WELL, I think I struck a chord when I wrote a column a couple of weeks ago about misophonia.
This a condition (yes, it is real) whereby a person becomes agitated, even enraged, by everyday noises like someone crunching loudly on an apple or munching popcorn in a quiet cinema.
These can be extreme emotional reactions that many might perceive as unreasonable given the circumstances.
But to those who suffer from misophonia, they are simply automatic responses.
I had numerous emails from people saying they related to the stories in the article and were oddly grateful that I’d given a name to the condition (not that I came up with the name!).
One person even stopped me in the street, loudly declaring: “Yes... it’s not just me then!”
And it set me wondering what other slightly odd phobias people have.
I’ll confess mine straight away – I have a morbid fear of wasps.
It stems from the time when as a young child I put my foot into a football boot, only to find a wasp had got there first. Ooh it did hurt. And I’m convinced that’s why I never went on to play for West Ham United!
Now I don’t see that as odd (wasps hurt, after all).
On the other hand, I know someone who can’t stand other people’s feet... won’t go anywhere near them. Then there’s the person with a hatred of belly buttons. Why?
And did you know there is such a thing as bananaphobia. It’s true – look it up.
Someone else I know (I seem to have a collection of odd friends!) cannot bare odd numbers. If he sees the volume dial on the car radio at 21… he must move it to 20 or 22. Same with the TV.
There are people who go to extreme lengths to counter their phobia, like disinfecting every door handle in their house if someone has walked in with a cold (or worse).
I would love to hear about your phobias, or your fears. What are they and how do you control them? Has they made life difficult for you?
You can contact me on this email address: clinton.rogers@countygazette.co.uk. Unless, of course, you have a fear of emails!
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