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...)

Op, I had a fear of choking so severe I lost a huge out of weight and tried all therapy going. Anthony Gunn is an Australian psychologist with a book called Cure your phobia in 90 minutes. If you follow it you will absolutely recover it is AMAZING. I also have a lifelong phobia of Octopus lol no idea why, my reaction is so severe to them. An ex took me to Sea Life as a surprise during a weekend away. Part of the trip meant walking through an Octopus 'tunnel' where they were above my head. I didn't say anything about my phobia as I didn't want to look ungrateful but I was swathed in sweat and I fainted. Back.home I updated mum on our trip and told her about my reaction and she told me that she had taken me to the same place as a toddler and I managed to break my reigns where I had such a massive reaction to seeing one... I have no idea where it comes from. Final example, was with a colleague in a lovely Eastern European supermarket by our work place as they have the best cakes and biscuits for the tea fund. I went off to the back of the store to look at the lovely racks of China and table wear they had up on the wall, looked down into the freezer below me and it was full of frozen Octopus. Even writing this is making my hands sweat... why!? Lol they're such strange things phobias. Anyway I jogged out the shop and left my shopping behind..colleague found me after and said he just saw my brown face turn to white and wondered wtf I was doing loool

@MissMaple82

There's a big difference between a genuine phobia and an irrational fear. Most people don't actually have phobias just irrational fears.

I thought a phobia IS an irrational fear! So when people talk of transphobia or even homophobia, it's not really the right word to use.

I would say being scared of eg spiders (if you live in Australia at least) is rational - they could kill you if they bite you. Being scared of the things you use to do up your clothes is a bit irrational.

Wasps. The evil stingy little twats.

I'm petrified of them.

@frogsbreath

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

I choked on a barley sugar when I was 4 and it had left me with the most irrational fear of my children choking xx they are 13 and 17 now and I still can't be in the same room if they have lollies, grapes etc. and I can't bear it if they put too much food in their mouths, I feel like I'm just waiting for them to choke.

I have trypophobia. It's not being frightened of something like a classic phobia, more of a revulsion. All sorts of weird things set it off. McDonalds have got wall decorations that are made up of dots, some car lights are dots, peppers, fish scales, crumpets, honeycomb, brick walls.....clusters of things, for me regular repeating patterns are worst. It's completely involuntary, and I believe some sort of evolutionary throwback from when avoiding scally/spotty/holey things made us live a bit longer. My daughter has it too. Both my son's are unaffected.

I have phone phobia. The inability to make phone calls. It's awful and has affected me professionally

I don't know if there's a name for either of mine as Google seems absolutely convinced I'm claustrophobic if I search either of them, but I'm definitely not!!

Mine are a fear of being underground (specifically in natural underground places like caves or caverns - I'm generally fine with an underground space that has been 'built' like a basement or the tube) and a fear of suffocation.

I actually (rather embarrassingly) think the cause of both of these is the film version of Watership Down - the only film to ever give me nightmares as a child.

@TheDoveFromAboveCooCoo

Wasps. The evil stingy little twats.

I'm petrified of them.

I'm ok with wasps but their nest make my skin prickle . Might be along the lines of trypophobia as it is so organised in its construction. But I;m fine with honeycombs ...

Spiders, dentist treatment, wasps and earwigs/flying anta

Snakes in water. The way they move and their heads poking up out of the water are truly hideous. I can't bear it at all!

Chickens :(

I have loads when I think about it:

The sea (Or any large body of water)
Cotton wool
Spiders
Eating food with my hands
I’m severely claustrophobic

The dentist (bad experiences as a child so not all irrational).
I was terrified of dogs as a kid too. Still don't like them but can cope around them.
Escalators. Especially the downward ones. I have to force myself to step on and have this weird thought that I m going to plummet to my death.
I travel a lot and they are in airports and train stations so I force myself on but ugh I would rather take stairs anyday.

I m fine with snakes and spiders and was always the "spider remover" for dd when she lived at home.

Seagulls, the sheer size of them, their massive sharp beaks, claws and beady eyes. I run a mile if I see one.

Mine is wobbly teeth and teeth coming out-thankfully my youngest is now 11 so we are nearing the end of the road with all that. I can't watch or even be in the room if there's an extraction imminent.

Also dead animals-can't look at them and couldn't touch one. Any poor pets of ours that have departed, dh has to deal with.