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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU Weird Phobias

164 replies

Campervanlife4me · 13/10/2019 12:21

What weird phobias do you have?
Mine is loose hairs touching me. If I have a hair down my top it drives me insane and I know straight away when there is one or if one touches me in the bath, I have to fish it out straight away. Even a stray hair attached to clothing and sometimes I have to physically stop myself from pulling them off other random people's clothing as that would probably be seen as beyond weird!!!! I hate them.I have long hair but they don't bother me while their still attached to my head! Just loose, stray ones attacking me. DH says I'm very weird. That is my only strange, compulsive thing though. What's yours?

OP posts:
WhoArtinHeaven · 16/10/2019 03:34

Tall/towering objects
Large clouds
Pylons
Wind socks/hot air balloons

Furrybutts · 16/10/2019 04:48

I was in councelling for several years for a few phobias that ruled my life. I was scared of anything old, dead or dying. I couldn't have cut flowers in the house as I could only see them as dying flowers now they were cut. If I found a dead bird or mouse in the garden I would have to take the children out until DH could get home to get rid of it. It couldn't go in our bin, it had to me take far away.
The worst thing was my fear of being touched by elderly people, which meant using public transport was out. Thankfully I cured (mostly) of that now.
I only have one big phobia left to deal with, and that is the fear of cross dressing men. I can't even articulate it, I just find myself panicky to even look at them.

Not a phobia but I have severe problem with smelling mint on people's breath. It makes me want to heave.
Freshly brushed teeth is the worst, followed by sitting close to someone chewing gum.

doskant · 16/10/2019 05:03

Not sure I could call this a true phobia but it does give me the total heebie jeebies.

Bald babies with ribbons on their heads.

shudder

Ihateedmundelephant · 16/10/2019 05:06

Wooden lolly sticks
Tissue (not a whole roll, that’s fine, but a ripped off piece, especially if crumpled and even more so if damp or used in any way for anything)
Knives touching forks - especially when the knife sometimes get stuck in between the prongs of a fork 😱

TheNestedIf · 16/10/2019 06:09

My irrational phobias/dislikes (I refuse to count emetophobia as not wanting to be around vomit is entirely sensible) seem to have a thready, netty theme.

I used to have a phobia of pylons which is now a lot better although I still wouldn't want to live near the ugly things.

When I was very young, I was terrified of cobwebs. Not spiders. Just cobwebs.

I also find fungi creepy, even though I eat a lot of mushrooms. It's more the way they grow with the mycelium around, in and through things, particularly in the more sinister, destructive types such as Dry Rot or Honey Fungus. Being creeped out is not to say I'm not interested. I've been out on fungi hunting rambles and did a one day
course. I have tried, liked and will eat again Huitlacoche (corn infected with corn smut) which meant I had to consciously subdue a mental klaxon as I ate. Fungi both repells and fascinates me in equal measure.

ForalltheSaints · 16/10/2019 06:28

As a child I had a fear of apple pips. Would not eat an apple unless cut up into pieces.

Cheesymonster · 16/10/2019 06:42

Wind turbines. Had a funny turn driving past some earlier this year and started a thread about it. It felt like they came out of nowhere and started chasing me!

Original poster
Campervanlife4me · 16/10/2019 20:29

These are amazing. Thank you everyone for telling me these. I guess most aren't phobias as has been pointed out but they definitely freak us all out and give us the heebie jeebies. Severe dislikes.

OP posts:
thisisthend · 16/10/2019 20:31

Flying(not that weird). The sound of phones/watches on airplanes(slightly more weird).

Driving on a dual carriageway/motorway.

People talking about mental health.

Being poor.

AlpacaGoodnight · 16/10/2019 20:34

Wet sandwich bags (the very thin ones I accidently one when doing the washing up I am on edge for ages, luckily my husband chucks them out now before leaving his box to be washed). Things touching my neck especially when I am eating (I cut all labels out of tops and can only stand certain necklines), crocs (the shoes not the animal!) the look of their texture freaks me out, I don't think I could touch one!

