Everyone is scared of something no matter how brave they pretend to be, and when someone has a heightened fear of something it is called a phobia. Arachnaphobia for example is an overwhelming fear of arachnids (Spiders, Scorpions etc.). I don't just mean they don't like spiders, I mean the people that freeze rigid or run screaming because the very thought of a spider terrifies them. There are many phobias in the world and some are more unsual than others, but here are a selection of some of the strangest and most difficult to live with phobias ever encountered.
Agyropobia - Fear of Crossing the Street
Agyrophobics have an overwhelming fear of crossing roads or motorways and this of course makes life incredibly difficult. If you counted how many times you crossed a road on a day going to work or school or even a day out at the weekend, imagine how difficult it would be if every single time was a terrifying ordeal for you. The name of this phobia derives from the Greek word Gyrus which means turning or whirling as the fear is rooted in the force of wind produced by vehicles passing at speed. However some people with this condition can even be afraid of crossing country lanes with little traffic on them at all. This bizarre phobia is considered different therefore from the fear of cars, which must also be difficult to live with!
Cathisophobia - Fear of Sitting Down
Sometimes spelled with a K, this fear of sitting down is an unusual and awkward phobia. Some pshycologists suggest that it may originate from past instances of sitting on sharp objects so for example if someone was to accidentally sit on a pin it could, theoretically, cause them to be terrified of sitting down for life! Another possible reason is that, in the past, teachers could hit children who misbehaved with a stick called a cane and the fear in some adults has been traced back to a past of being hit on the bottom so that sitting down would hurt for some time. Finally, some people become so nervous sitting in front of influential people such as going for a job interview or waiting at the doctors that the fear can be sparked from that. Clearly it is a terrible fear to have to live with as one cannot live their life standing up.
Eisoptrophobia - Fear of Mirrors
The fear of mirrors is often played upon in horror movies, insinuating that by looking into a mirror you might somehow be connected with the spiritual world and/or see alternate events to simply your face. This is of course scientifically impossible and is used only in films, glass reflects only what it sees so a mirror can only show you what is in front of it. However, some people neverthelss have this phobia and do associate mirrors with being a passageway into the spiritual world or even parallel dimensions (if you believe in either of those). A more rational cause of this fear is that people do not like to look in a mirror, particularly at night, for fear of seeing someone or something standing behind them, though this is again caused by a weakness to too many horror films. Nevertheless, whether or not the threat is real, the fear is, and it must be rather difficult getting ready in the morning when you're terrified to use a mirror!
IMAGE: http://www.phobics-society.org.uk/files/2014/03/phobia.jpg
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