PHOBIAS AND A PEEVE

THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF

CADILLAC NEWS -- FEBRUARY 28, 2026

I recently came upon some articles about phobias. Phobias  are more common than you might think. “A phobia  is an extreme fear of a particular object or situation.” 

While a phobia may seem odd to some, for those afflicted with a phobia it can be very serious. “About ten percent of the U.S. population has a specific phobia, and common culprits include snakes, heights, germs, and needles. Phobias aren’t always based in logic, but that doesn’t make the scared feeling any less real.” There's even a phobia about having a phobia – phobophobia. “Unfortunately, people with this phobia are fighting a losing battle: the fear of acquiring a phobia.”   (https://interestingfacts.com/rare-phobias/)

One phobia that hits home for me is arachibutyrophobia – the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. I need to avoid acquiring this phobia because peanut butter is a staple in my diet. It's the basis for the Neff family traditional sandwich – peanut butter and turkey on cheap white bread. Life without peanut butter would be barely worth living. 

I am terminally right handed. Doing anything with my left hand usually ends in failure. Therefore, I need to avoid dextrophobia. This is the fear of having objects to my right. “Some people can’t stand to have objects at the right side of their body, which could make it hard to drive in the fast lane with vehicles to the right. On the flip side, 'levophobia' is defined by fear of things to the left side of the body.”

There is one phobia that I am in no danger of developing – chaetophobia. ”This is a fear that makes people panic or feel anxious when they see hair, especially their own hair. People with this fear might hate running their fingers through their locks.” Here is a hint. If you (like me) groom your pate with a shoe shine cloth then chaetophobia is probably not in your future. 

There is one phobia my family will claim I have – arithmophobia. My math skills are so poor they will tell you I have a fear of numbers. “For some people, a fear of numbers goes beyond frustrations over solving equations and understanding geometry. People with arithmophobia have an irrational fear of numbers in general.” My view is that I don't have a phobia, I'm just a numerical nincompoop. 

On the other hand, words do not intimidate me. I do not have a fear of long words – 

hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. "Individuals with this phobia experience heightened anxiety and discomfort when confronted with a lengthy vocabulary.” 

I could go on and on because there are endless phobias. They include fear of: stars, yellow, buttons (in general), belly buttons (in particular), money, the number eight, and bathing. For more go to: https://www.thehealthy.com/mental-health/strange-phobias/  and https://www.thewellnesscorner.com/blog/rare-and-weird-phobias. 

Finally, if a phobia is a fear of a particular situation, I would posit that a peeve (a source of annoyance) could develop into a full-blown phobia. I submit that such a case is coming up on March 8. it's something that is driving many people to distraction. 

“Polls have shown that the majority of Americans are on board with changing Daylight Saving Time. A 2023 YouGov poll found that 62% of respondents agreed that they want to stop changing the clocks twice yearly. A 2025 Gallup poll found that 54% of Americans also wanted to see the demise of DST; however, 48% preferred standard time all year, while 24% wanted permanent daylight saving time.” 

Several proposals have been floated to change DST. Many would prefer to just make a choice one way or another and end the semi-annual irritation. To this end comes a new proposal. 

The latest attempt is The Daylight Act of 2026. “Introduced to Congress earlier this month, the bill proposes doing away with daylight saving as we know it and splitting the difference. Instead of a twice-yearly change of one hour each time, it would shift U.S. time zones forward 30 minutes from the current standard time and leave them there permanently.” (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/02/19/daylight-act-of-2026-proposing-half-daylight-saving-time/88760725007/)

Who knows if anything will come of this. Will this peeve end, continue, or morph into a phobia? Stay tuned. 

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews.