Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia: Fear of the number 666

The person who feels an  unjustified, persistent and irrational fear of  the number 666  suffers from hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, a phobia whose definition must be understood according to its literality.

It must be interpreted this way because, although a priori it is thought that its origin lies in the numerical representation of  the arrival of the antichrist , the person who suffers it feels an illogical fear of the number as such, with the consequent limitations that this implies for his life .

What is hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

The one that concerns us is a phobia that makes those who suffer from it  avoid everything that can be related to the number 666 . However, although to a lesser extent, they may also reject the number as a product of relationships between other numbers (in the style of the fraction 5/3).

Likewise, they  qualify as bad luck to obtain three sixes in a hand of poker , despite being a good result.

On June 6, 2006 (06-06-06), how could it be otherwise, was also considered by them as a fatal day. Some believe that the number 23 also brings bad luck, because 2 divided by 3 results in 6 periodic (0.666).

Some curious cases related to the number of the antichrist

As a curiosity to say that throughout history there have been cases of famous hexakosioihexekontahexaphobic characters, institutions or population nuclei,   among which the following stand out:

  • The former president of the United States, Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy, who in 1989 moved to the Bel Air sector, changing their address from 666 St. Cloud Road to 668
  • The 666 Moscow bus line that became 616 in 1999, a real irony if one takes into account that the chosen one is the real number of the Beast
  • The European Parliament vacating seat 666
  • In 2003 US Highway 666 was renamed 491

Another significant example is found in the Honduran state telephone company that changed the number from 6 to 7 digits, giving the city of El Progreso the “malignant” prefix. Its Catholic inhabitants insisted on their new change until they succeeded in its replacement by 668.

What are the causes of this controversial phobia

Its origin is found in the belief in the verse of the Bible  Revelation 13:18 , in which it is indicated that 666 would be the number of the mark of the beast.

This figure is noted as the number of “evil” three times in the biblical text, a circumstance that is equally striking if one thinks that the number of repetitions with respect to its biblical mentions is also the number of digits that the number has.

The aforementioned controversy is associated with the fear of 666 largely being  an artifact of popular Christianity . However, almost all Christian intellectuals and theologians today agree that the number was nothing more than a reference to a Roman emperor who was dedicated to persecuting Christians.

This role is usually attributed to Domitian, although others prefer the more popular Nero, although the latter seems to have fewer possibilities.

In any case, the intellectuals maintain that Caesar himself could favor that number or that Christians used it as a code to refer to him.

In certain numerologies, the triple sixes symbolize a  trinity of betrayal, revenge and bitterness , while in others they are an icon of harmony, beauty and charm.

Finally, it could be the consequence of the Jewish religion considering 7 as a perfect number. Thus, 6 would be the number of the imperfection and, therefore, 666 would have the meaning of “three times imperfect”.

How to overcome the fear of 666

People with this type of onset phobia tend to  avoid triple six images or cases . That is the protection and defense mechanism they use. The change in the daily routine to which those who suffer from the fear of 666 are subjected is materialized in gestures such as avoiding facing pages of books, horror movies or car license plates in which this figure appears.

So, much less want to see this figure on their phone numbers, lottery coupons or plane tickets and even getting a weight of 66.6 on their scale represents a problem for them!

Among its most common treatments are the following therapies:

  • Exposure therapy.  Gradually confronts the subject with the images or events that produce the phobia
  • Cognition therapy.  Based on the knowledge of the subject that fosters the phobia aimed at identifying the illogical and unnecessary of the concrete fear
  • Shock therapy. Seeks the sudden confrontation of the patient with the cause of the phobia, always under adequate professional assistance
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Alexa Clark specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She has experience in listening and welcoming in Individual Therapy and Couples Therapy. It meets demands such as generalized anxiety, professional, love and family conflicts, stress, depression, sexual dysfunction, grief, and adolescents from 15 years of age. Over the years, She felt the need to conduct the psychotherapy sessions with subtlety since She understands that the psychologist acts as a facilitator of self-understanding and self-acceptance, valuing each person's respect, uniqueness, and acceptance.

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