Beware, folks: It’s Friday the 13th

Have you heard of paraskavidekatriaphobia? It is the fear of the number 13 coinciding with the sixth day of the week, and it’s especially appropriate today, Friday the 13th.

Though it may seem like simple superstition, for those who suffer from paraskavidekatriaphobia, the sixth day of the week and the number 13 have foreboding reputations and their inevitable coincidence once or up to three times a year portends more misfortune than they can bear.

Unlike simple triskaidekaphobics, who fear only the number 13, paraskavidekatriaphobics consider Friday to be an unlucky day as well. Thus they avoid as much as possible going out or taking trips on Friday, dread the 13th floor of buildings (many buildings have even eliminated this number from their floor listings), sitting in the 13th row of airplanes, and so on.

Psychologists have found that because of their feeling of heightened anxiety on Friday the 13th, paraskavidekatriaphobics are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on that day.

But Friday the 13th will become an especially bad day if people focus on its supposed significance and create their own bad luck by paying attention to the number, psychologists said.

"Feeding energy into anything — especially a superstition — can cause manifestation of the event. If you believe that every time there is a Friday the 13th, something bad will befall you — then you will manifest an event of that type. Much of it is based on control by fear," psychologists say.

So, the occurrence of accidents, the happening of mishaps and the belief that spells, hexes and jinxes will come true largely depends on paraskavidekatriaphobics controlling their fears, especially on that dreaded day.

Incidentally, the Friday the 13th occurring today is the first in 2006, with the second one taking place in October. In the interim, paraskavidekatriaphobics can take it easy and try to live life as normally as they can.