Our Phobias

When I go into a restaurant I like to look at the various place mats that are on the table tops. The types I like are those that contain historical facts, puzzles, matching state capitals with a state, finding hidden words or subjects about nature.

I found a most unusual one recently which caused me to do a little research to add to what I read on this place mat. This one listed the 'phobias' with which mankind is supposed to be afflicted. This column is not written for the purpose of self diagnosis or diagnosing your spouse or friends, but rather for the amusement of you readers. The dictionary defines a 'Phobia' as a persistent dread or fear.

I was surprised to learn that an individual who has a dread of dust suffers from AMATHOPHOBIA. I am most certain that our ancestors never suffered from AMAXOPHOBIA. This is a dread or fear of.carriages and wagons. Don't accuse your neighbor of having ANTHOPHOBIA just because he does not raise flowers in his yard of garden. Perhaps he may have an allergy. This old world would be in a terrible situation if everyone suffered from TELEPHONOPHOBIA, which is a pathologic fear of telephones.

I have read about persons who had THEOPHOBIA—a fear of God's wrath, but I have never read about one who had URANOPHOBIA—a fear of going to Heaven. I have met individuals who had MELISSOPHOBIA or maybe it was APIPHOBIA. The first is a fear of bees and wasps while the latter is a fear of bees and their stings.g

Perhaps you know someone who has KERAUNOPHOBIA or ASTRAPHOBIA. Perhaps they also have BRONTOPHOBIA or TONITROPHOBIA (sometimes spelled TONITRUPHOBIA). The first two are fears of lightning while the latter two are a fear of thunder and thunderstorms. I have seen animals, especially dogs with this fear. BROPHOBIA is a fear of rain.

While we are on the subject of weather, there are some who have THERMOPHOBIA and others PSYCHROPHOBIA. One is a fear of heat and the latter is a dread of cold. Perhaps the latter might be tied in with CHIONOPHOBIA, which is a dread of snow or being snowbound.

I know of individuals who have ARACHNEPHOBIA. They have a morbid fear of spiders. ELUROPHOBiA and GALEOPHOBIA all refer to the fear of cats If you have a fear of horses, chances are you have a touch of EGINOPHOBIA...ZOOPHOBIA refers to a fear of animals.

TREDECAPHOBIA, TRIAKAIDEPHOBIA and TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA all refer to the fear of the number 13.

DORAPHOBIA is the fear of skins and furs. If you have a fear of fish, chances are you have a touch of ICHTHYOPHOBIA. Individuals who have a fear of blushing are said to have ERYTHROPHOBIA. The dictionary says that a fear of marriage is GAMOPHOBIA, while GYNEPHOBIA is the fear of society of women, and PARTHENOPHOBIA is the fear of girls. Females who fear the male might have ANDROPHOBIA.

I also learned that persons who gather in and around a bar room are not suffering from DIPSOPHOBIA. Neither do they have OCHLOPHOBIA, a fear of crowds.

Nearly all my friends have expressed a morbid fear of snakes. Guess they have OPHIDIOPHOBIA. (They make nice pets). I just respect them.

Many children and adults too, according to the dictionary, have a fear of darkness. That's termed NYCTOPHOBIA. If you have a dread of hair, chances are that you have a touch of TRICHOPHOBIA. If you have a fear of walking in the woods, maybe you have HYLOPHOBIA. Persons who have a fear or hate of clocks might have CHRONOPHOBIA. If you have a fear of robbers, HARPAXOPHOBIA is probably present. If you have a fear of traveling in an airplane or being up in the air, you might have AERODROMOPHOBIA or AEROPHOBIA.

After summing up all these phobias I suddenly discovered that I have ERGOPHOBIA or ERGASIOPHOBIA and GRAPHOPHOBIA. They mean that I have an aversion to work and a dread of writing. That's all.