Bringing another new topic to the Great Hall discussions, we'd like to introduce this new thread on "Fears and Phobias." Most people are afraid of something, many people have more than one fear, and for others they actually have a fear that may disrupt their lives.

Do you have a definite fear of something? What is it and how do you react to it? Can you control it? Do you try? Does your fear upset your life at times? Has your fear ever put you in danger?

We are not looking for every Harry Potter fan in here to liken themselves to Ron being deathly afraid of spiders, though! The list of fears is enormous. So, let's all dig deep and share what we are afraid of and see how common or rare many of our deep fears really are.

Wow, this is an awesome topic, guys!

I do have a definite phobia which is embarrassing to me. I have this phobia of blank TV screens--like someone can see me through it if it's off. Crazy, huh? The good part is that I tend to cover up my TV and monitor when I'm not using them, and it keeps the dust off! So my phobia serves a good purpose!

My phobia comes from a guy who I dated for awhile who was a bit off his rocker and then stalked me, so it makes no sense that I have it, because pretty much everything he said was bunk! But I got in the habit of being uncomfortable around black screens, so I always cover them up. It's stupid, but most phobias are silly, I suppose.

I think my dad must have the same sort of phobia--he can't be in a house without the TV on!

I don't think I have any major phobias. Nothing that would cause me to be paralyzed with fear or hyperventilate or anything, but I do have a minor fear of horses and most animals that could kill me if they had half a mind to do it I was bucked of a horse when I was younger and have barely gotten on one since. My dad had the horse on a lead rope, but the horse was used to an English saddle and we had put a western on her. I lasted two bucks and was sent flying over her head on the third.

I also have a strong dislike for spiders and have gotten in several death matches with them. Fortunately, I haven't lost one yet!

I am claustrophobic. It's not a secret, lots of members here already know this, but it ab-so-lute-ly is a problem for me. I don't think I was born with this fear.

I grew up in a family of ranchers. My great grandparents owned two ranches: the one they worked, which we still own, and the one where they lived a couple canyons up the 101 highway. They had what was termed a "ranch house" in the day, and I've come to recognize it was more like a mansion in that era. Anyway, this house had four floors and a basement. From the kitchen to the basement, which was a fully functioning canning room, there was a dumb waiter. I was one of three girls in the family within the two generations where we all fell into the arena as "kids." The other two girls were 16 years older than I. So, I played with the boys without choice. Regrettably, I spent many hours in the dumb waiter, in the pitch dark, between the kitchen and the basement waiting to be rescued. Truly, I believe my claustrophobia developed within that dumb waiter!

It does, however, cause me issues in small spaces, elevators, caves, tunnels, bridges, and I cannot be restrained in any manner. Not even momentarily with someone grabbing my arm to talk to me, without reacting much too strongly.

Since it is highly embarrassing to confess this phobia publically, I'll save my other one for another day.

Spiders? Not a problem: I'm the family spider killer, because my man and my daughter both hate them. Just don't lock me in a room with them!

My hero! Since you're undefeated so far, why don't you come to my house and tackle my spiders for me, too? I've been known to jump up on the furniture when a particularly large spider comes crawling through the room.

I don't know about blank tv screens, but dark windows freak me out! It all started when I was a little kid. My older "brother" used to scare me with stories of Peeping Tom with eyes as large as windows. To this day, I can't be in a room at night with a window that isn't covered by either a curtain or a blind. Needless to say, every window in the house has a blind, even my french doors have curtains over them. However, there is this small window type thing in the front door that has no cover, but I avoid it like the plague at night.

Oh, and like Dorthy, I can't be restrained at all. I will completely freak out beyond control. Has to do when I was younger and held against my will for over half an hour. (Well, actually, it happened twice, but that's another story. I'm sure the second time didn't have a positive effect to my current fear status. Ha ha.) Now, I can't handle someone leaning on me, even my daughter when we are watching tv on the sofa, without getting that panicky feeling.

My greatest, major, worst fear are spiders. I just hate them. Whenever I see one, even the smallest of them, I run away as fast as possible. If I see one which is bigger than a few millimeters, I always call for my mum. I have no idea how I'll make it when I live on my own. I guess I have to marry someone who isn't afraid of them.

This fear started...guess what...because of my beloved brother. I still have to repay it to him. (hehehe) My brother had a dislike for spiders ever since he was born. I hadn't. Strangely since I don't like insects at all. They are a bit disgusting and unpredictable. But I had no issues with spiders. However, I remember that one day when I was little, he showed me one and kept telling me that I have to fear it -blah blah-. And later on, he and his friend killed a pregnant spider and the place filled with baby spiders running for their lives. I recall freaking out. Ever since I totally hate spiders. The problem is that we have plenty of them at my village. You wouldn't believe how many kinds of them I've seen my whole life. But the worst experience must have been when I visited the zoo in London. Who would ever fancy watching a tarantula? Oh my Gosh. Who would ever fancy watching insects at all? It was absolutely horrible.

One of my other fears is height. I didn't have it from my birth. I actually got a few years ago. What's bothering me is that I can't remember how the heck I got it! I never had issues with it. I mean...I always feared that my glasses would fall down and break if I looked out of a window, but that was it. Now, I even get dizzy by thinking of heights. It is annoying...I hope that one day it will go away as inexplicably as it came.

Funny fear the one about black screens! As for claustrophobia, I don't really have it. However, I know that if someone locks me in a room the size of me, I'll freak out. But I don't mind elevators etc.

My biggest fear is without a doubt spiders! They terrify me and my boat and jet ski are always crawling with them. My last run in with a spider was when I was trying to take my jet ski off the dock and I knocked down all these webs with a dog bowl that was lying on the beach. I tried to wash the spiders off by throwing water at them and that got all but one of them and it disappeared under the jet ski. Later when I was trying to push the jet ski it crawled right next to my hand and it was about the size of my hand and I screamed and ran off. Later I got one of the little boys who was fishing to come and get it for me and they got it and started playing with it and took it away.

I also have a little bit of the blank screen fear like Aethonon except not nearly that bad. I think it started when I was like 6 and I watched the Ring and I fell into the habit of turning on the TV when I was sleeping and showering because I liked to be able to hear the TV and I noticed Samara only came to get people when their TV was off. I saw it again and The it isn't even scary anymore and the ring 2 was only funny to me when I went to the theater and saw it with some friends. However, I still do the TV thing, but I don't when I sleep anymore, just when I shower.

I was browsing through the internet a few days ago and I came up with an article about fear of commitment. I know this could fit in the "Women vs Men" section but since this topic hasn't been updated for a while... Bear in mind that this topic was not meant to discuss only our fears related to spiders blah-blah, but also fears that have to do with our life in general.

