will often avoid dinner dates and family functions at all costs and attending them would lead to anxiety symptoms such as fear of being criticized embarrassment nausea and sweating in order to manage diaphobia it's often recommended that you collect your thoughts and think in the present and this allows you to come to your senses and realize that the situation at hand isn't all that bad however the truth of the matter is that no matter how much therapy you go through it probably won't prepare you for dealing with some crazy comments from a distant uncle or two during christmas dinner
number nine heliophobia anyone who's watched a vampire movie or two knows that if there's one thing that vampires don't like as much as garlic it's sunlight as it weakens their powers and in some tales makes them unable to walk however it turns out that the fear of sunlight can even manifest in humans by way of a condition known as heliophobia often paired with an aversion to bright lights the underlying fear with heliophobia is usually that bright rays could either cause skin cancer or make you age quickly with the cause of this condition often being either the trauma of getting a major sunburn or a fear passed down by one's parents about staying out of the sun now to be fair this condition doesn't encompass those with legitimate skin conditions such as chemical photosensitivity or hereditary photodermatosis but instead refers to people who have an irrational fear of the sun in any case the good thing about heliophobia is that there are several ways to treat it one of the most common is exposure therapy which requires a sufferer to slowly expose themselves to sunlight on a consistent basis until they become comfortable with it although cognitive behavioral therapy and medications are sometimes used so while heliophobia may be pretty irrational it's relatively easy to treat we are constantly adding more people to the top fives production team to bring you all the best content be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button
number eight phobophobia while many people are scared of things such as heights tight spaces ghosts or aliens the fear of fear itself is a more complex matter known as phobophobia people who suffer from it not only have underlying fears about whatever they're scared about but also feel scared to be scared and as a result phobophobia can be difficult to treat because it's a fear of an abstract concept rather than a tangible thing phobophobia is often associated with one social environment where having witnessed someone have an intense phobia to something may make you also fear such a negative reaction which ironically can spark a negative reaction however phobophobia is sometimes also sparked by general anxiety and those who get fearful or anxious often sometimes end up fearing their fearful response to these anxieties in any case phobophobia is often treated by encouraging lifestyle changes that make the phobophobic person go outside their comfort zone and therefore experience fear more regularly
number seven anthophobia most people love getting a bouquet of flowers as a gift but for some the prospect of receiving one is absolutely terrifying known as anthophobia a fear of flowers can be caused by several different things with the most common including negative experiences which include things such as getting stung by a bug around flowers or seeing a certain type of flower at a traumatic event such as a funeral the negative patterns created in the brain as a result can lead to someone being scared of all flowers or only specific kinds but in either case they often react with intense fear when they're around them as such most people who suffer from this phobia go through exposure therapy so they can slowly get accustomed to them and eventually get over their flowery phobia
number six patiophobia kids around the world seem to love dolls but if you're a sufferer of patiophobia then you have a fear of these lifelike toys pediophobia is almost exclusively caused by trauma yet what's interesting about it is that this trauma usually stems from two very different sources the first is from pop culture where early exposure to movies such as chucky or annabelle has caused many kids to subconsciously associate dolls with the terrible things being seen on screen however another less obvious trigger can also be our natural aversions to things that look like us but aren't us according to japanese roboticist masahiro mori he noticed that with robots people respond well to them even as they become more realistic but as soon as very lifelike robots do something that is out of character for a human they start to get really freaked out therefore while many are attracted to things that look human they develop an aversion because of the differences in either case someone afflicted with this condition will often become extremely uncomfortable around dolls and for kids with the condition it's not uncommon for them to start crying when they see one in order to treat it sufferers have to go through a process of gradual exposure when they first sit in the same room as a doll then touch it and then either go to sleep with one or hold various types in their hands as such pediaphobia is often considered to be a relatively easy one to cure
number five a plutophobia nobody likes people who stink and if you know someone with a bluetophobia then chances are you were saying at least two meters away from them before the covid19 pandemic that's because of blutophobia is one of the more disgusting phobias out there as it's the fear of washing or bathing this phobia is usually caused by a traumatic experience had when washing or bathing such as nearly drowning in a bathtub as a child but it can also be initiated after watching something traumatic happen to someone showering on tv with the shower seen in alfred hitchcock's classic horror movie psycho being a commonly cited trigger in any case ablutophobia is an anxiety disorder which means that those who have it attach an irrational fear to bathing but to be clear it doesn't usually apply to kids who just don't like to take a bath as doctors will usually only diagnose children with this condition if they exhibit an intense fear of bathing for a period of at least six months as you might expect people who suffer from ablutophobia usually give off a pretty musky smell so they often experience social isolation and body image disorders over time this is not to mention the fact that being dirty is physically unhealthy and as a result a sufferer's risk of accumulating dangerous bacteria and becoming dangerously ill increase due to their lack of bathing in order to cure someone of this phobia a therapist will typically have patients replace their negative self-talk around bathing with more positive messages while also encouraging their patient to take baby steps such as turning on a shower and sitting in the bathroom with it running therefore while a blutophobia may be a bit disgusting a therapist can help sufferers clean up their act
