The majority of us love Halloween. The decorations, the dressing up and the spooky fun that’s to be had. But for some Halloween can be a looming blip on the horizon. One that gets ever closer and with it brings a real sense of doom.
There are a number of reasons why this may be, however one of the biggest ones is because they suffer with a phobia.
We’ve tried to pick images that are cute little animals and not at all scary, yet still in keeping with Halloween, in the hope we can help keep those fears at bay!
Phobias & Halloween
Many phobias are an issue all year round. As Halloween approaches though, there are quite a few that can be triggered by the excitment and fun of others, unintentionaly.
A phobia is either an irration fear or aversion to something. It can be anything – objects, places, events, people. Whilst it may be deemed that a phobia is irrational, it doesn’t make it any less terrifying for the person experiencing it.
The effects can be so debilitating, that people find their mental health, and indeed their lives are severly impacted.
Common Phobias Triggered by Halloween
There will be far too many phobias that Halloween poses a problem for to list. So, we have picked a few of the more common ones, and one or two obscure ones. The hope is that this can give you an idea of why some may feel actual fear during this festive time. While the scares and jumps can make us feel invigorated, for the people suffering with these phobias, it can be a literal waking nightmare.
- Arachnophobia – the fear of spiders
- Cucurbitophobia – the fear of pumpkins
- Seleophobia – the fear of the moon and moonlight
- Ophidiophobia – the fear of snakes
- Kinemortophobia – the fear of zombies
- Hemophobia – the fear of blood
- Nyctophobia – the extreme fear of the dark
- Phasmophobia – the fear of ghosts
- Necrophobia – the fear of things related to death
- Masklophobia – the fear of masks, people in costumes and mascots
- Witchophobia (Wiccaphobia) – the fear of witches and wizards
What if I have One of These?
Phobias are difficult to cope with, especially at this time of the year when it seems everyone has the Halloween bug. There is hope though.
The best advice anyone can give you is to talk to your GP. They are the person best placed to be able to refer to the relevent organisation.
As a rule Exposure Therapy would be used to help treat the phobia in question. This means a qualified counsellor, trained in that specific area, would work with you closely. They would gradually expose you to the thing you are fearful of, until you are able to cope better with it.
This is not something you should do alone, as it can have a serious impact on your mental health.
Exposure Therapy comes under a form of counselling called CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. This can help your brain to rethink the negative thoughts and feeling you have surrounding the phobia, and see them in a better light, or with less fear.
Remember, if you feel you need help with the topics discussed in today’s article, please do speak with your doctor. If you don’t feel that is the right option for you, check out our Therapy section for a few other prganisations that you could call to talk about how you are feeling.
Do you have a phobia? Has anything you’ve tried helped you overcome it? We’d love to hear about it over on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and Twitter.
