Are you one of those people who nervously tread shoe stores? Can’t you see, feel or hear your feet or someone else’s? If your answer to one of these questions is “yes,” you may have a foot phobia, known as podophobia.
Foot phobia is one of the rarest phobias, with only 1 in 1000 people suffering from it. However, it could affect your life in quite surprising ways that many people without this phobia may not have considered.
To give just a few examples, this unusual fear might keep you from going to a pool, working out at a gym, buying shoes, or wearing flip flops. Foot phobia can be quite harmless, a bit annoying, and sometimes frustrating. However, it could also cause limitations in life. Therefore, it is important to carefully judge how much it impacts your daily life or someone else’s.
What exactly is foot phobia (or podophobia)?
Foot phobia, like any other phobia, is an irrational and inexplicable fear. People with podophobia feel very nervous, scared, upset, or even disgusted about their feet in general. The exact cause of podophobia is not yet fully understood. Symptoms include an overwhelming feeling of anxiety, sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, and the desire to run away at the sight or even thought of feet. Some people will experience panic attacks and very unpleasant feelings when faced with their feet. Of course, one person’s symptoms may be different and / or more intense than another’s. This fear can make some feel uncomfortable or irritated. For others, it can become so intense that it interferes with their normal life.
The fear may be related to the person’s or someone else’s feet. People with phobia generally do not like the appearance of their feet or someone else’s, or the feel of the feet, as they view feet as disgusting and unsightly. This person may also feel uncomfortable when other people look at or touch their feet. You will even sleep in socks or shoes and you will not even consider buying or wearing open toe shoes or sandals of any kind. He or she may also hate the smell of feet and while thinking about feet imagines getting fungal-type infections or a wart that makes it even worse. Uncomfortable feelings would also appear when discussing feet or foot related problems. The victim of the phobia can avoid watching any type of television documentary on the feet or commercials on television. One of my friends who suffers from foot phobia to avoid unpleasant sensations introduced a rule in her house. You must wear shoes at home. If the shoes are very dirty, he allows you to wear socks or a pair of his own shoes. He won’t even allow his girlfriend to touch his feet or remove his socks.
When Should You Seek Help To Cure Foot Phobia?
Most fears and phobias, including phobia and fear of feet, are not serious, especially if they do not significantly affect your normal daily life. But if your foot phobia causes you to avoid situations on a regular basis that prevent you from functioning or enjoying life, you should consider seeking medical advice. Regardless of how long you’ve suffered from it, despite the unpleasant life limitations you’ve endured due to your fear, your fear of feet can be overcome.
