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And you thought you were the only one who was “afraid of natural bodies of water because there might be shopping carts down there” (like this guy) or harbored a debilitating fear of lumpy foods, like this UK toddler who downs more than a dozen yogurts a day to compensate. Well, maybe you are — but you can be certain that you’re not alone when it comes to having esoteric phobias; for every thing, place, activity or concept in the world, it seems, someone’s got a fear to go along with it. We’re not interested in relatively common fears like hydrophobia or agoraphobia — this is a list devoted to the weird, the rarely-documented, even the possibly-made-up; and if you’ve got one yourself, please share with us! We found a lot of these on sites like unusualphobias and phobiac, which encourage user-submitted phobias of the first-person-narrative variety; always good for a laugh, probably though not definitely true — and usually not things you’re likely to find in psychology textbooks.
Chronohypochondia: the fear of traveling back in time only to contract a now-curable illness which you die of because your time machine breaks down. One sufferer explains: “I have a fear that somehow I’ll go back in time and get stuck there, then get some illness that we have cured now (like polio or the plague), and die from it all the time knowing that if I was here in time I would be saved. So, I’ve always wanted to learn how to make penicillin just in case.” (We suggest you stay away from cheaply-made time machines from now on.)
Classicsphobia: the fear of Renaissance paintings, looming Greek and/or Roman statuary, and Greek gods in general. One lost soul confesses one of the strangest combination phobias we’ve ever encountered:
Hi, I have a very unusual fear, I have a fear of renaissance paintings. It sound weird I know but thats not all… along with that I have a fear of statues that are well done ( like big statues of people, mostly the greek statues), representations of jesus…and arches and domes (I can’t stand under them if they are too big.) I also fear greek gods, very random I know but I fear Poseidon coming out of water when I’m in the pool or the beach… and I’m also scared if i’m under a big sky, by myself … like a field or a place with no trees or buildings covering the sky … I get scared that Zeus is going to come down from the sky. It’s allllll SO weird, I know, but it has taken over my life because I can’t go into many places because of it. On top of that, I have heard of no one with any of these fears. Please — if anyone has anything like what I’ve mentioned email me and let me know because that would re-assure me.
Thanks,
L.
Hyper-specific numerophobia: fear of the number 211. I can relate to this a little: when I was younger, for several years I was convinced that the number 333 was stalking me. It seemed like every time I looked at the clock, it was 3:33 PM (or, more rarely, AM), and it appeared frequently on receipts and the like. I wouldn’t qualify it as a phobia, however; more of a compulsion, like this sufferer:
“Somehow I developed the fear of dying while reading a book between pages 208-211, the odds of my death increasing with each number/page. This has generalized into a fear of the number 211 — when I pass a digital clock around 2:11 I nervously check to see if the fatal number has passed or not. If it is 2:11 I’m compelled to wait till the “danger” is passed, at 2:12 [before resuming whatever I was doing before].”
Garthbrooksautophobia: fear of dying in a car crash while country music is playing on the radio. I better let the phobiac explain this one: “I have a fear of being in a car crash, and as I’m dying trapped in the wreckage, the radio gets stuck on a Country & Western Station, and I can’t get to the radio to switch it off or change the station. I don’t want to die like this! I’ve had this phobia since the age of 17, I’m now 36. – R.S.” (We’re assuming R.S. doesn’t appreciate country music.)
Beepaphobia: fear of beeps, bells etc. This one’s downright existential; sufferers seem to equate the irritating beeps that surround us in modern life (microwaves, timers, watches, phone rings) with some kind of existential countdown, signaling the eternal rundown of their personal life-clock. Here are two separate accounts of this fear:
“OK, I’m 15 and I have a fear of beeps! No kidding — when something beeps (oven, alarm clock, etc.) my heart starts racing and I get all nervous and irritated. rrggg… it’s soooo annoying!”
Howdy, I must drop a line stating I can concede with the fellow who is terrified with the sound of beeping. For several years I have thought that the justification was past due deadlines or the urgency of it all, but in the end I think I may be nuts. Whether it’s the alarm on my clock or the beep of someone’s cell I can’t handle the constant “beep” or meep meep” of it all. I’ve come to the conclusion that each one signifies a notch in the belt of my demise. As though the timer has gone off for the end of my life & someone’s neglecting it only to surprise me in the end. The last time a friend used a timer (was baking us a cake) I freaked out & stabbed him with a fork (he’s ok, though he only makes Jello for us now).
Is there a name for this? Sweet god it sucks.
Comments (134)
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I honestly have a fear of flying kites, have since I was a small child. When social decorum dictated that I needed to fly a kite I would always keep mine low, and friends would put theirs way up in the sky, that scared the crud out of me!
I think I fear being carried away with the kite, which of course is easily remedied by the fact that I am 6′4″ and overweight, or by the fact that I could let go, but still, I don’t like it!
posted by Witty Nickname on 8-18-2008 at 10:33 am
I suffer from luposlipaphobia – the fear of being pursued by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly-waxed floor.
I cant even look at a waxed floor without the hair on the back of my neck standing up…
posted by Jason! on 8-18-2008 at 10:44 am
I think I only know one person who might read this, so I should be ok in disclosing this information. While I, personally, don’t suffer from any strange phobias (that I yet know of) I have one friend who is deathly afraid of ketchup (or catsup if you prefer). Can’t have it on anything, can’t even stand to look at the bottle. If we ever have hotdogs/hamburgers/french fries, etc…he has to look the other way until the bottle is safely put away
posted by Aaron on 8-18-2008 at 10:49 am
I have a debilitating fear of needles, but in a different way than normal. Anytime someone pulls out a needle in front of me, I am convinced they are going to fall or trip and stab me in the eye with it. I find myself tearing up and compulsively rubbing my eyes anytime I see a needle at all.
posted by Regina on 8-18-2008 at 10:59 am
I have a friend who is deadly afraid of pickles – don’t even tell him that you had a pickle with lunch a week ago. It’s too much.
I, personally, am terrified of animatronic sea creatures (like Jaws or Free Willy). If it’s dangerous to put a hair dryer in the bathtub, imagine an electric killing machine in murky soundstage water. I couldn’t watch Shark Week Mythbusters – even though I love Adam – he created unadulterated evil – and I cried.
posted by Christina on 8-18-2008 at 11:08 am
so not a fear but i was reading Christina’s post and read “If it’s dangerous to put a dryer in the bathtub,” and my mind was picturing fitting a dryer in the bathtub.
posted by Julia on 8-18-2008 at 11:17 am
I’m afraid of dishwater. Mostly I’m afraid of dishwater once someone puts a dirty dish in the water and there is actually food mixed in. I get creeped out and can FEEL that nasty food coming out and touching me even from several feet away.
I more afraid of some foods than others, but spaghetti sauce and water mixes together and I immediately get ill. My entire body tenses up and if I’m forced to look or touch, then I generally throw up.
As a result, my husband and I have a deal that I’ll cook on demand, but that I never have to do dishes.
posted by Karen on 8-18-2008 at 11:30 am
ALL OF YOU CAN BE HELPED! Hypnotherapy and past life regression has proven to cure different phobias. READ – Many Lives, Many Masters. The patient is debilitated by her phobias and a psychologist helps her through hypnotherapy. AMAZING true story!
posted by Molli on 8-18-2008 at 11:47 am
I have a fear of falling down the stairs and either becoming paralyzed or breaking my teeth in half. I’ll always have a split second thought of broken teeth everytime I come to a set of stairs or sometimes I’ll have to talk my way down the stairs to make sure I don’t miss a step.
recaptha – dreamed it
You’re right! I did….over and over and over again.
posted by christina on 8-18-2008 at 11:48 am
My fear is similar to the guy afraid of shopping carts in the water. As long as I can remember I’ve been afraid of what’s beneath water that I can’t see. I have this fear that there are these large metal structures under the water and if I jump in I’ll become mangled in them and die.
I’m also have nightmares of being stuck somewhere with water all around me as far as I can see.
Not sure where my problem with water originated…
posted by Sara on 8-18-2008 at 11:57 am
I went through a 2-3 year period when I was an elementary age kid where I was terrified of choking on food. I wouldn’t eat anything unless it was mashed into an unrecognizable pulp. Even then I barely ate anything. My mom thinks therapy and psychologists are full of a bunch of hooey, so I never discussed it with anybody. Eventually it got better, but I’m still scared of choking, or someone I love choking on food.
