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Topics: Halloween, Health, Mental Health
Gregory Robinson
If this week has left you feeling particularly uneasy, it could be because of this little-known reason linked to phobias.
A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of an object, place, feeling, situation, or animal, such as spiders or the fear of confined spaces, known as arachnophobia and claustrophobia respectively.
People with phobias will often go to great lengths to avoid the source of their fear, which can lead to a lot of distress in their day-to-day life.
Phobias are more pronounced than fears, and it is a type of anxiety disorder, according to the NHS.
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They develop when an individual has an ‘exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object’. Symptoms of phobias can include nausea, sweating, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, and trembling.
Some phobias aren’t as well-known, like Paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is the fear of Friday the 13th.
But there's an even more unusual one that is quite rare, and it's particularly relevant today (31 October).
Samhainophobia is a fear of Halloween, which is happening this week (today, actually!).
While this condition is extremeley rare, according to CPD Online, sufferers feel anxious whenever they think about experiencing anything to do with Halloween.
This is more severe than feeling a little spooked out at the thought of haunted houses or people dressed as vampires, and the people with this type of phobia may have experienced a very traumatic situation in the past related to this time of year.
The name of the phobia comes from the Gaelic word Samhain, which is a pagan religious festival from an ancient Celtic tradition celebrated from 31 October to 1 November. Celebrants believe the dead and the living are able to interact at this time.
Phobias are not always formally diagnosed, according to the NHS.
You can ask a GP for help if you have a phobia and they may refer to a specialist with expertise behavioural therapy, which may involve counselling, psychotherapy or cognitive behavioural therapy.