Botanophobia is an irrational fear of plants. Here’s what you should know about it. Have you ever imagined being scared of plants to the point that they make you anxious and uncomfortable?
There are so many fears of plants, and sometimes they seem like branches of botanophobia. Many people love gardening so much that you begin to imagine that dirt must run through their veins, but not every person feels the same way.
It may be unbelievable, but many people hate mucking about in the soil and actually have an intense fear of flowers and plants.
This brings us to the fact that there is actually a boatload of garden and common plant-related phobias.
But how and why should a person be afraid of plants? Because the world is actually home to billions of plants, and we even eat some of them, it can be a challenge for people with plant—and gardening-related phobias to admit that they have such fears.
Two of the most popular plant-related phobias are anthophobia (the fear of flowers) and botanophobia (the irrational fear of plants). But both anthophobia and botanophobia are nothing but the tip of the iceberg as far as the subject of garden phobias is concerned.
Some garden phobias are more specific than a whole fear of plants. A fear of trees is known as dendrophobia, while an intense fear of vegetables (beyond the funny distaste of a four-year-old) is called lachanophobia.
Undoubtedly, Dracula would have alliumphobia, which is the fear of garlic. Mycophobia is an intense fear of mushrooms, which is sometimes not an irrational fear, especially because many mushrooms are naturally poisonous.
Other common phobias related to gardening may involve dirt, insects, disease, or even sun, water, or weather conditions. The general fear of insects is known as entomophobia or insectophobia.
Still, there are many insect-specific phobias, such as a fear of bees known as apiphobia or moths known as mottephobia. Some people have an irrational fear of rain known as ombrophobia) or heliophobia, which is known as the fear of the sun.
What makes all of this scariest or tragic is that most times, one phobia may coincide with another phobia or even many fears, which may shut down an individual’s ability to lead a life of their choosing.
Possible Reasons for botanophobia and other Common Plant Phobias.
Plant, flower, or herb phobias may stem from various issues. They may be associated with a traumatic life event that often may have occurred at an early age.
The presence of plants may trigger feelings of loss related to the passing of a loved one. These feelings may also be related to an injury experienced via plant life, like possibly getting poked by stinging roses or nettles or poison ivy.
Garden phobias may even be triggered by allergies, such as garlic or onions. Sometimes, botanophobia may be caused by superstitious beliefs related to plants.
Many cultures have folk tales that involve the presence of demons, witches, or other evil entities in trees and plants, which honestly is a little terrifying to many people.
A more modern basis for the irrational fear of plants is that indoor plants may suck oxygen from a room or other living spaces at night, completely dismissing the fact that plants actually let out ten times the oxygen in the daytime over what they expend at night.
Garden phobias are often more complex in nature and may be caused by several factors. Factors such as genetics and heredity, together with life experience and brain chemistry, may also come into play.
When it comes to treatment for plant-related phobias, there is no singular method adopted, so it often requires a multi-pronged approach, which is a combination of various therapeutic approaches and sometimes medication.
