Thursday, October 18, 2007

Susan, this will make you laugh....

Definition of Melissophobia

Melissophobia: Fear of bees.

A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear reduction techniques. In many cases, anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication proves helpful, especially during the early stages of therapy.

The word "melissophobia" comes from the Greek "melissa" meaning bee + phobia from the Greek "phobos" meaning fear = literally, fear of bee(s). Melissophobia is also known as apiphobia.

Is it weird that the fear of bees sounds an awful lot like the fear of Melissas?..... I think so.
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4 comments:

Susan said...

I have been meaning to look up the specific name for the fear of bees for ages! I would have NEVER guessed that one :)

And I think I prefer to remain untreated, considering that the cure sounds far, far worse than the disease.

Seriously, treatment by exposure would land me in a staightjacket.

And I am glad I do not have a fear of Melissas, as that would be most distressing!

October 18, 2007 at 9:12 PM
Susan said...

If I could type properly this evening, I believe the correct word is "straightjacket".

The mere thought of bees has me so befuddled that I am no longer able to spell!

October 18, 2007 at 11:25 PM
Susan said...

Damn.

Actually, I believe the word is "straitjacket".

(Yeah, I'm that compulsive. I couldn't just leave it.)

October 18, 2007 at 11:28 PM
Melissa said...

It's okay, I'm usually just as nitpicky about my typos and misspellings. You know this :)

I think I may take a shot at writing a melissophobia poem.....and I shall dedicate it to my favorite melissophobic!

October 20, 2007 at 11:11 AM

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