I have a phobia of spiders - its my only phobia I know of - but it is extreme.

I literally freeze up when I see one.

Add to that the fact that my zoology background forbids me from killing them (unless they are extremely poisioness and a danger to others in the household) and its a harrowing combination!

Jeremiah25,

It is too bad that you were exposed to such abuse - but I wonder if there isn't some kind of treatment that could help reverse the psychological damage.

Being that so many social events are centered around eating that can not be a small inconvenience.

Since I have OCD I have to force myself to use public bathrooms so as to not cancel on seeing movies, going to happy hours/dinners ater work, etc..

(but I do find that it works - even if I have to take a shower when I do finally get home)

I know for lots of phobia's increased exposure to the phobic situation causes desensitivity to occur in the brain - but I don't know if that would work in your or my case.

Maybe it would. Either way you mite consult with a professional sometime concerning your condition sometime.

I have many more than the one I posted before, like this ones:

- Flying and heights: I flew to France in 1998, it was my first time on a plane, and I was terrified. I didn't enjoy at all those days in Europe, as I kept thinking that I had to fly back home all the time...

- Roaches: I don't like insects, but I hate roaches... But I still can kill them.

- Religious statues and figures: I can't stand those, specially christmas mangers. I have a lot of trouble to go into a church...

- Speaking in public: I think I prefer to fly.

- Old artifacts: specially if they are dusty and made of wood. Actually I don't like dusty things in general.

I must have some more, but I can't remember now...

I am personally terrified of spiders; but yet I always watch documentarys on them, so I basically torture myself continuosly.
Another strange quirk, not much of a phobia but its something that really gets me. Ripping of paper, or the tearing of a sticker off of paper.

Clausterphobia.

I don't like to even think about it. Just imagine being stuck in a small room so small you have to crouch and its hot in there and your are stuck up against other people and they are breathing your oxygen all while reflecting body heat at you.

The air becomes thick.

The only everyday Phobia I have is of spiders....and I've killed 4 evil looking house spiders in my volunteer placement flat so far....one of which was in the shower!!!

*shudders*

I am afraid of heights. When I was about 12 my family went on vacation and we climbed an observation tower. When we reached the top and I looked down I got so sick I had to lay down and curl up in a fetal position to regain my composure. My dad had to threaten to beat me before I managed to drag myself back down. I have not experienced the fear since, but I avoid heights..tall buildings don't bother me, but I don't want to be exposed to the outside. I am not afraid of anything else that I know of. I used to be afraid of spiders, but we lived in a rock house for awhile that was infested with them and I guess I became conditioned. I just pick them up in a paper towel and put them outside, alive of course!

Originally posted by Peronemlin
- Religious statues and figures: I can't stand those, specially christmas mangers. I have a lot of trouble to go into a church.

Im the same way. I cant even so much as look at a pic of jesus without freaking out. *shivers just thinkin' about it*

Spiders too.


-Jared (TSK)

I'm terrified of spiders. Can't even look at one on tv or a picture of one on the internet.
I don't like killing them if they're in my house though - they're handy as they get rid of flies etc. I just get the wife to get rid of them.

flc

Bees, wasps, hornets or anything else of that ilk. I'm allergic. One bee will send me in to an uncontrollable paranoia.

Peace

[edit on 14-9-2005 by Dr Love]

Being caught in the Antarctic wilderness with only my street clothes as night sets in...

Weeks can go by between the times that I go outside. I very rarely go to any public place anymore, and social situations leave me in pretty bad shape.

I spent a few years on medications and was able to cope, but after a while I just started staying in. Most of the people I know and my family understand, so it's not a huge problem.

The phone in my house never rings because it causes me to panic, so every call is picked up by the service and I check my messages.

It was this phobia that made me choose "anxietydisorder" as a screen name here at ATS.
Also, ATS is one of my very few conduits to the outside world. It gives me a chance to communicate with the world, but at the same time maintain some anonymity.

anxietydisorder,

Dude that suxs....

