Do you have any actual phobias? If so, would you be willing to share how they af

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   Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

   Do you have any actual phobias? If so, would you be willing to share how they affect your life?
   
   Please don't answer this question if you aren't comfortable about your private health info being on the web. And you know what they say: once on the web, always on the web.

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   Laura Schneiderposted 11 years ago

   I'll answer first: I have a phobia about swallowing pills: I just plain can't do it, and it gives me the creeps seeing someone else do it. I'm afraid of choking or something.

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      Lesleysherwoodposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My sister has the same phobia as yours.  The poor girl has to always ask for meds to be in liquid form.  Its like a self fulfilling prophecy though, because the more she panics - the more likely she will choke.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      O no! Poor sis! A cognitive behavioral therapist (CBT) told me. 'Put the pill in the back of your mouth. Take a big mouthful of water. Now, forget about the pill. Only think of the water. Now, swallow.' Works on 1 tiny pill for me; most are too big.

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   Denise Handlonposted 11 years ago

   I used to have a phobia about spiders, a very common phobia, but I managed to overcome this around 2008 or '09.  It hasn't returned yet, and I can actually watch them, view movies about them, look through pictures in books, etc, which I wasn't able to do before. 
   
   I wrote a hub about overcoming arachnophobia.  Good question, and I'm sorry to hear about your medication problem.  What do you do when you have to take something?
   
   Have you ever explored this with someone?  Do you believe in past lives?    The reason I ask is that there has been research and books on the subject of 'unexplained' fears/phobias that are brought into a current life from a past traumatic event, i.e. "choking" to death.  Dr. Brian Weiss, MD has written several books on the subject and it is a fascinating area of research. 
   
   Best to you with this problem.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Denise Handlon, I'm so glad you were able to overcome your fear of spiders.
      
      I chew pills or separate capsules into a spoon and take meds that way, usually with soda to cover the taste. I check with Dr. and Pharm.D. to make sure it's OK for each med.

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   NMLadyposted 11 years ago

   needles and almost anything medical.  I become light headed and my bp goes way up.  I self talk myself to go through with what I need to have done (I am an adult after all) but it is just awful.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Because you're an adult doesn't mean you can't/shouldn't be afraid of anything! They're scary to almost everyone at any age! It's totally fair to tell your doctor and ask for an anti-anxiety pill before anything major. Self talk is great, though!!

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   celeste inscribedposted 11 years ago

   I can't stand the feel of peach or apricot skin. Just writing this sentence gave me goose bumps. I'm the same with velvet. I don't know what it is but I get the shivers just thinking about it. Equally crazy is that I love both fruits. I can't look at them in the store or watch someone else handling them.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Peach or apricot skins creep me out, too, but not to the phobia level, just dislike. You're NOT crazy for loving peaches or apricots but hating the skins, you just need someone to peel them for you that's all :-).  I adore velvet, though, I confess.

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   Chaosroseposted 11 years ago

   Even though I do like being left alone in a sense, if I'm cut off from all contact with anyone (no internet, phone, home alone, etc.) I start to get panic attacks.
   
   There was once that we had a power outage and I was home alone because my dad was visiting my grandmother that day and she lives 2 hours away. No power, cell died, phones are attatched to the cable so they were out. We live outback in the woods with no neighbors. I realized how alone I was and I started having a panic attack. So I laid down on the floor and blacked out for a while. Thankfully when I came too the lights were back on. But it was really scary, since I have an overactive imagination on top of it.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow! Chaosrose, what an ordeal! I think many people who are prone to it would get a panic attack in that situation. I got a claustrophobic, chilly feeling just reading about it! (Overactive imagination.) Thanks for sharing your ghostly story with us!

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   IslandBitesposted 11 years ago

   Aquaphobia. No boats or cruises for me. I dont like bridges over water. If I'm gonna travel, I do research about the bridges, and if I had to cross a big one, I simply wont go.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for sharing, IslandBites. It's clear from your wording just how terrified of water you are. Researching the bridges first isn't a bad idea, though (I live in Minneapolis, where we had a major bridge collapse during rush hour a few years ago).

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   Thief12posted 11 years ago

   Seismophobia - fear of earthquakes. I don't know how I chose to live on a 19th floor, considering we are on top of one big fault, and we haven't had a serious earthquake in almost 100 years, which means we're probably due one. It really didn't affect my life so much, until I felt a small one a few years ago; a 5-point-something. I was so terrified that I started having recurring nightmares about earthquakes after that. Had them for a year or so, until they've calmed out recently. Still, a couple of months ago, I went to park on an underground parking I use frequently, and I sorta had a brief panic attack as I was driving deeper into it. I almost drove out, but held my own and parked. But then I literally ran to the stairs to get out.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, earthquakes would terrify me, too. We don't have earthquakes in Minnesota, though.

