Do you fear for your life when you hear the rustling of leaves? Do you scream and run away when you see a drive-in theater? Do not fear, for you are not alone. I too am petrified of humans watching movies from their motor vehicles while the trees shake vigorously in the distance. Many people are scare or frightened of certain things, whether it be spiders, bats, small spaces. It’s weird to think that something goes on inside of our heads to make us so irrationally scared of something, kind of like the man who stares through the window of my room every night. 

All of these are considered phobias, the unusually extreme fears that pose no real threat. In fact some people may go to great lengths to avoid their fears. For example, a man with an extreme case of samhnainophobia (fear of Halloween) may lock himself inside for the night, or even leave town until the holiday is over. 

Some causes of phobias can be traumatic events, injury or harm, post-traumatic stress disorder, or inherited from others. There are both common and rarer phobias, varying by experiences and how they came to be.

Although I’m not a complete phobia goon, I do have a very real fear of the slithering legless lizard.

OPHIDIOPHOBIA (fear of snakes) – Many people who know me, know that I have a very large fear of snakes. During the 2nd grade, my grandmother took my cousins and I to the circus. There we saw many a great beast performing acts that one could only dream of. There was one animal however, that caught my eye. A boa constrictor hung around its masters neck. Yet to be corrupted by fear, I stood there, confident and smiling. My cousins were draped first by the serpent of death, and then myself. As the heavy, scaled, moist tail covered my neck, I was brought forth into a realization that these creatures were in all ways evil and out to get me. It took every bone in my body not to drop it and run. To this day I not only fear snakes, but I despise them. They are my greatest foe, yet my strongest ally.

LILAPSOPHOBIA (fear of tornadoes) – Librarian Ms. Bechtold said she was afraid of spiders and tornadoes. “I survived one when I was 3 years old. I was at my grandmothers house in the basement, and all I remember is seeing the house fly away. Ever since then I’ve been extremely afraid of thunderstorms.” With tornado alley right next door, Bechtold is living close to her second biggest nightmare. Relatively common, people with this fear do not fear the average rain and thunder, but instead are worried of the storm becoming something much more larger and severe.

TRYPANOPHOBIA (fear of needles) – Senior Tristan McDermott said, “I hate getting stabbed by needles when I get shots. I’ve only donated blood once.” Many people, like Tristan fear needles, and refuse to give blood. 

 There are some very weird phobias out there, ones that make you wonder how some people survive. Here are a few.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia – This ironic name is given to the fear of… long words. I wonder how people with this phobia tell others the exact name without shivering.

Arachibutyrophobia – This fear deals with something many sandwich connoisseurs may be able to relate to. Peanut butter being stuck to the roof of the mouth, spending countless minutes dislodging it with your tongue. It’s understandable to see why some would fear this feeling, or get the chills over it.

Geniophobia – A rarer phobia, people with this have an extreme fear of chins. Interestingly enough, they 

Luckily, unlike my overdraft debt to my bank, your phobia can be abolished. There are many different ways to do so, although I really enjoy the exposure method. This method is considered the most effective according to GoodTherapy.org, due to the fact that it’s all about facing your fear. Little by little you expose yourself to more of your fear until you no longer fear it. Though psychiatrists and other doctors may have other methods to take care of certain phobias, this has been proven to be very effective and sustaining. such as burning down your home, or moving to the arctic north to flee the snakes who haunt my dreams.

Psychology teacher Tony Wiley gives some insight into the topic in the link accompanying.