Believe it or not Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the name given to a phobia of long words -- sent to haunt the sufferer? This is an example of a specific phobia.  A specific phobia is an anxiety disorder that is based on a certain fear which is irrational, intense and persistent.  These fears are so intense that they can bring on panic and anxiety attack symptoms.

According to a recent newspaper report (The Times, Britain, Jan 08) Phillip Durkin, principal etymologist (the study of sources and development of words) for Oxford English Dictionary, said: “The hippopotomonstro part is clearly someone adding hippopotamus and monstrous.  It doesn’t really follow linguistic rules. It’s a sort of joke.  The label mocks the sufferer”.  You will find many a website with this monstrous word.

In the same article Robert Endelmann, psychologist and patron of the National Phobic Society said that it was not unusual for people to have unusual phobias and in fact phobias may have a deep rooted biological trigger.  For example it would have been useful for our ancestors to be afraid of such things as the dark, snakes or spiders.

Several British psychologists insisted that there is a phobia for almost everything.  Surprisingly Coulrophobia, a phobia of clowns, is particularly common, and not just among children.

 

 

Wouldn’t we all love to go back to our childhood at Christmas?  The excitement and anticipation of Christmas, the gifts Santa will bring and the eating of goodies not always allowed during the year.  For adults however, Christmas can be a time of stress and anything but jolly.  And too much stress can lead to us experiencing panic attack symptoms.

Can we afford the bikes the kids want? How can we attend the children’s nativity play and the work function on the same night?  You love the in-laws but just how long are they going to stay?  There’s not enough time…..

Rushed buying can mean that you end up with gifts and food that you can’t really afford.  Presents means credit card payments and extra debt.  Celebrating comes to mean laboring in the kitchen over a hot stove.

While a certain amount of stress can be helpful by challenging us and keeping us motivated too much can lead to a panic attack.  This is when the body feels under threat and goes into fight or flight mode and can be triggered by something as simple as a phone call at the wrong time.  Symptoms may include increased heart rate, rapid breathing, tense muscles and hypertension.  Emotions may be piqued and include irritability, anger, losing your temper, yelling and lack of concentration.

If you suffer from a panic attack try to calm yourself by stopping what you are doing, drop your shoulders, breathe out and stop for about 10 seconds, then normal breathing in for a count of three and out for a count of four.

Planning is vital at Christmas.  Make yourself a list and check it more than twice.  List what must be done and what you would like to, do but is not essential.  Make sure you do the important things first – shopping and meal planning.  Get someone else to do the things you don’t enjoy so much and share the load.

Make sure you take care of yourself by getting some regular exercise, eat fresh fruit, take a long bath and ‘don’t burn the candle at both ends’.  Try to get some relaxation each day until Christmas and when the day comes around enjoy the moment, hopefully free of any panic attack symptoms.