Talk:List of phobias/Archive 03

What about Scorpions?

I guess some might have a phobia with them, personally my phobia if any would be finding myself lost at sea without vision, either blind or at night, but I wonder why if scorpions come of us a dangerous creatures a lot there's no phobia ascribed to them...Undead Herle King (talk) 04:04, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Gossyphobia, Fear of Cotton Balls

Gossyphobia (from Gossypium), or fear of cotton balls (not to be confused with glossophobia, the fear of public speaking) is apparently more widespread than originally thought and is under-reported due to its tendency to be ridiculed. However, there is now substantial anecdotal evidence that this is a serious phobia for many people. It generally does *not* include an aversion to or fear of cotton fabrics or other cotton products, but is limited to the white balls of unwoven cotton that are used for make-up removal and other general cleaning purposes and especially (for some) when used as space-filler in aspirin or other medicine bottles. At least a few references to this phobia describe the "sound" of cotton balls as particularly disturbing (as when they are used to clean or block the ear passages). The thought of having the cotton balls in the mouth or biting on them is also a source of anxiety. Maury Povich openly ridiculed a guest on his show who experiences gossyphobia, but the event brought forward reports from many others who experience this particular type of irrational fear.

Ornithophobia

This is listed under Zoophobias as fear of birds, and under Psychological conditions as fear of bicycles. Is this serious? The latter in any case links to the Ornithophobia page, which describes fear of birds and doesn't mention bicycles. Haydn01 15:49, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Please address "zemmiphobia".

I often see it referred to as "fear of the Great Mole Rat" without any clear indication of what that means.

Removal of pictures from phobia articles?

I think it's unfair to those who suffer from phobias to have pictures of those same fears in the articles. I haven't touched anything myself yet. I'm waiting to get some opinions.Izznl 90 15:56, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

As someone who helps people with severe fears and phobias for a living I can tell you that it is beyond unkind to feature pictures of the phobic stimulus on the page - and may even contribute to the problem and make it worse.

Clear definition of a "phobia" is needed

I'm confused when I read Wikipedia articles on phobia, as phobia is defined as being "an irrational fear of something", it has nothing to do with "a hatred of" as I keep seeing. Having a fear of something may well lead to you hating it, but generally it was never traditionally defined with "hatred" mentioned.

• The Encyclopedia of Medicine defines a phobia as "an intense, unrealistic fear, which can interfere with the ability to socialize, work, or go about everyday life, that is brought on by an object, event or situation".

• The Britannia Concise Encyclopedia says a phobia is an "extreme and irrational fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation. A phobia is classified as a type of anxiety disorder (a neurosis), since anxiety is its chief symptom."

• Miriam Webster says "an exaggerated, usually inexplicable and illogical fear, of a particular object, class of objects, or situation" of a phobia.

Neither of these three sources mention anything of a phobia having to do with a "hatred of".

That doesn't mean that the definition of a particular phobia can't include a "hatred of" Oneoverzero 07:02, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Petition for page dedisambiguation

Quite frankly, this page has gone beyond its original boundries and is currently acting as either a means to stuff short phobias into its collection. This page needs to be dedisambiguated. It is a disambiguation for all things phobia, which has NOTHING to do with -phob- as a suffix. (Really, phobia is where 90% of this article belongs).

Hmm, I'll give it another week before taking action. So far I have 1 support and 0 objects

Fear of other people hearing the music you listen to?

Good evening everyone, I'm not quite sure what my phobia is called, or if it is even large enough to have been given a name. I don't believe its Melophobia, as it isn't the fear of the music that troubles me, I have a strong love for music, but for some reason I feel extremely anxious and paranoid when others, for instance my family, hear the music I listen to. When I don't know someone, or they also enjoy that music, I have no problem with it. Anyone else heard of it? Ray harris1989 19:10, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

I haven't seen any information on it, but I have the same problem. For me I think it's something about people invading my personal space. I get involved in my music and get pretty strong emotions from it, and I don't want to share my emotions with anyone else. I don't know. It might be a personality disorder.

