Question

Is there a phobia that fears kissing?


Answers (1)

by Lucy 13 years ago

Yes, there is and the official name for it is philematobhobia (from the ancient Greek words for 'kiss' and 'fear'. It hasn't been much studied, probably because it is so similar to a lot of other fears around bodies, social contact and intimacy.

Many people are nervous about kissing when they are very young, for fear of 'getting it wrong' or just because they aren't comfortable with that much intimacy, or for fear of the possible consequences. In a phobic reaction, the fear is much stronger causing panic attacks, sweating and nausea. This kind of panic reaction tends to take the form of a fear that kissing is somehow 'dirty' eg that you will get germs or illness from the other person. This in itself is usually a sign of deeper problems around physical intimacy of any kind, and would probably need to be treated in the same way, ie through facing and understanding your problems in this area.


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