Fear of Smells

A quick sniff of your shoes may tell you it’s time for some new odor reducers. A sniff in the fridge might tell you something needs thrown away. And that undefined smell in the basement might mean a rodent has died. When these odors incite fear the result is called Olfactophobia.

A product like natural gas is infused with a smelly substance because on its own there is very little smell associated with the fuel. The reason for adding the extra order is to alert homeowners to a leak. The intent is to save lives.  For the olfactophobe the intake of fouls smells is often thought of in terms of, “This will probably kill me.”

What Causes Olfactophobia?

This fear come from the belief that offensive odors can do damage to your body if you don’t immediately remove yourself from the presence of the odor or take drastic steps to insure you don’t take any of the vile smell into your body.

The difficulty many sufferers have is that they can’t seem to get away from foul smells. It is in their shoes, on their clothes, in the refrigerators, passing through their neighborhood and sometimes foul smells can originate from within.

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The origination of the fear is difficult to say, but is generally considered to be something either misunderstood or developed from a previous obsession.

Symptoms of Olfactophobia

This fear is built on a highly developed sense mechanism that is intended to react to foul odors. The truth is there are some odors that should be avoided, but the olfactophobe pushes their fear to the point of a panic attack.

Other symptoms include…

• Air hunger
• Elevated or irregular heartbeats
• Trembling
• Nausea
• An urge to flee
• Crying

The positive role of odor is lost on the olfactophobe. The simple belief that anything that smells bad could kill them causes them to take drastic steps to remove themselves from the smell.

How to Overcome Olfactophobia

One powerful tool in combating any phobia is education. It may seem overrated, but the simple understanding of odor and how it affects us is important. Pungent odors may cause a defined reaction and can be useful in sensing danger, but there can be education on what smells constitute danger and what smells are simply, “smelly”.

A therapist or counselor can help with discovering fear origination and helping the phobic personality through the process of coping with the fear. That being said the educational aspect will be increasingly important as a means of discerning genuine threats from the less than threatening.

A support group or empathetic peers can be crucial to coping with this fear. It is not impossible to overcome, but success can be enhanced through the encouragement of good friends or caring family members.

What smells bother you the most? Do they cause a fear based reaction? If so, have you ever thought about what may have caused the fear to start? Have you overcome the fear? If so, what helped you achieve victory of the fear?