Ten Strange Phobias That Really Exist

By Emily Mitchell

It doesn’t seem like much would scare Channing Tatum.

He’s done numerous action movies with intense battle scenes and was pretty much naked for all to see in Magic Mike.

But one way to get him to freak completely out? Weird, dead-eyed porcelain dolls. Yes, Tatum disclosed his childhood fear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show recently. Here’s his reasoning for the fright:

"I just think they're freaky!" Tatum told DeGeneres. "They have, like, real eyes! I just imagine when I walk by them, their heads turn with you the whole time!"

We can’t blame him; the dolls Ellen was taunting him with are spooky. Plus, his phobia—known as pediophobia—is not the strangest phobia in the world. To prove that, we reached out to anxiety experts to find some strange—but more common than you would imagine—phobias people fight all the time.

Paruresis (fear of peeing in public): Shy bladder? “People find it difficult or impossible to urinate in the presence of others, either in their own home or in public facilities,” says Dr Mark Borigini, a clinical instructor at UCLA.

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Cibophobia & Chlorophobia (fear of green food): These people really hated broccoli as kids. “The sight of foods that are green, probably early in life, has become associated with anxiety,” says Dr L. Kevin Chapman, a clinical psychologist who specialises in anxiety disorders.

Lachanophobia (fear of vegetables): Calling you out, picky eaters! This one is often caused by too much early exposure to junk food as children, suggests Dr Melanie Greenburg, a psychologist in California.

Atelophobia (fear of imperfection): Maybe this is the reason you always give 110 per cent. “Perfectionism is fairly common and can lead to procrastination, poor time management, and avoidance that disrupts job performance,” says Greenburg.

Fear of driving: Think of it as a type of agoraphobia—the fear of being in a space where you might not escape. “A person begins to avoid driving altogether—particularly expressways,” says Chapman.

Anuptaphobia (fear of being single): “You may feel pressure from relatives and friends to get married,” says Greenburg. “When you see friends or siblings getting married and having kids, you may be scared of missing out.”

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Gamophobia (fear of marriage): “Commitment phobia is common and perhaps, more so in men than women, because of society’s norms,” says Greenburg.

Samhainophobia (fear of Halloween): Blame it on movies associated with the holiday, scary masks, or the neighbour hiding in the leaf pile when you ran up to their house while trick-or-treating 10 years ago.

Globophobia (fear of balloons): "The fear of balloons can arise from a negative experience, such as being startled by the loud, unexpected sound of balloons popping, or the fear of being startled," says Dr Marla W. Deibler, executive director at The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia.

Coulrophobia (fear of clowns): Besides the fact that clowns can be downright creepy, the fear of them may be due to something called the "uncanny effect," says Deibler. "The uncanny valley effect is a theory that purports that when something has human features, that looks and moves in an almost, but not quite like natural human beings, it can cause a response such as fear or revulsion."