Fear - a feeling quite natural, which is an important component of the instinct of self-preservation. But sometimes this feeling becomes uncontrollable and completely irrational, such fears are called phobias. They can take absolutely bizarre forms and even seem funny to other people. For example, hippopotomonstostesquippedalophobia (the so-called phobia of long words) can hardly seem to be a problem worthy of attention. But meanwhile, such fear is quite real and some people really suffer from it.
What is a phobia?
To understand the nature of fear of pronouncing long words, it is worthwhile to understand what a phobia is and why it can arise. Obsessive fear in our days is one of the most common neurotic diseases. The number of people affected by this scourge is increasing year by year.
Do not think that this feeling is contrived and may not be taken into account. Phobias are so terrible that when you meet an object that causes fear, a person can not control himself. Feeling of fear can lead to panic attacks and is accompanied by attacks of nausea, dizziness, and also increased pressure and rapid heart rate. Phobias are always associated with a certain object, and their main danger lies in the fact that if you do not want to fight fear, it can cover an increasing number of objects and situations, which can greatly complicate communication with people. Neurotic disorders of this kind do not concern the intellectual abilities of man. People who suffer from phobias tend to be able to take their condition critically, but do not find the strength to control it.
Studies of such diseases began in the late 19 th century, so at this time it is possible to talk about a thorough study of this phenomenon. The cause of phobia can be traumatic events or organic brain damage. Therefore, the treatment is selected individually, in accordance with the cause that causes obsessive fear.
Fear of long words
Subjects of phobias are constantly changing - some leave in the past, and new ones come to replace them. Today there are more than 300 types of various obsessive fears. Names to them are most often given in Latin for the name of the object that causes fear, adding to it the prefix "phobia". But this is not the case with the fear of long words, which is called hippopotomonstostesquippedalophobia. It is impossible to conclude from this name about the name of fear, it rather speaks of the fear of hippos. What guided scientists, giving such a name to the fear of long words, is difficult to say, maybe they just wanted to come up with a word more authentic? Then they coped with their task brilliantly - in the word 34 letters and it is the longest used in modern Russian.
A person suffering from hippopotamusstrokesquippedalophobia tries to skip reading and avoiding complex and long words in the conversation, feeling irrational fear before them. Psychologists see two possible causes of this phobia.
Some experts believe that the causes of many strange phobias, including fear of long words, lie in excessive internal tension and anxiety. Negative emotions find a way out in the form of strange fears or rituals that help a person maintain self-confidence. Most often phobias affect people,
Other psychologists believe that the origins of this phobia should be sought in childhood. Perhaps the child was very stressed when he could not answer the teacher's question, or his peers ridiculed him, with the wrong utterance of a word.
In each of these cases, the competent work of a psychologist is required. Moreover, the fear of long words does not require medical treatment, usually it completely disappears after a course of psychotherapy. The main condition is the person's desire to get rid of phobia.