Is it possible to make a person with angrophobia angry? Would someone with apiphobia own hives of bees? Would it add more to your story if you blessed (or cursed) one or more of your characters with these phobias?
a swarm of honeybees, public domain
A phobia is an extreme dread or fear of something. When a person encounters the object of his or her fear, he could experience anxiety, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, an irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, dry mouth, etc. While this person's phobia may seem outrageous or unreasonable to you, I assure you it is not unreasonable to the person experiencing it.
Never make fun of anyone with a phobia, but you can bless (or curse) your characters with any number of these fears. Choose either of the following phobias and create one or more characters who are afflicted with one or both of these fears.
Angrophobia or cholerophobia is the fear of anger. A person with angrophobia isn’t afraid of others becoming angry with him, he is afraid of feeling anger himself. How would this affect one’s life? A person with this fear will most likely go out of his way to avoid conflict and will probably allow someone else to take the lead. It is likely a person with this phobia will always have a smile on his face and will be known for never getting upset no matter how bad the circumstances become.
Would it be possible to make a person with angrophobia express anger? Let’s say that Dean is an angrophobiac. While at work one day, he confides his condition to Steve and asks him not to tell anyone. Steve just can’t keep his mouth shut, and soon everyone at Dean’s place of business knows about his condition. How do his coworkers react? Do they take advantage of the fact that Dean is afraid of expressing anger by taking all of their problems to him? Do they use him as the one to complain to about anything and everything? Is it possible that the actions of his coworkers will cure Dean of his angrophobia?
Apiphobia or melissophobia is the fear of bees or bee stings. Since I am slightly allergic to bee stings and have been stung many times by them, I will agree that bee stings are very painful and not something that you try to get. But I am not afraid of bees. There is even a hive of honeybees in my backyard.
Someone who has apiphobia or melissophobia will tend to avoid areas where bees are normally found. They would stay away from flowers, fruit trees, and the woods. Of course, bees can be found anywhere they decided to build a hive, so some people could have this fear to such an extent that they refuse to go outside during the warm times of the year when bees are active. People with this fear may think that any bee in sight is out to attack and sting them. I wonder if there are any people who have such a severe case of apiphobia that they fear even honey made by honeybees?
Ashley is terrified of bees. She freaks out whenever she sees a bee or hears one buzzing. Her parents have tried in vain to teach her that not all bees are out to sting you and that the existence of bees is vital in this world. Ashley’s attitude toward bees and her fear of them only continues to get worse. Then one night she dreams that she lives in a world where bees have been exterminated. What is this world like? Does it change the way she thinks about bees?
