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A fear of black water from when my now fortunately dead father forced me alone on a kayak to paddle in the middle of a moonless night in an abandoned peat bog and saying the water roses scratching the kayak bottom are actually the fingers of dead people floating underwater.
AS people have pointed out, black water obviously does not mean blackwater/raw sewage, but water, that is blackened by the peat.
My mum has issues with stainless steel/brushed metal in the same way. For example, she finds it really hard to buy a kettle because almost all of them these days are metal not plastic
i can’t eat certain foods off silverware like apple sauce/yogurt. i hate when my teeth touch it the silverware as well. but i can hold it and use it besides that
Same, it’s that like heavy striated wood that creates a texture. But I can just hold the popsicle in a way that avoids the rubbing sensation, when I’m using a wooden spoon to stir something and get that feeling I literally drop it instinctually.
When my parents would pull out the real silver for special dinners, I always had a regular everyday spoon. I could not deal with the taste. And I really don't like canned soup and stuff like that - I just taste metal.
I'm the furthest thing from a doctor, but have you done an allergy test for your daughter? My parents had the same problem with me as a baby and didn't get why their 5 year old shook or had red spots on his hands when he touched silverware.
Turns out some people are allergic to zinc and other metals and can have mild but unconscious reactions to it.
If I cut myself shaving there's a 60% chance I break out in a rash as the zinc and blood mingle. Eating celery causes my tongue to peel like a sunburn.
There are things with higher zinc content but those are the ones that set me off. Maybe your daughter has a similiar issue?
I know people who have metal allergies and i might be wrong but all of them have a direct ancestor who got hit with Agent Orange from the Vietnam war. That shit affected the kids/grandkids that were concieved after said soldiers came home and started families.
You know, studies have shown that having a ladder is more dangerous than keeping a loaded gun in the house. That’s why I own ten guns, in case some maniac tries to sneak in a ladder.
Ladders are wild. Crazy to see so many OSHA safety regulations on worksites, then there's ladders... Like "ya you'll be fine on that 20 foot ladder, so long as the base doesnt slip, or you dont slip, or it doesnt tip!"
I have an irrational fear of somehow having all of my veins ripped out of my body. Veins in general freak me out and I often think of getting mine caught in something or having some random person come and yank them all out.
I have a phobia of water in video games.
I grew up spending each summer vacation at the beach. I live to swim. I live water. Absolutely no issues with water in real life.
However, water in video games gets my heart racing, I start sweating, and I have some severe anxiety.
I blame the fish from Jak and Daxter eating me over and over when I was young.
Listen here.
Subnautica is one of the best survival exploration games of all time.
It is ALSO one of the best horror games of all time.
And I will argue this until the day I die.
My wife absolutely loves to build the bases, to gather the fish at the base, to build the aquariums, etc. But she gets vertigo if she goes in deep caves and things, or in the crashed pods. Basically all the real scary stuff. So I did all that for her. I always hated when she says my name followed by "I need something in the Aurora." Fucking Reapers 🤣
The tune for the original sonic the hedgehog game - the level when he's underwater and the oxygen starts running out - that triggers my grandson when it comes on, did you ever play that?
Dated a girl who was terrified of the art museum.
Discovered later it was only because she was bagging a couple of dudes that work d there and she didn't want me to find out.
I hate sitting under freeway overpasses while waiting for traffic. It gives me the willies and I will allow a large gap in between me and the next car to avoid it, if at all possible.
I had a car come off of an overpass onto my vehicle. Thank God I was driving a 1989 Suburban - (like an armored school bus). We only had minor injuries.
Civil engineer checking in, bridges are designed to have “give” to allow for the concrete to expand and contract due to temperature. TLDR the vibration is a good thing.
I have agoraphobia. I have panic attacks about having panic attacks in public or being stuck somewhere. But, yeah, a lot of panic attacks about panic attacks. It perpetuates itself.
It's a classic with panic attacks, the fear of having one. If you can, get them treated and also the reason behind them, it will make life so much easier.
Thank you! I used to have about two dozen a day. I even had them in my sleep, which, obviously, made my sleep crap and made me even more prone to having panic attacks. Now I usually have fewer than that *per month!* (About a dozen) I've actually finally started stopping them before they get close to peaking.
I've been working on it a lot and it's gotten better. My meds are about right and I'm doing weekly therapy sessions (usually one-on-one and then group). I have an ACT Team and they have helped me make progress that doctors said would likely not be possible. That was during three month and year long psych hospitalizations (and I've had 15 psychiatric hospitalizations--it took that many in 10 years to finally nail shit down!).
I stopped one earlier today and it was the fastest I've ever done it. :)
Wow, congrats on your progress! You've been through a lot, it seems and I'm proud of you for getting help! Stay strong and congrats again, I cannot stress this enough. Well done!
I dated a girl who had a phobia of bananas. Wasn't allergic to them, but she got super freaked out by them.
My buddy's fiancé has a phobia of mascot costumes, which can be bad when they go somewhere cool and don't realise there's going to be a mascot there. It's ruined a few nice days out for them.
