Fashion about Life

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a phobia is an anxiety disorder that is “a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.” While the majority of phobias are relatively commonplace—a fear of heights, spiders, public speaking—there are those rare folks with more unusual, specific frights. From the fear of opinions to the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth, learn about some of the most unconventional phobias on the books.

Panphobia—Fear of Everything

Having one phobia can be crippling, but at least if it’s about a single thing—dogs or snakes, for example—you can easily avoid it and live in relative peace. But for those suffering from panphobia (a.k.a. pantophobia), there is no escaping. Sufferers experience “a state of anxiety or fear not related to any one particular thing,” according to WrongDiagnosis.com—which causes them to spend their lives afraid of everything. Photo: Karen Moskowitz/Getty

Deipnophobia—Fear of Dinner Parties

Everyone gets a little anxious before a night out: Who will be there? Whom will I talk to? What will we talk about? But those suffering from deipnophobia have an “irrational fear of dining and dinner conversations,” according to WrongDiagnosis.com. So you know that friend who seems to always have other plans when you invite her to dinner? Now, maybe you know why. Photo: Shelby Ross/Getty

Mnemophobia—Fear of Memories

Life is full of good times and bad, resulting in a mixed bag of memories. Most people learn to cope, and even benefit from past experiences—except those suffering from mnemophobia. For these people, all memories, positive or negative, are feared. A flip side of this disorder is that some sufferers fear losing their memory, which has become more common as Alzheimer’s becomes a bigger issue. Photo: Michael Hitoshi/Getty

Autophobia—Fear of Being Alone

Autophobia is a morbid and persistent fear of loneliness or solitude. Sufferers worry about being ignored and unloved. In some cases, this phobia can become even more extreme, causing the person to develop an irrational fear of himself or herself. Photo: ThinkStock

Nomophobia—Fear of Losing Cell Phone Contact

Admit it, you can relate to this one. A phobia of the modern age, nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, nomophobia could affect up to 53 percent of British mobile phone users. If they can’t find a signal, have lost their phone or even if their battery is low, nomophobes panic. Photo: bilderlounge/Getty

Allodoxaphobia—Fear of Opinions

They say there are three things you shouldn’t talk about in polite conversation: politics, religion and money. But allodoxaphobes don’t want to talk about anything controversial, a phobia that’s possibly caused by having had their own opinions put down. Sufferers fear opinions, confrontation and arguments, according to AnxietyMatters.com. Photo: A. Chederros/Getty

Sesquipedalophobia—Fear of Long Words

This phobia is a real doozy for people who suffer from it—they can’t even say the name of their own phobia without having anxiety. The long word would strike panic in their hearts. Photo: ThinkStock

Phobophobia—Fear of Phobias

All of these phobias sound terrible and debilitating. They cause anxiety, panic, depression and other physical manifestations of fear. Given all of this, it makes sense no one would want one—but sometimes that fear can become out of control. That’s the case with phobophobes, who actually have a phobia of phobias…and, likely, a list of phobias, such as this one. Photo: iStockphoto

Optophobia—Fear of Opening One’s Eyes

When a baby is born, one of the first things it will do is open its eyes. That’s also one of the first things people do every morning, which makes this phobia extremely debilitating for those who are afflicted with it. Photo: iStockphoto

Arachibutyrophobia—Fear of Peanut Butter Sticking to the Roof of One’s Mouth

In recent years, peanut allergies have become a serious problem in schools and child-care centers, forcing many such places to become “nut-free zones.” Maybe that helps explain this phobia, which is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.