Phobias: Mine and other people who have it worse.

So, like any normal human being. I have some fears and maybe a phobia or two.
There are however two things I am morbidly fearful of, they are completely irrational fears and yet crippling at times. One of my phobias is extremely common and the other I have been teased about on countless occasions because it’s ridiculous, I know it is ridiculous and yet I’m heart-palpitation-stomach-wrenching kind of afraid.
I did some research and it turns out, I’m not alone. There are so many other people out there with the same fears; they have given them names. BOOM! I’m NOT a freak of nature!

I am Aichmophobic and Myrmecophobic. (Big word use!) What the heck is that you ask?

Aichmophobia is the morbid fear of sharp things such as pencils, needles, knives, a pointing finger, or even the sharp end of an umbrella! In my case it’s needles. I cannot handle needles; I will throw up or pass out, sometimes both, preferably in that order. It is extremely common to be afraid of needles and people generally understand when they pull out a needle and the colour drains from your face shortly before you faint. It’s understandable.

Myrmecophobia is an inexplicable fear of ants. This fear can manifest itself in several ways, such as a fear of ants contaminating a person's food supply, or fear of a home invasion by large numbers of ants. I’m more the latter of the two. Ants freak me out like crazy, it’s ridiculous I know.

(I was going to post pictures for these but I actually got chills thinking about it. So use your imagination.)

After reading through my phobias and feeling a little better about myself that I’m not alone, I had a look at a few other “Strange Phobias” and OH MY GOSH! Some people have it BAD! Here are some of the actual phobias I stumbled across. It’s shocking because there are a large number of people who suffer from these:


Ablutophobia: The fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning.

Ergophobia: The general fear of work, working environment and work activities.

Nomophobia: The fear of being out of mobile phone contact. #FirstWorldProblems

Philophobia: The fear of being in love and falling in love. (maybe I have a bit of this as well.)

Somniphobia: The irrational fear of falling asleep.

Heliophobia: The fear of the sunlight.

Chaetophobia: The fear of hair. Human and animal.

Phobophobia: The fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. 
It’s hard to believe but this is literally a phobia of phobias. 
If you managed to get through this list though, you’re probably in the clear on this one.

Pantophobia: The fear of everything. It is described as "a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil" (These guys got it BAAAAAAAD!)

So, if you have any irrational fear or phobia don't feel so bad... I guarantee you have it better than other people.


*Unrelated fact: A strawberry is not an actual berry, but a banana is.