Brides wear white, dining tables are covered in white, and when it snows our world turns white for a while. White is often symbolic of being clean or pure. It is a color that reflects heat and can allow the wearer to feel more comfortable. However, for some the color white evokes a sense of fear that is known as Leukophobia.
Some may find it strange that a person can fear a color, but often it is something deeper that is represented by the color that is responsible for the fear.
What Causes Leukophobia?
An individual may feel as if they have made many bad decisions in their life that may affect their present and future. They may feel as if they have offended the deity they most closely align themselves with. In turn the color white can begin to represent a stark reminder of everything they have done wrong. They hate the color and begin to fear it because they may feel it represents something they can never attain.
They may feel that the color actually exposes them for who they believe themselves to be. It can become easier to hide then to embrace the idea of forgiveness.
A trusted adult may also be the model for white phobia. They may have experienced the fear themselves and then allowed their apprehension to guide you into a similar fear. You may not understand why you fear the color, but it has been ingrained in your mind for so long that it is hard not to think of white in terms of something fearful.
Symptoms of Leukophobia
An individual with this fear will avoid white. The colors in their home may be darker, they may drink flavored milk, but not white milk. They may refuse to take prescription drugs if they are white. The color white will make them nervous and can cause problems with social interaction.
Other symptoms may also include…
- Trembling
- Panic attacks
- Air hunger
- Sweating
- Elevated heart rate
- Temporary elevation in body temperature
- Loss of control
- Nausea
- Feeling faint
- Feeling as if you are losing your mind
The role of panic is to provide your body with a defense mechanism. In the face of danger you become reactionary in your thinking. When a phobia is present you become reactionary to circumstances that do not present a life threatening danger to you. This is why seeking help may be needed to place the fear in the right perspective.
How to Overcome Leukophobia
When you visit with a therapist you can begin to learn why the color white presents no tangible threat to you. You will also learn new ways to deal with the fear and ways to retrain your mind to view the fear as something less than life-threatening.
Most fears begin when an individual believes something to be true that is actually a lie. The concept can be delivered in a very convincing way, which makes the fear seem all the more reasonable. Therapy can help you deal with what is true and false about your fear.
The fear of white is also referred to as:
- White fear
- White phobia
- Leukophobia
