What is octophobia?
When you have a specific phobia (a type of anxiety disorder), it means you’re fearful of something that isn’t likely to harm you. Octophobia is an intense fear of the number 8 (eight).
People with octophobia experience anxiety when they think about or see the number 8. They may go to great lengths to avoid the number, including:
- Never going anywhere that has 8 in the address or on a street sign.
- Obsess about making sure that grocery receipts or restaurant tabs don’t add up to a total that includes the number 8.
- Try not to own eight of any particular item, such as eight shirts.
Numbers are everywhere, so octophobia can cause significant stress and even physical symptoms. A person with octophobia may understand that the fear isn’t reasonable, but they can’t control it. It may interfere with personal relationships, work responsibilities or everyday tasks (for example, paying bills and knowing what time it is).
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How common is fear of the number 8?
It’s hard knowing exactly how many people have a specific phobia, like octophobia. 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 other fears related to octophobia?
Octophobia is related to other fears involving numbers, including:
- Arithmophobia, also called numerophobia, which involves fear of numbers or math.
- Triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, which is more common in the United States than octophobia is.
- Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, fear of the number 666, which is associated with the devil.
