This might come as a shocker for a lot of people, but fruit phobia is actually a thing. This article will highlight what fruit phobia is and symptoms of one.
Sometimes, you might have a phobia for fruits but you might not be able to tell. It could also be the other way around. You might think that you have frructophobia but it’s something entirely different.
It might just be OCD or an eating disorder that makes you detest fruit and food in general. But first, let us understand what fruit phobia is.
What Is Fruit Phobia?
Fruit phobia, which is also known as Fructophobia, is the fear of fruits. Reasons for this fear include thinking the fruits are dirty, bad or can give you food poisoning.
When these reoccurring thoughts take over, it can make a person disgusted by fruits in general. And as you guessed it, they will stay away like their life depends on it.
This isn’t a common phobia and many people haven’t heard of it. However, fruit phobia can be linked to both obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD), as well as eating disorders.
This phobia can make an individual stay away from fruits at every given time. And it doesn’t just stop at not taking fruits. It extends to not taking any fruit-based product as well.
No matter how much you try to persuade a person with fruit phobia, they’ll never want to take fruits. It makes them panic when they’re in contact with fruits. Their panic may lead to more extreme reactions as the case may be.
Just like every other fear, fructophobia is valid and persons with this phobia should be respected. A person with this phobia is the same with any other person with other kinds of phobia. Hence, they have similar characteristics with the main focus being fruits.
Just as they detest the thought of eating fruits, people eating fruits near them will gross them out as well. Explaining to someone how much you detest fruits can come off as odd and unhealthy. However, it’s just a phobia.
Negative Response to Fruits
You can tell that a person has fruit phobia when they are incredibly disgusted by the thought or presence of fruits. The more they experience this feeling, the more they stay away.
People with OCD can avoid fruits because they think it’s disgusting and dirty. So, this can contribute to a person having fruit phobia. They fear contamination and sickness. Plus, they’ll rather stay away than clean a fruit.
To someone like this, cleaning a fruit seems pretty intense as washing them is never enough. A fruit will always seem disgusting and can never be cleaned enough.
Sometimes people suffer more from OCD instead of fructophia. It’s easier to see a fruit and express your disgust as fear. Sometimes these are just OCD tendencies.
Symptoms of Fruit Phobia
Fructophobia is from the Latin word fructus which means fruit. So, ultimately it is the fear of fruits. The fear of fruits occurs in the same instances where the fear of vegetables does.
People can fear other things excluding the disgust of these fruits. They might fear swallowing the seeds and it germinating in their body. They may also fear ingesting insects and worms found in these fruits.
People who suffer from this will avoid eating as many fruits as possible and this includes fruit derived or fruit-based products. They may be drinks, yogurt or even candy.
Some of the symptoms for fructophobia include:
- Shortness of breath.
- Weeping.
- Tremors.
- Fainting.
- Screaming.
- Increased body temperature.
- Vomiting.
- Increased heart rate.
- Loss of control.
- Urge to flee.
- Anxiety.
In most cases, this phobia is usually treated with behavioral therapy. This helps them identify their fears and how to face it. Another means of treatment would be anxiety medication.
It is usually adviced to practice getting over it by one’s self first. But if you can’t, by all means get help.
How Can A Person Overcome Fruit Phobia?
How can a person overcome their fear of fruits? Well, being afraid of certain things doesn’t exactly make it a phobia until it interferes with your life. Once this fear begins to alter your life and reality, then it can be classified as a phobia.
As you must know, fruits are very important to our health and having a phobia for them can be detrimental to one’s health. It makes an individual lose out on all the necessary vitamins given by fruits.
This is the reason why medical personnel is required to handle a case like this. Medical attention for this disorder is important to overcome an irrational fear of fruits.
The need for a mental health professional is important to help identify the origin of this fear. Most times all phobias have an origin. Revisiting it can help a person begin working on it. This eventually aids them in moving on.
Their phobia might be from a traumatic experience as a child (a serious food poisoning incident for example). The need for cognitive behavioral therapy can aid in helping a person suffering from this.
Exposing people to objects that trigger their phobia and anxiety can help them understand that they have no reason to fear. It can help them see that those things can’t hurt them if they don’t let it.
Although it can be a slow process, it is usually done gradually to give a person the time to adapt. This is till they feel comfortable being around the object of their phobia.
Another means is through the use of medication in a case of serious fructophobia.
The use of anxiolytics is usually adopted to reduce the symptoms of anxiety which is caused by a phobia such as this. If you’ve ever seen someone with fruit phobia, you can testify on how important it is to calm their anxiety.
The average person sees fruits as normal and healthy. People with fructophobia see it as a threat that triggers certain memories. This can lead to immersed fear and anxiety. Preventing their ability to function.
Conclusion
Fruit phobia should be treated like any other phobia. It is important to manage it as soon as you can. Visiting a medical profession such as a therapist can help identify the reasons why the phobia exists before proceeding to therapy.
