A phobia is an extreme fear of something or a situation. Common symptoms of a phobia are anxiety and panic when you come into contact with the cause of your phobia. Treatments for phobias include talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and sometimes medicines.

In the article bellow we will present you some of the strangest phobias someone can have.

Ergophobia

Ergophobia, ergasiophobia or ponophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of work (manual labor, non-manual labor, etc.) or fear of finding employment. It may be a form of social phobia or performance anxiety.

Somniphobia

Somniphobia causes extreme anxiety and fear around the thought of going to bed. This phobia is also known as hypnophobia, clinophobia, sleep anxiety, or sleep dread.

Chaetophobia

Chaetophobia is a rare phobia which causes an irrational, abnormal and persistent fear of hair. The word is derived from Greek khaite which means ‘loose flowing hair’ and phobos meaning aversion or fear. Other names used for the phobia include Trichopathophobia where tricho is Greek for hair and patho for disease.

Oikophobia

In psychiatry, oikophobia (synonymous with domatophobia and ecophobia) is an aversion to home surroundings.
The term is also used to indicate an abnormal fear (a phobia) of one’s home, or more narrowly to the contents of a house (“fear of household appliances, equipment, bathtubs, household chemicals, and other common objects in the home”). The term derives from the Greek words oikos, meaning household, house, or family, and phobos, meaning “fear”.
In 1808, the poet and essayist Robert Southey used the word to describe a desire (particularly by the English) to leave home and travel. Southey’s usage as a synonym for wanderlust was picked up by other nineteenth century writers.
The term has been used in political contexts to refer critically to political ideologies that repudiate one’s own culture and laud others. One prominent usage was by Roger Scruton in a 2004 book.

Panphobia

Panphobia (omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia) is an abnormal fear of everything. Sufferers would have excessive worries and anxious about everythings, as they are afraid that things could have evil entities in it. This fear can often lead to paranoia. In extreme cases of panphobia, the sufferers want to quit the reality by committing suicide.
The term comes from the Greek pan, neuter of pas, meaning “all” and phobos, “fear”. The Greek root word pan (ex. pan-ic) describes “the unpleasant state inflicted by the intervention of the god Pan.”

Ablutophobia

Ablutophobia is a specific phobia in which individuals have an irrational fear of bathing or washing. It can affect children and adults and is more common in women than men.