What are hylophobia and xylophobia? Hylophobia and xylophobia – they are the same thing. Hylophobia is when you are absolutely terrified of forests and wooded areas. Though both names mean the same thing, it does not really mean being scared of the animals or birds that might be lurking around. Psychologists think it is probably connected to our fear of dark places and that whole ‘what’s lurking out there’ feeling. Technically, it is an anxiety disorder, but it is more like… You know, just this one specific thing that freaks you out, not being anxious about everything. People usually get the typical anxiety symptoms, especially if something bad happened to them in the woods when they were younger.
Look, hylophobia’s really specific – it is not like you are anxious about everything under the sun, just forests that get to you. But yeah, people with hylophobia still get all the usual anxiety stuff. You might get the chills, feel sick to your stomach, have trouble breathing, start shaking – all that fun stuff (not that fun though).
Most people handle this fear pretty well, but if you are stuck living in the middle of nowhere with trees everywhere? Yeah, that could seriously screw up your everyday life. I have read that exposure therapy works pretty well for most folks, but there are other things you can try, too.