Do you have a phobia? What is it?

[ZTAngel]

Honey and syrup.

So gooey and so sticky. It freaks me out. When I was younger (elementary school), I got a little bit of syrup in my hair one day. I couldn't get it out and I got the sticky mess all over my cheek. For the rest of the day, all I could smell was sugary sweet syrup. To this day, I can't be at the same table with someone who uses syrup and honey. I was at a restaurant with friends and one of the desserts came with a pot a honey to dip the pastries in. I watched as my friends dipped in their pastries and the gooey mess got on their hands and the table. I couldn't take it. I literally bolted from the table with my heart beating out of my chest. My husband has to keep our maple syrup and honey way in the back of the pantry because just looking at it makes me a little faint. I eat my pancakes, waffles and French toast plain and actually prefer it that way. And I won't sit at the breakfast table with my husband while he eats pancakes because he loves to dump a ton of maple syrup on them. I have this fear that he'll accidentally bump his plate and that sticky mess will end up all over me. Oh, the horror....

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by carnation

Small planes. I used to love flying in them with my dad but then he was killed in a plane crash.

I'm so saddened by this. My heart dropped. God bless.

I am not a fan of planes but tolerate them because I like to travel internationally and large distances nationally.

I'm terrified of large bodies of water. I see other GCers share my fear. I will go to a pool but the deep pools make me lose my breath. I went to Dunn's River Falls and almost had a panic attack. Those who have been there know how Dunn's River Falls can be for some who don't like bodies of water beyond swimming pools. It empties into the sea. I tried to enjoy it but eventually got out of the water and just took photos of my significant other as he climbed the waterfall. I will never forgive him for taking me to Dunn's River Falls. LOL.

I could go on and on about large bodies of water. Stuff that happened when I was a kid. I'll stop there.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

Honey and syrup.

So gooey and so sticky. It freaks me out. When I was younger (elementary school), I got a little bit of syrup in my hair one day. I couldn't get it out and I got the sticky mess all over my cheek. For the rest of the day, all I could smell was sugary sweet syrup. To this day, I can't be at the same table with someone who uses syrup and honey. I was at a restaurant with friends and one of the desserts came with a pot a honey to dip the pastries in. I watched as my friends dipped in their pastries and the gooey mess got on their hands and the table. I couldn't take it. I literally bolted from the table with my heart beating out of my chest. My husband has to keep our maple syrup and honey way in the back of the pantry because just looking at it makes me a little faint. I eat my pancakes, waffles and French toast plain and actually prefer it that way. And I won't sit at the breakfast table with my husband while he eats pancakes because he loves to dump a ton of maple syrup on them. I have this fear that he'll accidentally bump his plate and that sticky mess will end up all over me. Oh, the horror....

I advise you to never ever ever watch 9 1/2 Weeks. LOL

[xibair]

I believe I am claustrphic. I had a full MRI yesterday and I thought I was going to die. I will never get another MRI again unless they knock me out.

My biggest phobia is FIRE ANTS. Those horrible ants always know when I am in the yard and go in full fledge attack. Fire ants are so common in Texas and they're big.

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Oh, I also have a fear of MAN-MADE heights.

Pike's Peak? Just fine.
St. Louis Arch? Terrifying

I never thought about it this way, but that's exactly how I feel. My fear of heights is bad. I went to the Florida-Alabama game at Tuscaloosa several years ago and, of course, they put the Florida fans at the top of the stadium. I had to mentally talk and calm myself down.

I also have a horrible phobia about snakes. I hate them.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I have an on and off fear of dying. I really, really, really don't like the idea of not existing anymore. What's the over/under before xfrodobagginsx pops in this thread to tell my how I can avoid this fear...

I'm kind of this way, too. But it wouldn't be a phobia for me because I don't think about it that much. But, when I do think about it, my fear is the question of what am I gonna see? I believe in a Heaven and Hell, Angels and Demons. Although, I believe I'm going to Heaven, it's just still scary knowing I'm going to have to stand in front of God, eventually. When I think about it, that kind of scares me.

[Gusteau]

Snakes. It's paralyzing, I physically react very strongly, even if it's just on TV or in a movie. I've mentioned this before, but any fraternity with snake related symbolism was automatically out for me.

I also have a fear of drains and faucets, but this is mostly related to the fear that snakes will come out of them. And this is something I've been afraid of for long before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets lol.

All of this stems back to a very vivid dream I had in second grade where my father brought a snake home from work and it jumped out of it's cage, bit my toe and tunneled through our living room floor. No, I didn't go into that room for a month.

[txAOII_15]

ROACHES. i cannot stand them. they scare the bejezuz out of me. especially the flying ones. for whatever reason, theyre really common in tx, thank god i havent seen one since i came out to school in philly. every time i see one, even if its in a movie i feel like im going to faint. ugh.

[LouisaMay]

Throwing up or being near someone who throws up.
I know no one likes to get sick, but I have panic attacks if I think that I might be sick or if my kids or someone near me seems sick.

