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Animal Phobias

Mycophobia – Fear of Fungus, Mushrooms and Mold

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Fungus, Mushrooms and Mold. Oh My!

Do you feel a choking sensation at the sight of the gross-looking, grayish-blue fungus on your bread or weeks-old vegetables?

Does the sight of fungi or mold draw sweat from your pores?

What about mushroom soup or that plate of mushroom-topped noodles? And did we mention the salad topped with sautéed mushrooms?

Does all this talk of mushrooms make you nauseous or a bit green around the gills?

If the fear of fungi and mushrooms is disrupting your life, you may be suffering from mycophobia, or the fear of mold, fungus, and mushrooms. Mycophobia is considered a full-fledged phobia and not just a general dislike of fungi.

If you’ve discovered yourself avoiding life to escape encounters with fungi, read on. We’ll explore mycophobia causes, symptoms, and treatment. A little education can go a long way towards helping you overcome your fear.

 

What Is Mycophobia?

Mycophobia is the extreme fear of fungi of all kinds, including mold. The term mycophobia comes from the Greek words mycos, meaning “fungus,” and phobos, which means “to dread or to fear.”

This phobia, or irrational fear, erupts because an individual is terrified at the thought of becoming ill from the consumption of fungi of any kind. Or even from touching it. The fear extends to all types of fungi from toadstools to mold to mushrooms.

 

A Phobia of Fear or Disgust?

 

A mycophobic person will avoid damp places like unused attics, bathrooms, and swimming pools. They know moist and dark places create the right environment for fungi and mold to grow. They may avoid eating out, walking in the woods, or may obsessively empty their refrigerator of products which may grow mold.

Those with mycophobia associate all fungi with something dirty and infectious, causing illness and disease. But the truth is, certain molds and fungi are actually useful to us and are definitely beneficial to the environment.

 

Causes of Mycophobia

There are many reasons why this fear may have become a full-blown phobia.

As children we were cautioned against eating fungi or mold. We may have learned that mold spores can invade the lungs or get into the eyes, causing illness. In some cases, one may have experienced or seen someone experience severe illness related to mold or fungi. Such memories plant the seeds of fear.

A genetic predisposition to phobia is also a possible cause. A genetic predisposition means that your parents might have a history of similar phobias, resulting in you acquiring the same.

Environment may also play a role. Those with mycophobia may have seen their parent’s fearful reaction when they came across mushrooms or mold. Friends or extended family members may have expressed a heightened fear of fungi.

People suffering from OCD may also exhibit symptoms of mycophobia. Both conditions are closely related in their causes and symptoms.

Another playing factor is the media. It feeds into this fear via news reports and films on the harmful effects of fungi and mold.

Symptoms of Mycophobia

The symptoms of mycophobia are similar to those of other phobias.

  • sweating
  • the feeling of lack of control
  • bouts of crying
  • a rise in body temperature
  • increased heartbeat
  • anxiety
  • panic attacks
  • shortness of breath
  • irregular heartbeat
  • rapid breathing
  • dry mouth
  • vomiting
  • dizziness
  • shivering
  • inability to communicate

How Can You Deal with Mycophobia?

Once you are aware and educated about your phobia, you can move toward treating it. Like any other phobia, mycophobia has certain causes and symptoms. Identifying and treating them is possible.

Even if you don’t rid yourself of the phobia completely, you can learn to manage it. With the right treatment, you may be able to stop associating fear with a specific trigger. However, the first step begins with you acknowledging the fear and taking immediate and necessary action against it.

Self-Help

Learn more about your phobia and try to analyze the irrational aspects of your fear.

Practice yoga and meditation. It will help calm your mind and ease anxiety attacks. It will also help you gain better control over your mind and body, which will aid in your recovery and coping mechanisms.

Try talking to your friends and family who will listen without judgment. Sharing your fears will lessen the burden.

Similarly, you may also write your thoughts on a piece of paper. Later, read what you wrote. This tip will help you better understand your triggers and behavior, providing insight.

Professional Treatment

If self-help isn’t making a dent in your phobia, seek timely medical intervention with an experienced and certified professional. They will employ various psychological methods and therapies to help you get over the fear.

Since phobia can have several causes, there are no specifically designed mycophobia treatments. There is no mycophobia test either.

Nevertheless, there are still many different kinds of treatment targeted toward the causes. These can help significantly improve many of the symptoms of mycophobia. Some of these treatments are exposure therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and psychiatric medications.

Exposure Therapy

One of the most common types of treatment is exposure therapy. In the case of mycophobia, the therapist may begin by exposing the patient to photographs of mushrooms.

Gradually, they will expose them to a real mushroom that they can observe and touch. Repeatedly exposing them to the source of the fear will desensitize the patient to their fear. In theory, the more someone gets exposed to something they fear, the less it will bother them in the long run.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is another very common type of treatment that is frequently used to help people suffering from conditions like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), among others. It may be effective in treating people suffering from phobias like mycophobia.

CBT works by having the therapist help the patient discover why they think, feel, and behave the way they do about a specific fear or concern.

Medication

Medication does not treat phobias, but they work to ease the accompanying symptoms such as anxiety and panic.

To Sum It Up

It is important to recognize that phobias, like any medical ailment, should be treated with timely intervention. If you know someone suffering from mycophobia or any other form of phobia, lend an ear. Offer them a helping hand and a safe space to express emotions.

If you suffer from mycophobia, take your therapies seriously and never miss a session. It might be bothersome in the beginning, however, you’ll be motivated once you see improvement. It’s absolutely possible to get back to living a normal, fun life with the right help and treatment.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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