What Is Arachibutyrophobia? (Fear of Peanut Butter)

The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread
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Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of having peanut butter stick to the roof of your mouth. It does not actually involve the fear of peanut butter as an object. It is often rooted in a more generalized phobia of choking (pseudodysphagia) or of sticky textures, but it may also occur alone.

Like all phobias, arachibutyrophobia varies in severity from person to person. For instance, some people are able to consume small quantities of peanut butter, perhaps as a dip for vegetables, while others are afraid to eat peanut butter at all. In some cases, the fear extends to other peanut products, from peanut butter ice cream to peanut sauces.

At a Glance

If you have an extreme fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth, then you might have arachibutyrophobia. What makes this different from normal fear is the intensity, avoidance, and disruption to daily life. Fortunately, arachibutyrophobia is very treatable with cognitive behavioral or exposure therapies. Keep reading to learn more about how to recognize arachibutyrophobia, what causes it, and how to get help.

Symptoms of Arachibutyrophobia

Like other types of phobias, a person with arachibutyrophobia may experience a number of emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms. Common symptoms associated with the fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth include:

  • Feelings of fear or anxiety when they encounter situations where they might ingest peanut butter
  • Physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and trembling
  • Feeling of dizziness, nausea, or stomach upset
  • Avoiding any situation where they might encounter peanut butter as an ingredient
  • Disruptions in daily life or activities due to fear and avoidance

What Causes Arachibutyrophobia?

Arachibutyrophobia is a type of specific phobia. While the exact causes of specific phobias are not fully understood, there are a number of factors that can play a role in their onset:

  • Genetics and family influence: Research has shown that phobias tend to run in families. This is due to inheritance and observing anxious behaviors in family members.
  • Temperament: People who have higher levels of a characteristic known as behavioral inhibition are more likely to develop phobias and other anxiety disorders.
  • Traumatic experiences: Having a traumatic experience with peanut butter can also contribute to the development of arachibutyrophobia. For example, if you choked on peanut butter in the past, the experience might cause you to develop an intense fear of having the same thing happen again.

Peanut Allergy May Be the Trigger

On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of the eight foods a person is most likely to have a severe allergic reaction to, peanuts are listed (along with tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, milk, eggs, and wheat).

While being afraid of having peanut butter stuck to the top of your mouth might seem like an unusual thing to be fearful of, the prevalence of peanut allergies and how serious they can be makes it clear why this phobia exists.

As you can trace many specific phobias back to a traumatic incident in the past, seeing someone have an allergy attack as the result of eating peanut butter as a child, maybe at school or daycare, can have a long-lasting effect—and be the trigger behind someone's arachibutyrophobia.

On the other hand, you might be able to trace your fear to choking on peanut butter as a child, although you might have been too young to remember it now. Or you may have seen someone choking on it on television.

Choking on peanut butter is actually quite common. In fact, according to a report on adults and children with developmental disabilities in New Jersey, sandwiches were the leading cause of choking incidents, with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich involved in the majority of cases.

How Is Arachibutyrophobia Diagnosed?

Arachibutyrophobia is not a distinct diagnosis in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5-TR), the manual that doctors and mental health professionals use to diagnose mental health conditions. Instead, it would be diagnosed as a specific phobia.

Specific phobias are intense, irrational fears of a specific situation or object.

To be diagnosed with a specific phobia, a person must experience:

  • Excessive, unreasonable fear of a specific object or situation
  • The stimulus must trigger an immediate anxiety response
  • Avoidance of the stimulus or enduring it with extreme distress

These symptoms also must be life-limiting, last six months or longer, and not be caused by another mental health condition.

Here is an example patient scenario: Jennifer was reluctant to eat peanut butter after nearly choking on a large, sticky peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When she began to avoid peanut sauces as well, Jennifer's therapist diagnosed her with arachibutyrophobia.

How Common Is Arachibutyrophobia?

Prevalence estimates vary. The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) suggests that 9.1% of U.S. adults have experienced a specific phobia in the past year. Another study found that around 5.5% of the worldwide population had a specific phobia in the previous year. It's not uncommon to have more than one phobia or to misdiagnose your condition without professional help.

Treatment for Arachibutyrophobia

Like other types of specific phobias, arachibutyrophobia is highly treatable. First-line treatments for this phobia include:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on overcoming your fears by helping you learn new patterns of behavior and thinking. A therapist will help you identify the underlying negative thought patterns that contribute to feelings of fear and anxiety.

CBT helps you replace anxious thoughts with more positive, realistic ones and develop coping skills that will help you manage feelings of fear.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is a form of CBT that involves progressive exposure to the source of your fear. Repeated exposure to that stimulus in a safe environment can lead to the gradual reduction of fear symptoms. In many cases, it also involves practicing CBT and relaxation techniques during exposure to reduce anxious thoughts and combat anxiety.

Research has shown that exposure therapy can lead to long-lasting relief of phobia symptoms.

Depending on the severity of your phobia, successful treatment can take as little as one to three sessions.

Of course, some people simply avoid eating peanut butter. Remember, too, that treatment for a specific phobia is only needed when that phobia causes a person distress and/or an impairment in their everyday functioning. 

Keep in Mind

While arachibutyrophobia is an uncommon type of specific phobia, it can be serious and create significant disruptions in your life. Professional treatment can be very effective and help you return to normal functioning and manage your feelings of fear. If you think you might have this phobia, talk to a doctor or mental health professional about treatments that can help.

If you or a loved one are struggling with symptoms of a phobia, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for information on support and treatment facilities in your area. 

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.

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Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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By Lisa Fritscher
Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.