Do you have a phobia? What is it?

[pearlbubbles]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This:



.. made me think of this:

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co...be-afraid.html

Yes, that is precisely how I feel. I felt so much better about that thought when I read that post for the first time, haha.

[Alumiyum]

I have only three specific phobias. And when I say phobia I mean it. I can get a panic attack from these things sometimes...
-Heights. I can't even climb a tall later without getting hives. Other than being in an airplane (which for some reason I've never had a problem with) I can't get off of the ground without having issues. I don't even like being near large windows in tall buildings.
-Roaches, but specifically flying cockroaches. I get creeped out by any roach, but the flying ones scare me to a phobic level. I cannot handle those.
-Deep water. Especially open water. *shudder*

[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

[ASTalumna06]

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

I'm afraid of irons! I used to ALWAYS burn myself on them. I usually throw clothes in the dryer for a few minutes if they're wrinkled. And I've been known to use my hair straightener a few times for a quick solution to a small wrinkle problem...

[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.

[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.

[Alumiyum]

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.

See I have a hard time getting people to believe me about the roaches unless they see me see one because I have no issue at all with the Madagascar roaches, had a pet tarantula, wanted a scorpion, etc. I have no idea why the hissing cockroaches don't bother me but the far smaller ones around the house do...but they do.

I HAVE always wondered why things that are venomous (like tarantulas, spiders in general, scorpions, snakes) don't bother me in the least, but a harmless flying cockroach can paralyze me.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I'm afraid of irons! I used to ALWAYS burn myself on them. I usually throw clothes in the dryer for a few minutes if they're wrinkled. And I've been known to use my hair straightener a few times for a quick solution to a small wrinkle problem...

Come sit beside me and we can be afraid of crap together.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

Come sit beside me and we can be afraid of crap together.

Sounds splendid!

You bring the drain plugs, I'll bring the Downy Wrinkle Releaser

[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!

[indygphib]

Mice, rats, dead things (people included) and airplanes. I have to be on enough tranquilizers to take down an elephant to even get me inside the airport let alone on a plane and in the air. Ditto for mortuaries.

[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.

[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.

[laylo]

Originally Posted by txAOII_15

ROACHES. i cannot stand them. they scare the bejezuz out of me. especially the flying ones.

The WHAT?!! This knowledge will haunt me. In my old apartment if I had ever been attacked by a robber, no one would have helped me because the neighbors were so used to me screaming bloody murder when I saw a roach.

My other phobia is violence by a stranger. I've had it all my life (but being a Sopranos fan really did not help). Whenever someone I'm in the car with gets road rage I beg them to shut up because I'm afraid the other person will pull out a gun. I always wonder where this fear came from.