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Koumpounophobia is the fear of buttons, a relatively rare condition.
Some people are afraid of the texture of certain buttons.
Others feel that buttons are somehow dirty.
Catherine MacBride / Getty Images
An estimated 12.5% of US adults experience a specific phobia at some point in their lives.
Prevalence data for button phobia and other specific phobias is not readily available, however.
Here are some of the ways that koumpounophobia may manifest in different individuals.
Texture Issues
People may actually feel disgusted by buttons rather than actively afraid of them.
Researchers have theorized that fear and disgust are heavily linked.
If you are disgusted by the texture of some buttons, you might begin to dread handling them.
You might also begin to fear seeing buttons, even if you are not required to touch them.
Interestingly, most people with a texture-related fear of buttons seem to be especially afraid of plastic buttons.
Metal buttons, such as those on jeans, are not a common object of fear.
Germ Phobia
Some people report that they are particularly afraid of old buttons.
A common example is a box of buttons discovered in grandma’s old sewing room.
The general belief may be that these buttons are unclean.
This could be disgust masquerading as fear, or it could be related tomysophobia, the fear of germs.
Small children often put objects in their noses or mouths, and loose buttons sometimes attract their attention.
Phobias are sometimes, though not always, based on frightening past experiences.
In addition, the traumatic experience need not have happened to you.
Related Phobias
Depending on its severity, button phobia sometimes extends to other objects.
If Steve Jobs had not been afraid of buttons, would iPhones and tablets exist today?
Your therapist will work with you to design anindividualized treatment planbased on your specific needs.
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