So, here is another article I found now. You don't have to read it, I'm just posting a link to give you a clue.

Would you say you have a fear of commitment? Have you ever thought you'd be a runaway bride or groom? How would you treat your partner if he/she had such a fear?

It is a fun discussion, but it can also be very serious. Fear of commitment could be expanded in my opinion, on other levels as well. Fear of living in the same place for too long (I've met someone who has that) or fear of making your life a routine.

Tell us, what do you think?

I don't have fear of commitment in a relationship but I am afraid of my life becoming too routine. I wouldn't last long in a programming job or something similar, random hours and work that varies every week or so would be good for me.

My class did a power point presentation on careers and everyone in my class wanted to have set hours, and pretty much the same work everyday so they would know what to expect, except for me. I don't need much sleep to get by, the last 7 nights I have had 30 hours of sleep.

I don't have a fear of staying in the same place for too long because I love where I live now. I live on a private lake and it is beautiful and we have occasional tornadoes but other than that we have good weather.

I don't think I fear commitment either. I actually think it is easier to commit to someone than always keep your defenses raised and stay far away from emotions. It is better to open up and let someone "conquer" you than jump from one "relationship" to another. It seems tiring to me.

I do have fear of routine, if I can call it that. I don't want my life to end up being boring, and I'm glad that my university gives me the chance to have many different projects so that I'm busy all the time. I don't want to do a job that will have me stuck in an office with amounts of paperwork to deal with every single day. I want to do something creative, like being on the radio or something similar. I also want to establish communication with other people through my job. So, that's what I fear the most.

As for staying in the same place for too long, I know a guy who has that. I met him a year ago and I think he moved from Greece to Canada, then went to New York, and then to a greek island. But I'm not sure. The point is that he couldn't stay anywhere for too long. Maybe he had some sort of routine fear. Who knows?

I've never had a problem with commitment, but I did have a fear of being alone for many years. I think that's why I ended up with so many dirt-bags. A part of me hated the idea of being alone again, so I'd put up with a lot of stuff from these guys just to make it work and have someone with me.

I think another part was my fear of change... the unknown. I knew what I had with these guys, but I didn't know what would come next if I left them.

Thankfully, I was able to break that trend and stayed alone for a few years. This allowed me to take my time and find the right person. Now I'm happily married to a guy that is as far from being a dirt-bag as humanly possible.

It's so interesting to hear about people's fears!

I have two fears that are pretty big for me. Well, really they are just the two fears that I react most ridiculously with. The first one would be needles. I don't know what it is, but injections of any sort really scare me. I can't look at needles, I can't watch people get stuck with one, and I definitely don't want one anywhere around me. I get pretty hysterical. It's actually kind of embarrassing, but I can't help it. I don't have a problem with knives or anything other skin thing, but needles..... Blech.

The other one would be any sort of stinging bug. It kind of follows the needles thing, with injections and puncturing of skin. That may stem from the fact that when I was little at camp, a wasp came out of no where and stung my wrist and my upper lip. I freaked out BIG time. Now, whenever there's a stinging bug, but particularly a wasp, I'll try to get away from it or I'll have someone try to smash it. *shudders*

Fear of commitment. I don't fear being in a committed relationship, but I rather fear getting committed and then being left. So...I guess it's not the commitment that scares me, but the potential for the commitment to be broken. Does that make sense? I am in a committed relationship right now though.....

I don't fear change. Not really. I fear loss that comes with change. Losing friends. Losing touch. But that's something entirely different. I'm happy where I'm at so no fear in staying in the same spot.

Well as I see I am not alone with my problem.
I am claustrophobic too, very claustrophobic!
In a way I don't have problems with elevators but I have problems with crowds, if there are way too many people I am just like and I start to panic, stop breathing and nearly faint. But that is just the nice version of my problem. My claustrophobia gets worse when I have to enter a plane.
Eversince I know myself I panic whenever I have to fly and it has nothing to do with the fact that its high or anything. I just know I am locked up, I cannot get out if I like, I cannot tell the pilote to let me go or anything. I just feel like a prisoner. During the fly I mostly read to ignore this but when everyone takes seat or leaves the plane it gets even worse. I am even puking (yes I know, ew) whenever I enter or leave a plane. It's so odd.

Last year I asked the stewardess for a parachute and I was so serious about it, I was screaming around that I felt like suffocating and it's weird, I really feel imprisoned. I attack whoever touchs me. I am a freak!!!

But I have to say it got a little better. Nowadays its almost just planes and crowds. Earlier I couldn't even go by bus or the underground. I just forced myself after a while because I hate that. I know nothing can happen to me but I just feel threatened...as if those people locked me up on purpose or something....anyway...

Interesting topic guys.

I see a lot of us don’t like spiders. Neither do I.

My fear of spiders started when I was young, I think I was between 5-8 years old. Me and my twin had a bunk bed back then and we were sitting at the top playing something, I don’t know what. All of a sudden we see something big and black with eight legs on the wall next to us. To say it was big is an understatement. I remember seeing its black legs crawl upwards the wall. I hate them, what do they even need eight legs for? We screamed and some how move off the bunk bed and out of the room. Thank-fully my mom’s boyfriend got rid of it and put it outside the house.

I really do hate them, the way they move, the way they look. I have to say though that since last August my fear as amplified. I was on holiday in St Lucia (but I didn’t come back with a tan) and a hurricane had just passed so sea animals (crabs mainly) had been washed up onto the holiday site (which was right next to the beach). One night, I wasn’t feeling too good, banging headache, I made my way to my room. But halfway there I stopped dead in my tracks. A huge land crab was on the path in front of me about 3 metres away. But because it was so dark and the crab was silhouetted it look like…a huge spider. I was immobilized by fear and I couldn’t move, my breathing wasn’t normal. My mind had really interpreted the silhouetted shape as a spider. I looked for any other way to my room. I felt like I stood there still for ages but soon enough the shape moved sideways. I let out a huge sigh but I was still so scared. Even knowing that it was a crab once I saw it move didn’t seem to calm me down I ran as fast as I could passed it and to my room. My sister was there (my twin). She opened the door knowing what I saw because she saw it too.

I was hysterical and since then I am hysterical when I see one. I can’t sleep most of the time because I constantly one in my room. I can’t seem to control it, I’ll scream and run and even after its gone I cant speak, move and breathe probably. I sometimes rock back and forth. My sister thinks I need help on it. Wow, I sound crazy don’t I? I think it is more of a phobia then I fear now.

