phobias

doraphobia (dōrəˈfōbēə)

Happy Halloween from Coco! (for more pictures of Coco, please visit her Instagram @ladycococuddles)

Happy Halloween! In the past I have explored phobias during the month of October, and I thought I would continue the theme today.

Doraphobia is the fear of touching the fur of an animal. It comes from the Greek roots dora- meaning fur, and -phobia meaning abnormal fear of. Doraphobia is not the fear of the popular Nickelodeon television character who explores the world with her trusty companions, Mr. Map, Mochila, and Boots!

Do any of you have doraphobia or any other phobias?

To explore other Halloween related posts, search my blog with the key words “halloween” and “creature feature.”

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cucurbitophobia (kyü-ˈkər-bətə-fō-bē-ə)

Cucurbits everywhere!
This was one of my favorite pumpkins that we saw tonight!
These neighbors do a great job every year decorating for Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I had a fabulous time trick-or-treating in my spookily decorated neighborhood this evening. Almost every house that we visited had pumpkins decorating their porch. If I had cucurbitophobia, I would not have had a very good time tonight.

Cucurbitophobia is the fear of gourds. Pumpkins, squash, and watermelon are examples of gourds. The word curcubit comes from the Latin word cucurbita,  meaning gourd or cup. Cucurbitophobia comes from the word cucurbit, and phobia- meaning abnormal fear of.

 

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thanatophobia (than-ət-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə)

Thanatos was the primordial Greek god of death. "Angel of Death" by Evelyn DeMorgan, 1881.

To continue our Halloween theme this month, let’s take a look at another phobia. Thanatophobia is the fear of death. Thanatos was the primordial Greek god of death. It was said that he appeared to mortals when the time for them to die was imminent in order to guide them to the Underworld. No one could escape death, therefore Thanatos was feared by all.

Thanatos is often depicted in art as a young man with wings, symbolizing the ability to guide souls to the Underworld. Other symbols include a sheathed sword representing a peaceful passing and a reversed torch representing the end of life.

Other words that are derived from Thanatos are “thanatology” and “euthanasia.”

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ailurophobia (ī-ˌlu̇r-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə)

Ailurophobia is the fear of cats. "Gato negro" by Chosovi. Distributed under license CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

As Halloween approaches, people are busy decorating their houses with scary looking spiders, skeletons, and witches. Images of black cats are also a common decoration for Halloween; I see black cats with haunting eyes everywhere! In the United States, black cats are considered bad luck. But in other countries, like Japan, black cats are thought to bring good luck. For the last several months, a black cat has been roaming around in our yard. We see him almost every day. I like to think that this means that we will have good fortune!

Ailurophobia is the abnormal fear of cats. Ailurophobia comes from the Greek roots ailur- meaning cat and –phobia meaning abnormal fear of. I know many more ailurophiles than ailurophobes – which one are you?

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iatrophobia (īa‧trə-ˈfōbē-ə)

Iatrophobia is the fear of doctors.

Halloween is approaching at the end of the month and I am so excited! This is one of my favorite holidays; it’s a day to dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. It is the only day of the year my mom allows my sister and I to eat lots of candy and stay up later than usual.

Last year, I explored phobias during the month of October, and I thought it would be fun to continue the theme.

One of my biggest fears is going to the *pediatrician’s office, especially when I need to get vaccinated. I feel dizzy and nauseous when a needle approaches. Iatrophobia is the abnormal fear of doctors. It comes from the Greek roots iatro– meaning physician or medicine and –phobia meaning abnormal fear of.

Do any of you have iatrophobia?

*The root word –iatr can be found hiding in the middle of words, such as in the word pediatrician – a doctor who specializes in children’s medicine.

If you want to explore other phobias I’ve written about, search my blog with the key word “phobia”.

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nyctophobia (nik-tuh-foh-bee-uh)

The decorations in my neighborhood are fun to look at and the people handing out candy are very nice.

Happy Halloween! I am excited to go trick-or-treating tonight in my Bellatrix Lestrange costume. For those of you unfamiliar with Bellatrix, she is an evil character in the Harry Potter series. I’m glad I don’t have nyctophobia, otherwise I couldn’t go out tonight or any night!

Nyctophobia comes from the Greek root nyct- meaning night and the suffix –phobia meaning abnormal fear of. Nyctophobia literally means “abnormal fear of the night.”

Are you dressing up this year? If you are, be sure to comment and tell me about your costume!

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myrmecophobia (mərmə̇kō fōbia)

Myrmecophobia is the abnormal fear of ants. Image from baynature.org

Let’s explore another phobia this week! My friend Caroline commented that she is afraid of ants. The fear of ants is called myrmecophobia.

Myrmecophobia comes from the Greek root myrmeco– meaning ant and the suffix –phobia meaning abnormal fear of. It literally means “abnormal fear of ants.”

Do you have a phobia? If you do, be sure to leave me a comment!

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