I took CPR and first aid thinking that might alleviate it, it helps but it’s on my mind when I eat.
Recently I’m afraid that I’m going to choke and die when it’s just my baby and I in the house, and that no one will know he’s here, or that he needs help.
Wow, I sound crazier than I feel.
posted by Jen on 8-18-2008 at 11:58 am
My sister is afraid of squirrels. She doesn’t scream and run from them, they just give her the willies. She says they are evil and is convinced they are constantly plotting something. She has a very hard time watching “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” when the squirrels drag Veruka to the garbage pit.
This odd little phobia of hers has been a source of amusement for me. I have a Christmas figurine with an unproportionately large squirrel standing next to Santa. I’d have gotten rid of it long ago had it not creeped my sister out. I also bought a wicker basket shaped like a squirrel and gave it to her. She keeps giving it to my mother and I keep retreiving it and giving it back to her.
I have to admit I am unsettled by clowns in general. Stephen King’s “It” and the clown from “Poltergeist” really freaked me out. I am also pretty creeped out by paintings and photos of cherubs. My former art teacher told me that they used actual dead babies for models. Yeah – that pretty much did it to me.
ReCaptcha – readings and
posted by bzzyb on 8-18-2008 at 12:03 pm
I have a phobia that I’m sure is not shared by (m)any other people…
I have had a fear of walking through department stores from the time I was about nine or ten, for the shear reason that all of the racks they hang clothes on were at eye-level, and I didn’t want them poking out my peepers. Crazy? Probably. Especially since I still have that fear, and I’m now 6′0″.
posted by Adam on 8-18-2008 at 12:04 pm
Regina, I also have a phobia about my eyes. I can’t even read/hear/imagine any damage to my eyes without starting to cry. I have been touching my eyes compulsively since reading your post- just to make sure they are there and intact. My one other insurmountable phobia is of the Easter Bunny, or any anthropomorphized rabbit. I’ve been known to go into hysterics if I’m surprised by an Easter Bunny. And I’m 30.
posted by mandapanda on 8-18-2008 at 12:19 pm
I have two fears, neither of which are that weird, I suppose, but everyone I’ve told finds them hilarious.
The first is a fear of someone flinging rubberbands at me (even just one rubberband). Of course, this has happened many times in my life and I know it doesn’t actually hurt, but I flinch and freak out whenever someone even starts to stretch one.
Second, I’m very much afraid of deer. This always gets a laugh because everyone thinks they’re so cute and harmless. I think this one stems from when I was in middle school and had to walk to the bus stop alone while it was still dark out. We have deer in our neighborhood sometimes, including mothers with fawns, and I was always afraid they’d attack me — mother animals can be vicious!
posted by Maureen on 8-18-2008 at 12:35 pm
I wonder if anyone will read this.
I have a fear and frequent panic attacks which are triggered by one thing: a baby crying. My own baby became sick with pneumonia last year and I stayed up with her the first night she was ill. She cried the entire night and neither of us got a wink of sleep. It must have triggered somthing in my brain b/c since that night, I developed this panic disorder and have a panic attack whenever I hear my baby or someone else’s baby crying. I have to leave the room if the baby doesn’t stop. True story.
Christina- I too understand the whole walking down the stairs fear!!!!
posted by lizhot on 8-18-2008 at 12:37 pm
I have an insane fear of choking/gagging on long noodles (spaghetti, fettucini, ramen, whatever). I love most pastas, but no matter how hard I try to eat them or how small of pieces I cut the noodles into, I can’t force myself to ingest long noodles. Noodlaphobia, I suppose?
posted by wala2 on 8-18-2008 at 12:42 pm
My fear is asbestos. I know everyone is concerned by it…obviously, but I actually can’t get it off my mind when I am in a old building. I am always looking for cracked tile and thanks to This Old House (which explained it was in drywall) I now fear chipped plaster.
The other one is sharks which once again is a concern for all, but I obsess about it. Thank god for the Great Lakes…I can enjoy ocean like water without the fear!
posted by Marty on 8-18-2008 at 12:50 pm
I have a weired fear (I don’t think I’d quite rate it a phobia) probably not shared by many people. I am a regular actor in our little amature theatre community. If I am offstage for a while during a performance and need a bathroom break I am conviced I’m gonna slip, crack my head and be lying unconsios on the floor when I should be onstage next.
posted by Lisa H on 8-18-2008 at 12:52 pm
I have 2 that I don’t think are too strange, but hadn’t heard them mentioned, so i thought I’d share:
1. Revolving doors- It’s not the small spaces thing, just afraid my eardrums are going to burst from that weird change in air pressure. Planes, though, no problem. :)
2. Latex balloons. I’m very jumpy. I can’t see one without picturing it popping as soon as I turn my head. They make me sick to my stomach. Happy freaking birthday!
Okay, so maybe just a little weird…
posted by christie on 8-18-2008 at 12:53 pm
I don’t know if it’s a fear, or a premonition, but I am absolutely convinced I will die by slipping on the stairs and hitting my head. I never thought of it in this context before reading christina’s comment. I guess it’s just one more wacky thing about being me that I take for granted until I realize not everyone worries about it!
posted by Shawna on 8-18-2008 at 12:56 pm
i have two weird fears. the first is i am afraid i will somehow get stranded on a deserted island without my glasses or contacts or that they will somehow get ruined getting to this deserted island. if i ever got lasik eye surgery it would be for this one reason alone.
my other fear is driving down palm tree lined streets. this is a true phobia that i just discovered having moved to LA from Chicago. i don’t know why but driving on a street with one tall palm tree after another just really upsets me and makes me feel weird.
posted by kat on 8-18-2008 at 1:00 pm
I have a couple normal (I think) fears and one more unusual one. I’m absolutely terrified of octopuses (octopi?), especially in places where they’re not supposed to be. I’m ok with them being in the ocean, but I’m terrified that someday I will come home, open the door, and there will be an octopus in my apartment. Or that I’ll wake up and there will be one on my bed. I even check before I get into my car to make sure there’s no octopuses inside. Completely irrational, I know. But still completely terrifying.
posted by sd1009 on 8-18-2008 at 1:02 pm
I have an odd phobia of fish. Well, maybe not a phobia since I’m not so much afraid of them as much as they just give me the willies hardcore. Now, it’s not all fish. I love aquariums and used to want to be a marine biologist (try to make sense of THAT). Full, dead fish up close freak me out, as do whole shrimp (shrimp in general freak me out…I was at an Asian restaurant with my parents one time, and they accidentally put shrimp in my soup. I freaked out so badly that to cover for me, my mom told the waitress I was allergic!). I get freaked out if I go into a lake that has fish in it.
And no, I don’t eat seafood. :-P
posted by Kate on 8-18-2008 at 1:02 pm
i have a fear of pulling the anchor up when i’m out fishing on my little boat. i always find a way to make sure whoever is with me pulls up the anchor. the wierd thing is swimming in lakes doesn’t bother me, i love fishing from my boat, i’m not scared of the water and i’m not scared of the anchor, i’m just scared of pulling it up out of the water. i guess it think it’s going to pull up some hideous prehistoric sea creature that will kill me or something.
also, when i was little i was scared to flush the toilet.
posted by CJ on 8-18-2008 at 1:04 pm
I have 2 small phobias…
1) Dropping things in the toilet/Falling in the toilet – The only time I keep the lid up is when I’m sitting down to do my business. (And I always look before sitting down.)
2) Escalators – I guess I’m afraid of getting stuck in the teeth and my flesh being chewed up (ouch). I’m usually okay riding them, unless they’re really long and narrow. But it’s more the getting on and getting off that scares me. I always hesitate getting on, and I have to concentrate really hard when it’s time to step off. Once, my boyfriend pushed me onto on before I was ready to get on, and I flipped out. He had to stand right behind me and hold me the entire way up.
Bonus Phobia: Muppets and large people-filled costumes freak me out. (Except for Disney characters…they bring back fond childhood memories.)
posted by Liz on 8-18-2008 at 1:21 pm
OMG – I have a fear of kites too!! A few months ago, I attempted to find out if there was an actual phobia for that. My daughter, now 10, has also had an ‘aversion’ to flying kites…that’s when I thought I couldn’t be the only one. Now I know that I am not alone.
