Phobias you don't know you have

Were you one of those kids in school who bragged about not having any fears? Smirked at people and shamed them for being afraid of heights or spiders? Well, chances are you're not exactly Braveheart yourself. Here's a list of uncommon phobias you may actually have but aren't aware of yet.

TRYPOPHOBIA

Trypophobia is the aversion or disgust to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps, and it's almost impossible not to have. Be it a zoomed in picture of a lotus pod or infected skin, it is bound to make you uncomfortable, or even nauseous depending on the severity of the condition.

ARACHIBUTYROPHOBIA

This phobia is a very particular fear of having peanut butter stuck on the roof of one's mouth. While it might be annoying to most people, if you find yourself dreading the idea of it or getting so uncomfortable that it makes you sweat profusely or short of breath, you might just be arachibutyrophobic.

TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA

If you are intensely afraid of the number "13" and have to exclude it from any plans or events, you definitely have triskaidekaphobia. Though very specific, it is much more common than most of us comprehend with former US President Franklin Roosevelt avoiding travel plans on such dates and famous horror writer Stephen King using it to frighten his readers on multiple occasions.

SCRIPTOPHOBIA

If the thought of writing in front of people makes you shudder, you might just be scriptophobic. This is defined as the fear of writing in public and may even be the reason some celebrities refuse to give out autographs. Whether you have it or not, this could serve as a good excuse to avoid going up to the board in class and writing the answer to the question your teacher just asked.

DEIPNOPHOBIA

While most of us dread having meals with families as they usually lead to a series of uncomfortable questions, we cannot call ourselves deipnophobic. Deipnophobia, defined as the fear of dinner conversations causes people experiencing this to usually prefer eating alone or in silence to overcome the fear.

ANATIDAEPHOBIA

Otherwise rendered cute, ducks could actually cause quite the hassle with anatidaephobics. It is defined as the pervasive fear that a duck, goose, or swan somewhere in the world is watching you. Not necessarily to attack or harm, just the idea that one maybe watching them causes them to feel uneasy and unsettled.

GENUPHOBIA

Deriving from the Latin word genu meaning knee, genuphobia is basically the fear of knees, whether it be their own or someone else's. It could even be triggered by the act of kneeling. This makes you think, is this why some people are so offended by articles of clothing that allow the exposure of knees? I guess some of us genuinely owe them an apology for misunderstanding their fear for judgement.

By now, you should have been able to relate to at least one of these phobias, if not more. However if you didn't, I must ask you one question. Are you okay, friend?

Syeda Afrin Tarannum would choose 'The Script' over 'G-Eazy' any day. Continue ignoring her taste in music on: afrintara@gmail.com