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My top fear is Arachnophobia. I absolutely hate spiders. I cannot even go into our crawlspace. You couldn't pay me to. If I find one close to me I tend to jump and yell loudly. Strangely I feel guilty killing them, So I catch them in a glass and throw them outside. I would just rather they avoided me/stayed out of my house, and I'd do my best to avoid them and not disturb their nests.

Second would be Needles I absolutely hate needles. Knifes, blades, other stabby/killy instruments don't bug me but I cannot stand needles. Unfortunately a couple of medical conditions I have require me to get my blood drawn every so often. I do NOT look forward to that! It's always far worse than I think it's gonna be. But hey, it's an irrational fear.

Next would be I have a strong dislike of being in crowds. It can't stand it. Makes me very uncomfortable. I have trouble with movie theaters. And I cannot stand bars, pubs, clubs, or packed restaurants either. As a result I'm pretty much a hermit.

Don't have any problems with heights. I love them as a matter of fact. I've considered Base Jumping/Sky Diving.

Depending on the conditions, a mild fear of the ocean. when at the ocean I may see some people hopping out on the rocks as the waves crash around them and the tide may or may not be coming in.... noooo way am I doing that.

Nothing else I can think of at the moment.

I have phobia of drowning, and falling off great heights, but specially of hitting the bottom.

well i'm afraid of crowds, and can't stand small hights (like standing on small walls).

I forgot dogs, I see a even a tiny dog (whatever its name is) I freak out, freeze and won't move till its half a city away, my friends have to drag me to move me away.

Datana wrote:Only two things, really -- heights and live insect larvae.

For heights, it's a similar effect to RedImperator's. I have no problem with planes and skyscrapers, but ledges, cliffs, and rooftops leave me paralyzed.

Normal insects, spiders, etc. don't really bother me at all, but I jump back and freeze up completely upon seeing a maggot or a beetle larva squirming about, even on TV. It makes no sense, as those things can't harm anyone in the slightest (apart from spoiling food). It's become an involuntary initial reaction with worms and millipedes as well due to the general shape, but once I see it isn't writhing, I get over it. Worst shock in my life in terms of this was when something died under my porch and I cracked it open to find out what was causing the smell -- never want to do that ever again.

Ooh, you'd hate some of the treatments for certain infections that turn the infected tissue necrotic, as they involve inserting fly larvae into the wounds to eat out the gangrenous tissue...

I don't think I have any proper phobias, as such, but arachnids, heights, really constricted underground spaces and underwater darkness give me some trouble.

With heights, I suffer from mild vertigo, but only when edges with no railings or something else to hold on to are concerned, and only when I'm standing up. The mild claustrophobia is more a fear of being trapped by a collapse and suffocating than a real phobia, and relatively easy to control.

With water, I've no problem swimming or diving, but as soon as I dive deep enough for light to vanish so that I can't see, I get intensely claustrophobic and it takes a real effort not to panic. Might have something to do with how I almost drowned two or three times when I was a little kid, even though I can't remember anything of those incidents.

And arachnids, they just creep me out. Not badly, I'm not afraid of them, but I just have an intense dislike of them and I think they are disgusting.

Edi

I really can't understand arachnophobia.

More than 95% percent of spiders are harmless, OK maybe your skin will be irritated if it bites you but it's quite rare unless you harm or threaten it.

I can let any spider - OK not a Black Widow - run on my hand. Nothing will happen unless you provoke it.

Scorpions are the same.

I think wasps are far worse. Annoying, arrogant and agressive. They are my worst enemies...

Oh.. Considering events in the past couple months, I'm afraid of hyperventilating myself into an asthma attack. Though this may or may not be a phobia, per se, it's a real fear.

~ver

Boba Fett wrote:I really can't understand arachnophobia.

Well Spiders look completely alien. They have a tendency of creeping up on (or onto) us when we least expect us. ALL spiders are poisonous. It's just a matter of whether they can penetrate the skin or if their venom is dangerous to humans. Many people don't know which ones are harmless to humans, or how to identify the ones that are dangerous.

Interesting factoid for the people out there in nightmare land. From what I remember (and presuming I remember right), a human will actually swallow an average of between 3 and 8 spiders while they're asleep during their lifetime.

Scorpions are the same.

Scorpions don't bug me any. Just don't let the tail sting ya.

The most irrational fear I have is shower heads. Shower heads? Yeah, shower heads -- the larger and more exotic-looking they are, the more creeped out I get. The only explanation I can think of is that as an infant I was probably staring up at one, while hot water coursed into the tub, and it accidentally activated, spraying really-hot water into my face. For the life of me, I can't come up with a better explanation. My wife loves to make fun of that particular phobia, and she's quick to point out those monster shower heads in Home Depot that are over a foot in diameter...

LOL

Sorry jegs2, that's damn funny!

Boba Fett wrote:I really can't understand arachnophobia.

More than 95% percent of spiders are harmless, OK maybe your skin will be irritated if it bites you but it's quite rare unless you harm or threaten it.

AMEN TO THAT!!

However, I happened once to have a phobia of scorpions. However, it disappeared after a few years. Currently, my fear of "Grey"-type aliens is fading but its last vestiges haven't appeared.

I read in National Geographic years ago that arachnipphobia is a hold-over from a time when there were spiders that were a threat. Some spiders are dangerous, why not inherit a phobia for all spiders, and play it safe. I'm curious as to what kind of spider was such a threat that we still have this behaviour so long after the fact.

It isnt harmful....

Wow jegs2 that is a very strange phobia... never heard of one like that b4

Grand Admiral Ancaris wrote:

Interesting factoid for the people out there in nightmare land. From what I remember (and presuming I remember right), a human will actually swallow an average of between 3 and 8 spiders while they're asleep during their lifetime.

Spiders: They're what's for breakfast.

dont really have any phobias...

only thing is that i HATE to have my wrists touched.. it totally freaks me out and makes me wanna hit whoever does.. not if someone just touches my wrist but if they grab it more or less..

I have an irrational fear of sporks.

Zaia wrote:I have an irrational fear of sporks.

Do you fear being sporked to death?

Zoink wrote:

Zaia wrote:I have an irrational fear of sporks.

Do you fear being sporked to death?

In the eyeball. Yes.

Spiders. I don't know why.

Zaia wrote:

Zoink wrote:

Zaia wrote:I have an irrational fear of sporks.

Do you fear being sporked to death?

In the eyeball. Yes.

My vivid imagination is painting a rather unpleasant picture.... *ouch*

Sporks are worse than either forks or spoons, because they have both the stabbing and the scooping actions.

Oh, yes. I have a deathly fear of wasps, bees, hornets, and yellowjackets. If a harmless little bumblebee is buzzing in the flowers four feet away, I run the hell away. I have double-backed and crossed around entire city blocks just because I saw a hornet or yellowjacket thirty feet in front of me.

It stems from an unfortunate incident that occured when I was five; I was eating a popsicle and a wasp stung me on the tongue. While this is nothing compared to my uncle, who was stung five times in the ass by a wasp, it was enough to traumautize me and render me terrified of yellow, stinging insects.

Zaia wrote:I have an irrational fear of sporks.

Look on the bright side. Sporks suck as spoons and the suck as forks.

Ancaris wrote:Interesting factoid for the people out there in nightmare land. From what I remember (and presuming I remember right), a human will actually swallow an average of between 3 and 8 spiders while they're asleep during their lifetime.

Cool.

The female orgasm. It's a good thing that it doesn't really exist.