Maybe it’s because everyone is a bit stressed out about the H1N1 virus, but a very odd term has popped up on Google’s top trends this morning; automysophobia. What is automysophobia? It sounds like a made-up word, maybe a phobia of automobiles, but it’s a reality for many people.
Automysophobia, say that five times fast, is an abnormal fear of being dirty. Seriously, it’s the fear of not being clean. Many people face this fear day-in and day-out, and now with the swine flu scaring people many are letting their automysophobia overtake their lives.
According to WrongDiagnosis.com, this affliction can be disregarded and ignored by adults, but children and those with any other phobias or who deal with OCD have a tougher time. It’s not technically an illness, but it is an emotional state of mind that can affect the physical.
Those who suffer from automysophobia deal with spells of dizziness, trouble breathing, racing heart, and all of the symptoms that would come along with a panic attack. Imagine standing in line for an H1N1 vaccine with hundreds of other people if you suffer from this phobia. It would be unbearable!
