Phobias that cause great anxiety and fear afflict millions of people every day. We all have them. Some people have a fear of flying, birds, spiders, or even clowns. However, there are those who fear the ordinary – random items you would never expect to be the focus of such fright. This ABC News article features several people with strange and unusual phobias.
Some of the phobias described are: anchors, buttons, wet paper, chocolate, and cotton balls. This reminds me of The Maury Povich Show episode when he tormented some woman who had a fear of cotton balls by bringing out a guy covered from head to toe in cotton balls to chase her around the studio. She freaked out. Way to help the woman, Maury. Personally I’m scared to death of worms: If I went on a show like this, and they brought out somebody in a suit of worms “to help me get over my fear”, I would lose it, too!
Psychologists believe that these random items are somehow linked to a traumatic event in the person’s life. Sally Winston, a psychologist the co-director of the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland stated: "The mind gets very sticky when a person is anxious."
The woman who feared chocolate became that way after a car accident. Apparently, as she was being pulled out of the car by the Jaws of Life, she noticed a chocolate bar on the seat. From that day forward, she was unable to look at chocolate without feeling uneasy. Can you imagine a life without chocolate?!
Experts say the only way to get over your fears is to face them. Many of these phobic-ridden people choose to avoid the things they fear the most. The cotton ball woman says: They're not that difficult to avoid. I just live with my phobia.”
I guess this just proves: if you think you fear something weird, there’s always somebody out there who fears something weirder.
via ABC News