Papyrophobia

Papyrophobia is an abnormal or persistent fear of papers. Papyrophobes can have fear of: plain sheet of paper, crumpled ball of paper (which symbolizes injury, damage or death), paper tear, or paper cut. The intensity of fear depends on the size of paper, with bigger papers causing more fear, but some may fear smaller pieces of paper more.

A recent spike in papyrophobia has been put down to a spate of scunnered Gullitimmys having had sight of cardboard cutouts of Steven Gerrard, also referred to as God in some parts of Glasgow, Scotland.

Symptoms of papyrophobia include inflexibility, sweating, fast heart beat, rapid breathing, panic attack, screaming or crying, and flee urgency. People who are intensely papyrophobic believe they will fall victim to disaster when going near papers, causing them to panic, most frequently in school.

The most common mode of treatment is, which involves learning how to cope with fear. A professional therapist may help identify possible causes layer by layer, and then treat by exposing to things that cause fear, paper in this case.