Phobias so weird they'll scare you

Kelly Osbourne, Billy Bob Thornton and Christina Ricci all live with unusual phobias. Picture: AP, Getty Source: news.com.au

FEARS. We all have them but some are stranger than others.

We're not talking about a fear of flying, or dying, or trying. We're talking about those fears that are perhaps a little more left-field than your average phobia.

Like chopsticks, for example. Consecotaleophobia. Try explaining THAT next time you're invited to yum cha.

Or genuphobia, a fear of knees. We all have two of them! But some experience a fear of knees so great that symptoms include - but are not limited to - becoming sick to the stomach, excessive sweating, dry mouth, and anxiety when presented with a situation including knees or kneeling.

Christina Ricci suffers from botanophobia, an irrational fear of plants. "They are dirty. I'm repulsed by the fact that there's a plant indoors. It just freaks me out," she said.

While Billy Bob Thornton has admitted he has a phobia of antique furniture: "Maybe it's a past life thing and I got beat to death with an old chair. But I'm totally serious. I can't eat around antiques," he once said.

As for Kelly Obsbourne, she struggles with haphophobia which is the fear of being touched. Her brother Jack once said in an interview, "All you have to do is just touch her collarbone. It's awesome, she starts dry-retching."

A phobia goes beyond normal rational thought and is described as an anxiety disorder which manifests itself as a persistent fear of an object or situation.

Most phobias are classified into three categories:

• Social phobia - social anxiety
• Agoraphobia - fear of leaving home or a safe area, loosely defined as a fear of open spaces
• Specific phobias - fear of a single object, idea or thing that triggers panic

And while most phobia's are no laughing matter, it's some of the "specific phobias" that prove to be the most interesting.

Here are some of the more unusual phobias we've come across:

Trichophobia: fear of hair. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Trichophobia: fear of hair
Tricophobia goes beyond the sight of manky hair in the shower drain, it's a fear of hair altogether - touching it, seeing it loose on the floor or on clothing and is defined by a "morbid disgust" for loose strands. Trichopobia is closely related to it's hairy cousin "pogonophobia" - a fear of beards.

Koumpounophobia: fear of buttons. PIcture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Koumpounophobia: fear of buttons
Every heard the saying "cute as a button" - not so for koumpounophobics. Koumpounophobia is a fear of buttons and can also extend to similarly shaped things like discs, coins, etc. Here, one sufferer tries to explain their fear: "I have an intense phobia of buttons (I find it very difficult to say the word or even type it). If I touch one by accident, eg. in a clothes shop, I can feel my heart suddenly jump and sometimes I feel like I'm going to be sick. If there are clothes lying around anywhere, I will always arrange them so that there are no buttons showing anywhere. This phobia is a huge problem for me, as it affects my whole life. If I have to go somewhere where I would have to wear a shirt (e.g. a smart night-club), I will just not turn up & pretend I can't go because I'm ill or something. This thread is full of people who suffer a fear of buttons.

Euphobia: fear of hearing good news. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Euphobia: fear of good news
You know how the saying goes; "do you want the good news or the bad news?" - well euphobics realise the two go hand-in-hand and never, ever want the good news. It's not so much hearing the news that causes their intense anxiety, but rather the consequences, as they believe that good news is always followed by bad. Euphobics are more common than you think.

Xerophobia: fear of dryness. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Xerophobia: fear of dryness
Don't ever take a xerophobe to the desert! The name comes from the Greek words xero (meaning dry) and phobia (meaning fear). Xerophobia is linked to the notion that water equals life and our bodies need water to survive. Xerophobes not only fear dry places and dry food, but also fear dry skin, dry lips and even dry genatalia. A person with this fear may avoid dry climates, use plentiful amounts of moisturizing hand and face creams, lip balm, and drink more than the neccessary amount of fluids.They may also insist on running a humidifier in their homes and making certain their lawns get loads of water.

Omphalophobia: fear of bellybuttons. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Omphalophobia: fear of bellybuttons
This one is a little different to the fear of buttons mentioned above. No matter whether it's an innie or an outie, omphalophobics probably don't know which one they have because they are terrified to touch it or even look at it. Atomic Kitten singer Jenny Frost suffers the condition and once explained; "I don't like anybody touching my belly-button and it's like I will vomit on you if you touch my belly-button, plus I find it painful. It's not a funny thing, I'm not joking I don't like belly-buttons at all."

Frigophobia: fear of becoming too cold Source: news.com.au

Frigophobia: the fear of becoming too cold
Frigophobics will often wrap up in excessive layers of clothing regardless of ambient air temperature. According to a study published in the Bulletin of the Chinese Society of Neurology and Psychology in 1975, this has also been associated with "genital retraction syndrome" which is a fear most commonly seen in men where they are afraid their manhoods may retract inside their bodies! Symptoms of this condition may consist of fast heartbeats, shakeing in attempt to warm-up and anxiety.

Nomophobia: fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Nomophobia: fear of being out of mobile phone contact
We've all had that feeling of being lost when we've forgotten our mobile phones, stressing at the thought of how many people may be trying to call/text/tweet/poke us at the minute. But for nomophobics, the stress goes a step further. Being phone-less can bring on severe panic and breathlessness in those who are stuck in an area with no reception, or have run out of battery on their phones. It's a modern-day nightmare.

Papyrophobia: a fear of paper. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Papyrophobia: a fear of paper
No one likes exams, but for a person coping with Papyrophobia, (the fear of even touching paper) the feeling can be unbearable. The condition is particularly associated with blank paper and the pressure to begin filling it in. Other phobic reactions may be triggered by paper that is crumpled, torn or wet. As one sufferer explains: "If I touch paper.. it makes me shiver, when I'm writing in school I have to pull my sleeve down so I can cover my hand so I can't touch the paper." Some sufferers cannot cope with crumpled paper, while others report that it is the size of the paper is significant. Anxiety often increases according to how small the piece of paper is. Others report fear of paper cuts, the ripping of paper or even wet paper.

Phobophobia: a phobia of phobias. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au

Phobophobia: wait for it...
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.

What unusual phobia do you or someone you know suffer from? Leave your comments below.

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