A woman with a rare phobia of tomato ketchup suffers panic attacks when confronted by the sauce – comparing it to ‘being held at gunpoint’. Leigh Woodman says her fear of the popular condiment, otherwise known as mortuusequusphobia, has plagued her for as long as she can remember.
The 32-year-old said someone holding a bottle in her face makes her feel like she’s ‘being held at gunpoint’ and ‘having a panic attack’. She’s banned ketchup from her house, despite her boyfriend liking it, and even avoids looking at it if she’s aware it’s in the room.
Leigh said her phobia is often the butt of cruel practical jokes – such as when a family member made her cry by covering her caravan in red sauce more than 15 years ago. She says her ‘worst fear’ is having to throw away her plates for being ‘infected’ by tomato sauce in the dishwasher.
She hopes to break the stigma surrounding her unusual fear and hopes people will begin to take her ketchup phobia more seriously. Leigh, from Bristol, said: “I can’t even look at a bottle [of ketchup] or have it anywhere near me.I’m fully aware of how dramatic it sounds and I’ve always been embarrassed by it.
“If someone were to hold me at gunpoint, I would freeze and panic and that’s exactly how I’d feel if someone shoved ketchup in my face. I’ve no idea how this all began because it’s [happened for] as long as I can remember.My mum told me that I used to have happy meals as a kid with ketchup but I can’t remember that.
“I just remember being absolutely petrified of it and I’ve just never been able to even look at it. I know [if there’s ketchup in the room] to not even look at it or pay any attention to it.If it’s put in my face, I’ll freeze. It’s more of a panic attack.
“The smell and the texture is really bad. I don’t like tomatoes but I don’t actually have a tomato phobia – it’s nothing like ketchup.My boyfriend knows if we sit down in Nando’s and there’s ketchup on the table to move it out the way.Some people with this phobia connect ketchup with blood but I don’t think it’s that for me. I’m personally not scared of blood.”
Despite her aversion to ketchup, Leigh admits she’s not scared of other condiments like mayonnaise or barbecue sauce.She even says her ketchup-loving pals will block her view of the sauce and their food to avoid disgusting her.Leigh said: “I’ve been out with friends and they’ve ordered ketchup before and they’ll barricade my view with the menu. I’m not going to tell them not to have it.
“My partner does like it but since he’s been with me he generally just doesn’t have it. Ketchup is definitely banned from the house.If someone waved it in my face, I would be sick. The smell of it just makes me feel so sick.
“My worst fear is it being all over my dishwasher because I would never be able to use that or any of my plates or cutlery again. It makes me feel panicky.”
Leigh said her rare fear can lead to practical jokes and ridicule but hopes the phobia will be taken more seriously in the future. Leigh said: “When I left school, my family went to Newquay and I remember one of them covered the caravan in ketchup, knowing I had this fear, and it reduced me to tears.
“Because it’s not a well-known phobia and fear, I think people just see it as a joke and find it funny. I think people should definitely take it more seriously.I wouldn’t be interested in even trying [exposure therapy]. This is just something I think I’m going to have to live with forever.”