I actually know how you feel - I have ADD - and I tried Ritalin a couple of times from my friends prescription.

It gave me the exact same fear (give or take) that you must deal with on a regular basis.

You know - Ibogaine treatment has been know to reset addicts brains even when they have been addicted for 20+ years - I wonder if anyone has ever tried using that treatment to see if it can free people of extreme phobias.

Maybe it could work - especially in cases where the phobia is due to a remembered trauma.

Well, I hope you get better soon, but take heart - of all the times in history to have something like that at least you have massive multimedia entertainment and the internet to keep you occupied.

Wow! Reading this thread, I see that the majority of phobias are from spiders or flying inscets. I sort of developed a slight phobia of spiders, but only if I see them in my bedroom. (I have to kill them right away!) This is because one night while sleeping, one bit me on the rear (ouch!). They dont bother me if I see them anywhere else, and I will even capture them if I find them anywhere else in the house and then let them go outside. (strange I know )

I also have a strange water phobia. I love to swim, but I absolutely will not swim in water over 7ft deep. (Unless there is a lifejacket involved) I am pretty sure this comes from two experiences of mine. The first one is re-occuring dreams of me playing on the beach as a boy of about 4-5. I looked up because the sun suddenly went away. When I did, I sa there was a huge wave that seemed to stretch from one end of the beach to another, and it was 1000ft high. I knew that there was no way I could run so I just sat there until it crashed over me. I always woke up the moment of impact.(I always found this dream strange because I am female)

The other experience was me actually drowning when I fell into a pool at age 5. Since then I have gotten over my initial fear of water, but not of deep water, which is quite wierd because I can swim pretty well.

Originally posted by theshadowknows

Originally posted by Peronemlin
- Religious statues and figures: I can't stand those, specially christmas mangers. I have a lot of trouble to go into a church.

Im the same way. I cant even so much as look at a pic of jesus without freaking out. *shivers just thinkin' about it*

Spiders too.

-Jared (TSK)

Actually is not fear what I feel, just a sensation of disgust which I don't think I can describe. I even hold my breath when I'm near of one of those... it's horrible.

This is going to sound silly but I have a phobia of peas. It is true. It isn't just the disgust of their proximity, but the smell and colour of them that gives me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. Sort of the same feeling I have about hospitals.

It is so bad that if there are peas in my vicinity - which can span a few yards or 3 city blocks depending on my mood - I lose my appetite completely.

Try ordering fish & chips in a pub and insisting you want nothing to do with mushy peas. Mushy peas AGHHGHH!! People in Britain think I'm crazy.

I think this unreasonable fear stems from an evil 3rd grade teacher named Mrs. Howard who used to force feed her students limp legumes. While she never did it to me (I was a good girl) I saw her hold the mouth of several children like Darth Vadar doing his chokey grip thing until the poor traumatized children swallowed the sludgy things (some people should never be allowed near children).

Enter my grandma who was a lover of all things green, which I usually love but not in the form of tiny toxic wax pellets. She was determined to make me get over my pea phobia so she would make my brother and I sit at her table until we finished each and every individual pea. Sometimes we were there for hours. My football kicking pea skills really developed though. I can launch one clear across the room and usually hit my target.

Once when out with my boyfriend and his dad at a pub lunch - I had my usual drawn out plea/discussion with the waitress about how I couldn't eat my food if there were peas on the plate - so what did she bring me... you guessed it.

Future father in law looked at me and said, 'Oh, just move them over to the other side of the plate and ignore them, they can't be THAT bad.'

Let's just say they were.



[edit on 14-9-2005 by nikelbee]

Luposlipophobia.

The fear of being chased by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor.

I'm scared of heights, spiders, worms, bugs, the dark (not as bad as I use to be though).

Large insects.

That is all. That I know of that is. Heights, closed spaces, etc thats nothing to me.

Show me a little spider and I flip out.

Originally posted by Amethyst
Luposlipophobia.

The fear of being chased by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor.

I wander what are the odds...?

[edit on 15-9-2005 by Peronemlin]