Automysophobia: Fear of Being Dirty, and other Social Phobias

Once a while, among the top googled items there are some, not related to sport, politics, celebrities, or hot news. The term automysophobia, which came yesterday to the top listing, represents one of these rare cases. I have to admit that the word was not familiar, but based on the common sense, I suspected that it is one of the multiple types of phobias, nested in all people in bigger or smaller dozes. However, my first guess that it is related to the fear of cars, proved to be wrong.

Automysophobia is a defined as a morbid fear of being dirty. The word comes to us from the Greek. It is widely known that the prefix "auto" refers to the self, and "mysos" means dirt. With automysophobia, what the patient is actually afraid of is not the garden variety of dirt but his own actual physical dirt.

As an automysophobic senses that he is being perceived dirty or as having body odor he starts exhibiting full spectrum of symptoms related to anxiety. That dread of being dirty can lead to breathlessness, dizziness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, nausea, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to think clearly, a fear of dying, becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack.

The mechanism is similar to all other phobias. As norepinephrine is released into the blood a fight or flight situation is created. Heart beat increases, palms sweat, throat becomes dry and patient starts shaking. If the attack is not stopped in its wake, it transforms into full fledge panic attack.

This type of patient also becomes depressed from the limitations his phobia poses on him. Another common symptom is the loss of interest in whatever is going on in the world around him, also called anhedonia.

Because of their obsession with personal cleanliness, automysophobia often subjects its victims to obsessive compulsive disorder. The persistent urge to bathe and clean can intrude into all areas of his life.

This phobia often actually falls into the broad category of social anxiety disorders. The patient develops a fear of being dirty that is morbid, which means that the fear itself causes the patient to be unwell. Because his fear revolves around the way he will appear and smell to others, he cannot stand the idea of socializing. He has an unrelenting sense that he is socially unacceptable. He worries alternately that he will disgust others or that they will make fun of him. Just the thought creates such dread that he lashes out at family members who encourage him to mingle with others.

Treatment

This is best treated with anti-anxiety medication and especially behavior therapy. Behavior therapy, or cognitive-behavior therapy, helps the patient to realize that this is just a phobia and not a fact. Therapy must come from a trained professional in order to individualize the treatment with the right anti-anxiety medication for a given person. The patient should understand that no medication will eliminate his phobia, but it will help him to deal with it.

It is also beneficial for the patient to have a physical exam by a medical doctor so that the patient understands that there is no medical reason to assume that he is dirty or that he smells bad. The therapist also must devote months to teaching the patient that his symptoms are nothing more than sensations with no physical basis, and bringing him to the point at which he can interact socially without incident.

Other Social Phobias

If you think that the fear of being dirty is the weirdest thing you have heard, you are dead wrong. The social phobias are covering all the possible elements of the human existence, and some of them are not easy to even imagine (for example, fear for a beautiful women).

The list of all phobias that people experience is extensive. However, there are a few that are more prominent in society than others. These include (classified by the first letter of the word):
-A-

Ablutophobia - Fear of washing or bathing.
Acarophobia - Fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching.
Acerophobia - Fear of sourness.
Achluophobia - Fear of darkness.
Acousticophobia - Fear of noise.
Acrophobia - Fear of heights.
Aerophobia - Fear of drafts, air swallowing, or airborne noxious substances.
Aeroacrophobia - Fear of open high places.
Aeronausiphobia - Fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness.
Agateophobia - Fear of insanity.
Agliophobia - Fear of pain.
Agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like markets. Fear of leaving a safe place.
Agraphobia - Fear of sexual abuse.
Agrizoophobia - Fear of wild animals.
Agyrophobia - Fear of streets or crossing the street.
Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects.
Ailurophobia - Fear of cats.
Albuminurophobia - Fear of kidney disease.
Alektorophobia - Fear of chickens.
Algophobia - Fear of pain.
Alliumphobia - Fear of garlic.
Allodoxaphobia - Fear of opinions.
Altophobia - Fear of heights.
Amathophobia - Fear of dust.
Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car.
Ambulophobia - Fear of walking.
Amnesiphobia - Fear of amnesia.
Amychophobia - Fear of scratches or being scratched.
Anablephobia - Fear of looking up.
Ancraophobia - Fear of wind. (Anemophobia)
Androphobia - Fear of men.
Anemophobia - Fear of air drafts or wind. (Ancraophobia)
Anginophobia - Fear of angina, choking or narrowness.
Anglophobia - Fear of England or English culture, etc.
Angrophobia - Fear of anger or of becoming angry.
Ankylophobia - Fear of immobility of a joint.
Anthrophobia or Anthophobia - Fear of flowers.
Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society.
Antlophobia - Fear of floods.
Anuptaphobia - Fear of staying single.
Apeirophobia - Fear of infinity.
Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia)
Apiphobia - Fear of bees.
Apotemnophobia - Fear of persons with amputations.
Arachibutyrophobia - Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.
Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders.
Arithmophobia - Fear of numbers.
Arrhenphobia - Fear of men.
Arsonphobia - Fear of fire.
Asthenophobia - Fear of fainting or weakness.
Astraphobia or Astrapophobia - Fear of thunder and lightning. (Ceraunophobia, Keraunophobia)
Astrophobia - Fear of stars or celestial space.
Asymmetriphobia - Fear of asymmetrical things.
Ataxiophobia - Fear of ataxia. (muscular incoordination).
Ataxophobia - Fear of disorder or untidiness.
Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection.
Atephobia - Fear of ruin or ruins.
Athazagoraphobia - Fear of being forgotten or ignored or forgetting.
Atomosophobia - Fear of atomic explosions.
Atychiphobia - Fear of failure.
Aulophobia - Fear of flutes.
Aurophobia - Fear of gold.
Auroraphobia - Fear of Northern lights.
Autodysomophobia - Fear of one that has a vile odor.
Automatonophobia - Fear of ventriloquist's dummies, animatronic creatures, wax statues - anything that falsely represents a sentient being
Autophobia - Fear of being alone or of oneself.
Aviophobia or Aviatophobia - Fear of flying.
B-