But looking up at the kite and seeing how far up it could go just scares the bahjeezuz out of me. It used to take my breath away (not in a ‘wow-this is cool’ way). I won’t fly a kite and I don’t particularly like seeing kites flown close to me…
posted by Cindy on 8-18-2008 at 1:23 pm
My grandmothers sister has always had a fear of large leaves. She doesn’t particularly like them when they are still attached to the plant, and is downright freaked when they are loose.
posted by el dano on 8-18-2008 at 1:25 pm
To Christina and the Jaws fear, I too have had a fear of animatronics, just not on TV. My parents remember me breaking into a fit at a Chuck E. Cheese-style restaurant when I was about 6 or 7 years old because I was so afraid of the singing bear.
Even though I think this is hilarious, they still creep the heck outta me. I think it had something to do with the very white eyes on the very dark bear and the fact that he kept looking at me.
posted by catherine ann on 8-18-2008 at 1:30 pm
My mother refuses to sit in the front seat of any white car. The story is that she had a dream when she was younger that she was in the front seat of a white car and died. Shortly afterwards, her aunt called her mother (my grandmother) and mentioned that she needed to get to the rental car place before all the good colors were gone because she didn’t want to get a white car. She then proceeded to describe the EXACT same dream my mother had. Neither one will ride in the front seat of a white car to this day, and I think my grandmother made them swear an oath to that effect.
And Sara,I know how you feel. (Only for me, it’s a fear of something grabbing/biting/attacking me.) I once swam in a lake and a month or two afterwards saw a snake in the water. I didn’t go back in.
posted by Pointy-Hatted Geek on 8-18-2008 at 1:34 pm
So growing up I had this fear of going to a movie theatre and being locked inside once the movie ended. I was afraid of being alone, in the dark and being murdered. I would cry and throw fits. Of course now when I go out to enjoy a movie I no longer throw fits and go to hysterics. But to this day I still get very anxious once the movie ends and I have to get up immediatly!
posted by Alicia E. on 8-18-2008 at 1:34 pm
I have a fear of inclines, specifically driving up hills. Going down is fine, but driving up gives me the creeps.
I have panic attacks in WalMart, best Buy, and other big box stores, but I’ve never really thought of it as a phobia. Maybe it is.
posted by frumpiefox on 8-18-2008 at 1:46 pm
Mine is a fear of driving behind cement trucks.
posted by Johnny Cat on 8-18-2008 at 1:55 pm
LIZHOT-
you dear, are not alone. I didn’t know that this would happen to me, but a few years ago I had a boyfriend who had a baby. When the child would cry & cry & cry, I seriously thought I was going mad, got anxious, panicy… I haven’t really thought of it perhaps being a phobia until now.
I’ve got 2 others.
The first is a serious, serious fear of birds. I HATE birds!!! I often even go through periods where I won’t eat poultry or eggs because of it. They are so creepy.
The second is a bit stranger. An unnatural obsessive fear of sewer drains located on the side of curbs. I’m constantly on the look out for them, & steer clear when I see them. I can’t explain it!
posted by Kathryn on 8-18-2008 at 1:55 pm
I have 2 phobias, one is ballons (which really isn’t that weird)I especially HATE the squeaky sound they make when you rub them between your fingers. And the second is a fear of swarming butterflies. One butterfly, pretty. More than 5 butterflies at a time, terrifying!
posted by B. on 8-18-2008 at 2:04 pm
I am terrified of mold on food. I know that it’s not pleasant for anyone, but my fear goes well and far beyond unpleasantness. I take great efforts to eliminate the possibility of moldy food in my kitchen, and when I do find it, I usually scream, drop it, and run out of the room. I don’t even like to be in my apartment if I know that something in the kitchen is moldy. I am not afraid that it will do me any harm, but I just really, really, am scared of it.
Some of the things I do are to never put leftover food in opaque containers (solid colored tupperware, foil, etc), clean out my fridge several times per week, and to throw out anything that is a little questionable. I’d rather throw something out and waste a few dollars than open it to see moldy food and deal with the emotional trauma of that.
posted by kellie on 8-18-2008 at 2:15 pm
This isn’t a terribly strange one, but no one I know suffers from it so I feel a bit isolated.
I am very much afraid of fish. One or two tiny guppies don’t bother me a whole lot, but anything from about the size of my palm onward makes me super nervous.
Two more specific, related fears are:
-swimming in a lake and having some big-mouthed fish bite my arm off
-being in an aquarium (or even in the same room as a fish tank) when the glass suddenly breaks and fish come tumbling out straight towards me
posted by Angie on 8-18-2008 at 2:19 pm
Well…I’m relieved that other people share my fears. I, too, was afraid to flush the toilet when I was little. My daughter had the same fear–I guess it’s genetic. Also, I identify with the people afraid of balloons–I have to cover my ears and leave the room when someone is blowing up a balloon.
But I really get the willies from Renaissance paintings and decorative masks. Our art museum has a room that is only Renaissance portraits and I feel like the whole world is staring at me when I’m in that room. I have an artist friend who collects and makes masks. I can’t spend any time in her living room, where many are displayed, because I feel like people-like beings from another world are assessing my tastiness.
posted by Sandy on 8-18-2008 at 2:34 pm
I have a fear of being breathed on or even breathing on other people. I don’t go crazy but if I can feel someone’s breath hitting me my heart races and my temperature rises. If someone is close to me and asks a question, I usually turn my head to respond or talk out of the side of my mouth. I can’t help it. My wife gets so annoyed because I hate facing her in bed. Anyone have an idea?
posted by BW on 8-18-2008 at 2:52 pm
I have a suffocation phobia. I am so afraid of not being able to breathe, that I have to sleep with my bedroom window open a crack. This is not a problem in the summer time. But I live in Colorado and my husband has a slight problem with it in December. He has to convince me that the air is not being sucked out of the room. I don’t know where this fear comes from, but I can feel the air leaving my body and I panic and have to open the windows and doors or just get outside where I can get some air.
posted by Jenn on 8-18-2008 at 2:52 pm
I have nightmares about the inclines too, frumpiefox. They don’t care over to my day, but over the years I dream I am climbing a hill in a car and it keeps getting steeper until the car is about to flip over. I wake up in a panic.
posted by marty on 8-18-2008 at 3:03 pm
Afraid a shark or alligator will come out of the drain (or from behind the light, for some reason) in swimming pools. Could have to do with my dad taking me to see Jaws when I was 11, followed by all the parodies afterward (in a Carol Burnett sketch, a shark came out of the toilet).
posted by Karen on 8-18-2008 at 3:05 pm
I’m not phobic of constant beeping, but it does drive me to uncomprehensible rage sometimes. It makes me want to strangle whatever designer took this hideous short-cut to gain a user’s attention, especially when it’s incessant and unecessary (i.e. the alert is of no use to me, but I can’t make it go away), Granted, in some cases it _is_ unavoidable, but does a burger joint really need the fry machine to beep every two to five minutes? It is half of the reason I can’t stand working in fast food.
posted by Hannele on 8-18-2008 at 3:22 pm
I have a fish phobia. If I am in a room with a fish tank, I have to keep an eye on it the whole time. It’s totally the idea of the tank breaking and all of the fish tumbling towards me. I have nightmares about there being fish in my sheets. The weird thing (as if it wasn’t weird enough) is that my exact fear is of dead or dying fish, not of the fish hurting me. The smaller and skinnier the fish, the more it freaks me out. I’m Ok with sharks, eels, sting rays, etc. But guppies send me into a state of panic. I blame it on the childhood trauma of finding my pet fish belly up, combined with stories my older brother told to frighten me and the creepy fact that guppies eat their own young if you don’t separate them from the adult fish. Explain how that’s Ok to a six-year-old!
posted by gypsyfly on 8-18-2008 at 3:26 pm
@Jason! Far Side reference! :D Love it!
For me, it’s
1. going down stairs when I can’t see my feet (carrying large objects, etc)
2. bugs invading my body
3. dreams of being in the ocean where I can’t touch bottom and having a shark eat me from below (I’ve never even seen all of Jaws!) and therefore sharks usually freak me out when I see them on TV
posted by frodopal on 8-18-2008 at 3:57 pm
Here’s one of my own and one of someone else’s.
I know someone who is seriously afraid of cows. When they’re standing in a field. Mooing. They insist that they’re talking about them and plotting something. They lived in a rural area, too, so there were quite a few cows nearby. You should have seen what happened when one got loose and made it into their yard…. Otherwise, normal rational person.