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   Lor's Storiesposted 11 years ago

   Bugs.
   Out and out bugs.
   If I find one in my room I won't sleep in my room.
   And them the next day I will vacuume everything.
   I hate any kind of bugs.
   Spiders... Well I'm sorry you make your web bit stay out of mine.
   I found a cricket in my bed one night. I made my grandmother kill it.
   She said when she died she was coming back as a cricket.
   The night before she died, there was a cricket in my shower.
   And after that there was never a cricket in our house.

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      Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Whoah! Talk about a creepy-crawly story. I can totally see why you're afraid of bugs--lots of people are. I even once was told every relationship needs 3 things: someone to kill bugs, someone to parallel park, and someone who can lift heavy things.

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    Jess Charoposted 11 years ago

    Lilapsophobia ... I just found out that is the name of my phobia because of this question. It's a fear of tornado's, and I once had it so bad that I thought I was going to have to go on medication to help me cope with it. All I would have to hear was that there was a possibility for bad weather or storms that may or may not contain tornadic weather and I would go into full on panic mode. I would keep it on the weather channel watching the radar, look on all my wearther sites to see if one was possible, then I would begin preparing to leave my home to go to my mothers closet in her basement. If it was late I would drive me and my children (I was such a moron) around watching the storm to see if I would need to flee to my mom's too. It was awful. It became so bad that I started having panic attacks as soon as clouds would roll in. Thank goodness I finally worked thru it and moved out of the trailer I was living in (I still believe that was probally the cause of it) and oddly enough moved in with my mother. lol

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for sharing, Jess! You have nothing to be ashamed of, and there would have been nothing wrong with going on medication. My house was destroyed by a tornado in 1987 (just before my Sr. year in high school)--I understand this phobia too well.

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       Lor's Storiesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Deathly afraid of them. I got caught in one. Not a nice experience.
       We were in Ohio. My dad was driving and was trying to out run it.
       Storm Chaser? Not!

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Oh my goodness, Lor, how horrible! I really got the chills from reading your post! Mom and I were in the car trying to get home, too. I'm still afraid of broken glass and pink insulation (from the dead houses). No storm-chasing for us folks, I agree!

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    Jennifer Bartposted 11 years ago

    Yes I have obsessive compulsive disorder my phobias don't just affect my life they control it. If I don't partake in my ritual of compulsions I feel as if my worst phobias are going to come true and it gives me horrible anxiety to the point where I am at a state of panic.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Oh, Jennifer Bart, I'm so so sorry! I know someone else with OCD and, indeed, they control every aspect of her life and many aspects of her children's lives because of the ways she has to behave. I wish you well and freedom from OCD and phobias ASAP.

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       LastRoseofSummer2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I'm in the same boat, Jennifer

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    Grab a Controllerposted 11 years ago

    I'm scared of needles, snakes, and bats, and have a major intolerance to pain. Because of my fear of needles, I break down whenever I have to get a shot or my blood drawn. I also cannot get tattoos due to my sensitivity, even though I have many good designs for one.
    
    The snake fear is a bit embarrassing since I live in Florida, but thankfully I have not encountered many snakes since moving here. I saw one at my college campus, and I stood on a bench until it slithered into the grass. I was on the phone with an old friend, and she was laughing at me the whole time.
    
    I'm actually quite embarrassed about my fear of bats. I want to go spelunking and visit caves, but the thought of seeing a bat just makes me cringe to the point where I freak out and shut down. The one time I went into a cave, I noticed it was decorated with lights to make it look like animal eyes, and I broke down because I was so scared, and I had to wait outside while the rest of the family I was visiting went into the cave without me.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Grab a Controller, you have nothing to worry about: your fears and phobias are common to many people. Needles, snakes, bats, and pain sound like good things to be afraid of if anything! I share your fear of bats and pain, and I think many people do.

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    Desmondlee89posted 11 years ago

    I used to have a phobia of heights or being unbalanced.
    
    I believe it originated from an accident that happened when I was 5 or 6 haha. Was climbing around randomly at my grandma's place and found myself on a 2m high cupboard. Before I realized, I slipped off the cupboard and smashed into the edge of her kitchen table. Dad had to hug me to the nearest clinic and I had 6 stitches on my right eyebrow. Since then, I would experience breathing difficulties if I could not feel myself on firm ground.
    
