How have you coped with your worst nightmare?

[anahata]

Hi all

Posting here for traffic. I talked to a friend this morning. She has a 3 month old. Friends sister was visiting. She cannot cope with vomit. Picked her niece up for a cuddle, made the fatal mistake of holding her baby niece above her face. You can guess the rest. Baby vomit in her hair, all over her face, including her mouth, and down the inside of her top.

Friends sister was gagging and came pretty close to vomiting .

So, what's your worst nightmare, and how did it happen??

Oh, and in addition to cockroaches, I TOTALLY echo the 'small holes' phobia. Completely repulsive.

I give up. I've read some of this thread but posts are making me remember horrible things I've seen so I'm out .

Slugs and snails. I'm absolutely terrified.
At my boyfriends crumbling old flat, having a relaxing bubble bath and I just spotted the hugest slug crawling up the wall. My ears are ringing just typing this. I just froze and then slowly stood up before hurtling out of the room.
Also would find them on the kitchen floor, so getting up through the night was interesting-I'd make him come with me. We moved out not long after (made it sound like it wasn't because of the slugs though)

How have I coped with my worst nightmare?
Divorce

I can't stand aubergines, just the sight of them in the supermarket makes me feel all funny. I like the taste so it's not that. I was eating them one day all nestled in ratatouille and it just suddenly struck me how slug like the pieces were and I can't stand slugs either and I've never touched an aubergine since

Dentists. I coped with it by finding a nice one.

Also dead baby birds. Haven't coped with that yet.

Snakes and anything lizard-y apart from really small ones. The snake thing makes going past the eel tank at aquariums a challenge too.

Half listening to the radio recently I heard that rats "inherit" fear. So let's say grandfather rat is terrorized by something when in the presence of lavender, his progeny will react with fear when they smell lavender. It is quite interesting especially in the context of "unreasonable" fears - like octopus or sinking ships. Who knows what the genetic inheritance is in that case.

That's exactly it SootyShearwater. What a hideous experience.

I have a terrible fear of flying. I just won't do it, or think about it.
I saw a plane crash once years ago. Then had 2 bad turbulent, delayed, mechanical issue flights and after the last one I just said no more.

Wasps, just hate them but more so, hornets. I had one in my bedroom once and I have never been so scared, apart from the thought of getting on a plane.

The last one is the feeling of sheer/nude tights or wool rubbing against teeth. Vomit inducting and I will run away if people chew material

Oh and join you on slugs. My cat had a big one stuck to it and brought it home. I trod on it with bare feet and it squashed

Is a fear of octopus really weird then? I thought it was quite reasonable.

A) They've got proper shifty eyes
B) If they get scared they eat themselves so if they get angry at you what are they going to do to you?
C) They're intelligent and that is just wrong
D) They can sometimes walk and that is also wrong
E) Tentacles

I refuse to believe my fear is irrational

Poo.
When our cat was using a litter tray I couldn't go near it, even if the smell was really bad. Every time I tried I just immediately barfed up, and I'm not to keen on dealing with sick either so it was lose-lose.
During antenatal classes the midwife asked us all about what our biggest fears were about birth so she could help allay them. Others talked about crash sections and tearing - me I went straight for the risks of baby pooping in the womb, as I was both scared of what would happen to the baby and how gross it was
Thankfully newborn poo is pretty inoffensive and I can cope with the nappies of my own children. Still can't pick up any cat poo in the garden though, my stomach churns at the thought.
When I was late teens and early twenties I couldn't go near anything bladed or any type of power tool as I would get OCD type intrusive images. It seems to have eased off thankfully.

My friend is terrified of garden gnomes. We have to "de-gnome" the garden before she comes over.

Rubber bands, I didn't really know that they made me want to throw up until we had a massive tub of them at work for a project we were doing. There was a huge storage tub of them in the middle of the room so that we could just grab them when we needed them (arty/crafty display in a school). I felt really odd when I looked at them and then got the feeling in the back of my throat like I was going to throw up. I left the room, puked and then managed to go back in, I was fine just having one of two near me as long as I didn't have to look at or go near the box.

Now I just have to make sure there are no more than 3 near me, any more than that sets me off and I can't tell anyone because it's so weird!

Randomly, I am a brown sauce phobic. Can't be in the same room as it, and can't touch dirty plates with it on. I cope by 'forgetting' to buy it. Entire clan LOVE it.

My name is Bill and I am also petrified of Octopus.

Also carbuncles, eggs on prawns and thing bumpy and round really.

Anything not and thing

I have a fear of being trapped under water. I keep a hammer & seatbelt cutter in the car, and I try not to go over bridges over water.

Snakes. Even typing the word makes me shudder.
I switched the tv on at lunchtime to watch the tennis and caught the end of a wildlife programme featuring a huge bastarding black mamba. I know it's irrational, poor dh came home from work and had to keep checking the telly to tell me when it was safe to go back into the room.

Flying. I'm utterly utterly terrified, I have nightmares about getting on a plane and wake up in sweats. I now avoid it all together which is easy to do compared to some phobias. I feel very sorry for dh and dc but we go on European holidays by car so not all bad.

I've tired therapy, drugs, alcohol and the Virgin course but the fear overrides any enjoyment I could get out of a holiday.

Yikes, this thread should be banned. I had no phobias until I opened this thread, now I officially have multiple phobias. Especially small holes phobia, which I had never heard of but now I will never be able to eat crumpets again, and I used to love them. Pancakes are out too now, the feckers with their horrid little air holes that will now totally creep me out.

As for birds on the windshield and bugs in the bath OMG. Those are surely not survivable. Well done to the posters who saw that and lived to tell the tale.

Spiders

I was asleep at my grans ones and woke up in the pitch black to feel things all over my face.

Turned the light on and started screaming. there were hundreds (or so it felt) of baby spiders that had just hatched and were crawling on my face. I sceamed and refused to sleep in that bed again

Yep for those just discovering the 'small holes phobia ' that's trypophobia and welcome to the skin crawling shuddering gang . ( don't google it)
Also loathe underwater machinery , turbines, pylons , power stations etc .

I seriously need to hide this thread.