Me? Ever since I was a kid and my mom told me about a family member that died falling through an open coal chute, I’ve been terrified of walking over street gratings and those metal-covered hatches for basements (old coal chutes) and subterranian electrical stuff. Even manhole covers. I jump sky high when someone else walks over them and it so much as rattles. No one ever claimed, though, that I was rational, I suppose.
If I put that in context with what I consider normally to be my fear of heights, though, perhaps what it really is is a fear of falling. And landing. And breaking every bone in my body. Dying slowly… Being impaled on my own bones… ::shudder:::
rC: irregular .(DW
Yup. Irregular alright…..
posted by ACute Angle on 8-18-2008 at 3:58 pm
I’m absolutely terrified of any body of water where I can’t see the bottom. I don’t care if it’s the ocean or a lake or what.
I’m also a little freaked out by cows. I won’t go near them. *shudder*
I’m weird, I know.
posted by KW on 8-18-2008 at 4:12 pm
aside from fairly normal fears.. i’m afraid of ladybugs and guinea pigs. i’m fine with mice, rats, crickets.. everything.. but no ladybugs or guinea pigs.
posted by tami on 8-18-2008 at 4:28 pm
This isn’t a problem for me anymore, but right after I had my daughter I had some serious general anxiety. I work in a cosmetics lab, and after I returned from maternity leave I discovered that I was scared to make cosmetics. It was really the pouring of one liquid into another that got me; I felt like something would explode or react and flood the room with noxious gas. Lotion doesn’t really have a lot of reactive chemical in it, but it didn’t really help to try and rationalize it.
Eventually it went away. Now I’m only afraid of falling down and breaking my teeth; live, large fish; taking a shower when I’m home alone, and having my head covered while I’m asleep–all of which I can handle if I’m not being afraid that I’ll blow up.
posted by adrienne on 8-18-2008 at 4:33 pm
Kat,
I wouldn’t say that I had a phobia of L.A. vs Chicago (and specifically palmtree-lined streets), but the amount of open air in L.A. urban neighborhoods freaked me out too!
My fear is relatively normal, but let me qualify it. Some people would say I’m afraid of heights, but I most certainly am not. I’m afraid of being on a high place, falling off and hitting the ground (SPLAT!) I have no problem with heights if I don’t have a chance to fall off of them.
posted by Point Special on 8-18-2008 at 4:44 pm
Not a phobia persay, but more of an OCD condition… I can’t wash dishes out of a certain order (basically, smallest and cleanest to largest and dirtiest) for fear that the remenants of a dirtier dish might gunk up a cleaner one. I understand Karen’s feeling of putting her hand into dirty water, except I’m more concerned about the other dishes (and eating off them later) than I am for my own hand.
posted by Stephanie on 8-18-2008 at 5:01 pm
Wow! Thanks everybody, y’all made me laugh.
Now I’ll add my irrational fears:
1)I’m afraid of going ice skating, bending over and cutting off my fingers with the skates. It’s especially odd since I live in south Louisiana, have gone ice skating twice in my life and spend so much time trying not to fall down that I can’t even imagine bending over.
2) I’m completely, irrationally afraid of big cockroaches. You should see me jump when one crosses my path at night.
3) Open stairs, i.e., no backing on the steps. I’m convinced I’m going to step wrong, catch my foot in the hole, fall and break my back.
4) Which leads me to this: It’s not a phobia but broken bones freak me out to no end.
My cousin is deathly afraid of lizards, but just the little green ones. Her grandmother used to scream when she saw one and my cousin developed that semi-freak out into a full-fledged phobia.
My best ever Recaptcha: Anita QUACKENBUSH (capitalization true).
posted by Lindsey on 8-18-2008 at 5:06 pm
I Have 2 major fears. 1) wet shoelaces. It’s to the point that the idea of touching them repulses me, and I get nauseous. If I actually have to touch it, I’ll usually break down. Crying, shaking, the whole bit. 2) Having the count over 500 objects at a time.The 500 is not a precise number, but it’s around that. If I have to count a large number of objects, I have panic attacks, and can’t go back in the room for a while.
re Captch: Bringest Cardinal
posted by maggie on 8-18-2008 at 5:20 pm
Clowns, puppets, masks, caricatures all give me the creepie crawlies.
@ ACute Angle I do not like to walk over sidewalk grates, manhole covers, etc. I’m always afraid they’ll collapse and I’ll fall in. I’ve also heard about people and animals getting electrocuted on them. eek!
posted by pam on 8-18-2008 at 5:37 pm
I don’t know if I’d call it a phobia, but I’m really creeped out by slow-moving ceiling fans.
posted by pwell83 on 8-18-2008 at 5:50 pm
frumpiefox, your fear of steep inclines is called Cremnophobia, I have it too, only mine is there whether I’m going up or down.
posted by stanton on 8-18-2008 at 6:02 pm
I have two bizarre fears – the first is a fear of round soup spoons. I can only use oval dessert spoons any time I require a spoon. I freak out and generally end up knocking the soup spoon off the table to get it away from me – one super-persistent waiter at a restaurant was very good at obtaining me a new one every time I knocked it off the table, after the fourth time I told him to leave it there until I had left. I gave him a hefty tip for his trouble!
My other fear is partially opened wardrobe doors – I know this fear stems from reading some article when I was a child about alien abduction and how aliens can only enter the room through open wardrobe doors – since then I have gone postal every time I have spotted a wardrobe door ajar.
posted by Sir Toppam Hat on 8-18-2008 at 6:37 pm
I totally second the escalators thing. Unfortunately, I have to deal with them all the time in airports. Getting on and off is the worst, although I dislike really high/tall ones, too (the D.C. Metro has several of these). For what it’s worth, escalators really CAN be quite dangerous, so it’s not so irrational after all.
posted by kary on 8-18-2008 at 6:45 pm
I have this horrible phobia of falling. Not really heights, but falling from even a foot off the ground. It gives me really bad vertigo, even when I see someone up on a ladder.
posted by Chris on 8-18-2008 at 7:12 pm
I have a fear of wet green grass. And if it long wet green grass. . .well let’s not even go there. I can’t walk on it unless I have sturdy shoes on where I know things cant get into it. Just seeing wet green grass gives me the willies and I have to look away. If it’s dead grass it doesn’t do much for me. I’m not sure why.
posted by Nik on 8-18-2008 at 7:36 pm
@christie I have a horrible fear of revolving doors, too! Only I’m afraid that the door will stop in the revolution and trap me in a space where I’m deprived of oxygen for just long enough before the fire truck arrives (because they’re always first on the scene according to some random thing i heard one time so i always figure they do, anyway) that I see whatever happens when you die and I come back and tell my mom and she laughs at me. Jesus – how f’ed and mental is that? As a result, I always hold my breath like I’m exiting an airlock into space before I go into one.
@ everyone else that has the not seeing through water fear
I live in Texas and am mortified of going into the Gulf of Mexico past my knees without holding someone’s hand. I am convinced a shark will smack my legs with its tail and force me into an undertow that sweeps me out and drowns me. Not
that itt will bite me, mind you.
I have a ton of extraordinarily detailed massive fears, but I don’t think they qualify as phobias. I think it was neat that a post about phobias brought about an expounding of our irrational fears.
Hooray for catharsis!
(Yes, I had one pint too many watching the depressing Astros game.)
recaptcha: mississippi maybe
posted by nikki on 8-18-2008 at 10:16 pm
I have a fear of being late… kinda.
I’m a high school student, and when the bell rings for me to go to my next class, I have to go there asap.
Even though I’m usually the first one in the class, and I tend to have to wait a long while before everything can start, I still need to get there super quick.
Even while going from class to class, my hands will clench, and my chest will get all tight, and my teeth are closed all tight and stuff. It’s super anoying, but I don’t feel relief until I get where I
m suppose to be.
posted by Stephanie on 8-18-2008 at 10:16 pm
Alliteration is lucky to me so I had to repost again when my recaptcha popped up “Eloise erson.”
Sorry!
posted by nikki on 8-18-2008 at 10:21 pm
I have this constant fear of not being able to find a washroom when I need it. Its weird.
posted by tee on 8-18-2008 at 10:21 pm
I’m very afraid of nhaling dryer lint. You know, when you clean off that little mesh screen in the dryer and little pieces of lint detach and float about in th air…I’m afraid that I will inhale them and they will coat my throat and lungs and I won’t be able to breathe.
