quippedaliophobia has nothing to do with a hippopotamus. It's a fear of long words.
Fears and phobias are very real and the mind is capable of developing them towards virtually anything or any situation.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is often considered funny or not real, but it is very real.
People suffering from it tend to experience a great deal of anxiety when faced with long words.
Most phobias are caused by an event that is recorded by parts of the brain as being dangerous or deadly. The body then reacts as if the event is bound to happen repeatedly. A person with a severe phobia is literally held a prisoner by his feelings of anxiety and panic and this is exactly what some people feel when they see long words.
School children (or in some cases even adults) might have been laughed at or been been embarrassed or found themselves scared when reading or pronouncing long words. Their mind then continues to create the same response at future encounters even though there might not be any basis for it.
Symptoms vary with the individual and they can be emotional or physical.
Many feel extreme anxiety or have a full blown panic attacks at the sight or thought of long words.
Physical symptoms include shaking, crying, running away, trembling, feeling nauseated, experiencing headaches, rapid or accelerated heartbeat and shallow breathing etc.
The person is likely to feel dread and terror as his mind creates a mental image of the person being embarrassed, faint or even passing out, etc.
Even if the person understands that his fear is irrational he is unable to control himself and is powerless to rationalize.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is another phobia with a long name. For some people symbols like the swastika or wiccan symbols instill fear in their minds and this phobia fear the number 666 and avoid talking or reading about it.
In the Christian religion the number 666 is representative of the Antichrist. a world leader controlled by Satan who reigns during the period prior to the return of Jesus. There is a verse in Revelation that states that 666 is the number of the name of Antichrist, but at this time nobody knows what that actually means. Saints of God living at that time will though.
The number is deeply feared because it is considered to be the sign of Satan and people with the fear of 666 avoid talking or reading about it and some Christians even refuse to buy a product if the bar code has a 666 on it. Some sufferers even go to the extent of not leaving their house on June 6th or 6/6 since they believe it is the day of the Antichrist even though the other 6 is missing. President Reagan and his wife, following his presidency, changed the street number of their house in California from 666 to 668.
There are different causes of specific phobias and often the anxiety or fear is a learned or acquired behavior. A phobia can also be conditioned through association.
Like other phobias, the fear of the number 666 can lead to a full blown panic attack characterized by trembling or shaking, dizziness, nausea, sweating, increased heart rate, shortness of breath and a feeling of choking.
Often the physical symptoms of a phobia can make the person feel like they are having a heart attack, a fear that they are dying or a feeling of detachment from the body.
With these symptoms being a very real possibility it's no wonder that many phobics are under constant stress because the constantly feel vulnerable and their fear can take over their day to day lives and affect their relationships.
There are treatments to get over a phobia or learn to cope with it. Talking about it with a trusted person or a professional can help. Professionals have techniques that can be used to overcome a phobia.
For some people relaxation techniques can help them cope with anxiety and panic attacks. Deep breathing exercises can also help. And, in some cases meditation, positive affirmations and visualization techniques can help.
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