Spiders isn’t my only fear of course. I’ll post some of them another day. Now onto the question...

Would you say you have a fear of commitment? Have you ever thought you'd be a runaway bride or groom? How would you treat your partner if he/she had such a fear?
Good question. I’d have to say that I think I have a little fear of commitment, I’m probably too young to understand it completely which might play a part of my fear, not having the knowledge. I am however in a relationship with my first boyfriend, its been just over eight months and I probably sounds cheesy and all love-e-dovy but I can see myself staying with him. Commitment to a man would scare me because I would always have the fear of ‘Am I making the right decision?’, ‘What if something goes wrong?’ etc. But those fears are normal I think, to question is human and I am always thinking about ‘What ifs’. If my partner had the fear of commitment I would just try my best to help him.

There are a couple things that can make my "skin crawl" but I wouldn't say I have a phobia. My biggest fear, actually turns out to be sort of a unique one; and that is I am scared to go tubing.

For anyone whoe might not know what tubing is...it's when a person sits in a tube (like a donut with a bottom) and is pulled behind a boat through waves and sometimes is thrown out.

Well, when I was nine years old, I was tubing with my cousin and my dad flipped the tube. My cousin flew out just fine but the cord got caught around my ankle and I was dragged under water for a little bit until my dad realized where I was. Ever since then I can't bring myself to go tubing. It's weird because I absolutely love to water ski and jump off cliffs, etc. But I can't bring myself to get into a tube. I'd rather have a spider crawl all over me than get in a tube.

Would you say you have a fear of commitment? Have you ever thought you'd be a runaway bride or groom? How would you treat your partner if he/she had such a fear?

I wouldn't say that I have a fear of commitment. I've had a decently lengthed relationship before (2.5 yrs) and I definitely wasn't afraid of it or her. I also don't think I would become a runaway groom. But that might be because I really want to make sure that when it comes time for me to marry, that i've explored many relationships.

I really believe in dating and what it stands behind. I know some people who find "true love" and then stay with that person for years and years and years. I think that it is healthy to explore different relationships so that when you truly fall for someone and propose, you know that she/he is the one for you. And hopefully, by dating, you won't find out 5 years later that you really don't like your partner for this reason or that.

If I ever had a partner like that and I loved (in my case) her. I would go to any lengths to accomodate ehr and make her feel comfortable when starting and continuing a relationship with me.

Tubing is seriously one of my favorite things in my life. I live on a lake and I go tubing as much as possible. I am so sorry you have had such bad experiences with tubing, but I guess you are totally justified in not liking it, I don't think I would like tubing very much either if I almost drown doing it!

It is good to see you like water skiing though, I am on my lake's water skiing team. I even took home third in my age division at the Corn Husker State Games, I was a little mad about this because by the rule book we went by speed didn't matter and I went about 5 mph faster than second place and that is a big difference. I think first place and I went the same speed though and she was obviously much better than I was. I actually just went water skiing this morning.

I also love cliff diving and going on my jet ski. I absolutely love jet skis, I do 360s all over the place!

I actually just went tubing on the 4th of July and I think it was my longest and best ride ever because the guy I was riding with and I were working as a team (that sounds funny for tubing) and pulling up on the tube when we went over wakes so we soared over them.

I have only had two bad experiences tubing. The first time was when I was on the Big Bertha with two of my best friends. One of my best friends and I were sucked down into the tube while my other best friend was lying over the tube totally oblivious and it was kinda hard to breathe and then she elbowed me in the face accidentally and I got a black eye. Another time the tube flipped over on me really high up in the air and I still was holding on and I was pancaked between the water and the tube after falling about 8 feet. For my birthday I actually got one of those flying tubes that were recalled because people broke necks on it, and I still regret never getting to ride it before it was recalled.

That's awesome. Yeah we actually own a Big Bertha right now and I too grew up on a lake. We were just there for fourth of July and I also went water skiing this morning...how ironic !

I've actually turned into the driver who loves to flip people off the tubes so that's always fun for me to do (between you and me [and everyone else who's reading this], I've gotten pretty good). But yeah, your stories from tubing sound like a slightly unpleasant time to say the least. I think what made my fear so prominent and still effective today was that it happened when I was young. I think age has quite a bit to do with how much your are affected by "acquired" fears and such.

I've never actually entered a water skiing competition though. You were cutting the wake going around cones I presume? I've gotten real close to the water a couple times. Three years ago I started leaning with my arm out so I could get withing a foot of the water. The problem is, is that I lose ground over the winter so I come back in the summer and have quite a few spectacular water displays when I fall.


Also, (I don't know if it's allowed or not), but I have a question for the thread; that I wanted to know your thoughts on.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influencial role in a fear developing in a person?

Another fear I have, is the fear of the dark. I’m not exactly scared of the dark, I can sleep soundly with the light off. My fear is more to do with the dark outside. Like in the dead of night and you have to walk somewhere. It’s the fear really of unknowing. I don’t know what’s round the next corner, what’s behind the building…etc. I fear what lurks in the dark, the fact that anything could be there scares me to death sometimes.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influential role in a fear developing in a person?
I think the young tend to fear more because with age comes knowledge and experience. What the young may fear (like getting older, buying houses, paying bills, jobs etc) the older generation have most likely already experienced and therefore maybe not as fearful. I think the older you get the more confidence in life you get, the more experience in life you get so you don’t fear as much. But that’s my opinion, in life it might be different. After all, factors of life like losing someone you love, losing a job etc and really put someone down, lower the confidence and perhaps it is then the older generation who fear more, who knows. I hope that made sense.

Hey everybody!!

Fears and phobias...interesting...

I would say I'm a little bit claustrophobic. In my neighbor's car, we were sitting in the very back with lots of luggage and the front seats were packed up, too, so it was hard to get out. I have to say I felt very claustrophobic then. Also, we went to St. Louis in Missouri, USA. We went up in the arch, in one of those small little spheres...four people per sphere, and I was VERY claustrophobic in there, it's the worst feeling!

I also have a fear of being alone. I mean actually alone, with no one who loves you. I fear about death and when I was little I was always afraid my parents would abandon me. So I guess it's aloneophobia, the fear of being alone and the fear of death.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influencial role in a fear developing in a person?
I think age plays a great deal of whether you are afraid or not. As you get older, it's easier to tell yourself that sometimes your fears aren't really as bad as you thought they were when you were five.

Good subject! I never thought of phobias as a subject.


I have a few phobias of my own. One, I have a huge phobia of any kind of bug whatsoever. I'm scared of butterflies! I mean, I can stand looking at them from a distance, but I went into a butterfly house once and ran out screaming because one flew into my hair. I also run screaming if a bug comes within 10 feet of me. Wasps and bees are a biggie for me.

