An irrational fear of flowers is called Anthophobia. The word is a combination of two Greek words namely anthos meaning ‘flowers’ and phobos meaning ‘fear or deep aversion’.
You have probably come across many types of phobias among human beings. Some are understandable while some might seem highly irrational or unbelievable like fear of birds, fear of work or fear of feet. But most phobias are legitimate and can affect a person’s life drastically. One of the types of phobia that exist today is Anthophobia, the fear of flowers.
Fear of flowers is not the same as the fear of plants or the fear of nature. The fear of plants is known as Botanophobia and the fear of nature is called Biophobia. So Anthophobia is only specific to flowers or flowering plants. The sufferer is not afraid of other plants and trees. Most Anthophobic people will tend to stay away from nature as much as possible as there is a chance encounter of flowers and flowering plants always in the back of their minds. They will be morbidly afraid of flowers and will react rather negatively. This type of fear is extremely rare and exists in only a few people around the world.
Anthophobia symptoms will vary from person to person depending upon the degree of trauma and susceptibility to anxiety under given circumstances. However, there are specific symptoms one can look out for, such as:
Panic Attacks – Having a drastic panic attack at the mere sight or thought of flowers could be one of the main symptoms.
Sweaty palms, racing heartbeats, rapid or accelerated breathing, trembling or shivering and so on are certain factors to look out for. It is important to note that the symptoms are stimulated even by thoughts and not just by vision. Irrational amount of fear – Having a fear of impending doom along with thoughts of death and powerlessness are some of the feelings one would experience when they are placed in a situation where they are around flowers. These emotional symptoms will be directly associated with Anthophobia in the individual.
Credit : Types of Phobia
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