Bacillophobia - Fear of microbes.
Bacteriophobia - Fear of bacteria.
Ballistophobia - Fear of missiles or bullets.
Bolshephobia - Fear of Bolsheviks.
Barophobia - Fear of gravity.
Basophobia or Basiphobia - Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling.
Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
Bathophobia - Fear of depth.
Batophobia - Fear of heights or being close to high buildings.
Batrachophobia - Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.
Belonephobia - Fear of pins and needles. (Aichmophobia)
Bibliophobia - Fear of books.
Blennophobia - Fear of slime.
Bogyphobia - Fear of bogeys or the bogeyman.
Botanophobia - Fear of plants.
Bromidrosiphobia or Bromidrophobia - Fear of body smells.
Brontophobia - Fear of thunder and lightning.
Bufonophobia - Fear of toads.

C-

Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness.
Cainophobia or Cainotophobia - Fear of newness, novelty.
Caligynephobia - Fear of beautiful women.
Cancerophobia or Carcinophobia - Fear of cancer.
Cardiophobia - Fear of the heart.
Carnophobia - Fear of meat.
Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed.
Catapedaphobia - Fear of jumping from high and low places.
Cathisophobia - Fear of sitting.
Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors.
Cenophobia or Centophobia - Fear of new things or ideas.
Ceraunophobia or Keraunophobia - Fear of thunder and lightning. (Astraphobia, Astrapophobia).
Chaetophobia - Fear of hair.
Cheimaphobia or Cheimatophobia - Fear of cold. (Frigophobia, Psychophobia).
Chemophobia - Fear of chemicals or working with chemicals.
Cherophobia - Fear of gaiety.
Chionophobia - Fear of snow.
Chiraptophobia - Fear of being touched.
Chirophobia - Fear of hands.
Cholerophobia - Fear of anger or the Fear of cholera.
Chorophobia - Fear of dancing.
Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia - Fear of money.
Chromophobia or Chromatophobia - Fear of colors.
Chronophobia - Fear of time.
Chronomentrophobia - Fear of clocks.
Cibophobia - Fear of food. (Sitophobia, Sitiophobia)
Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces.
Cleithrophobia or Cleisiophobia - Fear of being locked in an enclosed place.
Cleptophobia - Fear of stealing.
Climacophobia - Fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs.
Clinophobia - Fear of going to bed.
Clithrophobia or Cleithrophobia - Fear of being enclosed.
Cnidophobia - Fear of stings.
Cometophobia - Fear of comets.
Coimetrophobia - Fear of cemeteries.
Coitophobia - Fear of coitus.
Contreltophobia - Fear of sexual abuse.
Coprastasophobia - Fear of constipation.
Coprophobia - Fear of feces.
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
Counterphobia - The preference by a phobic for Fearful situations.
Cremnophobia - Fear of precipices.
Cryophobia - Fear of extreme cold, ice or frost.
Crystallophobia - Fear of crystals or glass.
Cyberphobia - Fear of computers or working on a computer.
Cyclophobia - Fear of bicycles.
Cymophobia or Kymophobia - Fear of waves or wave like motions.
Cynophobia - Fear of dogs or rabies.
Cypridophobia or Cypriphobia or Cyprianophobia or Cyprinophobia - Fear of prostitutes or venereal disease.

