It’s not uncommon to have more than one phobia or to misdiagnose your condition without professional help. Like all phobias, arachibutyrophobia varies in severity from person to person. For instance, some people are able to consume small quantities of peanut butter, perhaps as a dip for vegetables, while others are afraid to eat peanut butter at all. In some cases, the fear extends to other peanut products, from peanut butter ice cream to peanut sauces. Here is an example patient scenario: Jennifer was reluctant to eat peanut butter after nearly choking on a large, sticky, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When she began to avoid peanut sauces as well, Jennifer’s therapist diagnosed her with arachibutyrophobia.
Peanut Allergy May Be the Trigger
On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of the eight foods a person is most likely to have a severe allergic reaction to, peanuts are listed (along with tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, milk, eggs, and wheat). As you can trace many specific phobias back to a traumatic incident in the past, seeing someone have an allergy attack as the result of eating peanut butter as a child, maybe at school or daycare, can have a long-lasting effect—and be the trigger behind someone’s arachibutyrophobia. On the other hand, you might be able to trace your fear to choking on peanut butter as a child, although you might have been too young to remember it now. Or you may have seen someone choking on it on television. Choking on peanut butter is actually quite common. In fact, according to a report on adults and children with developmental disabilities in New Jersey, sandwiches were the leading cause of choking incidents, with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich involved in the majority of cases.
Treatment
Arachibutyrophobia falls under the umbrella of specific phobia and is highly treatable through cognitive behavioral therapy methods. This type of therapy focuses on overcoming your fears by helping you learn new patterns of behavior and thinking. Of course, some people simply avoid eating peanut butter. Remember, too, that treatment for a specific phobia is only needed when that phobia causes a person distress and/or an impairment in their everyday functioning.
