Phobias

[Whatintheworldgirl]

If you have a phobia, what is it?

I'm finding that it's frustrating having a phobia and people assuming you can just 'get over it'. Do you believe you can just 'get over it?'

Oh I feel you OP! Phobias are horrible and debilitating and somehow always made me
feel embarrassed like I was being ridiculous. But I was actually bloody terrified.

My phobias were dogs, needles and heights (in that order - heights probably not exactly a phobia but very scared of them for sure).

The dogs one is the hardest to manage. People do not understand. They think their dog is lovely and can’t understand how you can be absolutely petrified of them.

i am now “cured” in that I would say I am no longer phobic but I am still nervous and uncomfortable around dogs. I can’t stand the sound of dogs barking and I am scared of dogs running towards me (even if they aren’t actually aiming at me). However, I no longer refuse to go to someone’s house if they have a dog, and I no longer cross the street if I see a dog coming. All the recent press about dog attacks hasn’t really helped me though. And I would be very frightened if I saw one of the bigger bully breed dogs out and about!

Needles I can now tolerate (I used to count down for literally years, months, weeks, days, hours until I had to have an injection). Although the last two blood tests I had to have I hyperventilated and they had to stop so perhaps I’m not exactly completely “cured”. I don’t consciously feel so scared of it now though.

Mice and anything small and very fast

Not sure if a phobia or because I hate certain textures but sand, glitter and nail files.
scared or heights balcony or trees but not roller coasters and horses

Level crossings. I don't trust them, especially the ones in the middle of nowhere, or foot crossings - I avoid the latter at all costs.

Also the gap between the platform and the train.

Blood injection injury phobia. No I cannot get over it. I try so hard.

The issue is I'm not just scared, or panicked. I fully black out- lips blue, unconscious, eyes roll back in my head, blood pressure plummets.

And the fainting is horrible, I have dreams and wake up panicking with no idea where I am.

I don't understand how I'm meant to get over that. I physically cannot stop it! And I'm not scared of the actual needles etc in my mind just of passing out. It's a vicious cycle.

It's really problematic as I need blood tests every year and have a nexplanon implant. They always stop when I pass out so I have to do it again and pass out again.

It meant I couldn't go into healthcare. Can't watch certain films, makes every medical appointment need a day off work.

Weirdly I give myself weekly injections for a health condition and manage that fine...

I have a phobia about being trapped inside with no windows that open. It's bloody annoying, and I'm hoping to crack it soon!

I'm claustrophobic, and it can be debilitating at times. It's an issue I've had since childhood and I'm mid thirties now; it's been with me the whole time and hasn't really abated. I've tried a few forms of therapy and counselling to try and understand where it may have originated but it's very much still an issue and I would love for it not to be, but that doesn't geel achievable. Yes it can wax and wane in severity but it never goes and causes various issues - I can't get on a plane, train is a struggle, the car is a problem if I'm stuck in traffic or if the doors are locked or if I hear them auto lock. Things like MRI (required fairly often for a medical condition I have) are horrendously challenging. At it's worse I've struggled with even having doors closed at home, they have to be wedged open. I have regular nightmares where I wake up in sweat because I've dreamt that the door has disappeared or there are no windows and I'm stuck.

I find when I'm more anxious generally it is much worse and as I've got older I've suppressed I suppose my reaction to a few everyday things so I don't look ridiculous or alienate myself but it's always on my mind.

I find it hugely frustrating and try hard not to feel annoyed at myself. I know people may find it ridiculous or daft but it is what it is. Just because there are people who have recovered, does not mean everyone can simply by applying the same methods or applying more effort.

Some London Underground stations are definitely terrifying!!! Last time, we stayed in Holborn. I have a fear of heights. The station was so fucking scary, we had to take taxis everywhere.

Wasps, heights, small spaces and lots of people

I can't walk across Cromer pier because of the gaps between the wood. I can't climb ladders in a local windmill because of the gaps between the ladders rungs, I stuck to the outside wall going upstairs in Southwold lighthouse, with my eyes shut, because I wanted to go with my kids, my family didn't understand.

Lifts. I stayed in a hotel where I had to use the lift so I had no choice, I coped reasonably well but I still avoid them.

Escalaters with glass sides.

Small lifts
Long escalators

This fear also includes long steep escalators, so I take a lift or stairs instead. Some escalators on the London Underground are terrifying, and so are the escalators at the air bridge at Gatwick North Terminal and in Heathrow T5.

Me too... I avoid certain stations

Mine are getting worse as I get older

Public speaking
Highway driving
Heights
Deep water
Holes in stuff 😭

And photos or on television. I'm so relieved to know that someone else has this phobia. I'm even scared of my DH dying and leaving me alone because there might be one in the garden and he wouldn't be there to deal with it.

Sorry I meant Horizontal High rises. Look like they're going to stand up into the vertical position.

Tripophobia. (Might be spelt wrong but I refuse to google). People think it’s really funny but to me it’s really not, it’s horrible.

I've not discovered mine yet. I used to be terrified on the War of the Worlds LP when I was 3, but I got over it and now it's one of my favourite pieces of music.

I hate the sensation of falling so avoid rollercoasters, drop towers etc but I don't think that's a phobia?

Trypophobia. Seeing bone marrow makes me want to tear my skin off and crumpets are disgusting to look at. There's also a type of frog that lays eggs through multiple holes on its back. I really wish I'd never seen it, and then I can't stop thinking about it and picturing it. In fact, I don't know what I'm doing on this thread 😫

I had two phobias. Arachnophobia and emetophobia. I have actually managed to cure my fear of spiders. It was a genuine fully fledged phobia and I have genuinely managed to get over it (not 100% in that I wouldn't be able to pick up a large house spider, but I can stand right next to one and I can ignore one that I know is in my bedroom and go to sleep). I cured myself by running my own gradual programme of exposure therapy after I'd hit rock bottom with it affecting my daily life.

However emetophobia (and attached fear of germs) is a much harder one to deal with. I've got to the point where I can throw up without screaming the place down but I still panic at the first sign of potential sickness and I still risk assess most social situations for likeliness of picking up a sickness bug. I feel anxious when I hear that a bug is going round etc.

I can't get over this phobia so I try to put measures in place so that I can feel more in control of the situation, ie I buy the antiviral handfoam that zaps norovirus, I have a pile of old towels and a washing up bowl ready to grab in case DD is sick, always have carpet cleaner in the house etc.

Emetophobia
Teeth. Sort of. Like if I chip my tooth I have a panic attack I've solved my dentist phobia but I panic if something goes wrong with them

Me too! It is called koumpounophobia and for some insane reason I can spot a lost button lying in the street from a mile away. I feel queasy and can't stop thinking about it.

I don't like to see pictures of them, or think about 'Grandmas button tin/jar/box's and what the hell is having them stuck on a greetings card all about? As for the film Coraline😨

We aren't alone, famous sufferers are Steve Jobs( that's why he always wore polo necks jumpers) Amanda Wakeley and one of the Delevigne girls.
I feel ill just typing about it.

Emetophobia and spiders.

Emetophobia ruins a lot for me! It's petrifying

Having my blood pressure taken. Which is highly annoying and quite restrictive because I need it checking at the minute and I can’t get a proper reading. Even typing this makes me anxious.

Snakes are another..though I’m not too affected by that as I don’t see them. And although I don’t have emetophobia I don’t think, I get panicky if I think I’m going to be sick.