It's not always a really strong anxietous feeling, but sometimes it gets pretty strong. Do you listen to obscure music, or indie stuff, something like that?Izznl 90 15:42, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

All phobias are, in a way, personality disorders, just wonder what "personality disorder" is, nonetheless it sounds too specific to deserve a name, but who knows, there's a name for phobia with 666 and 13, however I guess those numbers are culturally outstanding and thus one could claim they do not constitute an excess of specification as fearing the number 982361.547 which would be better classified as a form of "nemerophobia" from "nem" meaning "to divide, distribute, allot" or "nemein" meaning "to deal out" and its evolved latin form "numerus" meaning "a number, a quantity". Likewise your phobia, if really a phobia, shall be classified as a form of a more general phobia involving intimacy, ownership, privacy or something along those linesUndead Herle King (talk) 04:20, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Snake Oil?

"This does not necessarily mean that they sell snake oil, because the psychological mechanisms of most specific probias resemble each other."

I'm not entirely familiar with the term "snake oil," but I'm fairly certian it's slang. The sentence as a whole is rather confusing too.168.213.7.252 15:44, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

That's what wikilinks for. It is not slang, it is cliché. If you are not famiuliar with the term cliché, just click the highlighted word in this sentence. mikka (t) 20:05, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

I'd say it's improper to use it in an encyclopaedia. It would be more appropriate to simply replace it with "fraudulent" as that is the clear intent of the phrase. In fact the linked article on Snake Oil goes on to specifically talk about it as a Chinese medicine, as opposed to its fraudlent use. Therefore it is not entirely clear which definition is intended. I've changed it in the article to "fraudulent". 203.173.54.179 02:40, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

"snake oil" expression is not 100% synonymous to "fraudulent", even forgetting about the chinese medicine. And it was my "clear intent" to capitalize upon this. Many English words have multiple meanings. For those with limited command of English we have the Basic English wikipedia: simple:wikipedia. mikka (t) 20:44, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

a lot of double redirects

Perhaps this page should be moved to -phobia because there are a lot of double redirects going to that page, unless someone wants to take the time to fix every last double redirect heading there. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by acebrock (talk • contribs).

Never mind, I fixed al the redirects myself.--Acebrock 20:27, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

fear of dogs

Is there a phobia for fear of dogs? That should be on the list.

Cynophobia... I believe it's already there. riana 05:44, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Mysophobia

why does that redirect here? it should a) have it's own page b) not have a page Jaysscholar 20:17, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

and yet there's a link to Mysophobia provided on this page. Gahhhh!!!! I'm going to hunt for double redirects, excuse me. riana 05:42, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I am sure these phobias exist

Hi R Lee e, I am sure these phobias exist, so do thousands of others not cited so far or removed since. Are we going to cite them all? Once again, there isn't a thing, process or concept somebody in the world isn't phobic about. I am afraid we can't consider a method of including them all in an encyclopaedia. Stating it once again, we can only really give a flavour of what there is out there. Dieter Simon 23:17, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

It's not that hard. What about a different article for each one? That's why wikis allow you to break this stuff up. 202.147.107.2 03:01, 26 July 2006 (UTC

Music

Is there a name for a fear of musical instruments, im sure i have it as just being in the same room as them makes me sweat and shake

Arachibutyrophobia

I submit that this is not a "fictional" phobia. While mentioning it in a conversation in 1988, I met a long-time sufferer. As a child, when her family first came to America from Russia, she found a jar of peanut butter in the refrigerator of the person with whom they were staying. It was something she had only read about, but never tasted. She dug out a big spoonful, put the whole thing in her mouth, and nearly asphyxiated! (Cold peanut butter is particularly sticky.)

Since then, I have heard similar tales of childhood trauma from choking experiences. As adults, even the smell of peanut butter can trigger a severe anxiety attack.