I always hold my breathe until I’m out of the laundry room.
posted by Megan on 8-18-2008 at 11:17 pm
I wouldn’t consider this quite a “phobia”- but I have this thing with cotton balls that really creeps me out, heebe-jeebies style.
I can’t stand firmly grasping one between my thumb and pointer finger. I feel like I can hear this terrible (but very quiet) “nails on a chalkboard” noise when I do it. I also just generally don’t like feeling the almost hard center of something so soft. I still use them, though. I just will never firmly grasp it.
posted by Laura on 8-18-2008 at 11:42 pm
I HATE walking barefoot underwater. Not only can you not see the razor sharp rocks under your tender feet, you might step on or in something you’d rather not know was down there like fish corpses or something.
Also, whenever I have to walk by any kind of open void, like an open doorway into a dark room or those rooms in the YMCA you play squash and handball in, I start to freak out. Feeling so exposed frightens me, like there’s something right behind me at all times.
posted by heather on 8-19-2008 at 3:18 am
My uncle Harry was deathly afraid of cotton all his life. Not cotton cloth, but cotton balls, wads of surgical cotton, that kind of stuff.
Harry was a big guy and not a guy you would mess around with. We grew up on the mean streets of 1960s-70s Detroit and no one would ever call Harry a wuss or coward. But he would freak if he even saw cotton balls, let alone touch them. Even Q-tips made him extremely uncomfortable.
Neither he nor his mom could ever recall an incident from childhood that could account for it.
posted by LALA on 8-19-2008 at 3:34 am
I have a fear of people describing their dreams to me. When someone says, “Let me tell you about this strange dream I had last night….”, I just want to run from the room screaming. Seriously.
posted by Michigan Mom on 8-19-2008 at 9:21 am
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’m terrified of driving. I’ve had my license for over 12 years, but I haven’t driven in the past 8. I wasn’t in any kind of tragic accident, it sort of grew gradually. I feel like a loser.
But I’m also scared of room-temperature mayonnaise, robots, and the thought of a zombie outbreak. I chose an apartment on the 2nd floor, because that would buy me time should zombies ever attack. Is there help for me???
posted by CatWithASea on 8-19-2008 at 9:56 am
This isn’t really a fear, more of a compulsion. For a long time I had to count the number of syllables anyone spoke on the first two fingers of my right hand to see if there were an even or odd number. If it landed on the same finger I started with, it was an odd number, the other one, it was even. I used to get really uncomfortable if there was an odd number and when I myself was speaking, I’d have to speak in even syllables, even if I just added a little grunt at the end of a sentence or drew out a word an extra syllable.
…anyone else?
Recaptcha: informing generally. Well, yes, I suppose I am.
posted by ovaryacting on 8-19-2008 at 10:17 am
I have an odd fear. I am afraid of tall people,especially really tall women. I do adjust to them being around me but when I first see a really tall person I get like a mini anxiety attack. I don’t know if I am afraid they are going to fall on me or if its from being chased by the older neighbor kids when I was younger. I was the youngest in my neighborhood.
posted by Dez on 8-19-2008 at 11:28 am
ovaryacting, I do a very similar thing. I count out each beat of a song or each syllable of a sentence with my thumb and fingers, and I like to end on the pinky; if I don’t, I keep starting on the next finger. If, by chance, I end on the pinky
the first time, it’s somehow still not satisfying.
posted by Talia on 8-19-2008 at 11:43 am
ovaryacting-I actually had a compulsion like that as a child. I needed everything to be even. If I was eating chicken nuggets for example, I could only eat 4 not 5, when reading a book I would compulsively spell out the first four words in a sentence, and then scan the page for 4 words in a row that all had even numbers of letters, then spell the words out. If I hit one arm on something, I had to hit the other arm too, etc etc etc. I knew this was weird and really forced myself to stop, but I still find myself spelling even numbered words that I randomly see, and I constantly count to 50 in my head and then start over…and now I sound crazy.
No phobias though!
posted by Brittany on 8-19-2008 at 11:57 am
Yesterday as I was thinking about my fear of falling down the stairs, I realize that I had one more to share. I hugely afraid of hair balls and any human hair that is not attached to the body. I will freak out if there is a loose strand near food or near someone’s mouth and I am particularly afraid of cleaning draining and have been known to puke in my mouth and dry heave. This morning there was near my toothbrush and I got the sweats and got all jiggly in my knees. I could have gotten it ENTANGLED in my teeth!!!
recaptcha- Political mount…Let’s hope that won’t happen with our next president.
posted by Christina on 8-19-2008 at 12:07 pm
I have this irrational fear of bridges, but not of crossing them…. I’m afraid of going under them. I’m also afraid of highway underpasses and looming objects in general. I’m not even sure what I’m actually afraid of because I don’t really think the bridge is going to fall on me, maybe just that something could fall from it.
Does anyone know what this fear is called? I can’t seem to find any phobias that match mine and I’m curious to know move about it and where it might have originated from. Please let me know if you have any ideas!
posted by kh33 on 8-19-2008 at 12:15 pm
I really enjoyed reading the article and everyone’s phobias!
I have some that weren’t mentioned:
-fear of bath drains–this was especially terrifying when I was little; I think it came from a Muppet Babies cartoon where they get sucked into the tub and appear on an ocean floor–I always get out before I remove the plug.
-fear of bugs near my son–I recently screamed at and killed a spider that was crawling near him. I have to stop or he will get a complex!
posted by Orange on 8-19-2008 at 12:28 pm
Saw a documentary about a womun in the UK who had a fear of “turning left”. In order to drive anywhere she had to plot out courses that would allow her to get from point A to B making only right-hand turns.
Think about it in England, they drive on the left-hand side of the road and many intersections are “roundabouts” requiring the driver to turn left even if they ultimately want to go to the right.
Oh well, Sucks to be her.
posted by Adam The IA on 8-19-2008 at 12:57 pm
:/
I’ve always had a fear of fountains. Not the ones you drink from. But the fancy ones in malls or amusement parks or anywhere. And I go absolutely mental when they turn off in the middle of me seeing them. It actually makes me want to cry thinking about it.
posted by Piccolo on 8-19-2008 at 1:24 pm
I know this fear is irrational and I wouldn’t exactly call it a “phobia” in the fact that its not debilitating but I hate balloons and latex or vinyl gloves…..I just hate the way the material feels and I get creeped out and irritated when people try to touch me with said gloves or when a balloon gets to close to me….
posted by Gerg on 8-19-2008 at 1:46 pm
I have a fear of white noise. and it can be just a black screen like when your direct tv goes out i swear i can hear the humming. My roomate will leave his X Box on at night but the TV will be off and i can hear the Unit humming. it pisses him off when i come in there at 3 am trying to turn it off but not knowing how and then waking him up to do it. And lights here at work are the worst. i am twitching a little right now.
my ex boyfriend had a fear of fabric on teeth. i would bite a towel and he would flip!
posted by Jennifer on 8-19-2008 at 2:01 pm
I have a couple of phobias that I like to think are rather normal (tsk, tsk)… I am convinced I will discover a dead body or body part while snorkeling (I torture myself every year during scallop season) and I know there are dead bodies in water towers. Dead bodies in any body of water, everywhere at all times.
Frogs are vile and make me scream. So disgusting… with their erratic jumping and peeing. I tried frog legs once to overcome my fear and it just made me hate them more.
I used to have a mayo phobia and a polyester phobia… I’ve since outgrown those.
posted by Sarah on 8-19-2008 at 2:55 pm
like a few others, my most extreme fear is a fear of heights a/k/a falling to my death. if you’ve ever seen the movie “high anxiety” you’ll know how bad my fear is. the scene where mel brooks is on a very high floor in a hotel and clings to the wall as he walks along for fear of falling down the open center perfectly describes me. even a movie or tv show where the camera is hovering over a mountain slope or deep gorge freaks me out. in the past i have left the theatre because of such scenes. also, i have a huge fear of underwater scenes. while watching the “planet earth” series i felt so suffocated by the underwater cave diving scenes i had to fast forward because i thought i might pass out. ah yes, the wonderful world of fears and phobias … ya gotta love it!
posted by Nathan on 8-19-2008 at 3:01 pm
I have an extreme fear of swimming underwater in lakes or the ocean. I can doggy paddle, but never put my head underwater. I immediately panic.It used to be because I was afraid of what could be down there–I always imagine dead bodies =/–and the movie “What Lies Beneath” scares the s*** out of me. Lately it’s been just as bad in the pool where I can clearly see the bottom. My heart starts racing and I feel like I am going to get yanked down by something at any moment.
posted by Kaila on 8-19-2008 at 3:19 pm
After reading a few more, I realized another fear I’ve had to adjust to. A couple years ago I had a terrifyingly realistic dream where I watched myself get into a fatal car accident in a white car while wearing a white sweater I own while driving down a hill. Because I never drove white cars, it eventually stopped bothering me. When I got a new car six months ago, I got the car I’d always wanted-a Yaris. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I had already purchased and taken it home, driving on the hill down to my house, that I realized the car was white. I had a small panic attack and to this day I feel uneasy driving downhill and I NEVER wear the white sweater on days I’m driving.
posted by Kaila on 8-19-2008 at 3:32 pm
I have a friend with a crippling fear of cheese. It’s actually really funny. I’ve even seen him throw up when he, himself, has to say the word “cheese”
posted by not me on 8-19-2008 at 3:50 pm
Ditto on the fear of kite flying. When it’s really high, I can’t stand the idea of it getting loose and flying off.
