Numerophobia, arithmophobia, or mathematics anxiety is an

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...

, involving fear of dealing with numbers or mathematics. Sometimes numerophobia refers to fear of particular numbers. Some people with this condition may be afraid of even numbers, odd numbers, unlucky numbers, and/or lucky numbers. Those with this phobia may have a hard time holding certain jobs, paying bills, or managing a budget.

Types

There are two types of arithmophobia: generalized arithmophobia and fear of specific numbers. Generalized arithmophobia is a fear of all numbers. Fear of specific numbers can be associated with cultural and religious factors. For example, 666 are 3 numbers combined that represent the antichrist in the bible. In China, Vietnam, and Japan, 4 is a number that represents death. In many cultures the number 13 is also an unlucky number which people fear. These fears in numbers make it difficult for people to perform well in professional and educational settings.

Fears of specific numbers

Tetraphobia Tetraphobia () is the practice of avoiding instances of the digit . It is a superstition most common in East Asian nations and is associated with death. Rationale The Chinese word for "four" (, pinyin: sì, jyutping: sei3) sounds quite simi ...

– fear of 4 (four) *

Triskaidekaphobia Triskaidekaphobia ( , ; ) is fear or avoidance of the number . It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called ''paraskevidekatriaphobia'' () or ''friggatriskaidekaphobia'' ( and ). The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador ...

– fear of 13 (thirteen) * Heptadecaphobia – fear of 17 (seventeen) *

23 enigma The 23 enigma is a belief in the significance of the number 23. The concept of the 23 enigma has been popularized by various books, movies, and conspiracy theories, which suggest that the number 23 appears with unusual frequency in various context ...

(eikositriophobia) – fear of 23 (twenty-three) *

Curse of 39 The curse of 39, also referred to as triakontenneaphobia, is the fear of the number 39. In some parts of Afghanistan, the number is considered to be cursed or a badge of shame as it is purportedly linked with prostitution. Origin The origin of ...

(triakontenneaphobia) – fear of 39 (thirty-nine) *

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia The number of the beast (, ) is associated with the The Beast (Revelation), Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of ...

– fear of 666 (six hundred sixty-six)

Fear of large numbers

Meganumerophobia is the fear of large numbers, like millions, billions, trillions, etc. Meganumerophobes do not fear lower, more imaginable numbers. To some sufferers, high numbers represent

eternity Eternity, in common parlance, is an Infinity, infinite amount of time that never ends or the quality, condition or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside tim ...

. Sufferers of

apeirophobia Apeirophobia (from ) is the phobia of infinity or eternity, causing discomfort and sometimes panic attacks. It normally starts in adolescence or earlier and it is currently not known how it normally develops over time. Apeirophobia may be caused b ...

may fear meganumerophobia as well.

Number-related superstitions in music

Curse of the ninth The curse of the ninth is a superstition connected with the history of classical music. It is the belief that a ninth symphony is destined to be a composer's last and that the composer will be fated to die while or after writing it, or before comp ...

27 Club The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, often expanded by artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. Although the claim of a " statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been r ...

Symptoms

Symptoms of arithmophobia are similar to other types of anxiety disorder. These symptoms include chills, dizziness and lightheadedness, excessive sweating, heart palpitations, nausea, shortness of breath, trembling or shaking, and an upset stomach. Symptoms of arithmophobia can be more or less intense in different cases.

Treatment

One common treatment for anxiety disorders is

exposure therapy Exposure therapy is a technique in behavior therapy to treat anxiety disorders. Exposure therapy involves exposing the patient to the anxiety source or its context (without the intention to cause any danger). Doing so is thought to help them overc ...

, in which the patient is carefully exposed to the fear object in a controlled environment to help them understand that the object is not harmful. Other common treatments include

cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on challenging and chang ...

, which is talking to a therapist,

hypnotherapy Hypnotherapy, also known as hypnotic medicine, is the use of hypnosis in psychotherapy. Hypnotherapy is generally not considered to be based on scientific evidence, and is rarely recommended in clinical practice guidelines. However, several p ...

, which is guided concentration and relaxation, and medication to reduce anxiety.

References

Phobias Superstitions about numbers {{mental-disorder-stub