Phobias

[rageaholic]

Snakes, spiders, and centipedes.

[Green_Fairy]

i'm afraid of needles near my mouth. not the drilling, or the poking...but get a syringe anywhere near my mouth and i freak the fuck out. when i was little, i had to get 4 (perfectly rooted, not loose in the slightest bit) baby teeth yanked. the dentist, who was not my regular dentist, started to bring that syringe near me, i panicked, and he said "i can't deal with this. i'm not working on her," and walked out. they ended up doping me up with laughing gas and getting another dentist.

i'm also freaked out by spiders, chickens, and the next 8 months.

[JLG]

The theme song to the Halloween movie creeps me out! I literally scream when I hear it and start freaking out.

[Andara Bledin]

When I was little, I had a fear of spiders, to the point that the only nightmare I ever had as a child involved a malicious venomous spider. At this point, as long as there's not one in my hair, I can mostly ignore them. I have no idea what might have changed.

I do have a problem with doctors of any sort. Any time I visit any type of doctor for any type of procedure (other than donating blood), I can feel my blood pressure and heart rate go up.

But the strongest phobia I have isn't quite claustrophobia. I don't care about confining spaces, only getting trapped. I have had many, many bad dreams (never actual nightmares) that involved me crawling into tight spaces and getting stuck and being unable to get out again. I've only ever once had an issue with this at an open air concert when the main attraction got on stage. I was fairly close but on the side, and when the crowd pressed in (I'm surprised nobody got seriously hurt, to be honest), I just about lost it. Ended up sitting on the ground, and had to have the then-hubby help me up and pull me out to the edge of the crowd. Way not fun.

Now that's one I'd never have thought of as a possibility, mainly because, in the dark, you can't really look at a mirror. Any idea how that one formed?

It's very rare to have full dark, so you often will be able to just barely see the outline of your head if you glance at a mirror in a darkened room. I remember all sorts of "scare the socks off your schoolmates" things that went around when I was still in school, and several of them involved mirrors in bathrooms with the lights turned out.

I have really good night vision (which makes driving at night unpleasant, and makes 3D movies less effective ), so it never bothered me because I could see more of my face in the mirror that most other kids.

Snakes, spiders, and centipedes.

The more legs it has, the freakier and scarier it is.

^-.-^

[Lace Neil Singer]

I used to have a dental phobia (the sound of the drill would practically put me on the ceiling -- in tears)... but after moving here, the new dentist did not perform work under full sedation (no one did that down here for adult patients).... so I had to find alternatives.

So, if you have a workable plan, and someone patient enough to work with you, you can do almost anything.

I used to suffer from dental phobia; I conquered mine just by forcing myself to attend appointments, and by having a nice, understanding dentist. I also have needle phobia but as long as the person giving the injection is calm, kind and takes things slowly, I can put up with it; tho with floods of tears and hyperventilating. I don't think I'll ever get any better than that, tho.

I have commented many times on here (and in other aspects of my life) that I have virtually no fear of anything....other than my strong phobia of bees (and wasps, yellowjackets, etc.) So much so that I, who have stared down guys twice my size without blinking, have been known to run like a schoolgirl from one end of the bar to the other if I see a bee, despite the knowledge that I am a thousand times larger than it. Bees scare the hell out of me.

And no, I am not allergic to them. If I were, it could be argued that my fear is a healthy one, promoting self-preservation. Since I'm not, that argument falls flat. Nor have I been overly traumatized by them. I have been stung a total of one time, when I was 9. I am currently 39.

I've been stung about twice; both times on the arm and afterwards, my arm swelled up like a barrage balloon. I'm not allergic enough to have to go to hospital, but enough to feel unpleasant all day afterwards. And yes, fear of bees also extends to wasps. I have had several nasty false alarms due to a bloody selfish fly known as a hover fly that mimics wasp colouring; I've seen one and given off a scream of fear... only to find out that it wasn't dangerous. -.- Damn things.

[crashhelmet]

I had an ex that had that same issue with crowds.

Oddly, it didn't seem to stop her from overcrowding her bed with other men.