Yes, Virginia, some people are deathly afraid of peanut butter ... and with good reason, too! --Dennette 12:25, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

The phobia propably predates internet, at least novel "Modesty Blaise" by Peter O'Donnell mentions it allready in 1965

Can you provide a qoute, please? I mean, to confirm that the term was actually used in the book. Here it says "Geneveive: one of Willie's girls, she suffered from arachibutyrophobia - the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Willie cured her of the phobia by getting her to bite into a piece of bread upside down after she'd spread it with peanut butter." Unfortunately, this source is unreliable, although a fansite. It would be interesting to know a possible origin of this very funny word. `'mikka 17:09, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

From a forum: "the two protagonists have a private game where he uses some unusual word, she pretends not to notice it but won't ever ask what it means, until eventually she cracks and has to!" Interesting... `'mikka 17:26, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Per postings at the Modesty Blaise article, I've posited the question to members of one of the MB discussion groups and the quote above is pretty much confirmed by a member though an exact page number wasn't immediately available. (I'm not much help as I haven't read the novel in 20 years). Whether or not O'Donnell actually coined the phrase, however, is something I do not know. 23skidoo 22:56, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

It's actually in the 1985 novel Dead Man's Handle by O'Donnell per multiple replies to my query. The word, however, apparently did exist before O'Donnell used it so I have removed the statement that he coined it pending anyone providing documentation that he did. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 23skidoo (talk • contribs) 04:30, 16 March 2007 (UTC).

While I agree with your edit, what is your reason to believe it "apparently did exist before"? IMO the word is clearly someone's mischief. `'mikka 16:35, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Fear of wrists?

Someone I know is scared of wrists. Not that she constantly fears them or anything, she just doesn't like looking at them. She'll be fine as soon as she stops looking at a wrist so it's not like it really affects her in a huge way. However, everytime you show her a wrist, she'll cover her face with her arms and whimper. She wears short sleeved shirts quite often and says she avoids looking at her own wrists completely as well. Is this even a phobia and if it is, is there a name for it? 71.235.83.132

No, it's not a phobia, however if it must have a name, carpophobia would be the greek back formation of it (Carpophobia would also fall under fear of fruits, fear of nuts, fear of harvest, etc. I doubt the validity of most of these, and if one of them is a real phobia... Sorry!) Oneoverzero 06:59, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Fear of cameras?

Someone I know has a fear of cameras and wants to know what it's called. Any ideas? -- AnemoneProjectors (talk) 08:44, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Do you mean fear of acting or posing for camera of fear of this clicking/blinking thingy itself? Try "Stage fright" for the first one. `'mikka (t) 23:59, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm sure "photophobia" is a "real" accepted term, although quite likely, as is usually the case, it will probably have nothing to do with photographs or cameras, but a fear of light or something similar.

Hatred? original research?

In which definition of phobia is the inclusion of hatred found? (→Netscott) 23:01, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

The article is not about phobia. It is about suffix "-phob-". "Phobia" is defined in Phobia. `'mikka (t) 23:08, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

Button phobia

My friend has fear of buttons (from clothes). Can i add it to the phobia list? And what will be the name for that? here are smoe links: [1] [2]

Do you happen to have a friend who fears gold coins (or US dollar bills)? I am willing to relieve him from the source of his phobia. `'mikka (t) 15:03, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

A fear of buttons is called Koumpounophobia. 212.139.165.145 21:25, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Hydrophobophobia

Fear of rabies... -- Jokes Free4Me 20:53, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

Yet another example of the overall idiotism of the 'net. THe word actuall means "fear of hydrophobes", i.e., "fear of people who are afraid of rabies" or "fear of chemicals used in making raincoats". `'mikka (t) 15:01, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Pteromerhanophobia

This is another name for fear of flying according to this.[3]--Farquaadhnchmn 14:47, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

This is another bullshit. Please don't use blogs, message boards and other irrepsonsible sites as source for wikipedia. See Wikipedia:Reliable sources.

Explanation for unsuspecting: some smartass coined the greek word for "fear of mechanical birds" -> ptero-mechano-phobia. Another idiot not knowing Greek or with clumsy fingers or shortsighted, retyped this word as ptero-meRhano-phobia. And now it is all over the 'net. There is no limit for gullibility. `'mikka (t) 14:52, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

I apologize, but there is no need for hostility. All I was doing was trying to help, and at least I posted something in the discussion area, unlike most other people. --Farquaadhnchmn 15:02, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