D-

Decidophobia - Fear of making decisions.
Defecaloesiophobia - Fear of painful bowels movements.
Deipnophobia - Fear of dining or dinner conversations.
Dementophobia - Fear of insanity.
Demonophobia or Daemonophobia - Fear of demons.
Demophobia - Fear of crowds. (Agoraphobia).
Dendrophobia - Fear of trees.
Dentophobia - Fear of dentists.
Dermatophobia - Fear of skin lesions.
Dermatosiophobia or Dermatophobia or Dermatopathophobia - Fear of skin disease.
Dextrophobia - Fear of objects at the right side of the body.
Diabetophobia - Fear of diabetes.
Didaskaleinophobia - Fear of going to school.
Dikephobia - Fear of justice.
Dinophobia - Fear of dizziness or whirlpools.
Diplophobia - Fear of double vision.
Dipsophobia - Fear of drinking.
Dishabiliophobia - Fear of undressing in front of someone.
Domatophobia - Fear of houses or being in a house. (Eicophobia, Oikophobia).
Doraphobia - Fear of fur or skins of animals.
Doxophobia - Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise.
Dromophobia - Fear of crossing streets.
Dutchphobia - Fear of the Dutch.
Dysmorphophobia - Fear of deformity.
Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents.

E-

Ecclesiophobia - Fear of church.
Ecophobia - Fear of home.
Eicophobia - Fear of home surroundings. (Domatophobia, Oikophobia).
Eisoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors or of seeing oneself in a mirror.
Electrophobia - Fear of electricity.
Eleutherophobia - Fear of freedom.
Elurophobia - Fear of cats. (Ailurophobia)
Emetophobia - Fear of vomiting.
Enetophobia - Fear of pins.
Enochlophobia - Fear of crowds.
Enosiophobia or Enissophobia - Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism.
Entomophobia - Fear of insects.
Eosophobia - Fear of dawn or daylight.
Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers.
Epistaxiophobia - Fear of nosebleeds.
Epistemophobia - Fear of knowledge.
Equinophobia - Fear of horses.
Eremophobia - Fear of being oneself or of loneliness.
Ereuthrophobia - Fear of blushing.
Ergasiophobia- 1) Fear of work or functioning. 2) Surgeon's Fear of operating.
Ergophobia - Fear of work.
Erotophobia - Fear of sexual love or sexual questions.
Euphobia - Fear of hearing good news.
Eurotophobia - Fear of female genitalia.
Erythrophobia or Erytophobia or Ereuthophobia - Fear of red lights.

F-

Febriphobia or Fibriphobia or Fibriophobia - Fear of fever.
Felinophobia - Fear of cats. (Ailurophobia, Elurophobia, Galeophobia, Gatophobia).
Francophobia - Fear of France or French culture. (Gallophobia, Galiophobia).
Frigophobia - Fear of cold or cold things.(Cheimaphobia, Cheimatophobia, Psychrophobia).

G-

Galeophobia or Gatophobia - Fear of cats.
Gallophobia or Galiophobia - Fear France or French culture. (Francophobia)
Gamophobia - Fear of marriage.
Geliophobia - Fear of laughter.
Geniophobia - Fear of chins.
Genophobia - Fear of sex.
Genuphobia - Fear of knees.
Gephyrophobia or Gephydrophobia or Gephysrophobia - Fear of crossing bridges.
Germanophobia - Fear of Germany or German culture.
Gerascophobia - Fear of growing old.
Gerontophobia - Fear of old people or of growing old.
Geumaphobia or Geumophobia - Fear of taste.
Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
Gnosiophobia - Fear of knowledge.
Graphophobia - Fear of writing or handwriting.
Gymnophobia - Fear of nudity.
Gynephobia or Gynophobia - Fear of women.

H-
Hadephobia - Fear of hell.
Hagiophobia - Fear of saints or holy things.
Hamartophobia - Fear of sinning.
Haphephobia or Haptephobia - Fear of being touched.
Harpaxophobia - Fear of being robbed.
Hedonophobia - Fear of feeling pleasure.
Heliophobia - Fear of the sun.
Hellenologophobia - Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology.
Helminthophobia - Fear of being infested with worms.
Hemophobia or Hemaphobia or Hematophobia - Fear of blood.
Heresyphobia or Hereiophobia - Fear of challenges to official doctrine or of radical deviation.
Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things.
Heterophobia - Fear of the opposite sex. (Sexophobia).
Hierophobia - Fear of priests or sacred things.
Hippophobia - Fear of horses.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - Fear of long words.
Hobophobia - Fear of bums or beggars.
Hodophobia - Fear of road travel.
Hormephobia - Fear of shock.
Homichlophobia - Fear of fog.
Homilophobia - Fear of sermons.
Hominophobia - Fear of men.
Homophobia - Fear of sameness, monotony or of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual.
Hoplophobia - Fear of firearms.
Hydrargyophobia - Fear of mercurial medicines.
Hydrophobia - Fear of water or of rabies.
Hydrophobophobia - Fear of rabies.
Hyelophobia or Hyalophobia - Fear of glass.
Hygrophobia - Fear of liquids, dampness, or moisture.
Hylephobia - Fear of materialism or the Fear of epilepsy.
Hylophobia - Fear of forests.
Hypengyophobia or Hypegiaphobi a- Fear of responsibility.
Hypnophobia - Fear of sleep or of being hypnotized.
Hypsiphobia - Fear of height.

