Phobias - Updated! Pg 3 now includes names and info!

[Gaspode]

Hiya,

Following my very scary encounter with a spider this morning (see the riddle thread for more details LOL), I thought I'd ask all CBers what they have phobias about.

I've a keen interest in phobias, mainly because I suffer (severely) from three of them. I did a project on them during Psychology ALevel (not sure of US equivalent, you do them at 18). I just find them very interesting.

I want to stress that I don't find them amusing in any way, apart from trying to laugh at my own sometimes to try and make myself feel better! I don't appreciate the people who think I am silly etc so I won't be laughing at anyone who posts to this thread so please please tell me!

If you'd rather, you can always PM me... perhaps I could compile a list of the most frequent ones people suffer from?

If you don't know the technical name, I'm always interested in finding them out, so just post what you fear here and I'll let you know if I find the 'proper' name.

Hope to hear from some people. Oh yeah, if you also think you know why/when it started that's always interesting too.

BTW mine are:

Claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces - this mainly hits me when underground, such as on the Tube (London Underground) or in caves (such as you might go in whilst on holiday to see stalactites (sp?) etc))

Arachnophobia (fear of spiders)

Selachophobia (fear of sharks - this is by *far* my most severe, although I obviously encounter more spiders than sharks!)

They all started when I was about 6 or 7 (or at least these are my earliest memories of fear of these subjects) and I'm not sure why/what one event caused them.

Cya,
Gaspode

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

I don't know if its acutally a phobia, but I think it could turn into one. As I get older, I am really starting to dislike places that I can't leave easily. For example, we went to the Fleet Center last year to see Disney on Ice and it took me a very long time to relax. I kept wondering how long it would take to get outside if we needed to. I do the same thing at the movies...first thing I do when I sit down is look for the exits. Hate elevators, and the thought of flying anywhere sends me into a panic attack.

 

[Lars624]

I am terrified of rodents....mice, rats etc. I don't know what it's called but I can't even look at them on TV or in a movie.

BTW Gaspode you mentioned the Tube in London & I wanted to tell you that one of my DS's favorite t-shirts says 'Mind the Gap'

 

[Gaspode]

Originally posted by Lars624
I am terrified of rodents....mice, rats etc. I don't know what it's called but I can't even look at them on TV or in a movie.

BTW Gaspode you mentioned the Tube in London & I wanted to tell you that one of my DS's favorite t-shirts says 'Mind the Gap'

Glad to see ppl are responding!

I'll look up all unknown phobia names tonight, but for now I'm starting to be late for my train LOL

I can't look at a picture of a shark in a book even Laura!

I like those 'Mind the Gap' t-shirts... when I was a CM we did used to sell some magnets that said that, and everyone always asked me what it meant!

Cya,
Gaspode

 

[Lars624]

DH spent 2 weeks in England on business & brought back lots of souveniers.............

 

[Rexfan]

Selachophobia

Now I know the name for what I have! I can't look at them in books either. I actually closed my eyes during parts of Finding Nemo!

 

[helenabear]

I fear spiders... so much so I can't stand to even hear about them (so don't be offended when I skip your story, Melissa )

I am also afraid of falling from high up places. It's sort of a fear of heights, but if I am feel like I am totally enclosed I am okay. But like on the top of the John Hancock Building in Chicago, I have to slowly edge myself to the window to look. At that point I don't feel like I am totally enclosed or that the window would keep me from falling. So I am not quite sure how to classify that fear!

Both have been around for a long time. My spider fear was founded when one was crawling up my leg as a little kid and it bit me. It was reinforced a few years later when I was bit again by one. Now I totally freak out when I am around them at all.

 

[Lars624]

I have the same fear of falling from high up Elaine! I'm okay as long as my feet are on solid ground & I feel sturdy but if I feel at all insecure up high I panic!

 

[helenabear]

Lars, are you okay with flying?? Because that one doesn't bother me either. I feel very secure in a plane which some are shocked to hear.

I think I'd do terrible at the Grand Canyon now that I am thinking about it

Oh and I must say Melissa, one of the favorite signs I have seen from the London area was "Mind your Head" (a warning to duck I guess). I think that one is just so cool

 

[Serena]

Helenabear and Lars, I have that one too. Several years ago, we went on top of a building to see some fireworks downtown and on the way there, this vision was in my head about my youngest daughters slipping off and me holding on for dear life. I couldn't get it out of my head, no matter how many times I was told it would be safe. I was terrified.

And then, when we got up there, there was a big ledge about 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide that we stood behind and I felt ok. Then the idiot I was with picked Kelsea up and sat her on the ledge with her feet dangling on the outside of the building, and I totally freaked. They all thought I was nuts and wanted to spoil their fun. I didn't care, I was panicked.

 

[snoopy]

Ugh, I don't like that insecure feeling of being high up with no enclosure either. Good thing for me that I start pole climbing classes in three weeks (long story, but the union that represents my company is going on strike, and management has to cross the picket line - since I'm management, I'll be a telephone pole climber until they are able to negotiate. )

Anyway, I have a ton of phobias.

Squirrels, bats, rats, possum. Can't stand any of them. Luckily, I don't have the ocassion to meet any of them straight on too often, but once I had a bat in my car as I was driving along the highway, and to say that has made this phobia worse would be putting it mildly.

Driving over big bridges - Can't do it.

Clowns aren't high on my list of things I like, either.

The basement of my house at night - not sure what category this would fall under, but I'm convinced if I go down there at night I won't be coming back.