There is no hostility towards you. I gave you an advice not to use dubious sources. The hostility is towards internet, which is icreasingly a means to propagate bullshit rather than a means to propagate information. `'mikkanarxi 00:20, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Haphephobia

i went ahead and added Haphephobia which is the Fear of being touched. Heres a whole list if you want a complete compillation of all phobias but this phobia is really common so it deserves a add. [4]

No thank you, we don't want a complete list of bullshit. We only want articles written based on reliable sources of information. Please see Wikipedia:Reliable sources for explanations. Please also read the top sections of this "-phob-" article. `'mikkanarxi 00:23, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Phobophobia

Why is phobophobia listed as a joke phobia? kaiti-sicle 04:11, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, why? I'm pretty sure this is a real one. Applejuicefool 00:59, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Fear of geting sucked down the bathtub drain?

Young children are often afraid that they will go down the drain if someone opens the drain in the bathtub. Whats this called? (p.s. what about Williphobia, a phobia that someone on wheels will vandalize wikipedia?) Ilikefood 22:11, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Chronophobia

Why is chronophobia, a fear of time, not here? Cipher ^(Yell) 20:11, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

• Do you mean this one? But if you meant that one, I suggest you to re-read it carefully and have a good laugh. If you are still puzzled, try this one. `'mikkanarxi 21:58, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Acridophobia

• Why did my input of "Acridophobia - Fear or grasshoppers" get removed? It's quite a valid phobia (which infact I experienced before). Please clarify, or I'll be inserting it back into the list. --Pavithran 19:18, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
• Wikipedia requires that articleas must be created based on reliable sources. Various internet lists of phobias and online dictionaries are not reliable sources (please read -phob-#Phobia lists). What you probably esperienced, you were frightened of grasshoppers. People may get frightened of anything, especially in childhood, but not all these frights are diseases. `'mikka 21:25, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
• Well, I'm 20 now and I'm still not too keen with grasshoppers. It is a real phobia. Here's some references:

[5] [6]

Editorializing

There was a whole section about "phobia lists" that sounded little more than editorializing. It included accusations against specific companies... and completely lacked sources. Deleted. Please abide by WP:NOR and WP:NPOV. David.Monniaux 00:28, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Restored. Learn to read (was referenced) And to edit (using something else that select/delete). Please abide to assumption that those who wrote this were not complete idiots. A "specific company" is just an example. If they are crooks and content spammers, I cannot help it, let them sue me. I can give them the phone number of my lawyer. `'mikka 00:49, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

FUI, this section was added while I was struggling to fend off various trolls and well-meaning kids who flooded this page with Logizomechanophobia, Phallaphobia, Parallelophobia, Oceanophobia, claiming they found them on a medical website. It took me half a year to slowly get rid of all this nonsense in this page (thanks to attention of some other reasonable people; I could have never done this alone). A good laugh of the questioned section was always a convincing argument. And now you come here and think you know best. `'mikka 01:03, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, I see that this section, for instance, contained allegations that two specific companies were unscrupulous, without having any kind of backup source (for instance, some article from a reputed psychiatrist claiming that these companies are crooks). One of these companies contacted the Wikimedia Foundation, see m:OTRS. Sorry, but we cannot leave accusations of dishonesty without having some kind of backup to justify these accusations. David.Monniaux 08:35, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

• Go away, troll. It was sufficient to delete a single word. If you continue vandalizing this page, you will be reported to community. `'mikka 09:48, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
• OK after some cool-down period, let me ber a bit more specific about these ridiculous accusations of our accusatios in dishonesty.
  • The old text specifically contained the phrase (see section below) This does not necessarily mean that they sell snake oil, because the psychological mechanisms of most specific phobias resemble each other."
  • The issue raised here is not medical expertise, but internet spamming
  • The section does have a "backup" is based on a published and referenced article.