I-
Iatrophobia - Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors.
Ichthyophobia - Fear of fish.
Ideophobia - Fear of ideas.
Illyngophobia - Fear of vertigo or feeling dizzy when looking down.
Iophobia - Fear of poison.
Insectophobia - Fear of insects.
Isolophobia - Fear of solitude, being alone.
Isopterophobia - Fear of termites, insects that eat wood.
Ithyphallophobia - Fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis.

J-

Japanophobia - Fear of Japanese.
Judeophobia - Fear of Jews.

K-

Kainolophobia or Kainophobia - Fear of anything new, novelty.
Kakorrhaphiophobia - Fear of failure or defeat.
Katagelophobia - Fear of ridicule.
Kathisophobia - Fear of sitting down.
Kenophobia - Fear of voids or empty spaces.
Keraunophobia or Ceraunophobia - Fear of thunder and lightning.(Astraphobia, Astrapophobia).
Kinetophobia or Kinesophobia - Fear of movement or motion.
Kleptophobia - Fear of stealing.
Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms.
Kolpophobia - Fear of genitals, particularly female.
Kopophobia - Fear of fatigue.
Koniophobia - Fear of dust. (Amathophobia).
Kosmikophobia - Fear of cosmic phenomenon.
Kymophobia - Fear of waves. (Cymophobia).
Kynophobia - Fear of rabies.
Kyphophobia - Fear of stooping.

L-

Lachanophobia - Fear of vegetables.
Laliophobia or Lalophobia - Fear of speaking.
Leprophobia or Lepraphobia - Fear of leprosy.
Leukophobia - Fear of the color white.
Levophobia - Fear of things to the left side of the body.
Ligyrophobia - Fear of loud noises.
Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.
Limnophobia - Fear of lakes.
Linonophobia - Fear of string.
Liticaphobia - Fear of lawsuits.
Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth.
Logizomechanophobia - Fear of computers.
Logophobia - Fear of words.
Luiphobia - Fear of syphilis.
Lutraphobia - Fear of otters.
Lygophobia - Fear of darkness.
Lyssophobia - Fear of rabies or of becoming mad.

M-

Macrophobia - Fear of long waits.
Mageirocophobia - Fear of cooking.
Maieusiophobia - Fear of childbirth.
Malaxophobia - Fear of love play. (Sarmassophobia).
Maniaphobia - Fear of insanity.
Mastigophobia - Fear of punishment.
Mechanophobia - Fear of machines.
Medomalacuphobia - Fear of losing an erection.
Medorthophobia - Fear of an erect penis.
Megalophobia - Fear of large things.
Melissophobia - Fear of bees.
Melanophobia - Fear of the color black.
Melophobia - Fear or hatred of music.
Meningitophobia - Fear of brain disease.
Menophobia - Fear of menstruation.
Merinthophobia - Fear of being bound or tied up.
Metallophobia - Fear of metal.
Metathesiophobia - Fear of changes.
Meteorophobia - Fear of meteors.
Methyphobia - Fear of alcohol.
Metrophobia - Fear or hatred of poetry.
Microbiophobia - Fear of microbes. (Bacillophobia).
Microphobia- Fear of small things.
Misophobia or Mysophobia - Fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs.
Mnemophobia - Fear of memories.
Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia - Fear of dirt or contamination.
Monophobia - Fear of solitude or being alone.
Monopathophobia - Fear of definite disease.
Motorphobia - Fear of automobiles.
Mottephobia - Fear of moths.
Musophobia or Muriphobia - Fear of mice.
Mycophobia - Fear or aversion to mushrooms.
Mycrophobia - Fear of small things.
Myctophobia - Fear of darkness.
Myrmecophobia - Fear of ants.
Mythophobia - Fear of myths or stories or false statements.
Myxophobia - Fear of slime. (Blennophobia).

N-

Nebulaphobia - Fear of fog. (Homichlophobia).
Necrophobia- Fear of death or dead things.
Nelophobia - Fear of glass.
Neopharmaphobia - Fear of new drugs.
Neophobia - Fear of anything new.
Nephophobia - Fear of clouds.
Noctiphobia - Fear of the night.
Nomatophobia - Fear of names.
Nosocomephobi a- Fear of hospitals.
Nosophobia or Nosemaphobia - Fear of becoming ill.
Nostophobia - Fear of returning home.
Novercaphobia - Fear of your step-mother.
Nucleomituphobia - Fear of nuclear weapons.
Nudophobia - Fear of nudity.
Numerophobia - Fear of numbers.
Nyctohylophobia - Fear of dark wooded areas or of forests at night.
Nyctophobia - Fear of the dark or of night.

