Leukophobia means fear of the color white. It could be anything that is white or related to white from white shoes, white house, white car, white hat, and even white people, and in the winter it could be the fear of snow. People who suffer from leukophobia can become extremely distraught suffering from anxiety fear, and depression.

Phobia is an intense irrational fear, of something that in reality poses little or no actual danger.

One of the most common fears of white is the phobia of white people. It affects over 250,000 people in America alone. Interestingly, people of color may be afraid of white people in many countries. In the United States for example, white people or Caucasians, dominate the political and work landscape. They have the most common look. Others from different nationalities look differently and talk differently. These minorities may feel that they do not have the same opportunities as the white people. Thus they grow despondent and depressed, and may develop a leukophobic disposition.

People with leukophobia find themselves very uncomfortable in the presence of white people and will do anything to avoid them.

Similarly, people fearing anything else in white, could be in general or specific also experience panic and anxiety when confronted with the triggering object related to their fear, for e.g. I have known people who refused to even consume anything white like milk or milk products in white color, some others were found to be afraid of white snow during winter and showed severe anxiety symptoms whenever winter approached.

Causes
One of the causes could be conditional phobia. This was proved by an American Psychologist  John Watson in 1920s.He had actually taught or made an 11yr old boy develop the fear of white rats.

Fear of white people could arise due to any traumatic experience related to racism, or simply through media, news or movies.

Sometimes repeated hearing of stories narrated or taught in schools could also help in developing this phobia.

Symptoms.
shaking/trembling,
sweating excessively,
nausea,
dizziness,
hyperventilation,
chest pain,
dry mouth,
freezing,
losing control over emotions,
hyperactive bowels,
palpitations
fear of dying,
difficulty in speaking, or talking irrelevantly.
Lack of positive outlook

Treatment
In the case of fear of white people, repeated exposure may not give desirable results. It may turn into severe hatred and have an catastrophic end.
Instead they could be counseled tactfully to strengthen their positive thoughts first. A professional help is a must.

For the fear of white color in general or specific conditions, cognitive therapy is applied.

The person affected should have a strong desire to overcome his fear, especially if it is interfering with his daily life, job or family life.
Also if the symptoms are severe enough prescription medication may be made available. But the drugs help in removing the symptoms and not the phobia. There are strong chances of recurrence once medication is stopped.

The author of this article is Rashmi Nandgaonkar, a registered nurse and mid-wife currently managing her own hospital in India. She has also successfully completed numerous workshops in special education on special children and ayurvedic cooking. Recipient of the Mayors award for the title of Best Nurse during her working experience. She is an avid reader, enjoys creative cooking and spending spare time with her kids.
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