Zoophobia: Fearsome phobias from A to Z

Visit a local zoo, and you will likely find lots of visitors that “Ooh” and “Ah” and “Wow” about the feathery, furry, or scaly residents in each enclosure. Look around until you spot a school field trip or another group of guests, and you may see some folks who are standing back a bit and looking rather uneasy. They may have zoophobia.

Zoophobia is the fear of animals.

It’s not just holding animals in awe. This is abject terror of any or all beasts. Plenty of people are legitimately scared of birds, bugs, crabs, elephants, fish, goats, horses, kangaroos, lions, lizards, monkeys, snakes, turtles, or other creatures. This may be zoophobia.

A person with zoophobia is not likely to enjoy a trip to the animal farm, aquarium, bird sanctuary, circus, nature conservancy, wildlife reserve, or zoo. And they probably won’t cozy up to your pets, either.

They’re not animal-haters. They are simply afraid. And this phobia is very real.

 

Image:

A to Z Blogging Challenge promo logo – fair use

Graphic adapted from public domain image

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. Like this blog?  Check out Practically at Home on Facebook.

Share

 

Ynottaphobia: Fearsome phobias from A to Z

Sometimes a fear is not a fear at all. Why not?

Ynottaphobia is the fear of fearlessness, the fright of having no fright. It’s the terror of being terror-free.

OK, it’s really not. Ynottaphobia is not even a real word. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. It’s just that I was leery of not having a fear starting with “Y” for the April A to Z Blogging Challenge this month.

So why not Ynottaphobia? 

Hey, it sounds almost credible. Why not have a phobia about having no phobias? Maybe that'd be less scary than being afraid of fear itself (to paraphrase part of a famous quotations generally attributed to 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt)?

Sometimes ya just gotta … 

Image:

A to Z Blogging Challenge promo logo – fair use

Graphic adapted from public domain image

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. Like this blog?  Check out Practically at Home on Facebook.

Share

Xenophobia: Fearsome phobias from A to Z

Who’s afraid of newcomers, outsiders, and other individuals who may seem alien or unknown? Certainly, many are legitimately leery, and their stance may fall into the realm of smart safety awareness. But some people are truly terrified of any persons they do not know.

Xenophobia is the fear of strangers.

The word comes in part from the Greek word “xenos,” which means “stranger” or “visitor.”

Specifically, xenophobia pertains to a severe fear of foreigners, although the term may apply to those who are afraid of anyone unfamiliar. In plenty of cases, xenophobia may be attached to a sense of stranger danger, while in others it may arise from actual traumatic experiences involving unrecognized people. For some, this phobia may have no known origin at all.

Xenophobia is a fairly common fear, so it’s fair to say this phobia of strangers is not so strange at all.

 

Image:

A to Z Blogging Challenge promo logo – fair use

Graphic adapted from public domain image

Feel free to follow on Google Plus and Twitter. Like this blog?  Check out Practically at Home on Facebook.

Share