O-

Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight.(Pocrescophobia).
Ochlophobia - Fear of crowds or mobs.
Ochophobia - Fear of vehicles.
Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8.
Odontophobia - Fear of teeth or dental surgery.
Odynophobia or Odynephobia - Fear of pain. (Algophobia).
Oenophobia - Fear of wines.
Oikophobia - Fear of home surroundings, house.(Domatophobia, Eicophobia).
Olfactophobia - Fear of smells.
Ombrophobia - Fear of rain or of being rained on.
Ommetaphobia or Ommatophobia - Fear of eyes.
Oneirophobia - Fear of dreams.
Oneirogmophobia - Fear of wet dreams.
Onomatophobia - Fear of hearing a certain word or of names.
Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes. (Snakephobia).
Ophthalmophobia - Fear of being stared at.
Opiophobia - Fear medical doctors experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients.
Optophobia - Fear of opening one's eyes.
Ornithophobia - Fear of birds.
Orthophobia - Fear of property.
Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia - Fear of smells or odors.
Ostraconophobia - Fear of shellfish.
Ouranophobia or Uranophobia - Fear of heaven.

P-

Pagophobia - Fear of ice or frost.
Panthophobia - Fear of suffering and disease.
Panophobia or Pantophobia - Fear of everything.
Papaphobia - Fear of the Pope.
Papyrophobia - Fear of paper.
Paralipophobia - Fear of neglecting duty or responsibility.
Paraphobia - Fear of sexual perversion.
Parasitophobia - Fear of parasites.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia - Fear of Friday the 13th.
Parthenophobia - Fear of virgins or young girls.
Pathophobia - Fear of disease.
Patroiophobia - Fear of heredity.
Parturiphobia - Fear of childbirth.
Peccatophobia - Fear of sinning or imaginary crimes.
Pediculophobia - Fear of lice.
Pediophobia - Fear of dolls.
Pedophobia - Fear of children.
Peladophobia - Fear of bald people.
Pellagrophobia - Fear of pellagra.
Peniaphobia - Fear of poverty.
Pentheraphobia - Fear of mother-in-law. (Novercaphobia).
Phagophobia - Fear of swallowing or of eating or of being eaten.
Phalacrophobia - Fear of becoming bald.
Phallophobia - Fear of a penis, esp. erect.
Pharmacophobia - Fear of taking medicine.
Phasmophobia - Fear of ghosts.
Phengophobia - Fear of daylight or sunshine.
Philemaphobia or Philematophobia - Fear of kissing.
Philophobia - Fear of falling in love or being in love.
Philosophobia - Fear of philosophy.
Phobophobia - Fear of phobias.
Photoaugliaphobia - Fear of glaring lights.
Photophobia - Fear of light.
Phonophobia - Fear of noises or voices or one's own voice; of telephones.
Phronemophobia - Fear of thinking.
Phthiriophobia - Fear of lice. (Pediculophobia).
Phthisiophobia - Fear of tuberculosis.
Placophobia - Fear of tombstones.
Plutophobia - Fear of wealth.
Pluviophobia - Fear of rain or of being rained on.
Pneumatiphobia - Fear of spirits.
Pnigophobia or Pnigerophobia - Fear of choking of being smothered.
Pocrescophobia - Fear of gaining weight. (Obesophobia).
Pogonophobia - Fear of beards.
Poliosophobia - Fear of contracting poliomyelitis.
Politicophobia - Fear or abnormal dislike of politicians.
Polyphobia - Fear of many things.
Poinephobia - Fear of punishment.
Ponophobia - Fear of overworking or of pain.
Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple.
Potamophobia - Fear of rivers or running water.
Potophobia - Fear of alcohol.
Pharmacophobia - Fear of drugs.
Proctophobia - Fear of rectums.
Prosophobia - Fear of progress.
Psellismophobia - Fear of stuttering.
Psychophobia - Fear of mind.
Psychrophobia - Fear of cold.
Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying.
Pteronophobia - Fear of being tickled by feathers.
Pupaphobia - Fear of puppets.
Pyrexiophobia - Fear of Fever.
Pyrophobia - Fear of fire.

R-

Radiophobia - Fear of radiation, x-rays.
Ranidaphobia - Fear of frogs.
Rectophobia - Fear of rectum or rectal diseases.
Rhabdophobia - Fear of being severely punished or beaten by a rod, or of being severely criticized. Also Fear of magic.
Rhypophobia - Fear of defecation.
Rhytiphobia - Fear of getting wrinkles.
Rupophobia - Fear of dirt.
Russophobia - Fear of Russians.

