Phobia of long words

Characteristics of Phobias

Phobias, as most of us know, are fears of certain things. Some people may fear certain animals, objects, places or many other things. Therefore, there is a specific phobia for almost everything surrounding us in this world. One of the strangest, however, is phobia of long words. The funniest thing is that, being named hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, this fear of long words scares those who fear long words senseless. Of course, we may understand if someone has a fear of the dark or has trouble coping with spiders somewhere near him or her, but fearing complex linguistic phenomena is quite irrational. Therefore, many consider this phobia to be without adequate basis.

Symptoms of a Phobia

With this specific fear, as well as many others, the manifestations are quite similar. Namely, being exposed to the subject of fear, the victim may experience shortness of breath, nausea, hyperventilation, sweating, and many other symptoms close to an anxiety attack. This may influence their social lives greatly since, if people fear a common thing, they might not be able to work successfully or function well in their relationships with other people.

Reasons behind Phobia of Long WordsMost commonly, people develop this phobia through past mental traumas due to their inability to pronounce certain words in specific situations. Usually, this would have involved public humiliation, only amplifying the overall chances of developing this condition. In fear of repeating their shameful pronunciation or reading mistakes, phobic people of this type refuse to speak long words ever again, getting frustrated whenever they get exposed to them. The exposure involves enduring all of the symptoms mentioned above, possibly causing mental or other damages to one’s health. Thereby, these people are likely to avoid public gatherings or any groups of people, leading solitary lives. Other people often distance themselves from those with phobias as well.

Possible Treatments

This condition, being extremely rare as it is, is completely treatable. There are several different methods for these purposes.

The best cure for fear of long words is hypnotherapy. By entering one’s sub consciousness, the therapist is able to remove the fear, making the patient completely immune to long words once again. When a person develops phobias, he or she programs the brain to fear certain things in certain situations. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is the name of a specific hypnotherapy discipline, trying to re-program the patient’s brain, so that it fears certain things no more.

Another alternative for treating phobias is Energy Psychology. Interestingly enough, this approach considers human bodies to be able to conduct streams of energy, just like the attitude acupuncture has. Thereby, using the same treatment, only without needles, the therapist is able to establish a correct emotional flow in a person’s body, removing phobias.