Arachibutyrophobia
By: Christine Cisneros
What is Arachibutyrophobia?
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth. The origin of the word Arachi is Greek (meaning ground nut) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear).
Symptoms
People with this phobia report feelings of unease, and even difficulty in breathing normally, when they have the gooey product stuck to the roof of their mouth. They may feel disgusted and dirty when they can't scrape the peanut butter off.
Facts
Arachibutyrophobia varies in severity from sufferer to sufferer. For example, some people are able to consume small quantities of peanut butter, such as a dip for vegetables, while others are afraid to try peanut butter at all. In some cases, the fear extends to other peanut products, from peanut butter ice cream to peanut sauces.
Examples
Jennifer was reluctant to eat peanut butter after nearly choking on a large, sticky, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When she began to avoid peanut sauces as well, Jennifer's therapist diagnosed her with arachibutyrophobia.
Dealing with this Phobia
Some people with Arachibutyrophobia will go for crunchy peanut butter over traditional, smooth peanut butter. They will find the particles of peanuts that make crunchy peanut butter so distinctive that it also helped to keep it from adhering to the roof of the mouth. Others will add jelly or jam to their sandwiches in order to change the texture and make it less sticky.