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Rare Phobias

Aibohphobia – Fear of Palindromes

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Fear of Palindromes: An Ultra-Rare Phobia

Are you afraid of words that read the same forward and backward? When you read or hear words like yay, nun, bib, madam, racecar, or civic, do they put you in a state of panic? Do you want these words permanently deleted from the dictionary?

Or are palindromes more a bewilderment or perplexity versus a fear?

Do they turn to obsessions, cause high levels of stress, or entangle your mind?

If so, you may be suffering from aibohphobia, or the fear of palindromes, which are simply words which read the same way forward or backward.

This palindrome fear is often difficult to explain given how unusual it is. And the fear of being laughed at can make it hard to seek help for the phobia.

However, you are not alone. There are many different kinds of phobias, and a large portion of the world population suffers from one form or another, including aibohphobia.

But remember, phobias are treatable. With the right guidance and mindset, you can learn to overcome your fear and lead a normal and happy life.

Aibohphobia Meaning

Aibohphobia is another term for the irrational fear of palindromes. To understand the fear of palindromes, you must first understand what a palindrome is. As mentioned above, a palindrome is a word that is read the same backward as well as forward. Some common palindromes are: eye, poop, level, mom, noon, refer, pop, and peep.

The hilarious — or must we say terrifying — part of the name of this phobia is that it is deliberately constructed to be a palindrome. The word phobia is reversed to form a prefix to the same word, phobia. So, aibohp is added to phobia to create aibohphobia.

Just like most other specific phobias, the fear of palindrome is an irrational fear that doesn’t hold any true danger to the sufferer.

It’s also important to note that many psychologists doubt the existence of this fear. This is because while some words are easily recognizable as palindromes, most are not.

For example, the phrase “rise to vote sir” is a palindrome. But to fear the phrase, a person needs to first recognize it as a palindrome. Quickly identifying one would require high intelligence and sharp eyes.

Linguists along with psychologists agree that the structuring of the name of the phobia was done intentionally to convey that the phobia doesn’t really exist. This is also why you won’t find this phobia on the official diagnosable list of phobias.

However, there is still a chance that a person may be suffering from the phobia considering how many weird phobias exist. And as phobias can become troublesome when they start interfering with a person’s daily life, so can aibohphobia. Aibohphobia may prevent one from going out, reading newspapers or books, or even looking at a bill or receipt in fear of spotting a palindrome.

 

Potential Aibohphobia Causes

Like all other phobias, the exact cause of aibohphobia is unknown. However specific phobias generally result from environmental and genetic factors that work separately or in combination.

For example, you may have had a teacher or friend named Hannah who was mean to you during your childhood. As you matured, you learned to associate her name with evil and began to fear it. Or perhaps it was a childhood story you read in which an evil witch named Elle scared you. Such seemingly innocent experiences can have a lasting impact.

A history of mental illness or living with someone who suffers from a mental issue are also contributing factors to people developing phobias.

 

A Few Aibohphobia Symptoms

Once you know what aibohphobia is, it’s important to consider how this phobia manifests. Given how rare this phobia is, its exact symptoms are not well defined. However, as it is a specific phobia, it will share similar symptoms as other anxiety disorders.

Physical Symptoms

  • Nausea
  • Sweating
  • Trembling
  • Palpitations
  • Headache
  • Fainting
  • Dizziness
  • Rise in blood pressure
  • Dry mouth

Psychological Symptoms

  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Irritability
  • Mood swings
  • Feeling sad or hopeless
  • Withdrawing from others
  • Feeling of dread
  • Feeling of dying

 

Aibohphobia Treatment

The first step toward treatment for any phobia, including aibohphobia, is rationalizing your thoughts and learning to see the fear as irrational. Listed below are some common methods used to treat aibohphobia.

Self-Help

Self-help allows you to heal at your own pace. While professional treatment is important, you know yourself better than any therapist and are in a better position to determine what techniques can help you.

Here are a few things that you can do to replace irrational thoughts with rational ones and overcome your fear of palindromes:

  • Journaling
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Exercise
  • Deep breathing
  • Exposure therapy
  • Relaxation techniques

These techniques calm your mind, help organize your thought patterns, and make way for a better perspective. However, if you feel that your symptoms are not alleviated and the situation is worsening, you can always reach out to professionals.

 

Professional Help

Getting help from a skilled and licensed therapist is ideally the best way to deal with phobias. Professionals have the knowledge and experience to give you the tools you need to deal with your fear.

While there is no definitive treatment for aibohphobia, treatments that work for other anxiety disorders may also work for the phobia of palindromes.

Some of the treatments your therapist may use either by itself or in combination are:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)
  • Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
  • Exposure therapy

Medication

In rare cases, when the phobia has worsened to a point the patient is suffering from repeated panic attacks, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants or beta blockers to help stabilize the patient.

The doctor may use medication with or without therapy and will taper the dosage as soon as they see fit.

 

Learning to Cope with Aibohphobia

Aibohphobia can severely affect your daily life, restricting you to your home and isolating you from family and friends. However, there are ways to deal with his irrational fear and eventually overcome it.

Apart from seeking professional help, you can talk with family and friends and let them help you work through your fear. Having a close support system is often helpful in one’s journey to overcome phobias.

Additionally, there are many online support groups for people currently suffering from or who have recovered from different types of phobias. Talking to these people will also help you get a better understanding of phobias and even inspire you to battle your own demons.

 

Conclusion

Suffering from any phobia is difficult. However, you can always reach out to your family or professionals and embark on a journey to recovery from aibohphobia. With some time and patience, you may one day find yourself chuckling at palindromes!

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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