S-

Samhainophobia - Fear of Halloween.
Sarmassophobia - Fear of love play. (Malaxophobia).
Satanophobia - Fear of Satan.
Scabiophobia - Fear of scabies.
Scatophobia - Fear of fecal matter.
Scelerophibia - Fear of bad men, burglars.
Sciophobia Sciaphobia - Fear of shadows.
Scoleciphobia - Fear of worms.
Scolionophobia - Fear of school.
Scopophobia or Scoptophobia - Fear of being seen or stared at.
Scotomaphobia - Fear of blindness in visual field.
Scotophobia - Fear of darkness. (Achluophobia).
Scriptophobia - Fear of writing in public.
Selachophobia - Fear of sharks.
Selaphobia - Fear of light flashes.
Selenophobia - Fear of the moon.
Seplophobia - Fear of decaying matter.
Sesquipedalophobia - Fear of long words.
Sexophobia - Fear of the opposite sex. (Heterophobia).
Siderodromophobia - Fear of trains, railroads or train travel.
Siderophobia - Fear of stars.
Sinistrophobia - Fear of things to the left or left-handed.
Sinophobia - Fear of Chinese, Chinese culture.
Sitophobia or Sitiophobia - Fear of food or eating. (Cibophobia).
Snakephobia - Fear of snakes. (Ophidiophobia).
Soceraphobia - Fear of parents-in-law.
Social Phobia - Fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations.
Sociophobia - Fear of society or people in general.
Somniphobia - Fear of sleep.
Sophophobia - Fear of learning.
Soteriophobia - Fear of dependence on others.
Spacephobia - Fear of outer space.
Spectrophobia - Fear of specters or ghosts.
Spermatophobia or Spermophobia - Fear of germs.
Spheksophobia - Fear of wasps.
Stasibasiphobia or Stasiphobia - Fear of standing or walking. (Ambulophobia).
Staurophobia - Fear of crosses or the crucifix.
Stenophobia - Fear of narrow things or places.
Stygiophobia or Stigiophobia - Fear of hell.
Suriphobia - Fear of mice.
Symbolophobia - Fear of symbolism.
Symmetrophobia - Fear of symmetry.
Syngenesophobia - Fear of relatives.
Syphilophobia - Fear of syphilis.

T-

Tachophobia - Fear of speed.
Taeniophobia or Teniophobia - Fear of tapeworms.
Taphephobia Taphophobia - Fear of being buried alive or of cemeteries.
Tapinophobia - Fear of being contagious.
Taurophobia - Fear of bulls.
Technophobia - Fear of technology.
Teleophobia - Fear of definite plans.
Telephonophobia - Fear of telephones.
Teratophobia - Fear of bearing a deformed child or Fear of monsters or deformed people.
Testophobia - Fear of taking tests.
Tetanophobia - Fear of lockjaw, tetanus.
Teutophobia - Fear of German or German things.
Textophobia - Fear of certain fabrics.
Thaasophobia - Fear of sitting.
Thalassophobia - Fear of the sea.
Thanatophobia or Thantophobia - Fear of death or dying.
Theatrophobia - Fear of theatres.
Theologicophobia - Fear of theology.
Theophobia - Fear of gods or religion.
Thermophobia - Fear of heat.
Tocophobia - Fear of pregnancy or childbirth.
Tomophobia - Fear of surgical operations.
Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder.
Topophobia - Fear of certain places or situations, such as stage fright.
Toxiphobia or Toxophobia or Toxicophobia - Fear of poison or of being accidently poisoned.
Traumatophobia - Fear of injury.
Tremophobia - Fear of trembling.
Trichinophobia - Fear of trichinosis.
Trichopathophobia or Trichophobia - Fear of hair. (Chaetophobia, Hypertrichophobia)
Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the number 13.
Tropophobia - Fear of moving or making changes.
Trypanophobia - Fear of injections.
Tuberculophobia - Fear of tuberculosis.
Tyrannophobia - Fear of tyrants.

U-

Uranophobia or Ouranophobia - Fear of heaven.
Urophobia - Fear of urine or urinating.

V-

Vaccinophobia - Fear of vaccination.
Venustraphobia - Fear of beautiful women.
Verbophobia - Fear of words.
Verminophobia - Fear of germs.
Vestiphobia - Fear of clothing.
Virginitiphobia - Fear of rape.
Vitricophobia - Fear of step-father.

W-

Walloonphobia - Fear of the Walloons.
Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft.

X-

Xanthophobia - Fear of the color yellow or the word yellow.
Xenoglossophobia - Fear of foreign languages.
Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners.
Xerophobia - Fear of dryness.
Xylophobia - Fear of wooden objects.
Xyrophobia - Fear of razors.

Z-

Zelophobia - Fear of jealousy.
Zeusophobia - Fear of God or gods.
Zemmiphobia - Fear of the great mole rat.
Zoophobia - Fear of animals
Sources and Additional Information:
http://www.makli.com/automysophobia-0011951/
http://scarlett-journey.net/2009/11/03/automysophobia/
http://ezinearticles.com/?Automysophobia---What-is-This-Dirty-Phobia?&id=2248186
http://www.phobias-help.com/complete_list_of_phobias.html
http://www.phobialist.com/treat.html

Hot Trends are Shrinking from 100 to 40

In modern world, all the changes happen fast. About a month ago, overnight, the URL for this blog became outdated, as Google limited the listing for Hot Trends from 100 items to 40 only.

