Ah, Friday the 13th. A day the most superstitious avoid like the…well, you get the idea. From avoiding the barber to skipping the 13th floor, to avoiding giving birth altogether, the superstitious avoid tempting the fates carefully on Friday the 13th. Certain numbers attract dark superstitions — from the “Mark of the Beast,” to the “Devil’s Hour” at 3 am - but the number 13 may be the darkest of them all. Maybe you’ve worked in a building with no 13th floor — or maybe you’ve avoided the 13th floor yourself. Maybe you’ve read of people whose obsession with the number tormented them.

Those with a crippling, persistent, irrational psychological fear of the day suffer from what is known as “Paraskevidekatriphobia”. It’s also referred to as “Friggatriskaidekaphobia”, with the prefix “Frigg” meaning “Friday” in Norse, and “triskaidekaphobia”, which is the fear of the number 13 in general. That’s right, there’s an actual clinical disorder for one’s irrational fear of Friday the 13th, with over 20 million Americans and many others worldwide suffering from the disorder. And apparently, if you’re able to pronounce the name of your phobia, you will cure yourself of it forever. But we at The Fear Less U know better, because we profess that it’s not about conquering your fears, but being present with them, questioning your comfort with them, and exhausting your understanding of them in an effort to outperform them.

Today’s Fear Less 5 is all about Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or “Friggatriskaidekaphobia” and outperforming the fear of Friday the 13th!

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