Anyone else have a weird phobia?

[HangingOver]

I understand why lots of people have phobias of things that are associated with actual risk, pain or things that have left an evolutionary stamp on us due to being poisonous e.g snakes and spiders.

Can anyone tell me why I am paralyzingly scared of empty swimming pools and, most of all, octopus.

Octopus in particular I have a genuinely ridiculous reaction to... If I force myself to watch a video of one within seconds my palms start to sweat and I feel sick rising.... It's almost more like an extreme disgust reaction than fear.

Tell me your bonkers phobias please.

Car washes.

Gaps in stairs that I can see through.

My DD is scared of holes. Like if you stab a rubber with a pencil and things like that. My theory is that it started when she got chicken pox at 3 years old and would get really distressed looking at her skin in the mirror.

Gaps in stairs that I can see through

That makes good sense actually, your foot could go through it...

Aaah yes the hole phobia! That one is super interesting. I think clusters of holes look like nesting parasites which from an evolutionary perspective could be understandable

I am really not keen on octopuses either. Or anything of their ilk. Jellyfish make me feel sick just to look at. Also I’m terrified of large house spiders.
They all look like alien creatures to me.

Why empty swimming pools? When did that start? And are you scared the water might rush in or something else?

Puppets.

It’s their eyes.
I’ve gotten better about it but I still think they’re fucking creepy.

No it's weirdly nothing to do with water! I remember when I was really little and I would sometimes have to wait in the viewing area for Dad to finish his squash game and I was so scared to walk past the empty courts with the light off. It's a similar feeling to that...

Razor blades. I get that chalk down blackboard shiver when I think of them.

The sight of the whole of the pool ladder, high up on the empty side is particularly horrifying

I’m not a lover of custard powder. I think that’s the squeak it makes rather than a phobia.

Yes, yes, yes to the holes thing. DS has that. I had never heard of it before he bought it up.

Punch and Judy

Paper. Especially soggy. I can smell it a mile off and feel like I can’t breathe almost like I will suffocate. I try not to make a big thing of it because my kids will tease me about it. I’ve had it as long as I can remember.

Realistic looking dolls. They freak me out beyond belief.

I used to be housekeeper in an old mansion and when the family were on holiday, I had another member of staff box up the daughters dolls otherwise I could hardly be in the room to clean or organise.

I once forgot to ask them to put them back and had to explain to my boss where all her DDs doll collection was. She obviously thought I'd gone nuts or started taking drugs.

Similarly, DD has been gifted a couple of horrific dolls I've had to have DH dispose of. One in particular played music and its head turned round. Fuck. That. Shit!

Birds, butterflies, moths, so basically anything with wings.

Belly buttons. Can’t look at them and definitely can’t touch them. Even thinking about them makes me come over all unnecessary! Magnets repelling. I work with children and seeing them try to put Brio trains together the wrong way, I have to turn away.

Small beads and buttons. I don't get scared per se... I throw up!

Another one for empty swimming pools here. I think it’s the still water. Once people are in them and it’s moving, I’m fine. Also fungus in any form!

Similar to @RaginaPhalange, anything that has flapping wings, but especially butterflies

Baked beans. Especially cold ones, and even worse, stray ones in the plug hole after the washing up.

I'm much better now and can cook them for the kids, but when I first got with my husband I couldn't go near him if he was eating or had recently eaten them and couldn't wash up anything that had touched them.

Not me but my husband has a physical reaction to armadillos and pangolins. Feels nauseous and can barely look at them. Good thing we don’t live in Texas!

Daddy longlegs

Small beads and buttons. I don't get scared per se... I throw up!

See I'm sort of glad it isn't just me who does this. Once in a fit of "don't be so bloody ridiculous" I forced myself to watch a video of an Octopus and I was genuinely, definitely going to vomit if I didn't turn it off. I feel sick just remembering the video. So weird.