There is an official notification at the official Google Blog (9/28/2009):

Today, we're launching a new web search feature that will help you stay in touch with the latest trends on the web.

You might already be familiar with Hot Trends, which lists the fastest rising searches on the web at any given hour. Now, when you search Google.com and your query matches one of the top 100 fastest-rising search terms, we'll show you a graph at the bottom of page, with more information — like how popular the query is, how fast it's rising over time, and other useful data.

To coincide with this change, we've also reduced the number of trends listed on the Google Hot Trends homepage to 40 from 100. This feature, however, will show up for any query that matches the top 100. We hope this change will make for a simpler user experience, and help you focus better on the top, most interesting content.

This new feature is available in the U.S. and Japan. We hope it will help you keep up with everything there's to know about the latest trends online. No more being out of the loop at your office watercooler!

So, the new feature will add enormous visibility to the search strings, making to the top, intensifying the traffic to the items, which are already hot.

Killing Albino People for Profit in Tanzania

Quite unusual search term for albino people captured the top of the Google Hot Trends yesterday after   cruel assassination of an innocent Albino boy in Tanzania. The boy was hanged in ordinary way like an open execution. His legs were caught to make this happen more disgustful.

The Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) has called for the men found guilty of killing an albino boy to be hanged publicly as a warning to others.

A court sentenced them to death for attacking the boy and severing his legs for use in witchdoctors' potions.

The BBC's John Ngahyoma in Dar es Salaam says there are more than 100 people on death row, but no-one has been executed in more than 15 years. But TAS chairman Ernest Kimaya urged the president to endorse the sentence.

"I want other perpetrators to learn - seeing is believing," he told the BBC.

Mr Kimaya told Tanzania's Citizen newspaper that a public execution would also "show that the government is serious in its war on albino killers".

In the past two years, 53 albino people have been murdered in Tanzania. For example, one teacher in the northern town of Arusha has been arrested for killing his own child, who was albino. As well as the four killings, the body of an albino has also been exhumed. It was found with its limbs cut off.

Albino people, who lack pigment in their skin and appear pale, are killed because potions made from their body parts are believed to bring good luck and wealth. Renegade witch doctors have convinced locals that there are magical properties in the blood, bones and skin of people with albinism, which has created a sickening black market where the limb of an albino can bring in anywhere from $500 to $2,000. In a country where the per capita income is roughly $450 a year, that's a macabre fortune.

The Tanzanian government has publicly stated its desire to end the killings. In March, President Jakaya Kikwete called on Tanzanians to come forward with any information they might have.

Reprisal fears

Officials banned witchdoctors from practicing, however many have continued to work. Many of Tanzania's estimated 17,000 albino people are now living in fear, especially in villages in the north-west where the majority of the murders have occurred. The case in Kahama on Wednesday was the first conviction in Tanzania for an albino killing.

Correspondents say there is also a fear of reprisal killings as witchdoctors and their clients wield a lot of power in their communities. Witchdoctors in Tanzania and other parts of East Africa have made tens of thousands of dollars from selling potions and other items made from the bones, hair, skin and genitals of dead albino people. They pay a lot of money for body parts.

In July a court in neighboring Burundi sentenced one person to life in prison and eight others to jail for the murder of albino people whose remains were sold in Tanzania.

Historical Perspectives

In the early 2000s similar incidents of trading in human organs were reported to have surfaced in the country. At that time six people were believed to have been killed and skinned in Mbeya Region, south-west of Tanzania.

There was, according to media reports, a high demand for human skin in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo and one human skin would sell at between Sh168,000 (approximately US$134.4) and Sh672,000 (approximately US$537.6) at the time.

Ever since independence in 1960, Tanzania has been known as a haven of peace and political stability. Yet, this fame is slowly fading away as rampant corruption, mismanagement of national resources, poverty, the cost of living and despicable crimes are also increasing.

Although superstitious beliefs may fall under the category of complex phenomena in the society, they are, however, about control and survival mechanisms. The more powerful one is the more influential and successful one is believed to become socially, economically and politically.

Sources and Additional Reading:

http://visualguidanceltd.blogspot.com/2009/09/bbc-news-africa-albino-killers-be.html

http://news.puggal.com/albinism-in-humans-8993/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7148673.stm

http://www.groundreport.com/Opinion/Superstitious-Albino-Killings-in-Tanzania-Must-Sto/2860945

Speed-up your Internet Explorer 10 times with Google plug-in

Would you like, if I tell you that I can double the speed of your Internet Explorer operations, and that would not cost you a dime? No, I really mean it. And it gets even more interesting, as the new script, developed by Google, can increase the Internet Explorer speed up to 10 times!!!

