Do you have a phobia? What is it?

[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.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

I used to have pet Madagascar Hissing roaches too!

Woohoo!

[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.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

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.

When I read your post, I was wondering about that, lol. Nah, they probably freak you out because they're not pets, they're disgusting, and annoying, I'm sure. I mean, I would love to be able to see a flying cockroach in real life, only because I've never seen one before. I've only read about them. Sometimes, I get cautious if I don't know what it is, if it's something I've never read about, or never seen. Most cockroaches are really gross, but what really interest me about them is their ability to adapt to almost anything. They're amazing creatures.

[Alumiyum]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

When I read your post, I was wondering about that, lol. Nah, they probably freak you out because they're not pets, they're disgusting, and annoying, I'm sure. I mean, I would love to be able to see a flying cockroach in real life, only because I've never seen one before. I've only read about them. Sometimes, I get cautious if I don't know what it is, if it's something I've never read about, or never seen. Most cockroaches are really gross, but what really interest me about them is their ability to adapt to almost anything. They're amazing creatures.

Well you should come down here sometime because trust me, at night you will see them! Haha they're freaking everywhere...and ironically those big dark brown flying ones are also called pine bugs and come from outside. So really, it's the little brown cockroaches without wings that are worse, because they live inside, are hard to get rid of, and are the ones that go from your bathroom to your kitchen spreading germs. But do those bother me as much as the flying ones? Nope. Haha.

ETA: I've got a friend/sister that will actually pick up the outside ones when we're in the backyard at night. Then of course she'll try to get close to one of us that is scared of them. Both myself and my roommate have actually thrown sizable objects at her when she would try to get near us with one.

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by Alumiyum

Well you should come down here sometime because trust me, at night you will see them! Haha they're freaking everywhere...and ironically those big dark brown flying ones are also called pine bugs and come from outside. So really, it's the little brown cockroaches without wings that are worse, because they live inside, are hard to get rid of, and are the ones that go from your bathroom to your kitchen spreading germs. But do those bother me as much as the flying ones? Nope. Haha.

ETA: I've got a friend/sister that will actually pick up the outside ones when we're in the backyard at night. Then of course she'll try to get close to one of us that is scared of them. Both myself and my roommate have actually thrown sizable objects at her when she would try to get near us with one.

lol
Your friend sounds like me. I love picking up bugs. I know I would try to catch one just to be able to hold it. Do they ever get inside like the wingless ones do? How big have you seen the flying ones get? Today, I went to an exotic pet store, and I saw an African giant millipede that I wanted to take home with me, but I have way too many pets. It was a male and he was so cool and very friendly. He curled up and played dead for a few minutes until he felt comfortable with 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