What is bibliophobia?
Bibliophobia is an intense fear of books. The condition is a specific phobia (fear), which is a type of anxiety disorder.
A person with bibliophobia might fear all books or only a specific kind, such as textbooks or children’s books. Someone with bibliophobia might be afraid of books themselves, the stories they contain or the act of reading a book.
People with bibliophobia may:
- Avoid books and places where they might encounter books, such as schools, libraries and stores.
- Experience shame or embarrassment about the fear.
- Get nervous when they merely think about books.
- Panic when they have to hold a book or read a book.
- Skip educational, professional or personal activities that involve books.
- Worry excessively about the possibility of having to read or be near books.
A person with bibliophobia may understand that the fear is extreme, but not be able to control it.
Books are almost everywhere, and it’s difficult to avoid them in everyday life. Bibliophobia can cause significant stress and even physical symptoms. The condition can affect a person’s education, social experiences and career path.
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How common is bibliophobia?
It’s hard knowing exactly how many people have a specific phobia, like bibliophobia (fear of books). Many people may keep this fear to themselves or may not recognize they have it. We do know that about 1 in 10 American adults and 1 in 5 teenagers will deal with a specific phobia disorder at some point in their lives, though.
Are there different types of bibliophobia?
Bibliophobia may be related to other specific phobias, including:
- Arithmophobia, fear of numbers.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, fear of long words.
- Logophobia, fear of words.
- Metrophobia, fear of poetry.
- Mythophobia, fear of legends, which may be in written form.
- Scolionophobia, fear of school.
FAQs
Bibliophobia is an intense fear of books. The condition is a specific phobia (fear), which is a type of anxiety disorder. A person with bibliophobia might fear all books or only a specific kind, such as textbooks or children's books.
How do you treat Bibliophobia? ›
Treating Bibliophobia
Exposure therapy is a common treatment for phobias in which you are exposed to the object of your fear in a safe, controlled environment to help you overcome the fear and break the cycle of avoidance. It's also used for conditions like PTSD and OCD.
What is a sentence for bibliophobia? ›
Bibliophobia is a common cause of censorship and book burning.
Is bibliophobia rare? ›
It could be caused due to congenital abnormalities. Bibliophobia is the fear of books. It is a rare disorder in which a person starts developing a fear of books. Bibliophobia could be of many types.
What is a Bibliophobia called? ›
Philophobia — a fear of love — can negatively affect your ability to have meaningful relationships. A painful breakup, divorce, abandonment or rejection during childhood or adulthood may make you afraid to fall in love.
How can I stop my phobia? ›
10 ways to fight your fears
- Take time out. It's difficult to think clearly when you feel scared or anxious. ...
- Breathe through panic. ...
- Face your fears. ...
- Remember that anxiety isn't harmful. ...
- Challenge unhelpful thoughts. ...
- Don't try to be perfect. ...
- Visualise a happy place. ...
- Talk about it.
Physical reactions to anxiety include the release of adrenaline (“fight or flight reaction”) and physical symptoms, such as sweating, feeling shaky or faint, a pounding heart, rapid breathing, “butterflies” in the stomach, a tension headache, a stomachache, or even throwing up.
What is fear of water called? ›
Aquaphobia is a fear of water. People with aquaphobia have severe fear when they see or think about water. They may be afraid of baths or showers, drinking water, large bodies of water or swimming pools.
What is the fear of running out of books called? ›
'Abibliophobia' is the fear of running out of reading material.
What is fear of pain called? ›
Algophobia, also called agliophobia, is an extreme, irrational, overwhelming and persistent fear of physical pain. Although no one wants to experience pain, someone with algophobia will experience intense feelings of fear, anxiety or panic when in pain, at the thought of being in pain or the memory of being in pain.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia refers to the phobia or fear of long words. Feelings of shame or fear of ridicule for mispronouncing long words may cause distress or anxiety. Phobia isn't officially recognized as a diagnosis, so more research is needed.
Is it rare to have two phobias? ›
Phobias can develop around any object or situation. Some people may experience multiple phobias.
What are the 4 big phobias? ›
Five of the most common phobias include arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes), glossophobia (the fear of public speaking), acrophobia (the fear of heights), and social phobia (the fear of social interactions).
What is octophobia? ›
Octophobia is an intense, irrational fear of the number 8. It's a type of specific phobia, which is a kind of anxiety disorder. Because numbers are everywhere, octophobia can have serious consequences for education, career, daily functioning and personal relationships.
What is carnophobia? ›
The extreme and irrational fear of meat is called Carnophobia. This phobia is not only restricted to vegetarians, it also affects a variety of people for many different reasons.
