Most people have pretty realistic fears, like death, bugs, or deep water. But have you ever heard of the fear of ketchup? Or the fear of moths? These are just a few of the crazy fears occurring at DVRHS.

According to dictionary.com, a phobia is a persistant, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation. Phobias are, in fact, very real, and no one should judge other’s fears. According to medicalnewstoday.com, 19 million people in the US have strange phobias, and they vary in severity.

When people experience a phobia, they can become terrified, feel dizzy or nauseous, or even lose sense of reality since their minds are so focused on their fear. Each phobia has its own criteria, but most phobias have 3 impacts in common; they are life-limiting, they create avoidance, and they create anticipatory anxiety. People with specific phobias often experience mild to severe anxiety issues as well. The most common phobias are social phobias, which are also the most severe of phobias, so if you have any social phobias you should speak with someone you trust about your fear.

In fact, there are people with phobias currently attending Del Val. When speaking with The Delphi staff, a few staff members have some strange phobias. I have 2 phobias: Mortuusequusphobia (fear of ketchup) and lepidopterophobia (fear of butterflies). Cori Raike has portaphobia (also known a fear of porta potties) and a fear of tall people (called gigaphobia). Nick Reichert has a fear of holes in his wall. Alex Wilt has mottephobia, or fear of moths. Mr. Smith has aerophobia, or the fear of airplanes. Jaclyn has Ornithophobia, or fear of crows. Claire Erwin has a massive fear of getting sick (aka Emetophobia).

There are also many students throughout Del Val who also have phobias. Out of the 14 students interviewed, 12 of them had strange phobias, and 4 of these students had more than one phobia. Some of the phobias were repetitive, such as the ketchup phobia and the foot phobia, but some phobias were what some would call bizarre. One student has a fear of closing his or her eyes in the shower and seeing a clown in the bathroom!

If you have a strange fear, don’t be afraid! Embrace it. Plenty of others have fears too!