Another thing is I am terrified of being alone in the dark. I have a huge Victorian home, which is very scary to be alone in the dark in. It's always creaking and I'm scared something is coming down the stairs for me. I jump every time the wind blows the door shut as well.

I also have a huge phobia of asking people I don't know questions. I don't really know why. I once made my father pay me five dollars just to go up to a hostess at a resturant and ask when our table would be ready. Again, I don't know why, so I can't really elaborate on the subject.

My little sister has severe seperation anxiety. She has a really bad phobia of being seperated from my mom, even if just for a few minutes. I guess this is because my mom goes to Costa Rica 1-3 times a year without her. It drives everyone crazy, though.

Oh, and the car bookworm_1918 was in was mine! It was actually kind of funny until she started panicking.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influencial role in a fear developing in a person?

Yes. I think that the older you get, the better you can control yourself. You can prevent panicking or whatnot if you are older, but when you are younger you don't know any better.



EDIT: Hermione17 reminded me! Haha! I am deathly afraid of clowns as well. I refuse to go with my sisters to get balloon hats and animals and stuff. I also went to the Shrine Circus for a field trip, and had nightmares for weeks! I'm glad I'm not the only one scared. (Funny story: I went to a haunted trail that was really long, probably about 3 miles, and a clown with horns a blood on it's face stopped me and my friend and asked who was scared of clowns. I pointed at my friend and took off at at least 20 MPH down the trail-jumping over "dead" bodies and running past monsters and grim reapers- for about a quarter of a mile. I still have nightmares about it!)

HAHAHA Sadie, you remind me of myself. I'm so glad I'm not alone in this! I have 2 fears!

1. BUGS!...they freak me out. I also kick up the dust when a bug comes near me. For some reason they seem to always wanna attack me. In particular are those huge June bugs! They are like over grown beetle that fly. OMG! They just dive bomb me every chance they get. My Hubby thinks it's comical

2. I'm deathly afraid of clowns. I know..sounds kinda silly but it's true. When I was younger a friend of mine had her bed room covered in clowns. They were everywhere! I only spent the night once and the entire time I was having a panic attack. They all just kept staring at me. So I removed myself and went to sleep on the couch in the livingroom. A few months later my dad took me to work with him. All the employees he worked with were so excited to see me...one dressed up like a clown. We pulled up to his work and she came right to the truck window. What's a little kid to do? I hit her! And flew across the seat grabbed my dad and started whaling.


Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influential role in a fear developing in a person?

I would hope as you get older you can control your fears. If not then I'm in trouble! I have an Aunt who is still claustrophobic. It freaks her out even now. I think she is 59. I think fears start when your little, and sometimes are brought on by other people. For example:
MY mom is afraid of grasshoppers...when it freaked her out it freaked me out. As for clowns..I think I got that from movies...more specifically " IT ". Children are very perceptive and this is where I believe fears start, during childhood.

Interesting question Harry James Potter! (Sorry, I can't recall any names right now! )

I believe that age plays a very crucial role on one's fears. When we are younger, we tend to fear more things because we can't explain them. As we grow older, we rationalize more and we get rid of silly fears. However, I believe that the older you get the harder it is to get rid of a serious phobia. For example, I suddenly got fear of heights. I don't know where it came from, but I think that the more I let it be, the more it will expand and the more difficult it'll be for me to face it. On the other hand, I fear spiders less now and I'm getting used to cockroaches (though I can't kill them. It's just...disgusting! ). I guess age is important but one's character is important as well.

A quote that fits in this thread is this one:
"The best way to get over your fears is to face them"

I have a hypothetical question:
What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?

What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?
I would absolutely, without a doubt, face my fears to save someone, especially my kids, no matter what. Faced with a life and death situation, there's really no contest. Of course, I think your fear would still be there, but the fear you have for that other person would be greater thereby over-ruling your personal fear. I think it would become dulled in comparison.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual?

Well, I think that if the fear isn't faced when the individual is a child, it grows and manifests as the person becomes an adult. Once you are an adult, I think it becomes much harder to face that fear and get over it (unless you are confronted with a life or death situation ). Although a child might not understand something creating the initial fear, children are much more resilient and open to new things making it easier to face the fear, understand it, and move on. But adults tend to be set in their ways even though they have reached the point of understanding. Even though they may now understand the thing for which they fear, it still sticks around as a fear because they refuse to face it.

Take my husband for example- he hates heights. And I'm not talking just about great heights, either. He refuses to go up more than two steps on a ladder because his chest has to keep constant contact with the ladder's surface (whenever he's working from the ladder itself). He knows that he won't get hurt falling from such a short height, but it still freaks him out. However, if he needs to climb a ladder to get into a boat, he has no problems with that. I guess because he knows his destination is a solid surface. But to be suspended above the ground, he can't tolerate more than 2 or 3 feet off of the ground. He knows he's not in danger, but that doesn't stop his fear.

What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?

I'd say with a doubt! I'd push aside my fears and go head first to save someone else. After all a life is much more important than my fears. And who knows..maybe I could attack a few clowns along the way...with all the adrenaline pumping and all.

Alright I have a few weird phobias of my own. Some are common others are just weird, some may also sound like OCD.

Well first off like some people I am AFRAID of spiders. I scream at the sight of them, and no like some of my friends have said, I am not afraid of spiderman. That's all different. Knowing that there is a spider present near me is what drives me mad. I don't care if it's locked up in a box, if it's in sight or I'm aware that it's there I can't stand being in the room anymore and I have to go like NOW! I for some strange reason feel like they will some how find a way to escape where ever they are locked up. I think of the impossible

I am of course like many girls I hate roaches! They drive me crazy, I start jumping around screaming and ewing the entire time. I have had the worst experience I have ever had with a roach. I was one night on the computer and I notice that there is something on the wall. I noticed that it was a roach, I gasped and called my grandmother and pointed it out and told her to kill it now. She went and got the raid. She sprayed the roach but little did I know that it was a flying roach! I screamed how it ironically came flying towards me. I mean literally at me! I still shudder at the memory disgusted. I run to my grandma and started rubbing my back on her hoping that if the roach was on my back to get on her I was ridiculous I'm telling you.

