By Tom Sharratt

Phobophobia – the fear of fear so famously denounced by President Roosevelt- hasn’t turned up yet in Michael Whitenburgh`s research.  Almost everything else has.

There’s the woman who is terrified of buttons. When she buys a coat all the buttons are taken off and replaced by Velcro fastenings. Then there’s the woman – English, of course – who can’t stand bagpipes. For 35 years she has not seen the New Year in, driven to bed early on December 31 by her dread of drone and chanter.

Another has a fear of Punch and Judy-very violent, symbolic of mother and father having a violent argument,” Mr Whitenburgh says.

Mr Whitenburgh, a psychoanalyst, is looking for the strangest and rarest phobias. He heads a team of five, based at private stress clinics in London and Liverpool he said. “Phobias are often the first layer of illnesses, especially heart disease. We have found that 80 per cent of the population suffer from one form of phobia or another, though men tend to keep quiet about it.”

The team has links with other clinics in Britain, Switzerland, Scandinavia and the US. They have identified 200 phobias so far.

Mr Whitenburgh said: “A phobia which has an emotional base will isolate a person and make them lonely. It all mounts up until something must snap – and that will lead to heart disease.”

He is organising a National Phobia Awareness Week from November 30 to December 5.

Anyone who is not afraid to speak up can contact him at the Whitenburgh Stress Clinic, 88 Rodney Street, Liverpool L1 9AR; tel. 0151 707 1815.