I also have a ton of weird quirks. I can't sleep on anything but white linens. Can't wear a turtleneck shirt, I feel like I'm truly suffocating. Have to sleep on the side of the bed that is furthest from the door. Never, ever shower alone in the house (for fear that I'm really not alone, but Norman Bates has taken up residence!).

I'm a head case, I know. Amazingly, I have never had one therapy session! DH just realizes he married a neurotic woman and luckily, is afraid of nothing. He is a good balance to my neurosis.

 

[Mickeyfaniam]

I have a terrible fear of spiders and actually anything creepy crawly with all those little legs. I can't even look at pictures in books either. I once found a tick on my son and had to call a neighbor to come take it off. Heaven forbid I ever get my own tick cuz they'd have to sedate me to get it off If I find bugs in the house and nobody else is home....I vacuum them up using the longest attachment and then I leave it running another 10 minutes for fear if I shut it off it will crawl back out Once there was a bee in a car i was riding in and I jumped into the drivers lap she wasn't a happy driver I'm not even trying to be funny...this is just so true..... So do you think this fear of mine is slightly on the abnormal side I think maybe it started when I was child and I had a nightmare about spiders and I got caught under the covers trying to get away. I woke up screaming under the covers at the foot of the bed and couldn't get out cuz they were all tucked in.....it was horrifying

Another phoba I have....I discovered while riding TOT at MGM.
I was fine going in and they sat us and the doorman went to close the door and I freaked...LET ME OUT!!! He just let the door close. I then went a little psycho and tried to get out from under the lap bar while crying I WANT TO GET OFF!!. 3 teen girls in front of me tried to calm me down I finally regained some sense when I realized WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IF I ACTUALLY GET OUT FROM UNDER THIS BAR So I just shook and cried thru the ride while my DH tried talking me thru it. Those 3 girls had their arms raised during the picture which completely blocked me out ...thank goodness or that momnet would have lived forever ....needless to say I won't ride that ride again even if I want to.
I'm not exactly sure if I am afraid of the dropping or the dark or the being closed in or just the NOT being able to leave.
Maybe its just ToTaphobia

 

[sorcerormickey]

I have what Selena, helenabear, and Lars have! I think it's called crimnophobia. It's the fear of falling from high places (railings giving out, falling off of cliffs, etc....) I can't even go to the second floor of the Virgin Megastore in Dowtown Disney - it is all just catwalks from one area to the next. NO THANK YOU!

 

[nativetxn]

I am ophidiophobic. I can't even look at a photograph of a snake. I think it is a learned phobia, my mother is the same way.

 

[Megan's Mom]

Snakes--can't look at them in books on TV or anthing. I don't even like to see them dead on the road even though that means there is one less to torture me.

I'm not real crazy about bridges either. I have to cross one everyday going to work so I can cross them I just don't like to. I have a fear of going over the edge.

 

[KimR]

I'm terrified of spiders as well. They totally creep me out. If I find one and DH isn't home, I'll try to trap it so he can kill it later because I can't stand to get close enough to kill it!

Also, I don't know if this is a phobia, but I can't stand crowds...I completely freak out. It's not as much a fear as it is I feel overwhelmed and overstimulated to the point where I cannot think straight. I hate driving in heavy traffic and in crowded parking lots for the same reason. I really wish I knew the reason or could find a solution because this is life-affecting - much more than the spider-thing!

Kim

 

[alabamaalan]

I have the normal fears (heights, spiders, etc.) but since I have been able to work in elevated pipe racks and chemical domes doing construction and kill pesky varmits when I spot them, I suppose nothing coming close to being a phobia.

My mother, on the other hand, has a phobia of feathers. If you show a feather to her she will turn away or run. A turkey crossed the driveway and she went in the house and locked the door.

Could it be because she was attacked by a mother hen while playing with the biddies when she was a little girl?

 

[nkjzmom]

This is some great therapy!! I am an arachnophobe. I literally freeze when I see a spider. I can't move. This started when I was 5-6...I was in my bed at night and a wolf spider climbed up my wall. It was huge and all I could do was scream in my bed.

I also have a fear of being up high when I am not in a secure place. Rides, rollercoasters, buildings, bridges, etc. I am fine in/on. But ledges, waterfalls, a roof...not so much. DH and I visited some beautiful waterfalls in NE Alabama and all they had was a rickety iron rail keeping you from falling off of the path down into the water. I envisioned myself slipping and falling UNDER the rail....then I pictured every one of my children falling down there too (and they weren't with us that day either). Every child we came across I watched like a hawk. I explain that when I'm under my own power I freak out....but if I'm strapped, buckled, closed in....I'm ok.

I also have this obsession with my car falling into water. I have planned out the whole scenario of what I would do with the kids, etc. but I'm really scared of it. I hate water to begin with. The ocean really scares me. But I'm not afraid to drive on bridges....

ahhhhhh, now I feel better!

 

[alabamaalan]

Amy, I wish I had a more healthy fear of some waterfalls when I was younger.

I have relatives in Woodville (not too far from Grant, Scottsbororo, etc.) with a waterfall on their property. As a teenager a friend and I determined there was a "path" we could follow by clinging to the rocks that went from the top to where the ground gradually sloped up on the side.

As an adult, I have looked over the rocks and shallow creek we were climbing above and thank God we did not fall!

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

I have a terrible fear of bridges, so much so that I only drive locally in my own community. There is a short bridge I go over, but the major ones to other suburbs, forget about it.

I have the same fear of heights when I am not totally enclosed or protected. I had a major panic attack on the ferris wheel 2 years ago, while it was loading and I had to sit in the tippy basket moving slowly higher and higher. Suspended there on an unstable object was very frightening.