Omphalophobia

Omphalophobia is a fear of umbilici.
Omphalo = navel in Greek
Phobia = strong and persistent irrational fear
This fear can be expressed as either
* fear of one's own umbilicus
* fear of others' umbilici
Most patients exhibit both expressions.
Most psychoanalytic papers linked this fear with an unconscious symbolic meaning, mostly linked to sexuality.
As this phenomenon has not been studied by scientists yet, this leaves a lot of phobics in an akward situation of incomprehension of this fear and a feeling of loneliness of being different.
Contrary to most of the fear which are linked to an external phenomemon, the Omphalophobia is linked to the rejection of a part of the person's own body. A disconfort is often linked to the presence of the belly button itself with the feeling of an umbilical cord still linked to the internal organs. Several doctors explain this feeling by the fact that the scare can be tied to the abdomenal muscles.
The main expression of this fear is a total rejection of contacts with this part of the body. Several testimonials talk about impossibility to clean it, to have someone getting close to this part of the body, or even just the feeling that something is pulling the umbilicus from inside. But this can also be a rejection of contact with the other's umbilici or the view of an umbilicus being touched.
The simple view of an Umbilicus can increase the stress of the phobic and can even be source of nausea. Even pictures can create an intense discomfort for the phobics :

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