Ambulothanatophobia is the irrational fear of the walking dead and or zombies. The Term is was coined by blogger Found Drama in 2006 while researching the phobia, it has not yet been termed the official psychological term for the phobia. It is common among children, but also in adolescents and adults due in part to unsettling childhood experiences conveyed mostly through films. The phobia is related to Necrophobia, Thanatophobia, Phasmophobia, Sanguivoriphobia, Pharaohphobia (fear of mummies) being that this phobia is related to specific cultural and regional manifestations of the undead, and other fears pertainging to death, decay, and the undead. Causes Ambulothanatophobia is unlike other specific phobias in that it is the result of the conscious mind actively trying to avoid a certain situation or objects and can thus be classified as a type of behavioral disorder. As with many phobias it can be traced back to childhood encounters with images of the walking dead either living people in costume or through movies and increasingly through videogames such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill (though the macabe images in this series are psyhokinetic manifestations rather then actual beings). Ambulothanatophobia in Reality Due to this connection it is common for those with this fear to have and continously revise procedures of escape for what they believe will be the eventual plague of undead set upon mankind. These procedures are called 'Zombie Plans' and can be as simple as suicide to elborate dellusions of island compounds capabale of selfsataintion or space colonies. While these Zombie plans appear farfetched their creators are often noted to put forth realisitc strategic thought from military, survivalist, and civil engineering fields- which is seen as another testiment to the the extent of their phobia. Ambulothanatophics are often large contributors to the Zombie fanatic community within which they may find refuge. Treatment There is currently no psychological treatment avaiable for ambulothanatophobics other then minimally succesful self treatment. Ambulothanatophobia does not normally hinder the lives of those who hold this fear though in situations when faced with figures dressed as zombies there is the possibility of them experiencing a panic attack, conversly, due to the nature of their mental state they may already be well prepared for such a situation and fatal wound any threatening party (caution should be excercised with such indiviuals )
Funny, my best friend and I both have a severe zombie phobia and we often talk about what we will do when the zombie's attack, lol. Its mostly joking, but you never know.
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2. 27-05-2010 19:11
i used to absolutly love all zombie films, my favourite film for years was resident evil but in the last 2 years i have developed an irrational fear of zombies to the point were my partner cant even speak about them never mind a game with them in played in our house. i realy dont understand how it has turned into such a big thing for me x