number four arachid buterophobia if you've ever bitten into a delectable pb and j sandwich then you know that peanut butter can be a little sticky however if you suffer from a rack of butter then that stickiness factor is ramped up a few notches people who suffer from this phobia have a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of their mouth now this phobia can manifest itself in many different ways the most common is that the sufferer is scared that the peanut butter will choke them with the reasoning being that since it's stuck at the roof of their mouth they won't be able to get it out on the other hand some simply don't like the sticky sensation and therefore don't want any peanut butter in their mouth as with anything there are levels of severity to this phobia with some people being comfortable with small amounts of peanut butter while others won't eat any foods where it's an ingredient now it shouldn't come as a surprise that arachibutriaphobia is often linked with a general fear of choking and sometimes is caused by some sort of childhood trauma relating to a choking fit unfortunately the symptoms of arachibutriophobia can be quite an annoyance but the most common being anxiety fight or flight response at even the sight of peanut butter or even worse an inability to swallow once peanut butter is in one's mouth in order to cure it sufferers often have to go through some sort of exposure therapy with methods such as looking at photos of people safely eating peanut butter and introducing ingredients that contain trace amounts of peanut butter into one's diet being textbook cures for the phobia in any case we think you'd agree that a phobia that makes you unable to eat a good old pb and j isn't all that enjoyable
number three cyberphobia while most millennials have no problem using a computer tablet or laptop for some boomers cyberphobia has made them deviate away from these devices this phobia is often experienced by older adults who are having trouble adapting to digital technologies and is often associated with mediaphobia which is a fear of media and technophobia which is the fear of technology in general now what's interesting about this phobia is that while it's something caused by a traumatic experience such as getting hacked or accidentally downloading a virus cyberphobia is often triggered by perceived incompetence according to anxiety specialist lucia wallace smith cyberphobia is often worsened by the feelings of low self-esteem or fears about being judged harshly and this makes sense as the lack of access from a young age often makes it harder for seniors to learn the ins and outs of technology than it is for younger people who grew up using it as such many who suffer from this phobia believe that the gradual adoption of computers will not only make their life more difficult but will also eventually lead to them being let go by their employer while others fear that computers are recording their data and using it for nefarious purposes for sufferers who don't like technology at all but will use it they're often prone to anxiety attacks in the middle of simple technology related tasks such as sending emails or downloading files if they even have the slightest bit of difficulty however it can thankfully be cured if a sufferer continues to learn more about technology and thus cyberphobia is one of the few phobias where therapy will clear your anxiety and teach you a marketable skill at the same time
number two somnophobia while most people look forward to laying back and getting a nice eight hours of sleep those with somnophobia absolutely dread the thought of getting some shut eye that's because sufferers of this phobia have a fear of sleep and this is often caused by a number of sleep related conditions more specifically it's quite common for someone to develop somnophobia after occurrences as sleep paralysis which happens when you wake up from rem sleep with your muscles paralyzed nightmare disorder which is characterized by frequent vivid nightmares that often stay with you for the entirety of the day or insomnia which makes you worry about whether or not you'll be able to get a good night's sleep in any case all of these disorders create worry and distresses about going to bed and the symptoms of somnophobia include experiencing distress as it gets closer to bedtime staying up as long as possible and having panic attacks when it's time to sleep as you might imagine this phobia can take a massive toll on your everyday life as lack of sleep can make you less productive irritable and prone to mood swings therefore a common and effective way to combat somnophobia is with sleep medications which force you to hit the hay and get a deep sleep even if you don't want to however if you'd rather not have such a severe treatment then you can go for cognitive behavioral therapy which involves going to bed and getting up at specific times regardless of how much sleep you actually get in order to help your body combine better sleep patterns this is also sometimes combined with exposure therapy which involves taking short naps to build up one's ability to sleep in any case given that sleep deprivation can be extremely dangerous both physically and mentally somnophobia is definitely a condition that sufferers should try to treat asap
number one globalphobia when most people think of balloons positive thoughts such as birthday parties graduations and special events often come to mind however for those with globophobia anything and everything related to balloons is absolutely mortifying broadly speaking global phobia is a fear of balloons however it often extends into several different subcategories for most sufferers a deflated balloon will not cause anxiety but anxiety will often be triggered when the balloon is blown up with it reaching a peak once the balloons are tied up and ready to go once blown the fear will sometimes relate to sensory things such as the sight noise smell or texture of a balloon for many others is the popping of a balloon that gets them startled as you might imagine this fear usually starts in childhood with events such as a balloon popping or deflating in one's face often being a trigger for the phobia while this often diminishes with age for some it continues well into adulthood and this causes complications because many sufferers will refuse to go to events where balloons are present as the consequences of doing so would include discomfort sweaty palms nausea and shaking interestingly enough some people in high up places have this fear with oprah winfrey being chief among them when pressed about the phobia by the press she admitted that when they pop it reminds her of gunfire and therefore even being around balloons gives her anxiety and she never knows when they will pop in any case if you're looking to get over this fear gradual exposure therapy is often necessary this could involve first touching a deflated balloon then blowing one up then having contact with an inflated balloon and then if possible even popping one while balloons may be scary to some of you global phobia is a fear that you can certainly conquer watch our scary playlist for more top 15 videos about the most scary subjects sit back relax and binge watch all of our best videos you