I think we may have the same ex

I don't know what the phobia-name for it is, but I have what they call "White Coat Syndrome." I can't be in hospitals, doctor's offices, or even the bloodmobiles without my anxiety going through the roof. It's almost as if I get claustrophobic. It doesn't matter if I'm the patient or a visitor.

I personally think it's too many bad memories taking place in those locations. I have a disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which makes me break bones easily, so I've spent more than my fair share in them. The "clean" smell, the bright lights, the beeps and buzzes, the "why the hell does everything have to be painted white????" It all gets to me within minutes of being inside. Even thinking about it has my heart rate up

CH

[Chrismor]

I do not say this as a joke or to mock you, but based on the above, I would say that you should never, ever, EVER go up into the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Great view, but the ride up is in rather small, enclosed, confining ferris-wheel type cars. I am not claustrophobic, but my little sister is, and I instantly knew that she could never make that ride. It's safe to say that neither could you.

I second everything that you have said. I did the Gateway Arch on my first trip to the States (August '07), and while the view is something I would encourage everyone to see, the ride up the legs of the arch is not for the faint hearted when it comes to enclosed spaces. It is unbelievably cramped.

It may be mentioned though that I spent half of the time up the Arch with the video camera out, using the zoom to watch the baseball...

C.

[AdminAssistant]

It may be mentioned though that I spent half of the time up the Arch with the video camera out, using the zoom to watch the baseball...

I'm not 100%, but I don't think the Cardinals play at Busch Stadium anymore, so new visitors wouldn't be able to. My group was actually rushed along pretty quickly. :/ Barely had anytime to take pictures.

And if you guys think your ride up was crowded...I rode up with 3 other people, plus our 6 foot tall minister/group leader who was, coincidentally, a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears.

[dalesys]

Phobias? Only my ex-woof. And I'll bet she'll be at my parents 60th anniversary celebration. Maybe if I spackle my face nothing will show.

[blas]

Clowns.

Car washes.

Owls.

[Plaidman]

Changing Lightbulbs

[bookworm]

Ladders, and to a lesser extent falling. But not heights - I have no problem standing at the edge of a cliff and looking down (so long as I don't start to fall!)

[Becks]

Creepy crawly things.

Dead things.

Basements.

Driving.

[phantasy]

Spiders. I'm not as bad about them as I used to be, though. Also, sticking my hands into places where I cannot see, though that's closely related to the fear of spiders.

I completely understand that one. I have a terrible phobia of spiders, spider webs and anything with more than 4 legs. I'm extremely careful about cleaning, I dont like moving stuff and having a spider run out of his disturbed home. I also won't stick my hand in something that I cannot see inside.

I don't have any other clinical phobia, but I am scared of changing lightbulbs or plugging stuff in. The spark freaks me out, I feel like I'm going to light my wall on fire. I'm not terrified of needles, but they certainly don't make me feel comfortable.
I once had a surgery in my mouth on a friday, and when I came in the next monday, the dentists had to redo the surgery because the wound has healed so quickily. They kept sticking me every 5 or so minutes with a small amount of anesthesia (sp?) so it would be numb, but jabbed a nerve in the roof of my mouth by accident.
I also have a fear of breaking teeth. Like, I dunno, ramming my face into a pole and having them break, or maybe the orthodontist pulling my brackets and chipping a tooth instead.

[RavenStarr]

Now that's one I'd never have thought of as a possibility, mainly because, in the dark, you can't really look at a mirror. Any idea how that one formed?

When I was a child It was nighttime and I was getting ready for bed. My room was dark, but not pitch black. Anyway I was climbing in bed, and just happened to catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I don't know why but it scared me big time. Maybe the thought of someone sneaking up behind me or appearing in the mirror.

However it wasn't until I was an adult, that I learned about *Bloody Mary*. Ther are many versions of this. Supposedly you go into a room that is completely dark, and light a candle. You say the name "Bloody Mary" 3 times and she appears in the mirror. There are people that swear this has really happened. I know most likely this is probably not true, but I sure don't plan on trying it.