So instead of bitching wikimedia let them remove their stupidity from their webpage. I call yours "rolling" because you didn't even bother to notice, not even check the sources and continue to pound here with the same baseless acusation just because some company decided to defend their banner without fixing their stupidities first. Or do you really think that "If you are living with prostitute phobia, what is the real cost to your health, your career or school, and to your family life?" Or Russophobia may be cured in 24 hours? `'mikka 17:39, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

Are you calling me a troll and threaten to report me to the community? Ok, I'm calling your bluff. Please contact the Foundation directly; for instance, contact Florence or Danny. David.Monniaux 21:33, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, I looked at your user page and see you are a board member. I am changing my opinion: you are not trolling, you are administrizing. We are writing encyclopedia here, colleague, and you are not more equal than others. If you have a particular administrative problem and you are solving it, I don't see any evidence. your reference to m:OTRS is an typical case of bureauctratitis: I don't see the word "phob" in that page and I am not going to waste my time: it is your obligation to provide a convincing reference, not mine to read your mind.

As for calling my bluff, don't make me laugh. If you don't see the absurdity of your post in my talk page, I doubt that you are qualified to address legal issues in wikimedia.

So instead of calling bluffs, please proceed with normal editing procedures. And while you persist in ignoring my explanations I am no longer engaging in this dialog. `'mikka 21:54, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

P.S. Whatever happens here, I do find your Modus operandi note commendable, but find it often impossible to enforce in wikipedia. `'mikka 22:15, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

The particular administrative problem that we are trying to solve is a complaint for libel against certain companies. You have offered to transmit your real name and the name of your lawyer, we are waiting for it. David.Monniaux 09:02, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

David, as a new Wikipedian I had to take a moment to commend your dignity in the face of rude and aggressive behavior. Sometimes I really do think that Wikipedia showcases both the best and worst of humanity. 71.248.95.5 13:53, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Removed for now

Standard "-phobia" description template

Substituting the string "<something>" with the name of any specific phobia in the text below will give you a fairly correct description. Numerous websites that promise cures for thousands of phobias take this template approach. This does not necessarily mean that they sell snake oil, because the psychological mechanisms of most specific phobias resemble each other.

<Something>phobia means "an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations of <something>".

The condition often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences <something>phobia in their own way and may have different symptoms.

Though doctors often prescribe various potent drugs for <something>phobia, severe side-effects and/or withdrawal symptoms can ensue. Moreover, drugs do not "cure" <something>phobia. At best they temporarily suppress the symptoms through chemical interaction.

The unconscious mind creates <something>phobia, like other phobias, as a protective mechanism. Probably, at some point in your past, an event occurred linking failure or defeat and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, myriad, benign events can also trigger the condition: movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.

The actual phobia manifests itself in different ways. Some sufferers experience it almost all the time, others just in response to direct stimuli. Everyone has their own unique formula for when and how to feel bad.

Suggestion

Looking at the Psychological phobias, it looks like the phobias could be placed under either social phobias, specific phobias, etc. I'm not an expert, but since its long compared to the others I think the format should be:

Social Phobias

blah blah blah

Specific Phobias

blah blah blah

Just a suggestion. "THROUGH FIRE, JUSTICE IS SERVED!" 04:53, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Not so simple as you think. `'mikka 03:06, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

AT LONG LAST!!! I think I know the ORIGIN of PHOBIAS !

While looking up a particularly stupid word, venustraphobia I stumbled upon a humorous article by BBC News The A- Z of Fear published in 1998. I strongly suspect that it lies at the roots of all these hilarious phobia lists circulating in the 'net. Does anyone have friends who have friends in BBC to track the author of this funny thing? It could be a good addition to our article. `'mikka 02:50, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

fear of saying goodbye

what is the name for fear of saying goodbye —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 123.100.81.158 (talk) 07:34, 6 May 2007 (UTC).

Phobophobia

Is Phobophobia REALY a FICTIONAL fear?The site http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/phobophobia (medical dictionary) defines it as "A morbid dread or fear of developing a phobia." and it doesnt seem to be SO ilogical,impossible or improbable. New Babylon 2 20:10, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Unlike wikipedia, all these phobia websites have poor quality control and collect garbage, see "Phobia lists" section in our article. You can inbent myriads of valid words, like NewBabylonPhobia :-) and it is quite possible that some people do have a morbid fear of New Babylon. THe issue is whether the is any encyclopedic content to be written about "phobophobia", which says something more than already written in "specific phobia" article. We also have a sister project, wiktionary, where word definitions are placed. Mukadderat 21:02, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Fear of being conspicuous

I'm just wondering if there is a phobia for the fear of being conspicuous? I know there is Katagelophobia which is the fear of ridicule ...

