Falling head over heels –it is the month of Valentine’s after all! But what happens when love turns to obsession?
Philia is the opposite of a phobia –it translates as an abnormal affection for a specified thing. And there are some damn right bonkers obsessions.
Here are our favourites…
ARACHIBUTYROPHILIA
Peanut butter – do you like yours smooth or crunchy? Or are you not really a fan?
Well, you’ll be surprised to know that there are a number of people out there who are truly obsessed with this spread. And this philia refers to the way in which people get excited by the dry, claggy sensation of when the butter sticks to the roof of their mouth!
That clack-clack noise – they love it! We’re not too sure why…
XANTHOPHILE
Sunshine, bananas, sand, lemons, buttercups, daffodils and bumblebees!
What do all of these things have in common? Of course, they are all bright yellow.
Do you have an obsession with this colour? Is your wardrobe overrun with yellow items? Do you smile when you see the sun?
If you’re saying yes to these questions, then you may just qualify as a xanthophile.
It’s not as simple as just saying it’s your favourite colour – it’s bringing this shade into every aspect of your life. Feeling giddy at the sight of a bulldozer or double yellow lines.
A little bit of a bonkers obsession, that’s for sure!
TAPHOPHILA
Some people may shudder at the thought of walking through a graveyard – getting the heebie-jeebies! But for others, they will coin themselves an avid ‘tombstone tourist’.
This means having an extreme passion and enjoyment towards cemeteries, epitaphs, graveyards and even the dead. And being a taphophile can also include a fascination surrounding funerals, too.
Although it’s considered a bizarre and unusual hobby, for some it comes from their own loss and a process of overcoming the feelings of grief.
Plus, if you’re a bit of a history or architecture buff then cemeteries are often a great place to visit.
Maybe you’ll want to give it a go yourself, make sure to look over your shoulder…
NEBULOPHILE
There’s nothing worse than waking up, looking out of the window and discovering it’s so foggy that you can’t make out the person in front of you, right?
Foggy weather often makes it look like you’ve woken up to the end of the universe.
However, for some, that could be the best morning possible. A nebulophile is someone who is obsessed with smoke, fog and steam.
And if that wasn’t enough, a pluviophile is someone who loves the rain, too.
So much so, they don’t even feel the need for an umbrella!
FRANCOPHILIA
Bon
