Phunny Phobias
If you met someone who was afraid of paper or wax statues, wouldn't you tell them to stop being so ridiculous and get over it? Every Monday, Null editor Hayley hand-picks another bizarre phobia and tries to work out whether it's real or rubbish.
This week:
Scriptophobia: fear of writing in public
What's so scary about it?
I don't know about scary but it's pretty annoying. "Just sign here, sir." "Er, I'd really rather not..." (Man runs screaming out of the bank as a pen is brandished). I also came across one anonymous scriptophobic, on my travels around the internet, whose terrifying ordeal when having her passport signing witnessed by four people resulted in a panic attack.
What do the scientists say about it?
Actually, there have been some rather interesting papers examining treatment options for these seemingly hopeless individuals. One woman with a "debilitating fear of signing her name in public" was treated successfully in just eight weeks by "in vivo exposure". Don't ask me what in vivo means in this case - we'll take it that she was forced repeatedly to sign her name in front a troop of onlookers.
Hayley says:
"Oddly and quite unbelievably, Real."
So far: Real 6 Rubbish 5
Find phunny phobias from other weeks here.
Null's other regular features:
Tuesday: Nutty Nomenclature
Wednesday: Doctor Doctor
Thursday: Peculiar Periodicals
Friday: End of week timewasters
Erratically: The World in Brief
Image: Dave Di Biase
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