10 strange phobias you might not have known existed

These 10 phobias may be bizarre but there are people in the world who suffer from them.

10 phobias you probably didn't know existed. Picture: Contributed

MOST people fear something in this world.

Whether it's the common fear of spiders, the increasing fear of clowns or an instinctual fear of heights.

Those are the more common phobias we hear about but some people have fears most have never heard of.

Believe it or not, there are people who suffer from a fear of knees (yes, the joint), chopsticks and even phobias in general.

Here are 10 uncommon but very real phobias you probably never knew existed.

PANOPHOBIA

It can be difficult dealing with just one phobia but imagine being afraid of everything.

Yes, Panpobia is real and there are people who suffer from it daily.

Sufferers often experience more than one type of phobia and remain in a constant state of fear due to the belief of a 'persistent evil' or 'something terrible about to happen'.

Such a phobia can deeply affect the sufferers success and general day-to-day life.

PHOBOPHOBIA

If you thought having a fear of everything was as ironic as it gets - there's one other phobia which may prove you wrong.

Phobophobia is the fear of phobias and is very self-limiting and self-replicating.

Sufferers may have one or more existing phobias but continue to develop the fear of developing more phobias.

SOMNIPHOBIA

There are those who can't wait to jump in bed of a night time or lie down for a nap.

Then there are those who are afraid to get that much needed rest time.

It's an uncommon phobia but can be seem more often in children who, for instance, have had a bad dream and fear falling back asleep in case they experience another one.

Somniphobia is the fear of sleeping. Picture: Chris McQueen

NOMOPHOBIA

This phobia is not so surprising in this day and age - a fear of being without your mobile phone or being unable to connect to the internet.

Some believe the word 'phobia' is misused with this case and 'anxiety' is a more appropriate term.

SESQUIPEDALOPHOBIA

Using an 18 letter word to label the fear of long words may not have been the best idea.

This phobia is particularly unique as it refers more likely to the length of the word feared by people.

It doesn't help that Sesquipedalophobia is also called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - 36 letters long.

It also related to Logophobia and Verbophobia which both mean the fear of words and Onomatophobia which is the fear of hearing a certain word or of names.

DEIPNOPHOBIA

Does the thought of dining, engaging in dinner conversations or having a conversation with someone while eating make you uneasy?

You could have Deipnophobia.

Those with this phobia are known to eat alone and in silence and when they are eating with another person, they expect them to be silent.

Deipnophobia is considered to be a social phobia.

GENUPHOBIA

Those with Genuphobia certainly don't think knees are the bees knees.

This phobia is relatively rare and like most phobias, it varies widely in severity.

For instance, a person may only be afraid of seeing uncovered knees in person while others may be afraid of all knees or just their own.

It's not uncommon for people with this phobia to fear kneeling.

SCRIPTOPHOBIA

Have you ever seen your favourite celebrity and wondered why they refused to give their autograph?

Who knows, they could have Scriptophobia - the fear of writing in public.

Of course, it's highly unlikely this is the reason you didn't get your prized autograph but the phobia is very real.

Scriptophobia is considered a social and specific phobia and is also related to Graphophobia which is the fear of writing or handwriting.

Scriptophobia is the fear of writing in public. Picture: Bev Lacey

POGNOPHOBIA

There are some people who prefer a man without a beard.

But there are some who have a legitimate fear of facial hair.

When a person suffering from Pognophobia sees facial hair on another person it can cause great anxiety and severely affect their health and mental well-being. 　

CONSECOTALEOPHOBIA

Some people will avoid going to Chinese or Japanese restaurants because they simply don't like the cuisine.

Others completely avoid them because they suffer from Consecotaleophobia - a fear of chopsticks.

The most common reason for possessing this fear is the inability to use the cutlery.

Such a phobia can stem from a number of events such as experiencing a bad meal with chopsticks, not being able to utilise them properly, being incredibly hungry at the time of the meal but weren't able to eat their fill because they had to use chopsticks or simply because they don't appreciate the mess they can sometimes cause.

Originally published as 10 strange phobias you might not have known existed