I have the exact same fear about balloons. Not of balloons themselves, but of letting them go outside and having them float off into the sky. Big, empty blue skies are the worst.
posted by Shrap on 8-19-2008 at 4:05 pm
Agraphobia-fear of being in wide open spaces. I noticed several people hate being in gyms or box stores and I think this is their fear.
Also, Jennifer, I can also hear televisions when turned on in another room because of the high frequency they emit. Weird.
I hate cloth on the teeth and squeeky cotton, but thankfully none of these are my fears.
I do have a fairly common fear of hights, but, in addition, I also have a fear of moving too rhythmically. If I go up or (especially) down a tall flight of stairs in a steady step-step-step motion, I will force myself to stop and restart. I feel like the rhythm is out of my control and will keep me going even if I want to stop. I also hate repetative hand movements without reprieve because I feel like I am loosing control and/or will spaz out. Thankfully, I have overcome this enough to knit and crochet, but prefer patterns that alternate stiches. I would do horribly on an assembly line. I identified perfectly with Charlie Chaplain in “Modern Times” when he goes berserk after repetatively using two wrenches to tighten two bolts on an assembly line.
I also have a fairly rational fear of hot irons (I think), but I mentally see them burning my flesh every time I plug one in (nope, I’ve never been burned by one). I will only iron if I can’t tumble it in the dryer or steam it in the shower. My poor husband often doesn’t have very pressed shirts!
posted by Andrea on 8-19-2008 at 4:23 pm
Thanks for sharing, I had:
the incline one, but only in dreams, where im driving up a straight up wall and about to fall backwards
when I was a kid I used to think that hordes of demons and monsters were drawing ever closer, always closing in, but i could cast spells and blow them back a certain distance, like 20 miles, then of course they would start back towards me so i would have to cast over and over.
also the bump one arm have to bump the other thing.
lastly, my brother has a fear we think is funny, we call it megalophobia, fear of extremely large celestial bodies. He is just nervous that some of those huge gas giants etc even exist, theres a vid on youtube somewhere that shows relative size to our sun, I admit, its scary
posted by Pokey on 8-19-2008 at 4:36 pm
I’m terrified of E.T. When I was like 2 my parents and sister were watching it and I came in at the part in the movie when Drew Barrymore sees him and screams so he screams and his head goes flying up. Ever since then I totally freak out if I’m surprised by him, like I start crying. It’s just bad.
I’m trying to get over it, but no one will watch the damn movie with me and I can’t watch it alone yet without freaking.
posted by Liz on 8-19-2008 at 4:40 pm
I have a fear of clusters of tiny holes. Think of a lotus seed pod – they just freak me the hell out. Even showerheads or worm holes…ugh. Horrible.
posted by Alana on 8-19-2008 at 4:46 pm
I have a strange fear of low heights. You can get me up at fifty feet and I will look down, swinging my arms over the side of the building. Anywhere between three and twelve feet, though, and forget it. I think it’s because I know I won’t die if I fall from that height.
One of my friends is absolutely terrified of butterflies and tropical birds (parrots, parakeets, goldfinches, etc.). Another friend has a not-quite-fear of peppermint – it’s more of a physical aversion, if anything. She will back away from mint gum and writhe wildly if touched by a mint wrapper.
posted by Jenn on 8-19-2008 at 7:22 pm
Pediculophobia
i have an insane fear of lice and other parasites that could possibly crawl on me and bite me and make me feel disgusting.
during my childhood i got lice a lot and it was extremely traumatic
posted by jackie on 8-19-2008 at 7:56 pm
I have this fear that every night there is an evil monkey watching me sleep in my bedroom closet.
posted by Kris on 8-19-2008 at 8:04 pm
I have a huge fear of being touched on the neck by anyone or anything except myself and my own clothes/jewelry/hair. I absolutely flip out if anyone or anything else touches it. While I have to sleep with the covers pulled all the way up (because having my neck exposed while I sleep also terrifies me to the point that I can’t sleep at all), if they are touching my neck with something like a light touch, I freak out. A guy I used to know once held the back of my neck for about 30 seconds straight, and I ended up falling on the floor crying and hysterical. Even scenes in movies where someone’s neck is injured cause me to curl up whimpering in a little ball with my hands protecting my neck. The only exceptions to this are a select few people whom I know well and highly trust, but I still have to know it’s coming.
posted by Heather on 8-19-2008 at 8:31 pm
I can’t stand lying on the ground looking up at the sky, or being upside down for too long in general. I have this fear that gravity will reverse and I’ll fall off the earth into the sky.
My main phobia, though, is a huge fear of being touched on the neck by anyone or anything except myself and my own clothes/jewelry/hair. I absolutely flip out if anyone or anything else touches it. While I have to sleep with the covers pulled all the way up (because having my neck exposed while I sleep also terrifies me to the point that I can’t sleep at all), if they are touching my neck with something like a light touch, I freak out. A guy I used to know once held the back of my neck for about 30 seconds straight, and I ended up falling on the floor crying and hysterical. Even scenes in movies where someone’s neck is injured cause me to curl up whimpering in a little ball with my hands protecting my neck. The only exceptions to this are a select few people whom I know well and highly trust, but I still have to know it’s coming.
posted by Heather on 8-19-2008 at 8:34 pm
I have a fear of large text (maybe 14-16pt) in a reading book – such as a novel – especially if the text is a serif font (times new roman), if I am reading late at night, am a little tired, and if I hold the book more than 10 inches from my face. It can make me feel dizzy, hard to breath and give me feelings of dread and panic. This has only happened a few times in my life, but an experience I do not want to revisit. Now I am a graphic designer and deal with fonts all the time with no problem, so this only happens when reading in the situation described above… weird right
posted by joe joe on 8-19-2008 at 9:57 pm
I have a few strange ones – strange in that I’ve never heard of anyone else sharing the same fears.
1) If I so much as see someone running their fingers over cloth, say while changing bed sheets, I get the heebie jeebies to the point that it makes me gag.
2) Though I have several piercings and tattoos, I have a fear of needles/drips. Not so much injections but more the piercing of veins and removal of blood especially. I had a bad experience with a blood test when I was a child and have since refused to have blood taken and even if I was really ill, I would have to be unaware/unconscious of blood being taken from me or I would refuse it.
3) When I was a kid, I watched Jaws with my dad. He told me it was filmed in a pool. Since then, I absolutely can NOT swim at the sea or in a pool alone, even if I have someone sunbathing right next to the pool. No company in the water= no swimming for me. Not even dipping my feet in.
4) I love horror films, they’re probably the form of entertainment I consume the most. And although they are mostly predictable once you’ve seen so many, I am terrified of finding myself in a ‘horror scenario’. Ie if I’m on a camping trip and my friends start doing drugs or go to their tent/cabin and have sex or something, I start freaking out and planning ways to be ‘the one that survives’, so I don’t drink, I don’t joke about someone being out there, and I become overly-responsible despite usually being fairly laid back, for fear that a ‘Jason’-esque bad guy comes and kills us.
posted by Penny on 8-20-2008 at 12:11 am
One of my friends completes freaks out when he has to touch newspaper, wet newspaper is even worse. He even shutters when someone else touches it.
It’s nice to know that other people have an immense fear of storm drains. Even today my boyfriend thought he was giving me enough room to walk around it, and I came within a foot of it and freaked out – I ended up hugging a tree.
posted by Laura on 8-20-2008 at 2:36 am
My husband has a fear of food delivery people like “the pizza man”. He won’t even call to order and when they ring the doorbell, he goes into another room. When he’s been on trips alone, he will call room service if he really has to (too late for restaurants) but he’d rather not.
