Is there a phobia of long words?

We start this article by asking you a very simple test. Read the following term: “hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.” Now tell us, have you experienced any type of discomfort when encountering these 13 syllables? Tachycardia? Sweating? Stomachache? The phobia of long words exists and affects a small part of the population.

It is one of the strangest irrational fears that we find at a clinical level. Those who suffer from it usually become blocked when reading and writing. When they come across a sentence with words that are longer than usual, they experience marked anxiety and also a certain embarrassment. Next, we suggest you delve deeper into the topic.

A real clinical condition: the phobia of long words

Long word phobia defines the fear of seeing, reading or mispronouncing a term with many syllables. Now, beyond this being one of the most curious irrational fears, there is an obvious fact. People who suffer from this condition usually live it in silence and with the weight of stigma. It is not easy to understand or give truth to this phobic reaction.

It is estimated that this clinical reality may have its trigger in childhood. There are those who experienced the reading-writing process in a traumatic way and, perhaps, an effect of those days materializes in this way. However, it is not clear. In fact, most specific phobias have an unknown origin. Let’s see how it manifests itself.

Associated symptoms

According to a work published in Psychological Medicine, Specific phobias have a high prevalence among the population. Thus, although hypopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia as such is not described in the DSM-V, it would fall within this clinical category. Generally, the symptomatological picture that occurs is the following:

Physical symptoms: tachycardia, dizziness, sweating, dry mouth, etc.Emotional manifestations: The phobia of long words manifests itself with stress, discomfort, high anxiety, a feeling of loss of control, of danger, fear of being exposed, of making a fool of yourself, shame, etc. These emotional reactions motivate avoidance and escape behaviors, such as stopping reading, abandoning a task, etc.Cognitive symptoms: The person experiences confusion and mental blockage when seeing a word with many syllables. Not only does she feel threatened, she often experiences a sense of incompetence at not being able to cope with reading it. There is a clear rejection of any written expression that is too complex to pronounce.

What usually are the causes?

There is still no clear consensus on the origin of the phobia of long words. What’s more, some experts believe that it may actually be a social phobia. People with this type of irrational fear what they fear most is the judgment of others. Let’s look at the possible triggers.

Difficulties in learning to read and write

There are adults who have bad memories of the literacy learning process. Having had certain difficulties in this competition, added to a critical environment, tends to intensify this reality. Those taunts or pressure from the past unleash insecurity when reading long words or writing them. So much so that, sometimes, they even give up or avoid these tasks.

The fear of judgment is latent and this imprint reaches levels of high irrationality. They are afraid of being the object of attention, receiving derogatory comments and experiencing that same childhood anguish again.

Genetics

It is not easy to understand what causes a phobic disorder. However, Genetics is often a significant factor in developing these characteristics. Sometimes, having a father or mother with a fear of heights, dogs or any other reality acts as a risk variable.

As noted in a study published in The Lancet, phobias often begin in childhood and their incidence peaks during middle age. Having a family with this type of anxiety disorder can be a trigger.

Neurological factors

Learning & Memory magazine describes the neurological mechanisms that create pathological fears. Often behind a phobic patient is a highly activated amygdala. In the case of the phobia of long words, there is talk of another trigger in the regions linked to language.

Certain alterations in Wernike’s area would explain this difficulty when processing words with many syllables. The limitation in the coding, understanding and expression of these multisyllabic terms generates, in turn, anxiety and discomfort. All of this could build, little by little, the substrate of this very unique phobia.

How to handle this dysfunctional fear?

You may find it hard to believe that there are people who experience great discomfort when seeing very long words. However, he thinks that dysfunctional fears often stem from complex pasts. Of experiences that the brain processes in a traumatic way. This can cause patients to avoid reading and writing and to see their psychosocial life as very limited.

We are facing a real phobia that needs to be made visible. With this, we encourage men and women who experience it to seek specialized help. Many times, these types of conditions are accompanied by other psychological disorders that we must detect. Below, we detail which approach models are the most appropriate:

Virtual reality therapy: In some cases, this practice acts as a powerful controlled exposure tool to treat phobias. Nowadays it is used more and more.Systematic desensitization therapy: In this methodology there is also a gradual approach to the phobic trigger, as in exposure therapy, but in this case, it is combined with relaxation techniques to reduce adverse emotions.Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): The magazine F1000Research points out that this type of intervention is one of the most notable given its effectiveness. It allows you to replace the negative beliefs, schemes and mental approaches that build the phobia, with more rational and realistic perspectives.Exposure therapy: It is one of the most effective approaches to treating phobias. It consists of gradually exposing the patient to the situation they fear, in this case, reading long words. This allows you to master anxiety little by little, along with irrational thoughts, blocking, avoidance, etc.

The need to break stigmas with this phobia

Currently, around 470 specific phobias have been described. Some are as unique as anuptophobia or fear of being single or the fear of the number 13. The human mind is complex and often develops dysfunctional behavioral mechanisms. Suffering irrational anxiety when exposed to long words is real and is very limiting.

Let’s respect those who show this type of condition. What’s more, let’s try to be more sensitive and empathetic to behaviors that we find difficult to understand, since Behind a phobic patient there are tons of silenced discomfort. If this is your case, ask for help. If you have someone in your environment who deals with this suffering, be their ally and encourage them to consult a professional.

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