[AGDee]

Mine are mellowing with age some.

First is spiders: I used to be so terrified that I was paralyzed by them. That had to change when I became a single mom. I have to be able to protect my babies (even as teenagers) from them, so I am able to kill them now. I still freak out inside though.

Bats: I didn't know this was true until there was one in my bedroom when I was doing an internship way back in 1987. Freaked the hell out of me. I didn't really have a fear before then.

Heights/bridges: These go together. I'm ok if I'm high up and sitting somewhere stable, far from windows. When I went to the top of the Sears Tower (don't care what it is called now, it is the Sears Tower to me), I had to kneel to be by the windows and look out. That's crazy because what's a foot or two lower when kneeling compared to high up you are? I can look OUT, but I can't look down, if that makes sense. I'm ok on a ladder. I would not be ok on a roof. Bridges absolutely terrify me, especially if I have to be the one doing the driving while going over them. I had to drive over the Mackinac Bridge once and it was the scariest thing ever. I had to stay on the inner most lane. If someone else is driving, I just close my eyes. One bridge near my house, which I have to use several times a year isn't that high, but it is still scary to me. Thank goodness it isn't too long. It's MUCH worse when the bridge is a gate and not concrete too.

ETA: As a child, I was terrified of fire. That's totally gone now, but when I was little, even an insurance commercial on TV or the witch setting the scarecrow on fire during the Wizard of Oz sent me into an uncontrollable panic. My brother and parents used to have to get me out of the room or distract me if fires were on TV.

I also used to be afraid of geese because I was feeding some when I was 2 1/2 and when I ran out of bread, they kept trying to get more, trying to get into my pockets, etc. I shouldn't remember anything from that age, but I remember that.

[sceniczip]

Bridges. I hate when you can feel them move. All I want to do is run away as fast as possible.

Also hate the deep end of swimming pools. I love to swim and swim laps all the time but only in pools that aren't deep (ie 4-5ft max). No idea why! I was on swim team for years and never had a problem.

[littleowl33]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Wow, it seems like the things I love and find fascinating, people are afraid of lol. I love fruit bats. I think they're adorable, and very friendly. Oh, and I've had a few Madagascar hissing cockroaches as pets before, too. They're really friendly.

I used to have pet Madagascar Hissing roaches too!

My only true phobia is driving, which sucks. Last year we hydroplaned and crashed into a truck and while there were no injuries (thank God) and minimal damage to the truck, our car was totaled and I was really traumatized. Since then I've been very, very scared of driving and I try to avoid it as much as possible. Unfortunately, I also don't like riding in my car while someone else is driving because I don't trust them not to crash my car (the accident I just mentioned, as well as a minor fender-bender we had last fall, both occurred when my poor boyfriend was driving). Weirdly, if I'm riding in someone else's car the fear goes away almost entirely. But in my own car, especially in rainy/bad driving conditions, I'm a wreck. I get stomach cramps, I feel light-headed and I can't breathe right.

This isn't really a phobia, but something that grosses me out to the point of nausea - people/animals eating or licking loudly. When I hear people slurping or chewing, or my dog licking herself, or basically anything of that nature it's deeply disgusting to me. I have to walk away. This was never an issue until a few years ago and it's kind of strange how visceral of a reaction I have to it, since it's gross, but not THAT gross.

I also cannot watch extreme violence/gore or people being tortured in movies or on TV. But that's not really abnormal, I don't think.

[lovespink88]

Originally Posted by twinkle555

Roaches, annnnd plugging in appliances..yep its REALLY hard for me to plug in anything besides my hairdryer, curling iron or straightener...its SO weird and it came on suddenly too

OH! Me too! Electricity freaks me out. Both of my parents have worked for the electric company for their entire careers. I've heard horror stories of accidents from my dad.

I have a huge phobia of natural gas (and I guess gasoline too) that developed recently. My junior year apt has a few problems with the water heater--we kept getting gas leaks. It was all resolved quickly, but the whole incident scared me. I get nervous when I light the stove now. Also, I've started getting super nervous about filling up the car during winter when it's dry, cause I'm afraid I'm gonna make a spark.

ETA:

Originally Posted by AGDee

When I went to the top of the Sears Tower (don't care what it is called now, it is the Sears Tower to me)

DAMN RIGHT!

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

I used to have pet Madagascar Hissing roaches too!

Woohoo!

[DiamondAthena]

Reading this makes me realize I really am not afraid of much, but the one thing I am afraid of is being stuck in a nightmare where I'm afraid. Typically, I am quite brave to the point of being stupid in dreams. I take on the biggest, scariest home invaders while my husband and child run to safety But sometimes I have nightmares where I am afraid and I know it's a dream but I can't wake myself up and those dreams can keep me up all night from fear of them "coming back".

I just moved into a new house and I think subconsiously I might be scared of someone breaking in cuz I dream about it often