This fear I have had since I was a little girl. My cousins traumatized me and some of my friends find it stupid to be afraid of. I have a deathly fear of Chucky the doll. Yes I am almost 16 and can't stand the thought of that evil red headed murderous doll. When I was about five I was watching one of the movies with them and I was sitting on top of the bunk bed and they sat under at some point of the movie I was so stuck onto the movie that any movement could've scared me to death, which of course they took adavantage of. The oldest shot his hand up and pulled me and I was scared screaming and crying. A few years later we were at the mall and there was a store that was selling life size Chucky dolls and I didn't notice that my cousins went in and ran out with one and made it seem for a moment that it literally was coming after me. Not only did I make myself look like an idiot they got in trouble thinking that they were shoplifting Then last year I went to the movies to see Saw 4 it was around Halloween and they were showing different Halloween movies and I was completely caught off guard when they showed chucky. Pretty much I ran out of the theatre screaming and it took alot to get me back in.

And lastly, this is one seems more like an OCD but I don't know. When I am in a house I can't stand having unoccupied rooms with an open door. If no one is in the bathroom but they leave the door open I always close the door. It bothers me, I always think that someone can hide in there and attack. And then when I'm in a car I start hyperventilating when I'm driving next to cars that are bigger than the one I'm in. Mostly eighteen wheelers drive me crazy on the highway

Well there you have it. My long list of fears.


What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?

Well my fears are small Nothing drastic can come from it. Unless the world is being invaded my spiders or raoches, or if chucky is holding hostage someone

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual?

I'm sure that as you get older some fears become to seem more petty that fearful. Some might always be afraid. I mean I don't know how much longer I can stand to be afraid of a doll

Nicky Potter...needing to have the doors in your house always closed does sound a bit like OCD...But your not alone. I also have a touch of it. There are certain things that I HAVE TO DO 4 times. HAHA sounds nuts right! But thankfully it's not as bad as when I was little. Sometimes I fear it's going to expand and run my life! But It's so mild that you can't even notice...so I think I'm good

P.S. 4 Is my favorite number LOL go figure!

Good for you, unfortunately I don't have a really crazy driver to flip me all over. I am sure you are also very careful to make sure no one is being dragged underwater as well so that is a good thing. I have had so much fun tubing the only thing that would keep me off the tube would be several broken bones from tubing but it would take a lot of broken bones. My dad always gives awesome rides to everyone else but when I want on the 4th of July it was actually a good ride. I was riding with a guy from camp and I fell off three times, once we both fell off due to excessive slack, then he pushed me off when we were both standing up on the tube and doing the YMCA ha ha, and then I almost lost part of my swimsuit from dragging and I let go but I could have pulled myself up.

My water skiing coach is a world class skier and I believe he has placed at national perhaps international water skiing competitions. He was the first to get me up on a slalom ski when I was seven. In competitions you cut around cones or what I call buoys and you are scored by how many buoys you make and if you do the full or half course. You have to cut around very fast and my turns have improved tremendously, unfortunately some of my turns are too sharp and put slack in the rope so I have to wait before cutting through the wake for the next buoy. Usually I have some spectacular water shows when summer starts but I haven't yet, one is on the way I'm sure of it. I really want to get to do the giant ramp of my ski and do tricks and then hopefully land, I have always wanted to do it even if I hurt myself really bad it would be worth it.



Well I can't stand having the door to my room open ever. I don't know why but even if it is for two seconds I get really annoyed by it, I guess we both have OCD.

What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?

I think I could especially if it is someone I know, after I took the first step it would be a dead sprint through the room but I guess that is all the faster I can help whoever is in danger. If I had to stop in the middle of the room to help them that might cause me some problems but I am pretty sure I could manage it.

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influential role in a fear developing in a person?

I think age has a great deal to do with how much someone is scared of something. You are less mature and even with maturity that fear may never leave because you remember the immense panic you had when you got the fear of say spiders. I think HJP's situation is a different case because being held underwater that long would probably leave a vivid lasting impression on anyone.

I'm all for the closed doors as well. Close the door for godness sake!!!

What would make you face a fear you have? How far would you be willing to go to help someone? For example, if saving someone would take going through a room full of spiders (or clowns ), would you do it?

I have absolutely no idea. First, let me point out I'm more than afraid of spiders! Once a few weeks ago my step sister dragged me to a indoor zoo with Animals from the rainforests. In this room there were smal cages of glass. I thought they were all filled with scorpion. It turned out the last wasn't. The spider was almost ten centimetres long. I was very close to the cage and jumped back screaming. The part I hate the most when thinking about it is, that I knocked over a six-or-so-year-old girl and didn't care! I just had to get away from that creature. Nothing scares me like spiders.

So returning to the question... Death, I'm sure I'd do it, but if it was less important (I know this sounds awfully selfish), no. I can't even be in the same room as a spider if I know it's there and I haven't touched one since I was very small and it was creeping around in my clothes. I can't even put words on how much that affected me, but it's the first time I remembering freaking out about a spider.

Which leads me to a question I've been wondering about... A psychology teacher at my school once explained two theories of getting rid of fears to me. One, therapy, and learning where it came from (memories perhaps and telling about them to a shrink or the like), and work away the fear mentally. Or two, that you just had to face your fear, working your way closer to spiders (if that's it) and at last standing with it in ones hand or right at your side. Which of these would you rather go with, and which would you think would help you the most?

HA! For me it would be neither! I woud never dare hold a spider. The worst possible thing is currently happening to me spider related and my way of getting rid of the fear is to hold one? I don't think so. A few weeks ago I went and tagged along with my dad to work and I had to go into someone's backyard and I was with him. We sat down on a chair and my dad all coolly points and says "Look a spider" I nearly died! I screamed jumping into the pool that was nearby. Poor dad he didn't know my fear.. Until now.

A few days later I was home and it was roughly around 2am and I'm on the computer, lights on and everything; I see something appearing from the window onto the curtains. I wasn't sure what it was until it started crawling down the curtain and of course! To my suprise it just had to be a spider! Remember this was 2am I screamed like a little girl jumping over my computer running to the bathroom bawing telling my mom to find it and kill it; Well she couldn't find it so I literally didn't sleep til 10am. I stayed up all night scared. I created a barrier between me and where the spider might come with a pillow.

The next night I was on the computer again and for some unknown reason I had the urge to look up and wow; HELLO! There was the itsy bitsy spider on the ceiling. I started hyperventilating ike you have no idea. I looked away and when I looked back it wasn't where I ;ast saw it. Thanks to my luck it was directly above me. Once again I ran to the bathroom with my computer. I told my mom to kill it. She killed it but I locked myself in the bathroom for half an hour. Finally I came out and belived it but still I felt like it would crawl on me any minute now.