Bogyphobia

I'm tired of people editing this out. If you're still suspicious of it, research it please.

Bogeyman writes about fear of bogeyman. This is what a bogeyman for: to fear. There is no bogyphobia. Articles like this one is an example of bullshitting described in -phob-#phobia lists. Please get look into which sources are to be believed by wikipedians. `'mikka 06:00, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

http://www.phobialist.com/, if you read the faq, they've all been verified by the author. Try researching harder.

Moved from talk pages:

Bogeyphobia is a true phobia, please stop changing it. If you're not willing to research it, DON'T CHANGE IT. User:DanceDanceRevolution

I like prostitutephobia more. `'mikka 05:42, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

I like arrogance and ignorance. If you're going to just leave trash here, don't. That's including you, Mikka. I did not include "prosititutephobia" or any nonsenseUser:DanceDanceRevolution

Unfortunately the link about bogyphobia you provided is exactly the same kind of pseudomedical psychobabble to get more money out of unsuspecting americans. `'mikka 06:05, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Psychobabble or not, I'm pretty sure http://www.phobialist.com/ is a mostly credible source. The author states in his FAQ (http://www.phobialist.com/phobia_faqs.html) that he has researched and found all phobias in a reference book or medical paper. User:DanceDanceRevolution

The author of phobialist, a Fredd Culbertson, is no better than you or me, and wikipedia has no reason to believe him. Please see what wikipedia takes as admissible sources. In wikipedia the main rule is verifiability, i.e., in our case you have to present references from provable medical experts that this was a real medical case of phobia. Or, in the case of joke phobias, their notable references in popular culture. `'mikka 16:13, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

The article Mikka dismisses as bullshit is on a website written by one who seems likely to be knowledgeable in the field. An apparent expert speaking in his field of expertise is not dissmissable out-of-hand! Rather, you're nearly engaging in your own OR by making uncited commentary on the quality of a source. Now it may well be that the whole site is quack-medicine whose only aim is to get rich selling useless self-help publications to treat made-up disorders. But again, that determination would need some external support—if there's any support that it's a load of crap, then by all means, a cited statement for that would be a good way to meet WP:FRINGE or other pseudoscience guidelines. DMacks 21:55, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Please allow me to respectfully disagree. "likely to be knowledgeable" needs proof - evaluation by peers. This self-proclaimed "Master Coach in Mental Health" is not known to anybody and he cites none of sources of his information. It is very easy to write exactly the same article about, say, keyboardphobia. It is true, sometimes a mere look at a keyboard fill me with aversion (that's why I don't contribute much to wikipedia in last months :-). As for a "load of crap", please allow me to disagree again. In wikipedia we must present a proof that something is not a load of crap, not vice versa. What is more, if you happen to find a reputable discussion that something is a load of crap, then just the opposite: this "load of crap" must have a wikipedia article, because it is notable! Mukadderat 22:08, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

Right. I'm just saying that we have a site that (on its face) looks reputable that supports the statement. Additional sources would certainly be useful to support it, or anything that supports the site being a WP:RS. If that's the only site that mentions it or there's no other evidence that the site is anything other than a sales pitch/etc, then verifiability is indeed low..."verifiability, not truth" is WP policy, with it mostly in the reader's hands to decide how believable a cited source may be. FWIW, I'm inclined to chalk this site up as quack...several claimed phobia pages are indeed the identical content with just the name of the phobia changed. But a claimed expert is not dismissable out-of-hand unless there's serious reason to doubt that claim or expertise. Which there clearly is in this case. DMacks 22:17, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

apeirophobia

fear of infinity. I saw this on a webpage but can't find verification. Has anyone heard of it?-Crunchy Numbers 23:35, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

Is spelled wrong! See http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia "hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (common misspelling, perhaps on purpose, to make the word even longer)"

Dodecaphobia

Fear of 12-sided polygons Kath-reen 15:35, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

No, it isn't. If it existed, it would be closer to something like dodecagonophobia, however, I doubt its existence strongly.Oneoverzero 06:48, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

bisectophobia

Bisectophobia - the fear of being cut (equally) in half

As proof, I submit myself. I have this fear. In me, the unreasonable fear only manifests in relation to cutting down the middle of the chest, as one might do during a autopsy, eventually resulting in two equal halfs. The phobia does not manifest in relation to being cut in half across the stomach.

