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Styrofoam Phobia

According to Reference.com, phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorder. Studies have shown phobias to be the most common and second most common mental disorder in women and in men respectively. You probably even have a phobia yourself. Afraid of heights? Or maybe spiders? That's a phobia, and a person can have a phobia about anything under the sun, even Styrofoam.

  1. What is a phobia?

    • A phobia is technically defined by a few things, but basically it is the fear of something, whether that be touching it, eating it, seeing it, smelling it or all of the above. Phobias come in all shapes and sizes and are added to the official big book of disorders, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), after many people have reported them. Just because you haven't heard of the fear of jelly beans or dust mites doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and chances are it may already be a recognized, official phobia that thousands suffer from.

    Causes

    • Phobias may have many causes. Typically psychologists can help patients find the reason for the fear and work out some way to alleviate symptoms and even work through the fear all together. Evidence shows, according to American psychologist Martin Seligman, that people are genetically predispositioned to be afraid of certain things like snakes.

    Styrofoam Phobia

    • The fear of Styrofoam is not uncommon. According to Saviod Silva, this fear affects over 250,000 people in the United States alone. As with all phobias, the symptoms vary but usually include things like screaming, being uncomfortable, needing to leave the room, straight refusal to be near Styrofoam, shaking or hyperventilation.

    Why Styrofoam?

    • Styrofoam is apparently feared for a few reasons. According to Unusual Phobias, a fair amount of people report that it's the sound of Styrofoam that gets them, the squeak. They say that it is unbearable and they will request other forms of packaging for food if necessary. Others say they fear Styrofoam because it is expanded; these people also often report fears of things like popcorn, puffy cereal or meringues.

    The DSM-IV

    • It's important to remember that phobias don't always make sense and just because it hasn't made its way into the DSM-IV as a specified, named and recognized phobia does not mean it is not real and it certainly does not mean it will not be added at a later date.

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