Arachibutyrophobia is a mouthful (pun intended). It is the name of the disorder that effects people that have an unfounded fear of Peanut Butter sticking to the roof of their mouth. For most people Peanut Butter is considered a relatively harmless substance (unless you are allergic than your fear is founded) but for some people the thought of putting a spoonful of peanut butter in their mouth is enough to send them into a heavy duty panic attack.
This is a rare disorder but very real for the people that suffer from it. Peanut butter has a different texture than most foods, it can also be quite sticky. When peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth it can be uncomfortable and a bit difficult to remove.
People that do not suffer from the phobia grab something to drink and wash it away. People with the phobia can freeze in fear and experience heightened feelings of dread and fear.
What Causes It?
Like most all phobias no one actually can pinpoint why this particular phobia but like all phobias it could come down to one bad experience as a child or young adult. For the most part this phobia is like other phobia’s it is an unfounded fear that something will go terribly wrong if that peanut butter sticks to the roof of their mouth.
People with this phobia report feelings of suffocation when the peanut butter sticks to the roof of their mouths so clearly it is something that they have experienced that has turned them off to peanut butter.
What Can You Do About It?
There are treatment options for this fear. While this fear is easy to avoid, you simply do not eat peanut butter but unfortunately it is usually not an isolated fear. In other words if you suffer from Arachibutyrophobia than you may suffer from other phobias that may impact your life to a greater degree.
Treatment can help those that suffer with this phobia and other phobias get a handle on their phobias and help them to live a fuller life. While the “peanut butter” phobia is typically not debilitating other phobias are so treatment should be on the radar for anyone that suffers from phobias.
This is one of the rarer phobias and usually is not a precursor to other phobias but it can be, so ignoring it is not the best option.