Do you have a particular phobia?

[ailsagirl]

This has probably been asked before-- if so, I missed it.

Mine are:

elevators (interestingly, there is no word for "fear of elevators&quot
dams
car accidents (if I come upon one, I become scared stiff and practically go into shock)

I have other things I don't like in the course of daily life, but these head my list

Anyone?

[femmocrat]

1. Heights.

I can't even look at a picture of someone up high without getting weak in the knees.

[ailsagirl]

2. Oh yeah-- me too

I feel this strange sensation in my stomach-- sort of a flip-flop kind of feeling

I think that's pretty common but nonetheless disturbing!!!

[TexasBushwhacker]

8. Me 3 - I freeze up n/t

[smirkymonkey]

48. Same here.

Even looking at a photo taken from a skyscraper makes me physically ill.

I also am afraid of bridges (especially when they are packed w/ traffic, elevators going to high floors and tunnels (again, being stuck in traffic).

[seveneyes]

3. Yes, the neighbor's daughter ...

[MicaelS]

4. Buzzing insects flying around my head.

I nearly jumped out of a second story window when a hawk moth flew in the room.

[valerief]

5. Falling on wet garbage. Ick!!!! nt

[madamesilverspurs]

6. Apparently.

Seems I suffer from claustrophobia, discovered in the course of attempting an MRI.

[ailsagirl]

7. YES-- claustrophobia

When I've had an MRI, I squeeze my eyes shut and try to visualize I'm in a spacious room with a tall (but not too) ceiling. I found that helpful.

I think claustrophobia is part of my phobia of elevators, though it's the depth of the shaft and all the cables and fear of something snapping and plummeting me to the bottom that disturbs me the most.

Yikes!!

[mythology]

9. I don't know if it qualifies as a phobia

but I have an intensely visceral reaction to mold. If I see it, or worse smell it, on food I tend to start dry heaving and have learned to just toss any food containers in the garbage even the nice pyrex containers. I don't fear germs, so it's not an extension of that, but mold is just ugh.

My parents moved into their current house and there was some mold in their basement due to lack of a dehumidifier. I went directly to Lowes, bought a full house dehumidifier and set it up in their basement because I couldn't stay in the house without that being cleared up.

[ailsagirl]

10. I just read that there are 100,000 different types of mold

(Sorry-- you probably didn't want to read that)

Mold can be dangerous so I don't think it's necessarily a phobia-- instead of just freaking out about it, you do practical things to eradicate it. Smart.

[Brother Buzz]

11. Mud

Beach, creek, or swamp mud. Phobias live in mud. I'm fine with sandy bottoms.

[NorthCarolinaL]

12. I fear the point of no return

Doing something that you can't ever take back. It's not debilitating, but it crops up every now and again.

[RebelOne]

13. Crabs. But only live ones.

I will eat any dead ones.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

14. Bridges and opossums.

[Hatchling]

15. Chihuahuas

I love dogs of all breeds and stripes (raised Saint Bernards at one time) but a childhood of being tortured by my grandmothers chihuahua has scared me permanently. I even got bit badly by a pit bull but I don't have a phobia about them, just use caution judging their owners.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. High bridges make me *very* nervous.

It isn't quite a phobia; I'll drive across bridges but I get kind of white-knuckled. I nearly freaked out driving across this bridge after a winter snowstorm (it was both slippery and windy):

?itok=6cuGMrpb

The bridge was shut down for repairs a few months later because it had started to look like this:



I really don't like bridges very much.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

29. Not unreasonable at all

I'm not fond of them either. This one is rather infamous:

I had a few unsettling drives across this one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_E._Tydings_Memorial_Bridge

[Arugula Latte]

17. Spiders.

And giant rocks that hang over your head. Or, hell, any massive structure that hangs over your head. You know how some funky hotels have floors that are pyramid shaped, so they go towards the center the higher they get? That freaks me the hell out. I feel like the whole thing is going to collapse on my head. I think this fear started with a field trip we took to the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco when I was a kid.

[shenmue]

18. Spiders, heights, airplanes

Oddly enough, I love airports. I freak out on planes, though. Hope I will overcome this someday.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. Here is how I got over being afraid of flying:

I took flying lessons. I was scared silly before my first solo but I didn't want to seem like a big ol' chicken so I did it - and I was never afraid of flying after that. It may be a bit extreme but it worked for me. I got my pilot license and eventually a flight instructor certificate and taught other (sometimes scared) people to fly.

[shenmue]

20. Not me

Not a chance.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

21. That's what I thought, too. Not a chance, I said.

But I kind of got dared to do it.

[shenmue]

22. Good for you

I'll stay here.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. But bridges still kind of scare me.

[Aerows]

23. Yes

Katsaridaphobia

Intense. I can't be in a room unless I have evidence that the cockroach is dead, and even so, I get twitchy if I *think* there might be one.

The fuckers run *to* me instead of *from* me.

Snakes, spiders, mice don't even bother me, but a cockroach will send me running like Freddy Kreuger and Ted Bundy are after me.

