I have Fragariaphobia; the fear of strawberries. I know it sounds stupid, which it kinda is. I have absolutely no clue why I am scared of them, I just know that I am. No, it's not because of the tiny little seeds or any other logical answer that would be the source of my fear. They just creep me out. For example, in seventh grade when we did a bunch of dissections, I was able to dissect the frog or cow eyeball, but when we were dissecting the DNA from a strawberry, I couldn't do it. It’s strange, I can drink a smoothie with strawberries, but won't eat them, and get grossed out by them.
Recently I searched for the term for the phobia of strawberries and found a blog post from someone who also has a fear of strawberries. She explained that she was always embarrassed by her fear of strawberries. People even made fun of her for being scared of “those tiny pointed devils.” I thought I was the only one, so it was refreshing to hear that I am not alone in having a strange phobia. But, then I continued to read her blog post and it turns out that she just had trypophobia: phobia of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. I was back to square one. I don't have trypophobia, just the fear of strawberries. However, I am content with my strange fear and even joke about it.
Who else has a strange fear?
Recently I searched for the term for the phobia of strawberries and found a blog post from someone who also has a fear of strawberries. She explained that she was always embarrassed by her fear of strawberries. People even made fun of her for being scared of “those tiny pointed devils.” I thought I was the only one, so it was refreshing to hear that I am not alone in having a strange phobia. But, then I continued to read her blog post and it turns out that she just had trypophobia: phobia of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. I was back to square one. I don't have trypophobia, just the fear of strawberries. However, I am content with my strange fear and even joke about it.
Who else has a strange fear?
Wow! I've never heard of this, but I'm glad I now know it (although, I'm not quite sure what to do with this knowledge). Strawberries are honestly like heaven to me, but I know not everyone agrees (especially because of a certain blog post a few weeks ago that Chaya made). This one is going to sound weird, but regarding food, I used to have a "fear" of meatloaf. It didn't really creep me out, but I had serious trust issues with it and refused to associate myself with it for a long time. I couldn't bring it anywhere near my mouth for years.
ReplyDeleteI think that weird food phobias are more common than you think. I once had a student who had a phobia of pickles. And her sister was afraid of... I don't recall whether it was mustard or ketchup. One of the condiments.
ReplyDeleteI personally can't quite understand it, because I don't have anything like that, but I respect the fact that different people have different fears. Mine are all pretty standard - I have claustrophobia, which extends to crowds, tunnels, and elevators as well. That's about it, though. And I really try to overcome them. Like I ride the school elevator all the time. But if I am in a building and have to take an elevator to a high floor, I hold my breath the whole time!
Amy, I feel like you would definitely be the only person I know who would be afraid of a piece of fruit. But, I'm not judging don't worry. I'm personally afraid of the ocean. Something about the depth and not being able to see what's beneath you just doesn't sit right with me. Ughhhh I get goosebumps just thinking about itttt!!
ReplyDeleteThis was hilarious to read. I never did think about it though, strawberries really are a weird fruit. I mean, what other fruit has its seeds on the outside. It seems to me that the only way to eradciate your irrational fear is to face it head on and eat as many strawberries as humanly possible and at some point down the road, many years from now, have your own strawberry farm.
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