What Are You Afraid Of?

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            We’re all afraid of something and there’s a name for every phobia. Here are some of the more odd celebrity phobias. Pamela Anderson is afraid of mirrors, that’s called eisoptrophobia. Tom Cruise fears going bald, that’s chaetophobia. Nicole Kidman is afraid of butterflies, or lepidopterophobia. Alfred Hitchcock has a fear of eggs, which is ovophobia.

My phobia is more common. I suffer claustrophobia. I had a ridiculous reaction to an enclosed space one time when I was in a double sided elevator moving boxes up to my new apartment. While riding up I realized I had stacked the boxes on the wrong side and wouldn’t be able to get out when the door opened. Worse, I realized that the key to hold the doors open and all of the buttons were behind the boxes. I panicked. I couldn’t see a way out. I thought the doors would open when I got to my floor and then they would close and I would be stuck. So, when I got to my floor and the door opened I started pushing boxes out of the elevator in hopes that one would land in such a way that would stop the door from closing or that I would be able to quickly climb over the boxes to make it out. I didn’t care when I heard the crush of breaking glass; I just needed to get out of the elevator. My pulse had quickened and I was sweating. Once I was out of the elevator I realized my actions were silly, but in the moment I was fighting for my survival. Claustrophobia isn’t just a fear of enclosed spaces; it is the fear that one will not be able to make it out of a small space. So, my phobia extends to caves, mazes, haunted houses, tunnels, etc.

There are a lot of people who say they have a certain phobia, including claustrophobia. Often times they just suffer from a fear and not a phobia. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. The sufferer will go to great lengths to avoid the item or situation and the actions are often seen as irrational. The sufferer becomes distressed in situations where the phobia is present. So, just because someone does not like spiders doesn’t mean it is necessarily arachnophobia. I dislike spiders and avoid them, but I wouldn’t characterize that as a phobia in myself. Even if I were to scream and recoil in the presence of a spider, it does not mean the reaction is a disorder.