To ask what your phobias are?

[squishymamma]

I have emetophobia - it's the irrational fear of vomit. It's not so severe as others have it, but it means that I get mild panic attacks when others throw up, and even worse when people feel nauseous and might be sick (it's the anticipation that's the worst). As you can imagine with 2 young DC in the middle of tummy bug season I'm quite the nervous wreck atm! Luckily DH takes our DC when they're ill...

My family know about this as I've had it ever since being really young, but I was talking to DM the other day and she mentioned she had a phobia of bees and wasps. I was amazed I didn't know that already, and it got me thinking that maybe more people have phobias than I realise.

So does anyone out there have a phobia they want to share? As serious or as lighthearted as you want (this thread is one of my ways of coping!)

PS yes, I am seeking therapy, no, it's not the same as not liking it when people throw up, and no, it's not different when it's your own DC. Sadly. (all common responses I get when I tell people about this...)

Mine isn’t a phobia but I have an irrational feeling of disgust at the inside of peppers. The clusters of seeds turn my stomach (actually feel sick just typing that out.) It’s not a phobia as I can handle it and don’t panic but I have a strong feeling of revulsion 🤢

And you have my sympathy, your phobia must be debilitating at times. Much easier to avoid cutting open a pepper!

Mine is a very common one: public speaking. I used to have social phobia so this seems much preferable.

@ScarlettDarling

Mine isn’t a phobia but I have an irrational feeling of disgust at the inside of peppers. The clusters of seeds turn my stomach (actually feel sick just typing that out.) It’s not a phobia as I can handle it and don’t panic but I have a strong feeling of revulsion 🤢

Trypophobia. I suffer it too, clusters of holes.

Wasps. Dentists.

Spiders. I have massive panic attacks over those little buggers and I know it's irrational, I just can't cope.

Another common one - spiders
Just typing the word is making my skin crawl.

Going to work🤣

Spiders, if they're smaller than my thumbnail I can just about cope (and I have tiny hands) but any bigger nope, panic attacks and crying. I hurdled the sofa when one burst out of a banana on the TV, gotten down the stairs in 2 jumps when one crawled up onto the top of my head on my dressing gown and burst into tears in front of my friends when one appeared in the living room.

Too many to list lol. X

I have trypophobia, it gets me on edge, makes the hair on my arms stand on end and I get a huge urge to rip my own skin off. it's such an irrational emotion to clusters of holes but I absolutely can't stand it.

and breathe.

Rubber bands.

Fuckers.

@ScarlettDarling the hairs on the back of my neck went up as I read your post. I feel the same.

As for phobias, it's heights for me. I had to be helped down from the Leaning Tower of Pisa (not even the top) by DH as I went into full panic mode up there The height was bad enough, but the lean finished me off. Awful.

I'm sure there must be a word for it, but I have a phobia of anything with wings. Birds, butterflies, moths, bats. Also a phobia of flying so aeroplane wings too lol.

Weird one, the bodies of dead animals. It's quite severe, eg I saw a dead squirrel on the pavement on the way to the shops a few weeks back and had to avoid that road for a fortnight. It doesn't sound that debilitating but one big consequence for me is I can't get a pet for fear of it dying at home. So I'm actually considering treatment.

@ScarlettDarling

Mine isn’t a phobia but I have an irrational feeling of disgust at the inside of peppers. The clusters of seeds turn my stomach (actually feel sick just typing that out.) It’s not a phobia as I can handle it and don’t panic but I have a strong feeling of revulsion 🤢

I came on to say this. It's called tripophobia and it's actually quite common. I always thought I was just a weirdo until I discovered a few years ago it has a name. My earliest memory of it goes back to when I was in primary 1 so I'd have been 5. My 10 year old daughter suffers too, not because of me I never told her I have it too until she started saying stuff to make me realise she has it. It was triggered by a YouTube video when she was about 5. My younger daughter is about to turn 5 and I'm interested to see if she grows up bothered by it as well.

I have a fear of flying and slugs but I wouldn't say it was an actual phobia.

Spiders, moths and butterflies are the main ones.

Although oddly I'm not affected by peppers 😂 just clusters of holes etc 🤢

Agoraphobia, it's a bit of a bigger.

I have a more than mild distrust of yoghurt, not a phobia bit it makes me unsettled.

Things half in and half out of the water.

Eyeballs 😳
If I see people poking their eyes I feel instantly sick and people with protruding eyes make me very uncomfortable.

Choking on boiled sweets, me or my son. I didn't let him have a lolly until 7 years old or a plain boiled sweet until 9. I choked on a toffee penny quality street when I was 4. Oddly, I'm not worried about anyone choking on those

Wasps

Slugs and snails. I cannot go anywhere near them. Thankfully I don't have a garden. A neighbour thought it would be a good payback to another by putting loads of slugs in his flower tubs at the front of the house. Of course the bloody things started crawling towards my house. I had to use the back door till they had all disappeared.

Dentists and dental treatment. Really bad.

Spiders.

Spiders.
Public speaking.
Any animal sniffing my finger tips.

A serious dislike of creepy crawlies, though I am quite fond of bees and butterflies.