A few nights later I go into the bathroom and I was brushing my hair and I looked in the mirror which is opposite of the door and I noticed something sitting on top, bove the door. I climb on the toilet seat to get a better view. And gee whilickers it was YET another spider I mean bottle my luck and we have a mass destrcution weapon [atleast with spiders] It stayed there for a few nights until I saw the other day it wasnt there. Hmm up to today I'm still wondering where it is; Paranoid I might add.

So to be honest having a spider anywhere near me or even holding it is out of the question; And it doesn't look like I can be convinced anytime soon :/

I can't recall any phobia on myself, but I guess it has to be really bad. I have some fears, like heights, but it's not giddiness precisely. I don't dare to be in high, risky places, or at least, I can climb up, but not climb down. I can be in a lift, or in the highest place of a tower, but my problem is with risky places. When younger, I didn't want to clim up to high slides, and I have to admit that even now, I couldn't. Then, I've been in those attraction parks and, having paying the entrance, there were many games I didn't want to be on because they went too fast in a high level, or things like that.

In regards to spiders, for example, I couldn't say I fear them, not after have read about you Nicky or the other guys. I sleep on a bunk bed, and many times I found these little ladies on the roof or the wall, but they're really tiny, so I usually crush them with my finger. But if I ran into a big one, I'd scream out loud and give me a shock!

Now, I'm afraid of frogs, those which are sticky and small? If I see one, my heart beats fast and I want to run away! Once a frog jumped to my hand and ... oh my God, it nearly gave me a heart attack!

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influential role in a fear developing in a person?

I think that there's no age for fears. Fears usually are developed by a traumatical situation, and that's the most influential role. If you spent all a day shut in a lift, for example, alone, waiting for help, you can be 12 years old, 25 or 46, but it's more likely that you unfold an aversion for lifts for all your life. I don't know many people with phobias as to make a mental trend, but I could say most of fears begin in childhood. It's when you're growing and when your more intenses experiences will be engraved the most, I'd say. But you can develope a fear at any age of your life, the ammount or strenght to a fear is only increased by the experience or the main factor which originated it.

Fears and Phobias how interesting I have my share of these:

Snakes/Spiders: I absolutely detest these critters they totally creep me out. I think that my fear of snakes began when I was small and I had a black snake slither across my bare feet. Spiders..I have just never like them they are creepy..

Heights. I am petrified of heights. I can't even look up at a tall skyscraper without feeling woozy.

I am claustraphobic. I do not like being enclosed in any kind of space, and forget crawling up underneath a car to do something mechanical!

Do you think age effects the amount or strength of a fear within an individual? If so, what trend do you notice and why do you think this occurs? If not, what do you think plays the most influential role in a fear developing in a person?


I think that fears and phobias develop due to something that may have occured related to that fear at another point in your life. Like me with snakes I never had any qualms with them till one slithered across my feet. I don't really see a trend as such with these things they are rooted back to something associated with them and for alot of people they just stay with you throughout your life. Some peopel may eventually outgrow or overcome their fears or phobias but some just are not as esy to "grow out of". For example when I was younger I loved to go swimming and hang out at the pool all day, now as an adult I hate the water, I'm not scared of it I just don't like it. Dunno maybe I don't wanna mess up my hair lol....No really as I got older I found that I just did not like water at all???

I think experiences have a lot to do with fears, Marcey! But I think experiences can help eradicate some of those fears, too.

I used to have a crippling fear of heights. But then I moved to the third floor of my apartment building, and I had a balcony. I was really freaked to be out on it when we first lived there, but within a year I was having no problems, and that's when I started realizing that the fear of heights wasn't affecting me in other high places anymore, either.

Maybe if you handled snakes, you'd overcome your fear of them. They're not cuddly creatures, but they feel cool. But it would probably take handling one fairly regularly, and I can't see what would really be the purpose, except to get past the fear.

You'd think I would have a fear of chihuahuas. When I was six, a neighborhood boy who was 12, sic-ced his chihuahua on me. It bit me over and over on my legs--I looked like someone had taken a needlepunch to me! But I still like chihuahuas. I'm a little more nervous around German Shepherds, though. One bit me in the face when I was eighteen. Hmmm.

Well I have to say I don't remeber anything happening in connection with my claustrophobia. But I have to say I think I am at least losing my fear of planes. Last sunday I returned from vacation back to Berlin and what happened? Exactly nothing! I was just sitting in the plane and watching a movie and didn't think of trying to escape like I do usually. (It happened that people had to stop me from trying to jump of the plane... ).

But I don't know how it is in other countries but in Turkey you drive in a bus to the plane- a tiny tiny bus and all the passengers have to fit in. There I got my fit and had to use my asthma spray because I stopped breathing as I usually do in corwds. Yet I can proudly say nothing at all happened during the flight which is a premiere in a way.

Aethonon I don't like German Shepherds either in a way. Not that one ever bit me. I think they look so mean. As if they want to eat you.

Well I think it is more of a fear than a phobia, but people please don't laugh because it is really bad! I am 21 years old and soon to be 22 years old and don't have my driver's license because driving scares me! So I guess I could say I have a fear of driving! I know it sounds bad that someone so young really hates driving. I don't know why I don't like it, but when I get done with school and get my own place to live and my job....I will be happy with either walking or riding a tricycle, because I can't ride a bike! Here is a picture of a tricycle for adults. LOL! Link

Mod Edit: I have changed your image into a link. Please only post links in future.

I'm not really fond of driving myself. I have my license and I've been practicing with my brother this summer. It is not that I can't control the car or myself. It is that everyone is driving like crazy, not respecting the most basic rules, that I don't know if I can handle putting myself out there without hurting someone, or ruining the car.

I guess I'll have to deal with it soon enough. When I start working, I might need the car. So, there is no other way really.

Facing the fear...

I'm the same. Nothing happened in order to make me claustrophobic but I hate small spaces. In one of my drama pieces we were going to have me in this tiny little stage block, like underneath it. When we practiced it I just couldn't do it. Luckily I could scream. We had to scream in the piece, so I didn't seem crazy. But when they let me out I almost burst into tears. Luckily we scrapped that idea so I didn't have to do it.

I have many many irrational fears. I'm scared of the phone, opening the door, anything that flies (like insects and birds and anything with wings), planes, boats, open water (I can deal with swimming pools, but not too deep), spiders, any kind of bug really, the dark, death, and a whole lot more.

But what gets me is that I don't know how half of these fears came about. Like with flying, I used to be fine. You'd think that someone would get less scared of flying the more they flew. I've been on a plane so many times, literally hundreds of times, but I get more scared each time. I hate flying. I do it, but I get so scared.



