Is my unique phobia as weird as my coworkers say it is?

As weird as this will sound, I’m going to lay this all on the table in order to see how many others may share my quirky fear.

There’s a phobia that I’ve had for as long as I can remember, but I always feel weird telling people about it.

Not only is it slightly embarrassing, but it’s hard to explain because there was no inciting incident that caused the phobia; it just always has been with me.

I have a massive case of psichaphobia.

Read More: Study reveals NJ’s most popular phobia: I couldn’t believe it

What is psichaphobia?

Psichaphobia, a fear of crumbs, and I’ve had it since I was in Pre-K.

Yes, crumbs.

Even though they will be from the food that I was just eating, once the food is in crumb form, I lose it.

I can’t touch them. If I do, I have to wash my hands right away.

When I sit down at a restaurant and the table or booth has crumbs from the previous customers, I immediately get the ick. I have to use a napkin to wipe them away, never my hands.

When people I’m dining with do the thing where they use their finger to press down to pick up the crumbs to eat them off the finger? Barf. I have to look away.

Fear of crumbs

When this came up at work, my colleague Eric was stunned. I think at first he thought I was making a joke or being hyperbolic.

I wasn’t.

He even said he’s not opposed to eating food in bed that could create crumbs. I was floored.

I could never do that. I’d even go so far as to call it a dealbreaker.

Though Eric isn’t the only person who has given me a weird look when I’ve made this confession.

People don’t tend to get it, and there’s no good way to explain it. Touching a crumb with my bare skin will bother me for the next 20 minutes.

So what do you think? Am I really that bonkers?

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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