Anatidaephobia gary larson

Is this an actual

Can you really have a fear of ducks looking at you? Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book. Daniel B. Block, MD, is an award-winning, board-certified psychiatrist who operates a private practice in Pennsylvania. A phobia is a form of anxiety disorder characterized by an extreme and irrational fear of a situation or object.

Phobias are one of the most common types of mental disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, One phobia that has been discussed on many websites and blogs is known as anatidaephobia, described as the fear that a duck is watching you. While often presented as a real phobia, anatidaephobia is actually a phobia invented for comedic purposes and not a traditionally recognized specific phobia diagnosis like arachnophobia spiders or acrophobia heights.

Anatidaephobia originated from the Far Side comic by Gary Larson, who defined it as: "The fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you. Since Larson first introduced the concept, the concept of anatidaephobia has worked its way into popular consciousness and is now often presented as a real type of phobia. Anatidaephobia might not be real or officially recognized, but that does not mean that a fear of ducks or geese is not possible.

The fear of birds, or ornithophobia, is a very real specific phobia. In fact, the actual fear of ducks and geese would be characterized as a form of ornithophobia. Specific phobias are classified as one of five different sub-types:.