What Is Arachibutyrophobia? (Fear of Peanut Butter)

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of having peanut butter stick to the roof of your mouth. It does not actually involve the fear of peanut butter as an object. It is often rooted in a more generalized phobia of choking (pseudodysphagia) or of sticky textures, but it may also occur alone.

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.

Symptoms of Arachibutyrophobia

Like other types of phobias, a person with arachibutyrophobia may experience a number of emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms. Common symptoms associated with the fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth include:

• Feelings of fear or anxiety when they encounter situations where they might ingest peanut butter
• Physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and trembling
• Feeling of dizziness, nausea, or stomach upset
• Avoiding any situation where they might encounter peanut butter as an ingredient
• Disruptions in daily life or activities due to fear and avoidance
  

What Causes Arachibutyrophobia?

Arachibutyrophobia is a type of specific phobia. While the exact causes of specific phobias are not fully understood, there are a number of factors that can play a role in their onset:

• Genetics and family influence: Research has shown that phobias tend to run in families. This is due to inheritance and observing anxious behaviors in family members.
• Temperament: People who have higher levels of a characteristic known as behavioral inhibition are more likely to develop phobias and other anxiety disorders.
• Traumatic experiences: Having a traumatic experience with peanut butter can also contribute to the development of arachibutyrophobia. For example, if you choked on peanut butter in the past, the experience might cause you to develop an intense fear of having the same thing happen again.
  

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.

How Is Arachibutyrophobia Diagnosed?

Arachibutyrophobia is not a distinct diagnosis in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5-TR), the manual that doctors and mental health professionals use to diagnose mental health conditions. Instead, it would be diagnosed as a specific phobia.

To be diagnosed with a specific phobia, a person must experience:

• Excessive, unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation
• The stimulus must trigger an immediate anxiety response
• Avoidance of the stimulus or enduring it with extreme distress
  

These symptoms also must be life-limiting, last six months or longer, and not be caused by another mental health condition.

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.

Treatment for Arachibutyrophobia

Like other types of specific phobias, arachibutyrophobia is highly treatable. First-line treatments for this phobia include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on overcoming your fears by helping you learn new patterns of behavior and thinking. A therapist will help you identify the underlying negative thought patterns that contribute to feelings of fear and anxiety.

CBT helps you replace anxious thoughts with more positive, realistic ones and develop coping skills that will help you manage feelings of fear.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a form of CBT that involves progressive exposure to the source of your fear. Repeated exposure to that stimulus in a safe environment can lead to the gradual reduction of fear symptoms. In many cases, it also involves practicing CBT and relaxation techniques during exposure to reduce anxious thoughts and combat anxiety.

Research has shown that exposure therapy can lead to long-lasting relief of phobia symptoms.

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. 

Keep in Mind

While arachibutyrophobia is an uncommon type of specific phobia, it can be serious and create significant disruptions in your life. Professional treatment can be very effective and help you return to normal functioning and manage your feelings of fear. If you think you might have this phobia, talk to a doctor or mental health professional about treatments that can help.