Comments on: The Fear of Fear Itself (and Other Esoteric Phobias)

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:23:44 +0000

when I was in 4th or 5th grade, I had a fear of laying flat in my back, especially while sleeping. I think it was because I once watched a tv show on mummies and since they always are in the same position… I started associating laying on my back with death. For a couple years I couldn’t lay on my back with my legs straight in front of me without feeling like I was about to die. I got over the fear though, after I had to do a project in school about Egypt, and I faced my mummy fears.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:06:30 +0000

I have the whole kite flying-balloon thing too… Kites are worse, because I guess just the feeling of being in a wide open space and looking up into a clear sky, I swear I could just fall into the sky at any moment. The whole idea of a kite or balloon flying off into the sky where I can’t get it, I swear my feet feel light and I break into a cold sweat just thinking about it. And the idea of being whisked away with the kite into the sky just drives me insane. Definitely, the longer the string, the worse it gets.

There’s one thing I haven’t seen yet, too. I’m deathly afraid of people vomiting. It just disgusts me… Like that’s supposed to be in your stomach, it’s disgusting enough to be able to see it, let alone know it has some awful disease in it.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:19:20 +0000

@ BW on 8-18-2008 at 2:52 pm
i also have a fear of being breathed on! it makes my skin crawl.. i even hate walking passed the hot air exhaust of a car.. any help would be great.. my husband hates it!

By: Erica

Erica — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:31:03 +0000

Ever since I was little I’ve had the fear of letting go of balloons outside where they would drift away out of reach and could not be saved. Especially on windy days I literally could not hold the balloon(s) by its ribbon I would have to hold it as close as possible from the actual balloon itself and when ever I would see kids just let go of balloons outside my heart would just drop.

I also get a little nervous around squirrels especially when they dont run away quickly as you approach near them and theyre just there staring at you motionless it makes me feel like theyre going to attack me. Even when they do run away I cant help but keep watch around as if they only pretended to run away but were really waiting for me to attack.

By: Kat

Kat — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:45:44 +0000

I have a strange phobia to anchors… cruise ships? no way!

By: Butterfli

Butterfli — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:38:10 +0000

My neice is engaged to a young man who has the oddest phobia I’ve ever heard of. He is terrified of glitter.

Needless to say the wedding day will be a sparkly affair..

By: marc

marc — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:25:01 +0000

Kinda late to the party, but i have a couple that I’m surprised to not have seen.

1) Horses. It’s not just riding them, or them kicking me if i walk behind them, but being around them at all terrifies me. If I see mounted police i’ll cross to the other side of the street so I won’t even be near the animal. Just looking at pictures of horses give me the creeps. Especially their weird looking heads and faces. When we were in our 20′s my brother and I realized we both had this phobia.

2) Doctors and hospitals. ( I’m ok w/ dentists though) If i have to go the doctor i come near to having a panic attack. If I’m in a hospital I imagine that I can smell and feel death and disease in the air (even if i tell myself that that’s impossible I can’t shake the feeling) and have an urge to run outside screaming.

3) The last one is more of a recurring waking nightmare that I’d have when I was a teenager and I’d come home late at night on the weekends. When I stepped into my house, which was usually dark, in the second before I turned on the light, I was convinced that someone was there in the dark, waiting to murder me. I had this image of some crazy dude sitting in a chair with his back to the door and a butcher knife in his lap, waiting. ( I also knew that he was waiting for me specifically, not just any victim, and that if he spoke he’d call me by my name).

By: rainbow

rainbow — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 12:38:10 +0000

@birthdaygurl#14 Asperger’s and autism are not mental illnesses. They are neuro-developmental disorders.

My fear is telephones. Anytime I have to call anyone, for any reason, I have a panic attack and have trouble breathing. When I can actually convince myself to use the phone, then I have a fear that I’ll dial a wrong number and humiliate myself.

By: Katarina Navane

Katarina Navane — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 16:51:33 +0000

I’m the opposite of the people who say they’re afraid of white noise, I’m afraid of silence. I’m glad that so many machines and things make noise because it makes the kind of true silence that freaks me out rare.

Also not sure if it’s a phobia, quite, but I get freaked out by having to make phone calls, particularly calling somone I don’t know well or at all.

By: indy474

indy474 — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:30:22 +0000

Escalators! Can’t stand them! Doesn’t qualify as a phobia, tho since I use them all the time, esp. in airports. But I don’t like it. Don’t like it at all. And this from a person who is learning to fly helicopters for fun.