Symptoms include:

• Mild sensitivity to being touched on the chin
• Sensitivity to lines, long objects, and motions pointing directly at the chest
• Sensitivity to others and self touching the areas around the chest
• Extreme sensitivity to others touching the center of chest or watching someone else's chest be cut
• In its worst stages, crossing arms to physically hold chest tightly together

Cause believed to be my fainting during a simple discussion about frog disection during the 3rd grade as an example of "some of the cool things you will get to do in college." The phobia itself did not appear until years later. 74.193.228.77 19:57, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Until you get checked out by a psychologist/psychiatrist, and he verifies this phobia, and publishes his discovery of this new phobia in a medical journal... It is of no use. Oneoverzero 06:50, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Gynophobia

Isn't it logical to have the 'fear of females' on the list when there is a 'fear of males'? - Softwhite40w120v 03:26, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

• • • • The fear of jewelry****

Does anyone know anything more about his fear/phobia it seems to be very rare. I have this condition and i would love to know more about it. Please comment, thank you!

Gilmore Girls?

Is that quote, or rather the entire entry on 'arachnophobiaphobia' even necessary? There are more well known fake phobias that are not on the list and are (I hesitate to use the term) more deserving than it.

One thought is to have an entire article devoted to the fake phobias, however that would breed people (vandals mostly) moving words from there to here. Any thoughts? Oneoverzero 07:13, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

"Well-known" means you can provide reliable references, and reasonably assert its notability yes? As for gilmore girls, yoes it is hardly wildly popular phobia, but its construction seems amusing, so I didn't delete it. At least it is referenced. But I will not object its deletion, as well as deletion of unreferenced aibohphobia and phobophobia. `'Míkka 08:10, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

It occurs to me that the term "Arachnophobiaphobia" is inaccurate, in that it is not a fear of those who are afraid of spiders, but a fear of the fear of spiders. To be afraid of the sufferer, it would probably have to be "Arachnophobephobia". What does the team think? AncientBrit (talk) 21:45, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

There is no such phobia. It is a joke, and I think it is a joke, and there is nothing beyond a joke from a movie, where it is called as it is called. `'Míkka>t 03:27, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

Of course - but that doesn't stop one from asking whether the joke term is being used correctly. My last phrase was also a joke: ("What does the team think?") is taken from a BBC radio show... AncientBrit (talk) 21:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

-phob-

Is -phob- a standard title? -- 201.69.46.238 05:30, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Why is there no name for fear of fruit?

I have suffered from this all my life - an irrational fear of all types of fruit. There is much to be found on the Internet about other examples of this condition, whilst an eminent psychologist on BBC radio has referred to it as one of the more unnusual yet most common phobias. Yet when I look it up on the other-wise exhaustive list of phobias on phobialist.com (as referenced from Wikipedia), it does not exist - despite their being a fear of Friday the 13th and gravity amongst many esoteric conditions!

Fructus is the Latin word for fruit so I would like to nominate fructophobia as a new word for the English language. If 'tase me bro' can slip into our vernacular, surely I'll hear people discussing the debilitating affects of their fructophobia before too long? Help me out people... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jonny1976 (talk • contribs) 09:49, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

In wikipedia we can add only information coming from reliable sources. There is no way to tell whether you are a real sufferer or a joker. Therefore unfortunately the article cannot include information based solely on words of wikipedians. `'Míkka>t 00:38, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

Phobophobia

phobophobia is listed as fictional phobia which is, in my opinion, completely untrue. West Brom 4ever (talk) 03:47, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Gynophobia

how the hell could anyone forget to put on the list gynophobia - fear of women, when there's already on the list Androphobia - fear of men, anyway, i added it SCB '92 (talk) 21:52, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

I guess the reason is horror feminae among the alleged adolescent male majority of wikipedians _;) Mukadderat (talk) 00:39, 18 January 2008 (UTC)