[Laffy Kat]

24. A weird one: Being chased by a tractor.

I have a memory of being chased by a tractor when I was very, very young and it terrified me. Now, it seems odd that it could have happened and I've often wondered if I dreamed it as a child (what kind of person on a tractor would chase a little girl?), but the memory sure has been there since I can remember. Wonder what Dr. Freud would say? Anyway, I was so traumatized I've never gotten over it.

[NJCher]

26. Now I'm going to have dreams

of tractors chasing little girls.

I knew it was going to be a weird night.


Cher

[Laffy Kat]

34. Ha! Sorry. nt

[jomin41]

35. Maybe it was in a movie.

I know I've seen a scene like that.

[Laffy Kat]

36. No, no. I know I didn't see it in a movie.

The fear and hazy memory go back to toddler-hood. It COULD have been a dream, but not a movie. I'm sure of it.

[mackerel]

25. I'm claustrophobic and spiders are a bit of a problem for me.

[olddots]

27. a morbid fear of liver wurst sandwichs

fear of having to listen to Stairway To Heaven , fear of being stuck in a room with Chris Christy and fear of haircuts ( only real fear )

[underahedgerow]

28. I USED to be phobic about so many things.. Needles, heights, small spaces, bridges, spiders...

and slowly, one by one, they all went away when I confronted them.

Needles, heck, I got kicked out of a hospital procedure because the needle they were going to ram into my knee was so huge I had a panic attack. A few years later while pregnant, they had to draw blood nearly every single week, so I finally just started laughing about it. THEN my Doc had to ram a huge needle into my ganglion cyst in my wrist, and it got so huge that we started laughing hysterically. And finally, I saw the itty, bitty, teeny tiny needle the size of a thread that my dentist was using for novocaine and I was really pissed off that I'd been so freaked out over it for my whole life.

Bridges, heights, well my brother repeatedly tried to kill me by throwing me off our local bridge (not even exaggerating) so I was very worried over heights and bridges. Then I started work for a lighting company and HAD to run around on the skybridges and up wire ladders to get to flying trusses and flying spot seats. Solved that problem in a BIG hurry! Tall buildings, cliff edges, rope bridges, gosh I just LOVE them and only worry about losing my footing, not the height!

Spiders are a whole nuther Oprah. Normally I try not to care too much and can squash them without fear, but there was this ONE spider that still haunts me... A big little f**ker, body the size of a penny, living in a tunnel hole in a door corner of a house I was clearing out for a client. I still have nightmares and flashbacks... I couldn't go near the doorway without a mild panic attack.... yick.

Elevators? Well, that fear seems to have passed, quite handily. I was in an elevator when it slipped. A very rare occurrence, but since I know elevator mechanics, I just wasn't worried, and shrieked 'yeee hah' as it slipped 3 floors.... the other passengers were freaking out and I was laughing my ass off. I got stuck for an hour in an elevator last year... called the company, they sent a guy out, and I just sat on the floor messing with my phone til he got there. He didn't understand why I wasn't freaked out, lol....

I was paranoid about earthquakes, especially after a few big ones in LA, but that panic was replaced by more yee-hah moments, especially in the '94 quake, which was right under my effing pillow, apparently. I knew we were safer in our 1 story bungelow which mitigated any genuine panic... while the BF was screaming and nearly crying. I parked him on the couch with my baby, he's all trembing and shaking... and hit the neighborhood with my neighbor turning off everyone's gas mains and checking for anyone needing help. I terminated our relationship shortly after that one. Seriously, will I ever find a man with more balls than me? Pffffft.

Bugs.. Domestic bugs, I can handle... exotic, ginourmous huge tropical dinosaurs with wings and too many legs like in South America and Asia? Oh hell no. Much as I would love to visit so many of those countries, I won't because of the big-ass bugs. Just no thanks.

So.... aside from that ONE stupid ENORMOUS spider and giant tropical insects, I've gotten rid of every phobia, yayayayay, it CAN be done! Mind over matter, rational replaces irrational.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. cockroaches

[Duppers]

31. MRIs

No other situation gives me claustrophobia. (A childhood friend locked me in a tiny broom closet and left me when I was a child.)

They have to give me a tranquilizer beforehand, then a blindfold and play music and talk to me through the speakers from time to time during the MRI Or I have an all-out panic attack. I've had to have several of MRIs.

I used to be terrified of spiders but got over that. Snakes...nawww, no problem.

[DawgHouse]

45. Have you been in an open MRI?

They are a little bit better. I had to have an MRI on my elbow and they tried to send me in to the tube face down in the "superman" pose. (Like he's flying, one arm extended up, the other at my side.) Uh, no. Ain't happening.

In the open MRI, I was able to lie on my back, blindfolded with country music blaring.

Note: If they ask if you want music, say Yes and select DISCO. The beat of the machine is very disco-like and kind of helps block the noise!

[Duppers]

46. Nope, i haven't.

Never had to lie face down either.

Very good suggestion. If I have to have another one, I'll try to find an "open" one. Thx for your suggestion!

[Phentex]

32. horses...

and I don't like to be chased by anything but that's not related to the horses.