I’m afraid of driving behind gasoline trucks and hitting them or being in the middle of a pileup, because you KNOW they’re going to blow up in a big way if that happens. I will change lanes and slow down when I see one.
And heights. I’ve been to the top of one of the WTC buildings and on plenty of planes, but I can’t handle the 8 feet to the attic on the wobbly pull-down ladder in the garage. The thought of painting a ceiling makes me want to hurl.
posted by Jeannie on 8-20-2008 at 8:10 am
I am deathly afraid of getting stuck in a microwave. They make me uncomfortable and I get frightened that I will somehow be pushed into one and nuked and turned inside out like some weird Gremlins character. Ugh. It’s making me nauseous just thinking about it. I know it’s irrational. I know I can’t FIT in a microwave. But I’m still scared.
posted by Aleia on 8-20-2008 at 10:42 am
Mine sounds so wierd by comparison! I’m afraid of zombies. I know they’re not real!
And I am perfectly sane enough to not be afraid of much else (well, except a car crash over a tall bridge & drowning). But I’ve always wondered why I can’t let go of my crazy irrational fear.
Maybe I will get hypnotherapy…
posted by Jessica on 8-20-2008 at 10:46 am
I have scamilumophobia. That is the fear that someone will expose this as a faux malady conjured up to allow me to get my comment posted.
posted by mike on 8-20-2008 at 11:07 am
I am afraid to go anywhere else far.
posted by jas on 8-20-2008 at 12:32 pm
Zombies scare the begesus out of me. I know their not real, but consider their horror. We’re all afraid of death, infectious disease, and world chaos, which is what Zombies represent. AND they’re our loved ones! They could be people that you’ve known all your life, and they’re trying to consume you!
Omg, I saw the remake of Dawn of the Dead where the hold up in that shopping mall, and I saw where that one armless zombie saw them and ran after them…
I wigged out, Zombies are NOT supposed to be able to run!
posted by Emily on 8-20-2008 at 2:49 pm
I have a nausea-inducing fear of submarines, stemming from (I believe) the old submarine ride at Disneyland. I was about 2 and I remember a giant octopus eye looking in one of the submarine windows…GAHHH!
Now they have a Finding Nemo submarine ride and even though it’s 28 years later, I get chills and want to vomit at the thought of getting on that ride.
posted by shanno on 8-20-2008 at 4:01 pm
” probably though not definitely true ”
I have a fear of awkward sentence structures
posted by circumlocutophobia on 8-20-2008 at 8:18 pm
I have a fear of dinosaurs. Funny thing is, I never had this fear as a child. I first saw Jurassic Park when I was 11 and wasn’t freaked out by it at all. I saw it many years later when I was 19 or 20, and the part with the velacoraptors FREAKED me out. I’m afraid that scientist will mess with genetics and actually bring back dinosaurs and I’ll be chased by a T-Rex. The part where Naomi Watts gets chased by two T-Rexes in “King Kong” almost made me cry. Same thing with “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.
I’m also afraid of mice and small furry creatures like gerbils and hamsters. I don’t think they are going to bite me. It’s the small size, the furriness, and I guess how they squirm.
I also have a panic attack if I can’t see my feet when I’m walking. Either because I’m going up/down stairs and carrying a large object or because it’s very dark.
Having my head under the blankets makes my heart race. Ever since I was a child, I couldn’t play pretend while under the blankets. I feel like I’m gonna die due to lack of oxygen.
I’m also afraid of any instance where my feel leave the ground or floor. Being picked up scared me as a child. I can’t go in water that’s so deep my feet don’t touch the bottom.
posted by Eff on 8-20-2008 at 10:03 pm
@shanno – I went on that submarine ride too, when I was around 5 years old. I remember looking out the window for about a minute, then spending the rest of the time sitting on the floor in the middle of the sub, with my hands over my eyes, trying to stay calm and keep breathing. I didn’t want my family to see that I was scared, but inside I was completely freaking out. I’m not sure if that’s when it started, or if that’s just when I realized it, but I have an intense fear/phobia of underwater creatures, and of being stuck underwater in general.
My other fear is of small bugs. They all want to get IN ME – whether it’s through an orifice or directly through my skin. BUGS.WANT.TO.GET.IN.ME. I’m not sure what the criteria is for it to go from a fear to an all-out phobia, but I’m not debilitated by it or anything. I do, however, check my bedsheets for bugs every night before I lay down.
posted by cb on 8-21-2008 at 10:38 am
I have two weird phobias. The first is a phobia of chewing gum. I have no problem chewing it myself or when most people chew it (although some are extremely annoying). It is when people take out their chewed gum and place it on the edge of their plate or pop can so they can “save it for later.” When that happens, it’s like a horrible car crash. It totally grosses me out but yet i can’t look away. But, while staring it, i get all fidgety and tingly, and it almost feels like i’m having a mini panic attack. Normally i try to put something in the way of my view of the gum so i dont have to see it. Or i ask the person to throw it away.
My other one is for very fine sand paper, mostly nail files. The touch of it and the sound it makes just creeps me out so much. I use to live with my brother and sister-in-law and any time she did her nails, i would have to leave the room because it would freak me out so much. Even if i see it on TV, i would have to look away. as a matter of fact, it is freaking me out just thinking about it.
posted by Andy on 8-21-2008 at 10:42 am
Airplanes falling out of the sky and crashing into me. That’s my fear. That somehow a plane is going to crash right into me while I am on the ground. When I see a plane overhead (especially low flying ones) I always need to watch it to see if it is about to crash into me.
posted by zantimisfit on 8-21-2008 at 10:59 am
i have a bunch of phobias
1)that someone is going to start stabing ppl on the airplane, especially baldheaded men, even though i dont know any bald headed men
2)that someone can read my mind, if that thought comes into my head i have to sing a song really loudly in my head to block out the sound of my thining
3)that i have a mental illness like aspergers syndrome or autisnm and noone has ever told me and all my friends are just tolerating me
4)that i have acidnetally hurt someone and they are going to sue or balck mail me(i cant even hold baby’s or todlers
5)that everyone else in the world is dead when i wake up in the morning
6)that someone i love will be in a caraccident or die
7)that i hurt someone’s feelings and they kill themselves
8)that all my friends will randomely abandon me
9)that i will be stung by a jellyfish or have my ankles caught in seeweed and drown in the ocean
10)the ovcean lakes and rivers in general
:)
ya i know i have ocd and stuff lolz
posted by birthdaygurl#14 on 8-21-2008 at 11:04 am
also a random nuclear war and a plane diliberatly crashing on my huse
posted by birthdaygurl#14 on 8-21-2008 at 11:06 am
I used to be scared of looking into the mirror, when I brushed my teeth just before sleeping (usually at 2 in the night). I always felt that some one would stand behind me and look at me through the mirror, give a half toothed grin and say “Boo!”
posted by Tuna on 8-21-2008 at 11:47 am
I am afraid of midgets. It’s not just short people, it’s actual midgets…you know, the ones that all look alike. For some reason, every time I’m near one, they want to touch me. It TOTALLY freaks me out.
reCaptcha: human usually
posted by Heather Dawn on 8-21-2008 at 12:21 pm
Not sure if you can call it a fear, but soggy food freaks me out. I hate french-onion soup, since they put that big peice of bread on top, and the bottom just soaks up all the liquid. Can’t stand a sandwich or burger that has been sitting in the wrapper too long, absorbing the sauce/juice/consensation inside the wrapper. I definetly can not touch bread that won’t go down the garbage disposal, i have to poke at it with whatever utensil is around, which just makes it worse usually, since it breaks it into little soggy pieces. gives me the chills just thinking about it.
posted by Brandy on 8-21-2008 at 1:02 pm
I have a fear of drowning yet I love to swim but I panic when I get to deep and think I wont be able to get to the air fast enough. I think that culminates in a bigger fear or falling in ice, then it will quickly freezing over and me being able to not get out.
I also hate nails on chalkboard sound it sends my body physically to shutter.
I also hate it when change lies every where on a desk. I have to stop what I’m doing and stack the coins according to size. You can always tell when I’ve been in the room your change is in tower form.
I know people with the grate walking over fear
posted by Hannah on 8-21-2008 at 2:39 pm
I have a fear of flying. My father was killed in a plane crash when I was a baby.