It would not be an overstatement to call it one of the more interesting developments in the web landscape to come about in some time, because it finally provides a real solution to the horror that is Internet Explorer. It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s an audacious start. If nothing else, it should give Microsoft a rather swift kick in the ass (thanks Jim Ray for this assessment).

On September 22, 2009, it was released on the Google website as an early version of Google Chrome Frame, an open source plug-in that brings HTML5 and other open web technologies to Internet Explorer.

Yes, computer geeks already tested the expected improvement in Microsoft Internet Explorer operations with Google Chrome Frame and found out that Internet Explorer indeed zips through JavaScript nearly 10 times faster than usual when Google's new Chrome Frame plug-in is partnered with the browser.

According to tests run by Computerworld, Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) with the plug-in was 9.6 times faster than IE8 on its own. Computerworld ran the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark suite three times each for IE8 with Chrome Frame, and IE8 without the plug-in, then averaged the scores.

Released Tuesday, Chrome Frame lets IE utilize the Chrome browser's WebKit rendering engine, as well as its high-performance V8 JavaScript engine. Google pitched the plug-in as a way to instantly improve the performance of the notoriously slow IE, and as a way for Web developers to support standards IE can't handle, such as HTML 5.

The extra speed and HTML 5 support are necessary, said Google, if IE users are to run advanced Web applications such as Google Wave, a collaboration and communications tool that debuted last May.

Notably, IE8's SunSpider scores with Chrome Frame running equaled Google's Chrome browser, a solid indication that the plug-in effectively turns any version of IE into the speed equivalent of Chrome itself.

In spite of the remarkable improvement in Microsoft application speed, it does not seem that the Microsoft is too happy getting the boost from one of the major rivals. Microsoft has scrambled to ruin Google's party, and warned users not to download the plug-in because, and you'll like this, it potentially compromises Internet Explorer 8 security, as reported by Ars Technica.

"It's not necessarily that plug-ins aren't or can't be secure, but that running a browser within a browser doubles the potential attack surface in a way that we don't see is particularly helpful," said Amy Bazdukas, Microsoft's general manager for IE.

Bazdukas also said that by running Chrome Frame, IE8 users were unwittingly discarding all the private browsing protections that Microsoft built into its newest browser.

"Chrome Frame breaks the privacy model of IE," she claimed. "Users are not going to be able to use IE's privacy features, something that's not made apparent to users. They're essentially circumvented."

Bazdukas also maintained that IE8's browser history deletion feature is crippled by Chrome Frame; users who decide to erase the history may think it's working when it's not.

In a statement earlier today, Microsoft said using Chrome Frame is not "a risk we would recommend our friends and families take." Bazdukas, however, got more specific. "We're not saying that there's a specific security vulnerability in Chrome Frame, but the concern that plug-ins in general have had regarding security issues adds a new potential threat when Chrome Frame is used. Users have told us that they're looking for a better and safer browser, and we can't see how [using Chrome Frame] will deliver that."

Bazdukas tied Google's release of Chrome Frame to its rival's desire to promote Wave, but at the expense of IE. "Chrome Frame is all about supporting the impending release of Google Wave," she argued.

More irritating to Microsoft, though, is that Google is trying to profit from IE's position as the world's leading browser. "Google hasn't been able to make an impact on market share with Chrome," said Bazdukas, "and so they've turned to alternate means. Chrome Frame would look to capitalize on the leadership position that we have."

According to the most recent data from Web metrics company Net Applications, IE accounted for 67% of all browsers used last month, with IE8 holding a 15% share on its own. Google's Chrome, meanwhile, controlled just 3% of the browser market in August. But Bazdukas declined to say whether Microsoft could or would somehow block Chrome Frame from being used with IE. "Our focus now is making sure that users understand the tradeoffs they're making if they use Chrome Frame," she said. "People expect that things like IE8's privacy mode [will] work as advertised."

Bazdukas also countered claims by Google that IE users demand faster JavaScript and want support for protocols such as HTML 5. "HTML 5 is not a completed standard," she noted. "We're working on it very actively, and we see a lot of promise in it. But it's premature to support it."

In the end, Microsoft knows what its users want better than Google, said Bazdukas. "The many years we've been in the browser business, we've been able to get a lot of feedback from users," she said. "And they've told us that they're looking for security, privacy and reliability. With IE8, we think we've done a great job at delivering those to customers."

Are you scared by the Microsoft warnings? So, wait for the battle to settle the accounts. I am not, and I am going to try the new plug-in, since I do not think the security danger is even comparable to the benefits you get from the browser improvement.

The Chrome Frame plug-in works with IE6, IE7 and IE8 on Windows XP and Windows Vista. It's available from Google's site as a free download.