A mum of two who has had a crippling fear of peas since being force-fed them at school has said her “terror” at the sight of them causes her to have panic attack-like symptoms and her phobia “stunted her childhood” as she did not want to visit friends’ houses in case they were served.
Maddy Alexander-Grout, 39, a consumer money specialist, who lives with her husband, James, 41, and their children Ben, seven, and Harriet, four, believes her fear stems from being forced to finish her peas at lunchtime at school – when she used to “stuff peas into (her) cheeks like a hamster” and spit them out in the toilet. Maddy was diagnosed with ADHD in 2022 and thinks her fear of peas is also partly due to her “struggle with sensory processing” as she hates their texture and taste, and claims her phobia is so “deep-rooted” that no therapist could cure it.
The phobia even has an impact on Maddy’s job – she is in the process of making a money-saving tips app, Mad About Money, and she cannot bear to include peas on any recipe list or film TikTok videos in restaurants where peas are being eaten. Maddy is often teased by her friends and family about her dislike of peas, with her dad once giving her a can of peas for her birthday as a joke – which made her cry for hours – but asserts that it is not funny and she is “genuinely scared of peas”.
