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.

@Blueskip

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.

This is called Trypophobia, I have it too! Small holes make me feel sick, like I can’t breathe and makes me feel really itchy.

Balloons. They look painfully swollen and I hate their rubbery squeakiness.

Slugs (not keen on snails but will tolerate) it got worse when I was told they were parasites. I now have a even bigger phobia.

Birds, anything bigger than a Robin. It’s a combination of their beaks and eyes and the way they ouch their necks forward when they walk. I am terrified. Gulls are the worst. Don’t mind penguins

Also - teeth. Not teeth that have fallen out, teeth that are in the mouth. I am not afraid of dentists though. But I can’t talk about teeth or think about them.

Balloons - not sure what in particular but I cannot comfortably be in the same room as them. I’ve got better as have three small chn so have been exposed a lot but they can’t come near me and no way am I touching one. I struggle to talk to someone near one as I’m too conscious of it’s existence. Crackers I know but it’s totally irrational.
That and I’m really claustrophobic - that’s more a palm sweaty phobia and I panic even if it’s just a slight tunnel/room with no windows etc

Empty swimming pools 🤮

Clusters of holes make me feel very upset indeed.

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....

This made me laugh as it's such a preventable phobia OP 😂 its so fantastically masochistic (and weirdly endearing) to put yourself through this as if you're training for a real life scenario where you'll have to watch endless octopus videos!

My Octopus Teacher is one of my favourite documentaries of the last few years - I 10/10 would not recommend it to you (obviously)

Clowns
Spiders

Both send me screaming in the opposite direction

Trypophobia, except its more of a revulsion. Its not all holes, so im not as bad as some. I feel sick at pictures of lotus seed pods, suriname toads, and things like that. Its just a weird gross feeling i get. Certain words make me feel sick too

The Open University logo.
Been petrified of it since childhood; especially when it used to be on tv, accompanied by the ominous music and used to flip round.
You'd have to be of a certain age to know what I'm on about!
My sister did a degree with the OU and taunted me with a mug she had displaying the logo.
I am genuinely afraid to look at it.

Empty swimming pools for me too. Empty as in no water.
When I was a kid, the local pool had a steep drop to 12ft deep for the diving area. I had nightmares of being at the bottom of the 12ft part unable to get out.

Buttons here too. Pearly kings and queens set me twitching. I only wear jersey tops, never blouses (even the word makes me shudder a bit).

Ears 🤮

Oh, I thought of another one, and it would be interesting to see if anyone else is the same...

Windows at night time! I don't go to my fridge when it is dark as I can see out the patio door when stood infront of it and it is just black and scary out there.

Frogs, toads and fish…..never been in the sea as I’m terrified of fish!!

One ds has a phobia of buttons (not so bad now but was awful when he was little) and holes, and 2nd ds has a phobia of tummy buttons and bizarrely, drinks.......cans, glasses, bottles etc

@ponygirlcurtis

Buttons here too. Pearly kings and queens set me twitching. I only wear jersey tops, never blouses (even the word makes me shudder a bit).

Pearl coloured buttons are the worst for me. Just nooooo.

I'm another one for windows and doors when it's dark outside. I have to pull all the blinds down before dusk.

I also hate, hate cotton wool, polystyrene and feet. And spiders.

Those giant bastard wind turbines, standing there looking all malevolent and moody and generally spoiling a nice drive.

Not weird I guess but snakes. I have nightmares about being trapped in a room with them and then I wake up and can feel them on me and it’s horrible. Can’t watch them on tv or look at a picture of them- there was a story in our local paper recently about a couple finding an escaped python in their bathroom in the middle of the night and it’s put the fear in me lol I give the bathroom a quick scan when I go now!

I'm sure I was told years ago that phobia of buttons / coins etc can be a form of OCD

@MrsFoxyplease

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

Oh yes,me too

@Branleuse

Trypophobia, except its more of a revulsion. Its not all holes, so im not as bad as some. I feel sick at pictures of lotus seed pods, suriname toads, and things like that. Its just a weird gross feeling i get. Certain words make me feel sick too

Yes, this for me as well. A repulsion. Mainly for crumpets 🤢

The underneath of large ships.