What are you scared of? While millions of us have common phobias like spiders, heights, snakes and injections, there are some of us who have less common phobias that could be classed as strange because they’re things you would never think someone could be genuinely afraid of. Here are the strangest phobias people actually have.
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Ablutophobia
If you’re afraid to wash, bathe or clean yourself, you have ablutophobia. This fear is more common in children and it can gradually go away as children get used to being bathed.
2. Decidophobia
Many of us find it hard to make decisions, but for some people making decisions is a truly terrifying prospect. People with decidophobia typically entrust other people to make decisions for them and become accustomed to accepting what other people tell them without arguing with them.
3. Chronophobia
This phobia is to do with time passing and those who are afraid of time passing usually have a fear of the future as well. This phobia is most common in the elderly and people who are locked up in prison. Elderly people with this phobia are worried about time one day bringing their lives to an end; prisoners who have this phobia fear that because they’re locked up they’re wasting the time they have.
4. Descendophobia
Descendophobia is the fear of going downstairs or going down any sort of incline. This fear usually stems from the fear of falling down stairs and getting severely injured or even dying.
5. Neophobia
Neophobia is the fear of anything that’s new or unfamiliar. People who suffer seriously from this phobia are extremely unwilling to break from their routine and even the smallest and most insignificant of new things. Many people with this fear are afraid to try new foods because they feel that new foods may be unsafe.
6. Chaetophobia
Chaetophobia is the fear of hair. Some people who have this phobia are only afraid of hair that’s loose and not attached to anyone, though others can be afraid of hair that’s attached to other people – they can also fear their own hair.
7. Anablephobia
If you like gazing at the stars at night, you don’t have anablephobia, which is the fear of looking up. It’s thought that those who have this phobia are afraid to look up because they’ll feel overwhelmed by the vastness and emptiness of the universe around them. Some people find life’s big questions and mysteries to be terrifying and looking up reminds them that humans are small and insignificant in the grand scale of things.
8. Peladophobia
Peladophobia is the fear of bald people and usually stems from traumatic events involving a bald person. The term ‘peladophobia’ can also mean a fear of becoming bald yourself and many who have this phobia are not only terrified of bald people, they’re terrified of themselves becoming bald one day.
9. Omphalophobia
Omphalophobia is the fear of belly buttons. Some who have this phobia are disgusted by not only their own belly button, but other people’s belly buttons as well. Some of the more severe sufferers sometimes feel as if their insides may come out through their belly button.
10. Heliophobia
If you’re afraid of the sun, you’ve got heliophobia. Those who suffer from this fear can end up suffering from vitamin D deficiency due to their reluctance to go outside.
11. Gephyrophobia
Gephyrophobia is the fear of bridges or crossing water;Â people who suffer from this phobia fear that the bridge or crossing is going to collapse while they’re on it.
12. Phagophobia
If you’re afraid of swallowing food, you’ve got phagophobia. People who are afraid of swallowing food can eventually suffer from weight loss, malnutrition and anorexia.
