A phobia is defined as an irrational fear of a situation or an object. Philemaphobia or Philematophobia is the extreme fear of kissing. The word Philematophobia originates from ‘Philema’ which is the Greek word for kissing and ‘Phobos’ which is also Greek for ‘fear or dread’. Most people love kissing. In fact; kissing is an accepted and a standard form of greeting … [Read more...]

Technology can be a blessing but also a curse. These days, most of us are constantly connected through high speed Internet on SmartPhones and/or mobile or tablets devices. Often, when these are taken away from us, we are left feeling a bit lost. Technology can thus also cause a lot of stress. Nomophobia is one such mental illness caused by technology, or lack of it. … [Read more...]

Hundreds of thousands of people around the globe are afraid of whales. The intense fear of whales is termed as Cetaphobia, a word that has its origins in Latin Cetus meaning large fish and phobos which is the Greek God of fear. People having an extreme fear of whales cannot bear to think, see or talk about whales. Watching a movie about (or an image of) these large … [Read more...]

Chionophobia is the extreme dislike or fear of snow. The word originates from Greek chion meaning snow and phobos meaning fear, aversion or dread. People with Chionophobia often understand that their fear is unfounded and weird. However, they are unable to control it. Living with the phobia can get very difficult especially in winters or in places where snow is the way … [Read more...]

“Silence”, it is said, ‘speaks a thousand words’. It is also common knowledge that couples who can spend their time in silence (and still feel as if they have had the best conversation ever) will always stay together. However, to some people, silence can be downright scary. There is term for this phobia: Sedatephobia. The word originates from Greek ‘Sedate’ meaning ‘silent … [Read more...]

Herpetophobia is the irrational, unwarranted and persistent fear of reptiles. It is a highly common animal phobia. The word Herpetophobia originates from “Herp” meaning snake or reptile and “Phobos” which stands for the Greek God of Fear. The fear of reptiles is often combined with Ophidiophobia which is specifically the fear of snakes, but they are both rather … [Read more...]

The word ‘Dementophobia’ is used to denote the fear of insanity. It is derived from the Greek words Dementos and Phobos which mean ‘insanity’ and ‘fear’ respectively. An individual having Dementophobia experiences extreme anxiety or a panic attack when s/he encounters a thought about going insane, or even a movie scene depicting insane person/situation. Excessive fear … [Read more...]

Escalaphobia is a common specific phobia affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals all around the world. The word Escalaphobia comes from Greek escalo meaning ‘to move up/escalators’ and phobos which means ‘deep aversion, dread or fear’. There are several thousand escalators in Canada and United States, together moving millions of people up and down daily. However, … [Read more...]

Dentophobia, as the self explanatory word explains, is the fear of dentists or the fear of dental work. It is a fairly common phobia affecting children as well as adults. Nearly 75% of the adult global population is known to fear dentists. The phobia is linked to other phobias like the fear of needles (Tryphanophobia) fear of doctors (Iatrophobia) and others (such as … [Read more...]

Taphophobia (or Taphephobia) is the irrational fear of being buried alive. It is closely related to other phobias such as: fear of death (Thanatophobia), fear of tombstones (Placophobia), fear of cemeteries (coimetrophobia), fear of tight and enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia) etc. The word Taphophobia originates from Greek taphos meaning “tombs or graves” and phobos which … [Read more...]

Myrmecophobia is an intense fear of ants. This fear belongs to the more general category of Entomophobias (the fear of insects). But the fear of bees and fear of ants are more specific as the sufferers only fear those respective classes of insects. Myrmecophobia is derived from the Greek word Myrmex meaning ‘ants’ and phobos which stands for the “Greek God of fear”. … [Read more...]

Kinemortophobia is often considered a joke where, in reality, it is a very real phobia. Kinemortophobics are terrified of zombies, or are afraid of turning into zombies. The word is derived from Greek “Kine” which means “to move”, Latin “mort” meaning dead, combined together to form Kinemorto which means the “Walking dead”. People having zombie- phobia are so terrified … [Read more...]

Scoleciphobia (So-leh-kee-pho-be-ah) is also known by other names like Vermiphobia and Helminthophobia. They all mean the persistent and irrational fear of worms. The word Scoleciphobia originates from Greek Scoleci meaning parasitic worms and phobos meaning deep dread or aversion. Helminthophobia is the secondary fear of one’s body being infested or attacked by worms … [Read more...]

There are many phobias associated with water bodies and Thalassophobia is one of them. It refers to an intense and often unwarranted fear of the ocean. The word Thalassophobia comes from Greek thalassa meaning ‘sea or ocean’ and phobos meaning fear or dread. Thalassophobia is often related to fear of salty water, fear of large waves, fear of distance from the land as … [Read more...]

Coasterphobia, as the name indicates, is an intense fear of roller coasters. The arrival of summer invariably means a trip or two to theme parks, none of which is complete without a ride on a Roller coaster. While most people enjoy the “thrills and the chills” roller coasters proffer, to a Coasterphobe, simply the sight of one is enough to bring on a full blown panic … [Read more...]