So how bad is it? About 20 million Americans and probably scores more worldwide, are believed to suffer from an irrational fear of this day. Known asfriggatriskaidekaphobiacs (derived from the words frigg, the Norse goddess whom Friday is named after and triskaidekaphobia, the irrational fear of the number 13),their symptoms range from mild anxiety to nagging fears that something bad is about to happen, to full-blown panic attacks.
While nobody is sure why the combination of this date and day evokes such dread, there a few theories. Some believe that it begins with the irrational fear of the number 13 suffered by Triskaidekaphobiacs, regardless of what day it falls on. Again, the reason behind that totally confounds researchers. According to Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist at the University of Delaware, it could be because people perceive 12 to be a complete number - there are 12 months in a year, 12 zodiac signs, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus . . . so on and so forth. Hence, the number right after that seems incomplete and therefore, deemed unlucky.
As for Friday? That happens to be rooted in ancientmythology and religion - Per the bible, Jesus was crucifiedon a Friday. Though the date is not believed to be the 13th, it was following the Last Supper, which happened to be attended by 13 men that included Judas Iscariot, the apostle that betrayed Jesus. Other biblical scholars maintain that this was the day when Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit - Again, the date is a little hazy. The one bad event that is believed to have happened on Friday the 13th, was the slaying of Abel by his brother Cain (The sons of Adam and Eve).
Unfortunately since there is nological reason behind this fear, not much can be done toalleviate it. However, Dr. Donald Dossey at Asheville,North Carolina's Stress Management Center/Phobia institute believes she may have found a solution.
She recommends people living with this fear to learn how to pronounce the wordparaskevidekatriaphobia, the other term for the ailment. In her expert opinion, they will be cured the minute they are able to say it out loud, correctly. So go ahead, give it a try and let us know if it works!
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