UNgland...
Posted on 12/27/2008 3:06:45 PM PST by managusta
A terror of frozen peas, a fear of barns and a dread of kneecaps have emerged as some of Britain's most unusual phobias. Britain's weirdest phobias include a fear of peas and kneecaps.
While spiders and heights are common sources of anxiety, many people's lives are blighted by phobias of seemingly innocuous objects. David Allison, a therapist based at Addenbrooke's hospital, in Cambridge, was filmed treating some of the worst sufferers in an ITV1 documentary to be shown next week.
They included Sue Williams, 37, from Dudley in the West Midlands, who is so terrified of knees that she has not touched her own for 16 years and cannot say "kneecap" without bursting into tears.
"I don't like my own. I can't touch them. I certainly can't touch anyone else's," she said. "I know it's strange. People tease me about it and they have got every right to. But I think I'm the normal one and everyone else is weird."
Until her therapy sessions, Mrs Williams was unable to wash her knees in the bath and could not look at her husband's knees. Mr Allison's treatment involved showing her photographs of knees, which reduced her to sobs.
In the final session, he wore a pair of shorts and encouraged her to look at his kneecaps until the feelings of terror subsided.
Louise Arnold, from Gloucester, has a pea phobia which means she cannot walk down the frozen food aisle of a supermarket. Explaining her dislike of peas, she said: "They tend to just look at me – ganging up on me. All the hairs on the back of my neck go up. I have to know where they are in the supermarket before I go in.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
CHREMATOPHOBIA n. Fear of money. The rarest complaint known to man. Sufferers from this condition, rejoice! Help is now at hand! Send all your money to the author, in a plain wrapper, and you need never know fear again!— Peter Bowler, The Superior Person’s Book of Words.
Genuphobia - Fear of knees.
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.
Pediophobia- Fear of dolls.
Automatonophobia- Fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues - anything that falsely represents a sentient being.
There are many, many named phobias. The first three I listed were mentioned in the article, or by other posters. The last two have more personal meaning; I don’t panic, but I really dislike dolls and anything that resembles a human being. When I have to walk by mannekins in a store, I stay as far away from them as I can. While intellectually, I am aware that ventriloquist dummies are not, in fact, demons (as I believed they were when I was a child), I cannot stand watching a ventriloquist. However, I have no trouble with Ahmed the Dead Terrorist, probably because the dummy is a skeleton and therefore does not look like a human.
Phobias are a fascinating phenomenon.
Pennywise.
Played most aptly by Tim Curry of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” renown.
Ping
I have a terrible fear of British Jews in an American grocery Produce Dept. asking for Mushy peas. They tend to fart often and once I see them, I have to quit shopping immediately, leaving my cart and wife there.
UNgland...
> Pennywise.
(grin!) So it is. That’s what I get for being hard-of-hearing.
> Played most aptly by Tim Curry of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” renown.
Spooky movie, also starred “John-boy Walton” and most importantly it was filmed in my hometown Vancouver BC.
Life Expectancy
?
Outies are the result of a hernia.
How many fialed ad campaigns has BK had in the last 5 years anyway? They really should reinvent BK more like Jack in the Box- a corporate smart ass with a MILF.
Supposedly rare but quite real.
Go figure.
Phobias are inherently irrational.
Anti-gun people usually view themselves as _$$holes. That's why they don't want others to own guns. They're not necessarily afraid of guns as they will own one themselves, but hate responsible people who carry them.
This one, believe me, is too stupid to operate a gun. Glad she would never dream of having one. I can’t believe she can drive a car. Years ago, when I used to let her drive me places....we’d get honked at all the time. Candy Floss for brains, not kidding.
I have an irrational fear of neurotic people. What’s that called? ;^)
Neurosis.
(Love your tagline!)
Explaining her dislike of peas, she said: “They tend to just look at me – ganging up on me. All the hairs on the back of my neck go up. I have to know where they are in the supermarket before I go in.
This sounds more like a delusional paranoia than a phobia.
I fear warm beer.
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