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Merrick, NY—Anyone who grew up watching A Charlie Brown Christmas will remember this scene in which Lucy the amateur psychiatrist tries to evaluate why Charlie Brown is depressed: 

“Are you afraid of responsibility?” she asks. “Then you have hypegiaphobia.”

“No,” says Charlie Brown, “that’s not it.” Lucy continues naming a host of phobias, including cats and stairs, none of which seem to be Charlie Brown’s issue. But she didn’t hit on one that plagues NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.: kosmemophobia, or the fear of jewelry.

For real?

Yes, for real. Kosmemophobia is a diagnosed medical condition, and one that Earnhardt suffers from, as revealed in this interview on ESPN. Recently engaged, he overcame his revulsion long enough to buy his fiancée, Amy Reimann, a sizable looking diamond, and she will wear a wedding ring once they’re married. But in deference to his condition, she doesn’t wear any other jewelry.

Glamour magazine and Refinery 29.com addressed the subject. There’s even a Facebook page for sufferers of the condition, which is linked to OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. 

The root of the word comes from the Greek “kosmem-“ which means “adornment.” In Greek, jewelry is κοσμήματα, or “kosmimata.” The word “cosmetic” also is derived from the same root, although the fear of cosmetics is called “maquillaphobia,” from the French maquiller, to apply makeup. Metallophobia, the fear of metals or metallic objects, and cuprolaminophobia, fear of coins, are corollary to kosmemophobia. People who fear one may often fear either or both of the others.

Meanwhile, Earnhardt doesn’t think his phobia is strange. He simply says that while most folks are grossed out by spiders or snakes, for him it’s jewelry. 

Top image: People magazine and Reimann's Twitter feed