I also have a strong dislike for working out in front of other people. I avoid gyms.
I am terrified of large concert venues and theme parks where there is a lot of humanity piled up on top of each other and survival resources seem limited or strained. I think its a personal space thing.
posted by Kelly P on 8-21-2008 at 2:39 pm
Ick! Just thinking about it drives me nuts. I am a very hygenic person but I have a fear of showers in general. I hate the way the floor gives when you step in, i freak if the wet shower curtain touches me and worst of all… I HATE soap scum/dirt that gathers in the water if the drain is slow! My skin crawl at just the thought. I can’t walk into a bathroom that has an open shower curtain.
posted by Shay on 8-21-2008 at 3:31 pm
Johnny Cat, I get the creeps driving behind cement trucks as well (not quite the level of a phobia for me) due in part to the fact that during my driver’s training simulations (yes, I am that old) my accelerator malfunctioned by sticking and reached down and was finally able to free it, but came up just in time to hear the instructor boom over the speaker “Well done (my name), you hit the back of that cement truck at 90 mph)”
My phobia is shared my many – clowns. Yikes. I get physical symptoms before I even register that I have seen one (a person dressed as a clown or a representation of one.) Totally irrational, but there you have it. And no one in my family can trace the origin.
posted by Z on 8-21-2008 at 5:19 pm
I have an intense fear of rubber masks making Sept/Oct a dreadful time of year for me. I understand that it is just a pile of inanimate rubber, and have gotten to the point where “hey I’m an adult” I can go down an aisle with them in it, but if anyone so much as touches one or puts one on I freak. I’ve run out of rooms knocking over anything and anyone in my way to get away. I’ve punched people in the face and ran away when surprised by one. And generally cry inconsolably and when I can’t avoid one. The thought of them makes me tear up, shake, and start to hyperventilate. My poor little brother was denied rubber masks as Halloween costumes the whole time I lived at home. My children will not be allowed to ever own one. I’ve threatened to break up with my boyfriend when he joked that he was going to buy one just to mess with me. I will never get over this phobia.
posted by Jolene on 8-21-2008 at 7:09 pm
zombies are verry much real , my phobia is pederamoloslipenpyroticphobia, fear of dying in a coffin on wheels sliding down a slope made of wax into a volcano full of flaming star fish.
posted by leon on 8-21-2008 at 7:12 pm
zombies are verry much real , my phobia is pederamoloslipenpyroticphobia, fear of dying in a coffin on wheels sliding down a slope made of wax into a volcano full of flaming star fish. i have that but its a bottle of melted chease not a volcano !
posted by dan on 8-21-2008 at 7:13 pm
I just realized I’m a seething mass of phobias, after swearing up and down that I wasn’t. I’m afraid of mould like the person above… I dream about it after seeing it. Plus, I can’t see water on tv without feeling like I’m drowning, even though I actually love water and swimming. Actual bodies of water don’t bother me. (Actually, it has to be a scene shot underwater to trigger me, so that’s good, I guess.) And… I don’t like mirrors in the dark. Or reflecting surfaces like tvs. I will actively avoid looking or even cover up the surface. I don’t have a tv in my bedroom because of that.
posted by WickedWonder on 8-21-2008 at 11:12 pm
I just realized I’m a seething mass of phobias, after swearing up and down that I wasn’t. I’m afraid of mould like the person above… I dream about it after seeing it. Plus, I can’t see water on tv without feeling like I’m drowning, even though I actually love water and swimming. Actual bodies of water don’t bother me. (Actually, it has to be a scene shot underwater to trigger me, so that’s good, I guess.) And… I don’t like mirrors in the dark. Or reflecting surfaces like tvs. I will actively avoid looking or even cover up the surface. I don’t have a tv in my bedroom because of that. Plus, walking over grates, or wooden steps, because I could fall through!
I didn’t know everyone *couldn’t* hear a TV when it’s on. I can, but it doesn’t bother me except when I’m trying to sleep.
posted by WickedWonder on 8-21-2008 at 11:28 pm
@adrienne – I too am a chemist, and I have an extreme fear of injury/disease/death as a result of chemical inhalation or skin exposure. I always wear a lab coat, safety goggles, disposable gloves, and long rubber gloves whenever I’m in the lab, even if I’m not performing any experiments at the moment. I am also completely anal about performing all chemical transfers in a fume hood. I obsessively read the MSDS’s of everything I use, and I’ve been known to run outside and dramatically gasp for fresh air if I inhale even a little bit of something that’s not even dangerous. Just today, though, my boss commented to me about how impressed he was with my concern for safety. I guess it’s not all bad.
I also have a fear of getting pregnant. I know, that’s kind of normal amongst young females such as myself, but here’s the catch: I’m a virgin. I know pregnancy without sex is impossible (except in the case of Mary and Joseph), but I still freak out about it for some strange reason. I even take birth control pills just to alleviate my fear. Maybe it’s because I don’t want all the chemicals I work with to hurt my nonexistent unborn baby? I don’t know.
posted by Sandy on 8-21-2008 at 11:53 pm
Alana- I’ve got that one too, I hate tiny holes or tiny, teeming masses, like those medicine commercials that show blood cells flowing… ack! The idea that we are made up of teeny tiny cells just makes me want to hurl.
posted by Hawkeyegirl on 8-22-2008 at 12:06 pm
I’ve always been given the creeping horrors by curtain-less windows at night, regardless of what floor of a building I’m on. The closer I get to one, the surer I am that someone/thing is going to pop up right in front of me. Naturally that scene in the Buffy episode ‘Hush’ nearly sent me running into another room.
posted by anzi on 8-23-2008 at 8:58 pm
whats is it called when yoU have a fear of dropping things into the toilet???
posted by Marah on 8-25-2008 at 2:48 pm
i know it may seem like i’m making this up, but i’m hydro(deep sea water), achluo(the dark), agate (insanity), anthro(people), astro(stars or space), automatono[anything representing a living thing(dolls, wax figures, etc..)], and maieusio(giving birth)-phobia.
they’re all pretty dumb, but i fear them nonetheless. they’re not all that bad. only hydro, achluo and maieusio-phobia are the severe ones. if i’m in the dark for any amount of time, i start to sweat and cry uncontrolably. one time the lightbulb went out for less than a second when a ball hit the lamp and i fainted when i realized that it had been all dark. and i can’t look at the sky at night without becoming dizzy, and throwing up. don’t believe me if you like. but it’s sadkly true,
posted by clever nomme on 9-3-2008 at 9:29 pm
OMG Alana, I have the same fear of tiny clusters of holes. Just the thought makes me sick! Honeycombs, pig skin with the holes, so many different places to find them. It’s scary. My 5 sisters all share the same fear! YUCK!
posted by Fanny on 10-24-2008 at 4:42 pm
sooo…grossed out by reading this..b/c i have the same gag refelx….absolutely can’t stand dots/clusters. IE: grates with things stuck underneath it…remember playing at a park when i was younger and there were tons of leaves stuck under the drain; like a large sewage/drain type and all i wanted to do was clean it out …get all the gunk out. Ropes (the square kind that people climb in boot camp training or especially the immitation ones at the playground) drive me baserk == when i see those, i just want to untangle them…guess writing it out helps acknowledge it, but it still skeeves me out (soOo gross)…dots on google map makes me wanna separate them and pores on the face intrigue me but disgust me as well…imagine it being this concave thing and things (dust, dirt) can get squeezed out — but almost feel like i can never squeeze enough to ‘clean it out’…i’m seeing a repetitive pattern where i feel like i need things to be cleansed; perhaps it’s a reflection of what’s going on with me…soo gross and icky.
posted by jenny on 3-31-2009 at 12:20 am
also can’t stand barnacles, tripe and the things that grow underneath leaves…makes me wanna scratch ‘em all off….one of the worse ones is the stuff that is stuck on the Biore nose strips after it’s been used…makes me wanna throw up thinking ’bout it.
posted by jenny on 3-31-2009 at 12:22 am
I have the usual phobias of hights and anamatronics (I feel like they’re gonna attack me). But I also have the odd fear of woodlice (no idea) and cows. the phobia of cows came about when I was aged 15, and was attacked by a herd of bullocks whilst walkin my dog, although I recived a sound thrashing and many direct kicks to the ribs, I did not break a single bone.
posted by Mish on 5-29-2009 at 6:54 pm