I think that as you get older the more scared you get. Most people say kids grow out of their fears. But with me I've gotten more scared of things as I've grown up. I think thats because we've had the fear for so long and we convince ourselves of more things. Like with my fear of the dark, as I've grown up and seen more things like scary films and so on and my imaginations grown I've gotten more scared of it because there's new things for me to be scared of. I mean I'm 17 and I still have to have the tv on when I sleep so that there's some light

Kelly
x

I think when you're older, you aren't as afraid of things. But everyone is different. The reason I think you aren't as afraid as you grow older, is because you've experienced things that make you realize that there is no point to the fear. But having experienced more things could also make you more afraid of things. You can find how truly awful and frightening things can be.

But I think that being alone also gives you many fears. It is different when you can hear someone's voice or you know you're not alone. You get a bigger imagination the more you're alone, because no one is there to help you rationalize.

My biggest fear is the unknown. That includes the dark and unfamiliar places. I know being afraid of the dark sounds young and immature, but seeing scary movies can make you quite jumpy. When I'm home alone, I also don't like walking into a room with a door, because I'm scared that- like in horror movies- something will shut the door behind me, lock it, and I will meet a bad end. I am pretty good at freaking myself out! It drives me insane sometimes.

I also have a fear of mirrors. When I saw [i]The Unborn[b], there was a part with mirrors that freaked me out. Plus all of the Bloody Mary stories.

I used to a huge fear of bugs. I still am afraid of bugs and such, but I am better about it. Not as likely to scream at the sight of them.

Sometimes I am claustrophobic when people are all around me and I feel trapped.

~alyssa~

I believe I mentioned this when we first started this thread, but I have a fear of water. Now, not all water, just deep water where I can't see. I don't mind water such as at Hawaii or in the Carribean, or even off the coast of Florida down by the Key Islands, because you can see in it.

I even got certified as a SCUBA diver in an attempt to conquer my fear of the water, but it didn't bother me to be IN the water with my own air, where I could see!

What caused this fear of mine? I have NO idea. None what-so-ever. I am a great swimmer, I enjoy being in the water, I just freak-out mentally if I can't see my feet in the water.

I have never grown out of this fear; it has not gotten any worse, though.

I also have a lot of irrational fears. You can probably agree that it's really hard to explain to someone why we have these fears. There was nothing in my past that made me so afraid of death, yet I am. It really bothers me. Nothing happened in my past that made me so worried about car accidents, but I am. I worry a lot. It just scares me so much that I may lose someone I love, it's too much to think about. You may say, "Well Snapefan, fearing car accidents isn't irrational", but I worry if a family member goes on a trip, I have to have them call every day or I'll think they've crashed their car somewhere. It's really not normal.


I agree. I'm not normally afraid of the dark, but after I watch creepy movies, I feel a bit jumpy. It's not so much the dark I'm afraid of, but what could be in the dark. I know nothing is actually there, but I still freak out.

I think I have posted here before, but I have changed a little since then.

I used to tell everyone that my worst fear is the Dog Man, but that's just an old Northern Michigan legend. I still believe that I can be scared by it, but it's not real, and I guess I have come to my senses. (which is good!)

The house that we(my family) moved into about last July or so, has bats living in it during the Summer. Well, the first time I learned that, it was dark in the house and I was watching TV in the dark(I know now why we are not supposed to do that..) and I thought I saw something in the kitchen. I looked out there and I didn't see anything, so I went in there, slowly, to see what it was and a friggin bat came flyin at me!! It was crazy. I screamed, jumped back on the couch and curled up in a ball, in the feetle(sp?) position, covering my head. It wasn't funny. Those bats would come up through the vents from the basement and scare us in the middle of the night. I had a friend over one time and she came in my room at like, 3 in the morning and I woke up(light sleeper) and she goes, "uh.. there's a bat in the other room." Ha Ha.

Definately staying away from the bats.Rats freak me out a little. Not as much as bats, but I watched the BTK killer movie and the way he uses rats to kill people.... EWW!! So, I don't like rats either.

My latest fear has been the wrath of God. I won't go into complete detail about it, because this isn't the place/thread for it. So I just won't do that. But, that is my worst fear. God being angry at me or anybody, for that matter. That'd be scary.

Easy to see how bats flying at you could be a bit frightening. Honestly, when I lived in Virginia we used to sit out at dusk and watch the bats flying gracefully around catching bugs. On the sultry summer nights the bats would come out in droves flying in what appeared to be random patterns. I always liked to watch them until it got too dark to see them clearly. For creepy animals, they sure fly with precision.

Our cats used to stalk out into the yard, lie flat, and try to spring up and catch them as they swooped low for bugs. Never did I actually see any of our cats catch a bat, but they never seemed to tire of the sport.

I'm not fond of rats at all, although I understand they are highly intelligent and make good pets.

I don't think that time can make a fear worse. I have not seen something like that happen to me. I'm still afraid of spiders, but I'm creeping out less when I see one. I still can't kill coackroaches (they are freaking huge! ), and I still am afraid of heights. It's funny actually. Even when I close my eyes and picture myself in a balcony high above the ground, I feel dizzy and I'm afraid that I might fall. I don't mind being in a plane though, or anything covered with protective glass for that matter.

I'm kind of scared of being chased. It is ridiculous. I don't like playing chase because the thought of being chased freaks me out. I think that would be an interesting fear to be explored by a psychologist. But it is not a huge fear.

My biggest fear is definitely the heights, because it makes my life a little bit harder. But not too much.

Some of you guys have much more reasonable fears than I do. I'm pretty much scared of everything. I think of myself as a very paranoid person.

Let's see. I'm afraid of planes and heights. The plane thing came from the height fear, which came from this hiking trip my dad took me on where we ended up at the top of this giant rock, where the only thing keeping me from plunging to my death was a rail that I was, and still am, small enough to slip under.

I'm scared of spiders, bugs, insects, newts and rats. I don't know why. Most people are scared of them, but I tend to scream every time I see them now. I used to be fine with them, but as I've gotten older, I'm finding it harder to deal with them calmly.

I'm scared of being mugged, of being in the dark, and of being alone. What else...? Boats. Ever since the second grade, when I spent my year obsessing over the Titanic, I've been afraid of being on a boat in case it sinks.

Oh. And death. I'm terrified of that. I'm scared of anything that can cause it. I've spent so much time wondering about what happens once your life ends. I'm not scared of the actual process of death. I'm more afraid of what happens after. Do you go on to another life, or do you just end, turning into nothing? I'm not a religious person, so I find it extremely hard to believe in the ideas of religion, such as heaven and hell, or reincarnation. Oh, right. Religion. I'm terrified that because I'm not religious, and if the ideas of Christianity, Islam, or any other religion turn out to be true, I will be punished for not believing.

