Tips to a Happier You in 2012~What are you afraid of?

There really is an app for everything. My kids were playing with my phone the other day asking me things like, “Do you know what Astrophobia is? Or what about Didaskaleinophobia? Katasaridaphobia?” They found an app that listed all known phobias. A smorgasbord of all of the crazy—and not so crazy—things people are afraid of. Did you know there are over 500 identified and named phobias? Here’s a small sample:

• Astrophobia– Fear of stars or celestial space.
• Katsaridaphobia– Fear of cockroaches (Who isn’t?).
• Didaskaleinophobia– Fear of going to school (I had this one in 6th grade).
• Amnesiphobia—Fear of amnesia (Wouldn’t you just forget you were afraid of it?).
• Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia—Fear of the number “666.”
• Mageirocophobia—Fear of cooking (This is a current one for me!).
• Alektorophobia—Fear of chickens.
• Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia—Fear of body odors.
• Consecotaleophobia—Fear of chopsticks.
• Vestiphobia—Fear of clothing. 
• Disposophobia—Fear of hoarding (Now I NEED this one).
• Gymnophobia or Nudophobia—Fear of nudity (I’m thinking the Gymnophogiac wouldn’t get along too well with the Vestiphobiac)
• Asymmetriphobia—Fear of assymetrical things (If you ever saw the show “Monk,” you know it was one of his top fears). In fact….

Now some phobias are a little easier to understand: 

• Thanatophobia—Fear of dying or death.
• Ochophobia—Fear of being in a moving Automobile.
• Ichthyophobia—Fear of fish (Miranda has this one).
• Hadephobia, Stygiophobia or Stigiophobia—Fear of Hell.
• Dementophobia or Maniaphobia—Fear of insanity. (I experienced this once when I had a drug interaction. I thought I was going to end up in a straight jacket staring at four white walls!)
• Aviophobia or Aviatophobia or Pteromerhanophobia—Fear of flying. (I recently overcame this one!)