Understanding Podiaphobia

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Understanding Podiaphobia
Disambiguation of Podiaphobia
Everybody must have had about the fear of heights, the fear of darkness, the fear of hell, or even the fear of death, but have you ever had of the fear of feet? Well, maybe, maybe not. The fear of feet is not very common like many others that are obvious to most people. However, it exists. It is also known as podia phobia and those who exhibit it have a typical characteristic of getting irritated or frightened when they see, or get too close to feet. Podia phobia can also be referred to as Podophobia, or Petaphelaphobia. I felt compelled to find out more about this condition for the sake of a dear friend who has been battling with his feet for a while now (Misty, 2003).
The people who suffer from this condition, like my friend, are referred to as podiaphobes and usually hate to see any feet, even their own and for this reason, they can spend a whole day and night in shoes and heavy socks just so they are not able to spot their own feet. In addition, podiaphobes cannot normally stand the sight of somebody else touching their feet and on occasion they cannot even stand touching their own feet! In most cases, podiaphobia has been referred to as an irrational fear, alongside clourophobia (the fear of clowns) and many others.
How podiaphobia affects a person`s life
In most cases, podiaphobes have been known to react just as any other person with irrational fear, with tendencies to emotional and physical anxiousness which causes faster breathing and increased pulse rate, and nervousness. The condition may completely change a person`s life and cause a major turnaround in a person`s career, private or social life (Misty, 2003).
Some of the most immediate consequences of podiaphobia, as I came to learn, include inability to have fun walking barefoot on the sandy beaches, or walking in shoes, but with so many bare-footed people all around you; inability to wear open shoes designed so for their fashion; trouble walking in the house bare feet, as is the custom for some homes one may visit. In addition podiaphobes have a real problem using the gym equipment especially the ones that require people to be bare feet (Geek, 2012). It also causes most students to evade participation in sporting activities as they may be required to be bare foot, for example during swimming practices. In the adult life, a person may have a real problem with the spouse since they would not want their feet to collide at all. The wife may be the podiaphobes who insists on going to bed with socks and stockings every night which may not be the best idea for a loving husband.
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