A Mind of My Own

During lunch with my colleague, we heard a shriek from some lady walking past and pointing at something under our table. Shocked, we looked down and saw nothing. My colleague sensed something crawling past her feet. However, there was no evidence to indicate anything that was creepy or crawly to support the lady who had by now a few hundred metres away from us. The food was good but the disruption made the food taste less good and I ended up with leftovers. So did my colleague. Thanks, lady.

The only term I could come up with was Herpetophobia. A phobia that means fear of creepy, crawly things. This led to my colleague describing how a friend would feel naseus and faint on the sight of pregnant women. The late stages of pregnancy would make her faint immediately. I can’t find a term for it. Can you?

A friend of mine is afraid of cats. She would give them a wide berth just to avoid them. Even when the kitties were more than 2 metres away. It’s called Ailurophobia, Elurophobia, Felinophobia, Galeophobia or Gatophobia. As for fear of dogs, it’s called Cynophobia.

For the commitment phobic, it’s called Gamophobia. Perhaps caused by Pentheraphobia (fear of mother in law)?

Finally, for those who are afraid of long words, it’s called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. Gee, what a montrous mouthful.

[full list found on Phobia Fear Release]