[PassingFair]

33. Work.

Gives me the sweats.

[Angry Dragon]

37. christian republicans

[Duppers]

47. ...

[ailsagirl]

52. HAH!!

[underpants]

38. Jewelry and balloons

I can't stand being around jewelry let alone touching it. I do wear a wedding band- I just forced myself to do it.

Balloons and rubber bands too - I fear they will pop or snap and hit me in the eye

[cwydro]

41. When I was a child,

I was TERRIFIED of jack-in the-boxes. And yes, the same with balloons and rubber bands!

I thought I was the only one!

[Ahpook]

39. A sinking ship

I don't know what it is about a ship sinking but it flips me out

[cwydro]

40. I hate elevators too.

Not good on heights and very claustrophobic.

Oddly, I used to be a caver (spelunker), and those small places never bothered me.

Not wild about flying either. I think all my phobias are to do with losing control.

[KamaAina]

43. Repukaphobia.

[DawgHouse]

44. I don't like escalators.

I use them but do lots of "self talk" when I'm on one!

Those "teeth" at the end... the stuff of nightmares!

[Jamaal510]

49. Driving.

I still don't know how to drive. Part of the reason is because I've had 2 cars get totaled during rainy days, while another was stolen right out my parents' drive way. But the other reason is because I get nervous behind the wheel. I worry about getting into accidents, and worry about impatient people honking their horns. I'm nervous about continuing on with learning how to drive, but at the same time, I'm sick of having to rely on public transit and/or walking everywhere. By not having a car, I have to make more trips for groceries, it takes longer to get from point A to point B, and it tends to be tougher for a man who doesn't drive to keep a woman. I also want to be able to just cruise around the block and play my music like other guys.

[ailsagirl]

53. I hear you

If I didn't have to drive, I wouldn't. Let's face it-- it's the most dangerous thing we do.

I once came across a terrible accident where four people were killed-- a car going east on the freeway somehow launched over the barrier (wasn't a real barrier, which is probably why this happened) and landed in the westbound lane. It was terrible. The traffic was stopped by the highway patrol and one of those life-line helicopters was just landing. No one survived. Can you imagine driving along and suddenly a car launches over the "barrier" and comes right at you? Awful

[fizzgig]

50. plenty

moths, heights, flying, tornadoes, sharks and being on the open ocean (i'm fine if we're reasonably close to shore).

moths? yeah, kinda ridiculous.

heights i don't encounter often and i have happy pills for flying.

tornadoes? legit.

sharks and the open ocean? either absurd or understandable for a woman who's spent her whole life in colorado.

[ailsagirl]

54. Stepping on broken glass comes to mind

Swimming in a lake and in the shallow places walking and stepping on broken glass, etc.

How about ticks? Having one of those burrowing into you is pretty freaky.

Extreme burns-- the thought makes my stomach clench in horror

Indoor swimming pools bother me for some reason, too

I've opened a Pandora's Box of phobias, haven't I?

(shocked)

[Ino]

51. my mother (nt)

[WinkyDink]

55. Flying (BT, DT). Choking (will NOT take any pills!).

[HeiressofBickworth]

56. Just your standard fear of flying

Many years ago I had occasions to fly (to Europe, to Oregon, to Australia via Hawaii and Fiji and return), but when I took a short 1/2 hour hop to Spokane on business and cried the whole trip, both going and coming, I decided I was never going to fly again. That was 1979 and I never did fly again. The surprising result was that the nightmares I used to have about my flight crashing went away. Someone once asked me if I thought the nightmares were premonitions. Since I don't really believe in premonitions, the answer was no. But nonetheless, I never had that nightmare again. About 4 years ago, I had to go to the airport to pick up my unaccompanied granddaughter. Once I set foot in the building I began shaking and was having trouble speaking. Fortunately, I didn't have to go through security to get her. If I had, I'd be writing this from the comforts of a TSA cell.

[Danmel]

57. Birds kind of freak me out

A few are tolerable, thought I would never keep one as a pet. But if I get home and there are hundreds on the lawn, I drive away until they are gone. Something about those little eyes and that pecking thing really gives me the creeps.
I saw a nature show on pvs about hour smart crows are and now they scare me even more!!!!

[IrishEyes]

58. People

I'm a very shy person. I think I have social anxiety. Oddly enough I don't have stage fright though. I always feel comfortable on stage giving a speech or performing. i'm charming like a different person but I'm very shy when I have to talk to people one at a time and other social situations.

Also, I'm afraid of water but I'm learning to swim. I'm trying to conquer that fear a little.

I forgot balloons. I hate being close to them because I can't stand it when they pop.

Other than that I don't have a lot of fears. I'm not afraid of the usual things like heights, flying, closed spaces (unless it is in a crowd of people), elevators, animals, etc.

[Generic Brad]

59. Violent crazy people

They really scare me.

[seveneyes]

60. I found phobias do not compare to reality

When reality strikes you do what must be done. Death is their choice, not yours.

[bettyellen]

61. knives- as in cutting myself. funny I am very comfy with scissors though!

[IBEWVET]

62. nope

Just Lucky I guess