Rita Ora undergoing therapy for death phobia

She has suffered from Thanatophobia since childhood

Published 24th Aug 2015

Rita Ora has revealed that she’s undergoing therapy sessions for her fear of death.

The X Factor judge says she has had panic attacks since her childhood due to the phobia – scientifically named Thanatophobia - and now tries to see a therapist weekly.

“Death is my biggest phobia,” Rita told Metro. “I used to have panic attacks when I was little, saying, ‘Mum, I don’t want to die.’ I’ve been to therapy and still try to go every week.”

In a separate interview, Rita said that a huge panic attack in 2013 causes her to change her outlook on life.

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“It scared the living s*** out of me. I started to value things, see things differently,” she said. “This world can really eat you up and you can forget who you are.’

Of course, Rita isn’t the only celebrity to be affected by crippling phobias.

Find out which celebrities suffer from a fear of seagulls (Ornithopia), Spoons (Koutaliaphobia), Horses, (Ichthyophobia), paper (Papyrophobia) and escalators (Escalaphobia) below!

The X Factor returns to ITV at 8pm this coming Saturday (29th August). A second episode will air at the same time on Sunday.

GALLERY: 21 really strange celebrity phobias