What is your phobia?

Thunderfire · Post by **Thunderfire** » 2003-07-02 08:28am

dogs - I was bitten by one when I was a child.

Tosho · Post by **Tosho** » 2003-07-02 09:04am

Heights not buildings just open spaces I suppose that means I'm more afraid of falling than the height itself. Big spiders.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2003-07-02 10:40am

I have no phobias.

For heights: Don't particularly like height, but I don't have an irrational fear of it. If I'm at 10 stories w/o a safety system I would get uneasy, but that's a very *rational* fear of danger, at which point I'd be thinking "I need a safety harness". Its the same feeling I'd get if I were driving in a car w/o a seatbelt.

J · Post by J » 2003-07-02 11:09am

RedImperator wrote:I have a kind of selective fear of heights. Airplanes and tall buildings don't bother me in the slightest, but ladders, rooftops, ledges, and the like scare the shit out of me. I can go up a ladder, but I hate every moment I'm on it and I always have to have both feet and one hand on it. I absolutely, positively cannot step from a ladder onto my roof. I get one foot over and then I freeze solid.

I absolutely hate ladders! I could be 3 feet off the ground on a ladder and I'll be hanging on for dear life, nevermind that I routinely jump down flights of stairs much higher than that. I remember the one time I had to climb onto the roof of my house to clean the leaves out of the gutters, never again will I do that! Even though the roof was only about 7-8 feet high where the ladder was setup (weird house design) I was shaking and clutching the ladder as if my life depended on it as soon as my feet left the ground. strangely enough I was just fine once I got on the roof, it's just that damn stupid ladder that scares the living shit out of me!

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-07-02 11:20am

I hate spiders. I generally kill them if I find them where they don't belong. Lest someone says they do belong, I don't care -- they die, and quickly.

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2003-07-02 12:16pm

I find it very funny that all you guys have arachnaphobia. Quite amusing.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-07-02 12:17pm

Kelly Antilles wrote:I find it very funny that all you guys have arachnaphobia. Quite amusing.

'Tis not amusing I assure you!!!

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2003-07-02 02:03pm

A phobia is an irrational fear. Like if you saw a spider behind a glass cage you'd freak out, overriding ALL rational behavior, probably cover your eyes or go away screaming.

Killing a spider because it might bite you is not a phobia. It's a bit like saying that I have a phobia of elephant stampedes because I try to run away from their path.

A person I know had to have her leg amputated because she was bit by a spider and didn't go to a doctor for weeks.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2003-07-02 02:27pm

Kelly Antilles wrote:I find it very funny that all you guys have arachnaphobia. Quite amusing.

What's funny is that my wife has no fear of spiders. I see one, I call her, she smashes it with the palm of her hand without blinking an eye. She does hate snakes though, while I like them...

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-07-02 02:39pm

I'm terrified of spiders to the point where i freak even over rubber spiders. My fear of them started when i was a kid. My older sister used to bully me by putting rubber spiders on my face and in my room and saying that they'll eat me if i move. I know now that it was just a bit of rubber made to look terrifying but it gets me every time. I go to bed for halloween just to avoid them.

Spiders have no place on earth, man has developed fly swotters and spray.

Thats my only fear nothing else really bothers me.

Also i would like to take this opportunity to thank Spanky for putting that warning on the Spider pic thread. I'm glad someone heeded me after last time.

Captain Cyran · Post by **Captain Cyran** » 2003-07-02 06:02pm

I don't think they are real phobia's as I don't freak out but I HATE needles and whenever I see one getting stuck in skin I start absent mindedly rubbing the back of my forearm a lot. And I don't like big spiders, to the point of in the newest Harry Potter movie when I saw the spiders on the big screen I curled up into a ball and almost stopped watching...creepy ass giant bugs...

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2003-07-02 06:09pm

If I have any phobia it is a somewhat irrational fear of rip tides. Those are creepy. I say irrational because I know enough to float on my back and swim off to the side, but I fough one once (and won

) and reached a point where I could touch bottom, not 30 feet from the shore, and couldn't walk to shore! The bottom just melts under your feet and the wall of rushing water tries to push you back. It's creepy, but it wont stop me from body surfing this summer

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-07-02 06:28pm

Rip tides ARE scary. No phobia there, just common sense!

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-07-04 02:41pm

I have a really irrational fear of those stereotypical grey aliens often reported by abductees, for some reason. I'm not the slightest scared by seeing a painting of Cthulhu or any Lovecraftian creature, nor by the xenomorph in "Alien" (supposedly the scariest extraterrestrial ever depicted), but every time I see an image of a S.G.A., with its hideously oversized head, atrophied musculature and those pupil-less, almond-shaped, staring black eyes I get really freaked out. The more caricated and grotesque the features of the alien, the more fearful I become.

