The fear of long sentences is commonly referred to as Hippopotomonstrifichesquippedaliophobia or Hippo-phobia.
The Fear of Long Words is referred to as Hippo-phobia because it is usually caused by being scared of large crowds. So, if you have experienced crowds or large crowds then you can probably understand why a person might experience the Fear of Long Words. Remember that famous saying from the movie “After Earth” that says fear is just a mind construct but it doesn’t really exist? People with this phobia will never want to know how they feel because they would think that what they feel is a figment of their imagination.
So, what is it about the fear of a long word that makes it so crippling and often causes an anxiety attack? Well if you are a writer you probably have encountered this fear at some point in time in your career.
For example, imagine yourself writing an article about the new Toyota Tacoma and you have to write about the Toyota Tacoma’s name, color, and engine specs. You know that the car is pretty cool and you can get that article published if you do it properly but you also have a phobia about long sentences. So, when the time comes to write that article you find yourself dreading the length of your sentence and the thought of going over the same words over again. That’s where the Fear of Long Words starts.
If you don’t believe me then let’s look at another example of people who have this phobia.
Imagine yourself sitting at a restaurant, eating your meal while your mouth is full of food and suddenly, a waiter walks by and says, “Please excuse us, we are taking your order for our boss. Have you ever noticed that in the movies, they always say ‘Have a seat’ and then walk away?”
I’m sure that most people would immediately cringe because they have a fear of being spoken too loudly, especially if they have a phobia of long sentences. However, a waiter could be talking quietly but clearly not to them and that would help them understand why they were taken by surprise, they are in a public place and therefore, they must not speak too loudly. They would still have their Phobia of Long Words.
The Fear of Long Words is actually caused by a fear of being interrupted, it is an anxiety that your words don’t have a chance of coming out right. If someone walks by and interrupts your words, even slightly, it makes you feel like you can’t breathe and you automatically start to tense up. It is like you’re trying to keep the conversation going but you just can’t.
In fact, the Fear of Long Words is also known as a fear of being interrupted in the presence of strangers because they can be an easy source of anxiety because it makes you afraid of being stared at. This anxiety leads to hyperventilation, nausea, shaking, sweating, and headaches.
So the key to overcoming your fear of long sentences is to overcome the Fear of Long Words. There are many ways to do that but one of the best ways is to overcome the phobia by practicing.
Many people try to practice writing short sentences by reading short articles to themselves to build up their confidence, and then they practice writing longer sentences by reading a short article. You could even use this same strategy for writing your sentences out loud. This way, you can practice saying the words out loud and then reading them back to yourself. so you can build your confidence up and be able to talk and write sentences just like the professionals. Once you can do this, you will be amazed how quickly you gain confidence and finally overcome your Fear of Long Words and write sentences without having to worry about the people around you hearing you.
