We all have irrational fears. Whether it's screaming every time you see a spider or crying after you get stuck in a small space, everybody has one thing that makes them feel terrified.
But a new study has revealed Britain's top irrational fears, and some of them are not what you'd expect.
According to the survey, fear of clowns is the most common phobia, with 16 per cent admitting to getting weirded out by the circus performers.
But while we'll admit clowns are pretty creepy, some very unusual phobias made an appearance. Common irrational fears included: supermarkets, bellybuttons, broccoli, squirrels, cheese...and shower curtains. The fear of pregnant women also made it on the list. What's wrong with a baby bump?
Psychologist and phobia specialist Dr Becky Spellman explained why we get so terrified from such strange things, saying: ‘Many, perhaps most of us, have at least one irrational fear, which causes us to shudder with horror when we see or even think of the object of our dread.
'We call these fears "irrational" because they are related to things or circumstances that, objectively, don't pose us any threat at all. One explanation is that we do live in a frightening world, and that every day we are all at risk - even if it is only a small risk - of experiencing something bad happening to us.
She added: 'In this way, unless it gets out of hand, our irrational fear can be a useful coping mechanism to get by in an alarming world, by focusing negative feelings on something that is unlikely to ever hurt us.'
Different colours also popped up a number of times on the list, with green, red and yellow appearing to be the most scary.
Britain's most common irrational fears:
- Clowns - Vomiting - The dark - Elevators - The number 13 - Feet - Escalators - Birds - Zombie apocalypse - Belly buttons - Lumps in food - Fish - Buttons - Bananas - Hair - Stairs - Food with holes in it - Fake nails - Beards - Shower curtains - Cheese - Pregnant women - Broccoli - The Pope - Plasters - Meat - Falling asleep - Tramps - Trains - The colour green - Supermarkets - Rain - Mud - Squirrels - Matches - Fizzy drinks - The colour red - The colour yellow - Hands