People tell me I have to many fears for someone my age. Apparently, I shouldn't spend so much time bothering myself with such issues, and should be thinking about other, more upbeat things instead. I can't help it, though. I'm just a paranoid person.

I have a lot of fears and phobias. I'm also not sure if some of them are PG-13. But I guess I'll just kind of skirt around those and say them in a more euphemistic kind of way!

For one: I'm terrified of the dark. I hate the dark. I'm scared of things being in the dark, and of bad things happening in the dark. And for good reason: when I was a child, very bad things happened in the dark, at night. I'm only now remembering those things, but the subconscious knowledge that they happened has shaped most of my childhood, adolescence, and now adulthood. And among other things, making me scared of the dark.

I'm also afraid of water. I've never learned properly to swim, even though I had swimming lessons when I was 9 (ha! All I learned how to do was float!). And then when I was in sixth grade, we went to a swimming pool for a field trip. My friend convinced me that you could "learn to swim by bouncing." For some reason, I ended up following her into the six-feet-deep section, and almost drowning. A lifeguard had to rescue me. Ever since then, I've been more terrified of the water (which I was frightened of before because of other things happening when I was a child in the bathtub).

I'm scared of heights, but not too much. It's just if they're particularly startling or huge...or if I have to be around them a lot.

Another phobia I have is of insects and spiders. I'm not sure why this one. I just HATE all creepy-crawly things. *shudders* They make me freak out. I can barely stand butterflies and ladybugs. Which is kind of pathetic, and I wish that I didn't do that, but...*sighs* I guess I can't help it. It's been lifelong!

And now I'm also afraid of guys. It doesn't matter who you are, if you are male, I am frightened of you. I hate feeling like that. But I guess it's the after-effect of my ex doing "things he shouldn't have" *euphemistic*. He made it so that I am constantly terrified of practically my own shadow and that if a guy even sits next to me in the computer lab or in a classroom, I automatically go into "fight or flight" mode (or freeze). My heart pounds like a trip-hammer and I'm acutely aware of his every movement. I know it's completely irrational, and at least I'm not absolutely terrified of every guy...if I know them, I'm usually all right. But otherwise? I'm terrified. That's why I'm taking a RAD class now, to try to teach myself self-defense moves, so I'm not so scared all the time, even just walking around campus.

Related to that, I'm scared of someone breaking in. I'm scared of being helpless and having no control again. I despise being helpless. I'm scared of being chased...I know that I can't run very fast and it would be so easy for someone to catch me. I don't want to even think about what someone might do with me once they caught me. I guess I'm really scared of the unknown, too. Even if something bad is going to happen, I would rather know what it is, rather than not know. It's easier to know.

I have a terrifying fear of needles. When I got to the dentist, I cry a little when I sit down because I know that I'm going to be in pain. When I had my appendix put last year, I had to have blood work done for my white blood cell count. I had to watch the nurse poke me, so I knew what she was doing. After my operation, I woke up with a huge IV in my arm! I was a little grossed out because when I moved, I could feel the plastic tubes inside of my arm! Grotesque, I know. When I watch a tv show like ER or Nip and Tuck, I can't stand to see people get poked with needles. It just grosses me out to the max and I get a tingle all over! Ewww!

I'm the same way, BasiliskFang. For the dentist, I'm slightly better with those because I've had to have a lot of teeth removed, but I still hate it. As for IVs or getting blood drawn...I plan to avoid doing that for as long as possible. I get hysterical when I know that I have to go in to the doctor for any kind of shot. It's kind of embarrassing, but I can't help it. Took me months to go in to get my tetanus booster. My mom works at a doctors office and they get regular TB tests, and some reason she tested positive, so our whole family had to get a TB test. That was probably the worst news I received for all of last November. Bleh. I commend you on being able to watch though. I would have pitched a fit.

Now that I think about it, I'm rather scared of needles, too! One time, when I had my blood drawn, I actually fainted. I'm not sure if that was because of seeing the needle, though, lol...the nurse who drew it was really bad at it, and kept dropping things. Not so good for inspiring confidence.

But every time I've had to get poked with a needle, or get an IV, or even get a shot of Novocaine, I pretty much freak out. I hate needles so much! *shudders*

I have 2 main fears.

1- a fear of wasps, bees, hornets and the like. and I can't control myself, I just have to run off if a bee or similar thing comes near me. I've no idea were I got this phobia or my 2nd one.

2 - I'm have a fear of illness. If I hear about a nasty disease I start thinking I have it. The worst thing about it is that I can't help asking what illnesses are.

I have a couple of phobias that are really bad....

1. I can't stick my head underwater in a pool. I have no idea why, but I've always been like that. I've always been afraid of drowning, even when I was 4 or 5 years old.

2. I hate elevators. I can get in one reluctantly if there are other people with me. But there's no way I can do it alone. And I will never ride an elevator that's in a parking lot. It's pretty embarrassing really. Whenever buildings do stupid things like locking the doors to the staircases so you can only go down and not up, or only having the staircase go down to the 2nd story and not the bottom makes me want to punch whoever came up with those brilliant ideas.

3. I also hate airplanes. I'll get on one if I absolutely have to. But I think I fear airplanes for the same reason I hate elevators - I don't trust that they won't plummet to the ground.

I have had a rather large amount of diagnosed phobias, most have been treated as I got my OCD treatments, and many were a part of my OCD.

My absolutely largest fear has always been centipedes. They aren't at all common here in Sweden, but in Croatia, where my family has a recidence, house centipedes are among the most common bugs. I have, for many years, travelled to Croatia with great anxiety, with panic and fear always lingering at the back of my head. I couldn't walk into a room without checking behind/under furniture and tapping all the paintings to see if there was one of those nasty things behind them. However, I got treatment for this phobia a few months ago, and now I feel perfectly fine around these animals.

Then there was a complicated pair of phobias that were linked to eachother and also to my OCD. These were feet and germs. My fear of feet was so bad that I had trouble putting on my socks, in fear that I might touch my feet, and I could never go anywhere near someone with bare feet. This was really a great issue for me as I am a ballet dancer and a kickboxer. Then the germs... I couldn't touch anything that someone else had touched, I couldn't touch handles on doors, I couldn't use any other bathroom than my own and I ran out of a room every time someone sneezed or coughed (and panicked if I couldn't get out). My fear of feet is now completely gone, yet my fear of germs lingers somewhat, in a much lesser form.

There is only one phobia which has been diagnosed but never treated; coulrophobia. Always be wary of the clowns...