I don't know why SGAs are the only aliens which genuinely scare me. It might be the fact that they are the most commonly encountered aliens in abduction stories. Or maybe the sheer implausibility of their physique is what freaks me out - how the heck is such a frail body gonna support such an enormous head?? (This would explain why I'm less freaked out by the Kaminoans than by other "Grey"-type aliens - but I still find them somewhat creepy due to their mantis-like stature) It might be this sheer bizzareness which scares me - they appear not just to come from another planet, but also from another dimension where the natural laws are different.

Damn, I need a shrink.

seanrobertson · Post by **seanrobertson** » 2003-07-04 10:00pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Heights, bugs (especially bees, wasps, and spiders), and long and tall bridges.

And I also get extremely uncomfortable around lots of people, especially ones I don't know...

I'm with you on the latter count, Spanky. I'm not really phobic of crowds, but they do make me very uncomfortable. I hate being in a packed theatre, elbow-to-elbow with some smelly dipshit smacking his popcorn. I hate for people to speak to me too closely, where you can hear them breathe and smell what they had for lunch.

BLEGH!

However, my only true phobia is a specific kind of bug: a cockroach.

I'm not talking about little tiny ones, either...I'm thinking of the 3"-4" fuckers (no exaggeration), roaches some people call "water bugs" or "Palmetto bugs."

They're still roaches...disease-ridden, nasty damn things. They'll pop up when you least expect it, and are very difficult to kill without...ugh...gulp...glug...crushing them with your hands. *Suppresses gag reflex* Their fucking armor is so flexible that you can smash them and they'll still keep going. And they're FAST! AGH!

I hate those things with a passion. I was once so paralyzed to get close to one that I was half-ready to shoot it.

Darth Garden Gnome · Post by **Darth Garden Gnome** » 2003-07-04 10:06pm

Spiders. Fuck all of 'em. Useless bastards. If every spider on the face of the planet died this instant I wouldn't shed a tear for the eight-legged fuckers. I can't even kill them either! I get waaaay too creeped out; I just freeze or flee the room and let someone else handle it.

And roller coasters. Not heights, I've been in high places before. I get a tad uncomfy if I'm really close to the edge, but I can hold myself together. As I recently experienced at IoA when I was in line to go on the Dueling Dragons roller coaster, I can't hold myself together there--almost passed out in line.

Most other stuff doesn't scare me, AFAICT.

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2003-07-05 03:34am

Mushrooms and fungi strike fear into my heart.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2003-07-05 12:22pm

Spiders get to me to the point where i'm not sure if i can go and see Return of the King when it comes out. Shelob is gonna be really fucking nasty and i'm not sure if i can handle it so soon after seeing 8-legged freaks and Earth -vs- The Spider.

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-07-05 12:24pm

Why is everyone so much afraid of spiders??

I tell you, if any arachnids are worth being scared of, it's gotta be scorpions. I used to have a phobia of them too.

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2003-07-05 12:47pm

I'm afraid of heights, and I can get slightly claustrophobic if I'm REALLY enclosed.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2003-07-05 09:51pm

Anything with more than 4 legs...to varying degrees. Invertebrates.

Claustrophobia with people.

Biggest one is probably caulophobia.

lux · Post by **lux** » 2003-07-06 05:06am

Fear of Spiders.. egh.. eep.. ugh

I'm afraid to talk to people I don't know.. but only on the phone. Ordering a pizza is almost impossible..

Something happening to my wang. I passed out when my Bio teacher started talking about some STD.. ugh .. ep.. blah

Something happening to a Family member or a friend. All my family and friends are crazy though, and like to stand on edges of cliffs and crap like that.. freaks me out more than anything..

As someone said above too, sleeping next to windows scares the shit out of me. I always think someone is just going to leap through it and take me out, or someone just sitting there and watching me.. creepy

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-07-06 06:39am

I wouldn't say I have any real problem phobias.

I don't like bugs, but I'm man enough to squash 'em. I hate swimming, but I'm not really afraid of it. Just don't like the feeling. Other than that, nothing. I can't recall ever being really scared of anything.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-07-07 12:00am

Spiders, although bugs in general make me uneasy.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-07-07 12:18am

I have a kind of selective fear of heights. Airplanes and tall buildings don't bother me in the slightest, but ladders, rooftops, ledges, and the like scare the shit out of me. I can go up a ladder, but I hate every moment I'm on it and I always have to have both feet and one hand on it. I absolutely, positively cannot step from a ladder onto my roof. I get one foot over and then I freeze solid. I was never able to climb trees or ropes when I was a kid, either. Roller coasters are a middle ground for me. When the train gets to the top of the first rise and I look down, I have a pure "Oh shit" moment, but I'm not so scared I can't enjoy myself (it adds to the sensation, actually).

I used to be like that, but I've gotten over it to some extent.

I have an extreme aversion to fish. I won't eat them, I'll only wade in a bit at the ocean, and it takes a lot to get me to go swimming in rivers and lakes.