Phobia of a particular food???

[RaindropsOnRoses12]

Ever since I was a child, (now 26) , I’ve had an overwhelming fear of a certain sauce. Can’t even write the word, but it’s white and branded hellmans.

The fear is real. Like I can’t even walk past it in a shop I will avoid the isle. Everybody that knows me avoids it completely which I feel bad for but appreciate massively. Im unsure where the fear stems from as I don’t even think I’ve ever even tried it. I just have a horrendous built in fear and would refuse to try it as a child. I can’t sit with anybody that eats it. I can’t eat anything that’s been near it. I will stop eating if someone mentions the word!

I am unable to order from most takeaways now because, for example; KFC/McDonald’s/kebab houses etc - I will stress ‘No M*) and it will come with it anyway and I will literally inspect it and have a bloody panic attack if it’s found and I had touched it . I won’t take the risk anymore so I am scared to bloody get anything except for a safe bet pizza!
Whats annoying is meal deal sandwiches in any shop ever. They assume that every sandwich needs it on and everybody wants it so I’m never able to get a meal deal , I think just sainsbury’s does one - ‘only ham’ - yippeee.

I just can’t seem to escape it!

am I an absolute psychopath? Please tell me there’s other people out there with phobias alike ? What could be the issue here ??

A psychopath no but you do need some serious therapy as that is not normal and your phobia should not impact on other people.
Honestly I can't believe that you haven't delt with this ridiculous aversion before

My DP won't touch any food that has 'M' on it (won't say the word or else you will feel upset!) He will only eat salad cream. But it's not on the level of a phobia. However he does complain loud and long about it!

Phobias come in all shapes and sizes (and foods!). I am no stranger to them (it's spiders, needles and public speaking for me) so I do sympathise. You're certainly not a psychopath!

It can be difficult to pinpoint what exactly triggers a phobia. It's pretty obvious with spiders but not so much with foods, unless you were forced to eat it as a child.

If you can't be helpful and just rude don't comment. What you feel is a 'ridiculous' phobia is someone else's living nightmare.

Wow, so someone else with the same! That’s good to hear (I think) haha.

Exactly my thoughts too about childhood, it’s as though I’ve had a traumatic experience with it (been sick or eaten some that was off etc) but nothing to report! It’s just random as far as I am aware

@PinkButtercups it is ridiculous to be afraid of the name of any food stuff and needs treatment especially when it impacts not only detrimentally on your life but everyone around you.
Oh and I am very aware of how debilitating a phobia can be however molly codling an adult will not help them deal with it

A psychopath no but you do need some serious therapy as that is not normal and your phobia should not impact on other people.p

Honestly I can't believe that you haven't delt with this ridiculous aversion before

^I agree.

“I can’t sit with anybody that eats it. I can’t eat anything that’s been near it. I will stop eating if someone mentions the word!”

^This is ridiculous. You need some serious help with this.

Someone failed you massively by not ironing that one out early on

The trouble with M is that it's so prevalent.
As such, you may want to seek some strategies or support from someone as it's very tricky to avoid.
That you can't walk down an aisle with it on display or cannot be near someone who's eating it suggests that your life and those around you are being negatively impacted.

I think you could definitely do with speaking to someone about it. Have you ever done so before? It sounds very stressful and horrible, not just for you but if you're out with other people too.

@Hoardasurass I wasn’t needing to be told it’s ridiculous. I’m aware of this already, hence the purpose of the thread. It was supposed to be more of a light hearted thread as I’m curious to hear other peoples stories. If you don’t have one, please just move on swiftly

@Hugasauras never spoken to anybody about it as it didn’t seem all that important, always tried to keep it controlled and just explained to those close to me.
i know a lady that has a similar phobia of beans!

I have known a couple of people with fruit phobias, to the extent that their families had to hide or cover up fruit in the house. One of them has a brother who used to chase her round the house with apples and bananas because he thought it was hilarious that she would run away screaming!
Also knew a girl with a phobia of buttons once...

@Dahlietta omg that poor girl! 😂 a couple of girls I used to work with thought it would be funny to put a jar in my locker at work once but when they realised I wasn’t messing about they felt so bad. And buttons - that’s interesting!

I don’t but I used to share a house with a friend who had a pathological hatred of ketchup. She could even look at it and had to have it removed from the cupboard / table / fridge.

A phobia is a phobia, but there are techniques to overcome these, I would try as tbh the impact on your life vs the actual danger or risk of M* is worth it.

Not the same but I am a fussy eater and used to avoid M*, not to the same level as you obvs, but now can eat it and actually like it.

It is worth looking in to getting it solved for you imo.

I have this with crisps. Can't stand the thought of them or anyone eating then near me.

I don't think her brother felt bad about it... . Maybe he does now!

@Tgif5 you have just reminded me! An ex boyfriend of mine had exactly this, too! So he understood mine and I respected his!
do you have a reason? Or is it just like me and you’ve no idea ?
his reason was as a child he had bitten one in a certain way and cut his gums or something like that which makes sense I suppose

@MelonsMelonsMelons sounds similar to mine, thank you for sharing! And sorry on mine and her behalf 😂

People have phobias about all sorts of things. Mine are driving, and sometimes leaving the house and crowded places. My DC has a problem with blood, veins, injections etc.

Its not so much what the phobia is, it’s more about how much it’s affecting your life, and possibly how it impacts those close to you.

I guess you need to decide what you want to do about it. Live with it, or take therapy. Maybe someone on here can say what help they received, and how they tackled it.

im giving in to my phobias, but I’m much older and I used to not let them control me so much. Now I can’t be bothered. My DC had hypnotherapy for some inoculations and more recently managed to get the covid vaccination. Ironically, a senior and older work colleague said she was scared of needles, and that made my DC go through with it.

I knew someone with a phobia of domestic animals.
Very debilitating and had tried lots to reduce the anxiety.

I'm like this with eggs and baked beans but since having my dd I have managed to control it and do cook them for her. I didn't want her to have the same hang ups as me and she has no idea how disgusted I am by either of them. I still don't like saying or typing the words, or hearing others say them. I don't like seeing them in aisles in the supermarket, especially beans, but these days I do buy them for my dd. I feel a strong sense of repulsion just touching the tins - not so much with touching eggs, and oddly I am generally ok with eggs in the context of baking. I cannot abide hearing "egg - - - y" though. I don't even want to type it out properly. I can easily see where you're coming from. I think it's easy for your mind and the thoughts/feelings of disgust to take over so you reach the point that you're at where you can't even walk down particular aisles, but you have to sort of force yourself through it if you want to overcome it.

If you are scared of mayonaise you should get some therapy to overcome it. Or hypnosis. It will be very helpful and make your life much better.

Nanas. 🍌🍌🍌

Get behind me, Satan.

@Bobbleballbags I found comfort in your comment 😂 did yours stem from anything that you’re aware of? Or just because ?