FizzyIce · 16/10/2019 20:45

Roasted garlic .
Just looks so offensive and holey,makes me want to vomit

SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun · 16/10/2019 20:48

Rubber, especially if it is thin and stretchy like rubber bands or balloons that are not blown up. Somewhere between disgusting and scary. I think I twanged a balloon in my face as a child. Makes me shudder to think about it.

CravingCheese · 16/10/2019 21:38

@ SerenadeOfTheSchoolRun

Just out of interest, how do you fare with condoms?

startrek90 · 16/10/2019 21:45

White latex gloves. Just the white ones, I am fine with blue or pink but I have always been scared of the white ones. When they touch me I tense up and I have this weird feeling in my teeth and jaw it's utterly bizzare. I have met no one with this phobia, I have no idea how it started either- I have apparently had it since my mum can remember

Junkmail · 16/10/2019 21:54

The car wash. It’s weird and slightly inconvenient but I have this really odd fear of the car wash, both the machine and the type where they do it by hand while you sit in the car. I can’t even wash the car at home either because we don’t have a tap outside so I get my husband to take my car if it needs washed. I’m slowly trying to desensitise myself to it by doing baby steps like driving into the entrance and then driving away but I’m struggling to progress much further than that. Damn it sounds so pathetic to read this back but it’s like this anxiety just stops me. I know it’s not a big deal though and maybe that’s why I haven’t pushed myself harder to tackle this? Such a dumb irrational fear! And I’m not really anxious in day to day life so I don’t know why I’m like this with this one little thing.

beckycharlie · 16/10/2019 21:59

Escalators! I fell over on 1 when I was little and remember my parents screaming for me to get up or it would chop my fingers off at the top, I'll take the stairs or a lift any day to save getting on 1 of them.

PumpkinPie2016 · 16/10/2019 22:07

I have a (genuine) phobia of spiders but I suppose that's not too weird.

I am however, creeped out by balloons - I can't abide kids parties where they have balloons!

Escalators - no idea why, never fallen on one or anything but have never liked them. My DS loves them (strange child!) but it makes me so nervous getting on them with him.

Wooden forks/lollysticks and paper straws - I cannot use them at all. Something about the texture of them against the tongue/teeth.

Feather dusters - they get so cobwebby and I have visions of spiders being in them. I can't stand to be in the room if someone is using one and can't use them myself.

wowza7 · 16/10/2019 22:10

Hotel towels🤢🤢

Geneva1995 · 16/10/2019 22:10

Balloons! Not the popping but the sound they make when they are rubbed. Yuk

Geneva1995 · 16/10/2019 22:12

Mould. I know no one likes mould but it sends a shiver down my spine

Littlewhitedove · 16/10/2019 22:14

Bridges...the higher they are the worse I am. I hyperventilate if we approach one. We drove to Scotland last year and had to cross the Forth Road bridge. I was hid under a blanket and had to make DH promise to not drive in the left hand lane. We drove to Spain a few years ago and we had to choose a route that did not include the Millau Viaduct! If I'm driving and have to drive over one I have to breathe really deeply and only look at the car in front of me. I cannot look across to the sides. We were travelling home from a trip to Yorkshire once and the opposite lane was closed due to a car going over the side of a high bridge. I was almost sick! If I even look at pictures of bridges I get a horrible lurching feelin in my stomach.

Ash39 · 16/10/2019 22:22

Those little disposable Bic plastic lighters. Hate the feeling and the noise of the serrated part under my thumb, and always worried that I'm going to burn myself

Wherecanwegetoff123 · 16/10/2019 22:25

The sound of someone crunching/biting a lollypop

Interestedwoman · 16/10/2019 22:28

Wasps!

I also started playing Pokemon recently, and I hate these ones:-

JLo1979 · 16/10/2019 22:35

Butter - buteronaphobia

I was hoping someone else on here would have it. I have 4 kids who don't have butter on the their sandwiches heading off to school. Will cry or vomit if I touch it or accidentally ingest some(instances where some smartass has told me there is no butter in the food). Won't kiss my hubby on the lips if he has some. Unfortunately it's one of those ones that you can't avoid telling people in a dining situation which leads to them wanting to talk about, giving me the gawks. Even now! 🤢

Ketchup is another one but I can open a packet or container if I have to but scrub my hands after and sit away from anyone eating. The smell is foul.

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