• From phobias of beauty to fear of the unknown, we count 20 of the most outrageous

mental conditions ever to inflict the human race

20 - A fear of long words • This one is rather ironic, and a kind

of cruel • People who have a fear of long words need

to deal with the fact that their phobia is clinically titled Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

• Whoever came up with the name is a bit of a jerk

19 - Xanthophobia • This is an irrational fear of the colour

yellow, which could be the sun, flowers or buildings covered in yellow paint

• It comes in varying levels of aggressiveness, but the worst kind is when you can't even

hear the word yellow without having a panic attack

18 - Aphenphosmphobia • The fear of touching or being touched,

mostly centred around humans of the opposite gender

• It usually develops as a result of sexual or physical assault, but it's been known to

appear even without a trigger • If it isn't already obvious, this phobia

pretty much kills any chance of intimacy 17 - Caligynephobia

• Likewise, this one is the unwarranted fear of beautiful women, usually in men young

and old though more common in those who don't have a straight orientation

• It causes panic attacks, uncontrollable social problems and a lack of attendance at

beauty contests 16 - Coulrophobia

• The infamous fear of clowns - predominantly found in small children, as well as adults

who may have had a questionable encounter with them in their youth

• Unlike quite a few other phobias, whoever had this usually knows their phobia is irrational

and unwarranted, but they still can't escape those foreboding facial features, the swollen

nose, the weird colour scheme, and also IT by Stephen King. That doesn't help.

15 - Turophobia • The fear of cheese, usually stemming from

a traumatic experience like, you were once chased down the street by a psycho murderer

wielding some delicous blue vein • This one can be diverse, you either fear

a specific type of cheese or the entire batch • It's made even worse if you also have

that yellow colour phobia from earlier 14 - Cacophobia

• The fear of ugliness - and not just of people, but anything ugly or imperfect, either

situation or object, it doesn't matter, either can set you off

• Nobody's really sure what causes this phobia, but it likely stems from a traumatic

event involving ugliness where you're conditioned to respond to a certain stimulus, in this

case, that which you perceive to be flawed or unattractive

13 - Ablutophobia • There's a separate fear of cleaning yourself,

but this one takes it a step further • It's the inability to engage in personal

hygiene because of how terrifying the experience is

• You'll find this mostly in children or women, usually stemming from serious mental

trauma 12 - Deipnophobia

• The fear of dinner conversation • This is a byproduct of the larger social

phobia, but more specifically targeting the chaotic and unpredictable nature of talking

to people around a table • It's been speculated that Howard Hughes

famous from the Aviator film starring Leonardo DiCaprio had this, as one scene involves him

awkwardly trying to compose himself while having a dinner with a family

11 - Somniphobia • The fear of sleeping, it encompasses a

broad range of types and people usually suffer from a very mild form at a young age, getting

used to the cycle of sleep, unconsciousness then revival

• Some people don't get over this though, for those it feels like dying every night,

or it's the lack of control over the situation that sets them off, or maybe the nightmares

are keeping them awake, or uncontrollable insomnia - it could be a vast number of things

10 - Novercaphobia • The fear of stepmothers, this one should

be fairly obvious since foster parents usually bring negative feelings to children, both

in real life but moreso in the media • Stepmothers in films are typically portrayed

as cruel, or as a witch mistreating the kids under their care, and it only encourages this

phobia 9 - Spectrophobia

• This is a phobia for vampires - the fear of one's own reflection in the mirror, or

indeed the dread of mirrors themselves • It mostly comes from horror movies constantly

pausing on mirrors, heightening tension, seeing ghostly forms in the mirror

• People start seeing the same thing in real life, and we all get it from time to

time, usually in the middle of the night, in an empty house, something just over your

shoulder... 8 - Gymnophobia

• This is the fear of nudity, one very common these days

• It refers to both the anxiety of someone seeing YOU naked, and likewise you seeing

someone else naked, then getting stuck with the mental image of their nakedness

• The reason for this fear? The feeling of physical inadequacy, that people will point

out your flaws and vulnerability, and that, like George Costanza, you happened to be in

the pool just before you were caught 7 - Hylophobia

• The fear of trees, or more specifically, dark foreboding woods

• Like with a lot of these phobias, it got worse once mainstream media started releasing

movies like Friday the 13th set in a cabin in the woods

• It usually develops in children, but it carries over into adulthood and even the mere

mention of woods can set someone off 6 - Demonophobia

• The fear of demons, this one should be fairly self explanatory

• It extends from the fear of a religious hell, to physical demonic beings roaming the

earth, and likewise possessions for fans of exorcist movies

• Most who have this phobia are aware demons aren't around, but the subconscious terror

persists 5 - Vestiophobia

• The fear of clothing and of being clothed • This one makes it difficult to operate

in society, and sufferers will tend to wear the baggiest, minimalistic clothing possible

so that the least possible amount of material touches their skin

• Some go to extremes, never leave their homes, and stay naked 24/7

• These people aren't very good at strip poker

4 - Chorophobia • The fear of dancing, whether it be themselves

dancing, being in a room of other people dancing - it's all the same unbridled tap-dancing

terror • Most of the time it borders more on the

sufferer being uncomfortable or embarrassed than scared, since dancing is another social

cue some can't get the hang of 3 - Neophobia

• The fear of new things or experiences • It can be mild, the unwillingness to break

from routine or try new things is usually an indicator someone you know might suffer

from this phobia • It's also diverse, you can also be angry,

frustrated or anxious about some new technology or revolution and that'd make you neophobic

2 - Nomophobia • This one is recent, and also retarded:

the fear of being without mobile phone coverage • It's a phobia, about losing bars on your

phone screen, or running out of battery, or losing sight of your damn phone like its the

one ring of Mordor • According to studies, nearly half of civilised

humans suffer from this phobia 1 - Phobophobia

• This is when you're afraid of phobias, when you're afraid of f ear itself

• Think about when you suspect the lump on your neck might be dangerous, how obsessive

and panicky you get - that's phobophobia, fear of something you don't know

• It's not caused by an outside source, it's simply projected from your own internal

sentiment, your own fears projected on to an object or thing