Palaphobia: Fear of Shovels and How to Overcome It?

Is your fear of shovels keeping you from fully enjoying winter? There might be an evolutionary explanation. Learn more about the causes of your fear as well as how to get rid of palaphobia.

Palaphobia Definition

Palaphobia comes from the Latin word for shovel, which is “pala,” and “phobos,” the Greek word for fear. This extreme fear of shovels and other hand held tools (like brooms) may actually be an evolutionary response: shovels, specifically snow ones, have long been linked to early mornings and cold hands.

In many people, the fear of shovels elicits a “disgust response”. People with severe palaphobia have such an extreme aversion to shovels that they may be afraid to go into their basement or garage because a shovel may be present. If they encounter a situation requiring shoveling, they may actually call Elements Mountain Company rather than put on some gloves and clear a minor amount of snow our tractors cannot reach.

Causes of Palaphobia

For some, Palaphobia is a learned response — it makes an impression when they see a family member look outside, scowl and immediately pull up our Google Business Page on their smart phone to call our office.

Some snow removal experts theorize that a fear of shovels is influenced by one’s cultural background. In certain more temperate areas, shovels are rare. However, in Northern and mountainous regions, where shovels are a right of passage into adulthood, people may be unafraid of them.

Palaphobia Symptoms

Symptoms of palaphobia can appear initially during childhood or adolescence, but we mostly see it manifest itself in adults new to mountain life. The typical symptoms are:

• Confusion
• Feelings of losing control
• Rapid heart rate
• Angry & repetitious phone calls to customer service
• Frantic Yelp research
• Perturbed posting to Nextdoor
• Venting on Facebook
• Sudden urge to punch something

DISCLAIMER: This Article Is Meant As Humor

If you are disabled then shoveling is out of the question. We are NOT targeting our disabled community members. We greatly appreciate every single one of you and we are on the way to clear your home!

Treatments for Palaphobia

Often, a combination of hot coffee and a good pair of gloves may be used to treat palaphobia. Relaxation techniques such as a good podcast or your favorite workout tune can be helpful in the treatment of palaphobia.

As with other phobias, palaphobia can be treated with facing it head on by going outside, grabbing your shovel and getting it done. If you look at it as your morning exercise, that cognitive reframing will help a person learn to change the way they look at shovels. Your perception will change from a fear into a daily escape.

Overcome Your Fear

Read up on your snow removal contract with us. You will learn that shoveling what small amount of snow we ask you to do, is far easier than shoveling the entire driveway.

“Just head out there and do the little bit of shoveling needed each day. I let it build up on my first month here and got to spend an entire Sunday chiseling an ‘ice speed bump’ off the driveway so my vehicle would pull into my garage without hitting the roof.” – A recent transplant and Elements’ Snow Client

Living in the mountains and enjoying the many spoils that come with it requires some new lifestyle realities. Shoveling is one of those realities and we understand it is not the most enjoyable morning task, but it is still a reality.