    I sort of overcome it by joining rock climbing in junior college. After climbing the 25m wall over 10 times and falling off, after some time I guess I got used to it and enjoy the adrenaline rush.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Desmondlee89, you are so brave to face your fear/phobia of heights or being unbalanced in such an extreme way! Yay for rock climbing! Nothing like jumping into the deep end to learn to swim! You must have been so terrified at first. You go, girl!

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    ezekielmayesposted 11 years ago

    If there be any phobia, it would be that of Heights as well as the fear of failure.
    Not exactly sure the name of failures phobia, but success is something i am striving for.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       ezekielmayes, you are in good company with your fear of heights. Seems like everyone is. (Personally, confession, I love them!).
       
       Good for you for shunning failure and striving for success! If more people felt that way, the more peace in the world!

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    Lesleysherwoodposted 11 years ago

    I have a phobia of lifts and the underground.  I have tried to overcome this phobia many times, but no matter how many times I fight it and 'pretend' I'm okay its as though I'm just kidding myself.  It really does affect my life.  If I have an interview and its on the top floor, by the time I get there I'm breathless and sweaty. 
    I used to work in a hospital and my office was on the 14th floor.  I always walked the stairs, which was awful, I could never be bothered to go for lunch for that reason and also the stairs can be scary as well as you imagine someone is hiding there ready to murder you, yet that seems the better option at the time than being stuck in the lift.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Oh, Lesleysherwood, I am so sorry. Have you sought the help of a cognitive behavioral specialist (CBT) to try to overcome these phobias? You are VERY brave to go this alone, without help. I wish you success in putting these phobias behind you! Peace!

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    LastRoseofSummer2posted 11 years ago

    I have a horrendous social phobia caused by my OCD. It gets so bad sometimes that I can't even get out of my house. When I'm around people, I'm afraid I've said something wrong, that I've offended someone, that something bad might happen, and the only way I can shake the worry is to just stay home. This is what got me into freelance writing. But, this phobia extends even into that. Once I finish typing this answer, I will spend probably 2-5 minutes proofreading it because I'm going to be convinced that I have typed something I shouldn't have.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       LastRoseofSummer2, I'm so sorry to hear this! Please seek medical care (possibly cognitive behavioral therapy and medication) soonest. This can be cured/helped! You don't need to live with these horrible fears! Reach out for help and get better soon!

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       LastRoseofSummer2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks

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    connorjposted 11 years ago

    
    
    I believe I suffer from atmosophobia; however, it has no impact on my life except I do indeed refuse to hide under a school desk in case of a nuclear explosion in my vicinity...

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks, connorj.

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    ladydeonneposted 11 years ago

    My biggest phobia is snakes, worms, anything that is squiggly.  Beecaus I am terrified of worms, I cannot plant flowers or vegetables.  Whenever someone gives me fresh vegetables from their gardens, I throw them away unless someone picks or cleans them for me.  My snake phobia keeps me from hiking or walking in the woods which I love to do, in the warm months. I only walk or hike in the woods during the winter months.  If I see a picture of a snake in a book or magazine or TV, I go into hysterics and have very scary and vivid nightmares about snakes for days.  As I am from Cleveland, Ohio, my far of snakes was no big deal.  Now that I've retired here in VA, there is a chance I might run into one.  I have never seen a snake any place but in a zoo when I was a child. I've been in VA for about 10 years now  and thank God , have not seen one.....so far.

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       Laura Schneiderposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks for sharing ladydeonne! You're not alone—they're common phobias. You might want to try cognitive behavioral therapy to get rid of the fears, or at least diminish your reaction to them. If you can get the courage, pet a snake—they feel awesome!

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    mybipolarIIlifeposted 11 years ago

    Atychiphobia- Fear of failure. It's only recently gotten really bad when I actually failed (academically). It sent me into a downward spiral of depression (it was diagnosed as bipolar depression 2 years later) and ever since then, I failed again from being so worried of not failing my classes again. When I finally got diagnosed with bipolar II and was put on medication, I seemed to do much better, although I always have that fear coming back in the middle of studying/writing an exam. I've gotten many anxiety attacks just by looking at a class syllabus in very first lecture of my classes, and the attacks have been so bad I've had to leave class and then I get the fear of having another anxiety attack so I used to skip classes so I didn't have to fear the attacks. Of course 3-4 years into my post-secondary education, the syllabi we get don't scare me anymore but the failing of a class probably always will.

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