What is Arachibutyrophobia?

For many people, peanut butter is a must-have breakfast item. Although some people might be allergic to it, have you ever heard of someone being afraid of peanut butter? Sounds crazy, right! But it is true. Some people in the world are suffering from Arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter.

Arachibutyrophobia is more about the fear of the butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Those with this unique and rare phobia certainly don’t find PB&J the most convenient meal!

This rare phobia is considered part of some of the simple phobias that there are in the world. The name Arachibutyrophobia is derived from the Greek language. “Arachi” means “ground nut,” and “butyr” stands for butter, while “phobia” means fear. In other words, Arachibutyrophobi is a fear of getting choked by consuming peanut butter.

If we talk about the symptoms, an Arachibutyrophobic gets anxious about the chance or thought of getting exposed to peanut butter.

Whenever the product is close to the person or is being served to someone else in close proximity, they get a strong flight-to-flight response. Some other symptoms also include nausea, tremors, or heart palpitations whenever exposed to the butter.

Whenever the phobia is triggered, the person with Arachibutyrophobia finds it hard to swallow anything with a similar texture.

As this phobia is unique, it is hard to identify why it happens. Some say it could be related to genetics and environmental factors or something a person witnessed, experienced or learned.

In fact, some people develop an allergic reaction when they try to fight off their fear and swallow peanut butter.

Treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and medication can help in dealing with Arachibutyrophobia.