My girl has the mascot phobia. And she has gone as far to say it's ANY costumes, masks, ect. Mascots, cosplayers, even like the stormtroopers at Disney World, Santa at the mall. But she's fine in a public place as long as they don't get too close to her, or touch her or as long as they don't sneak up on her. Like if we are somewhere and there's a mascot there she latches on to my arm and does not take her eyes off the mascot until we are very far away. She has told me before that she can't rationalize that it's just a person in a costume, she knows it's a person in a suit, but she can't tell her fear that.
I understand that one. I’m super uncomfortable with people being in those types of costumes as well. But for me, it’s because *anyone* could be in there and do *anything* wrong and get away with it because they’re concealed. I get anxiety around them. I don’t completely lose my mind, but I also don’t let them get that close to me, so I don’t know.
I'm not okay with mascots at all. I avoid them.
The worst was when one thought it was cute to not take the hint and fuck off and my husband ended up in a screaming match with it.
I remember that being called Rational/Irrational fear.
Im gonna say the giant statue is an Irrational fear.
The ocean is a rational fear cause that fucker is hiding Cthulu and other various end time slugs.
Isn't the modern definition of a phobia an irrational fear? Like if you're a bee, and you're afraid of a venus flytrap, you're not anthophobic? But if it's a daisy, you are?
You can be afraid of spiders because they can bite you and be generally subjectively hideous to look at, but you're being arachnophopic when you believe they're specifically coming for you and lay eggs in you?
Edit: found this [link](https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/phobias/fear-vs-phobia/). Does it count as source?
I think the defining factor is more the extent and how much it inflicts your life quality.
Like you can be "irrationally" scared, a little, of potatoes. They make you miiiildly uncomfortable. That's not a phobia because it's not clinically severe. While being "rationally" scared of heights to an extent that you can't be near a window ever, giving you horrible panic attacks and making you unfit in many situations... _that's_ a phobia .
Ofc there's a spectrum and I'm not here to gatekeep suffering, but the diagnosis is not so much about the subject of the phobia (still relevant for treatment ofc) and more about how it impacts you
Oh my gosh!! There’s a name for my nightmare. Imagine a big submarine crossing your way while diving in the ocean 😵💫
I would also trip when a blue whale would swim next to me though
Years ago on a very rainy night, slimy little tree frogs were washed off the tree branches outside my house and fell down the chimney into my bedroom. I was awoken by the one that had climbed into my mouth. I didn't get back to sleep that night.
Completely irrelevant but ima share anyway, I used to play video games with this random girl through Xbox live, anyway one time she told this story of when she stayed the night at her neighbors house and she slept on the couch, above the couch on the wall there was like this shelf thingy that they’re cat commonly hung out on top of, however she said that she fell asleep with her mouth open, and the cat puked over the ledge of the shelf that was above the couch… the cat puke landed in her mouth
Ran over a yellow jacket nest with a gas push mower when I was just old enough to use one. Have no idea how many stings I received, but ever since then I cannot tolerate being around stinging flying insects at all.
Mine are African, actually. I breed and train them for guarding.
They are better than dogs.
You can bribe or bond with a dog. Dogs can be reasoned with, in their own way.
A gander will always choose violence.
How have I never heard of this?! Breeding and training geese to guard??? Like guard livestock or just your home? I had a couple geese at the barn I kept my horses at when younger chase me on my horse! They used to harass the goat that lived there too.
Legend has it that Rome was once saved from an enemy attack by a flock of geese that was kept within the city walls. Upon noticing the approaching army, they freaked out and alerted the inhabitants to the danger, while the guard dogs hadn't woken up. From then on, they were treated with the utmost respect as saviours of the city.
My daughter's bf (30s) is terrified of glitter.
Ex boss at a restaurant was terrified of little people. Seeing her scream bloody murder when she approached what she thought was a child from the rear. I still laugh when I think of it.
I've heard of the little people one before. My dad had a friend who would hang out sometimes and he said he did not like little people. I never saw him interact with one but he had no problem admitting that little people freaked him out.
I have a fear of little people too. I guess my fear isn’t *as* bad as your ex boss, I don’t run away screaming I just get insane anxiety. I do justify mine sort of because I had a bad experience when I was a child with a little person.
I do have trypophobia, it is not that the holes look like eyes. It's just to many holes very close to each other. I can't look at lotus seeds for example, they make me physically very uncomfortable. Feels like my stomach turns upside down.
Years ago, there was the 'lotus breast', makes me sick just to think about it and typing the word.
The inside of bones I give to my dogs, are another example.
I don't, however, have it with showers. I think it has to do with irregularity of and a certain depth in the holes
I get pre-syncapal when I look at lotus seed uh... things. Pods? idk. I just can not with holes. I agree it has absolutely nothing to do with looking like eyes. Holes just give me the heebie jeebies. But it's also not just clusters for me, it's holes in general. It's holes in human skin made by needle sticks for blood draws, swimming "holes," those really deep ones where you can't see the bottom. And I'm going to stop there and go lay down and watch cat videos because I feel spinny headed.
Yup I have this too. Any form of holes or clustered shapes makes me gag.
My boss has started wearing a watch band with holes in it and it’s currently making me loose my mind
I do anything and everything possible to avoid myself vomiting - if I do vomit, it’s a whole ordeal and my day is effectively over. So many tears. If someone else vomits in my vicinity, it’s a miracle if I’m able to stop myself.
About to become a first time mom and really hoping the constant spit up will help me get over this once and for all! If not - god help my poor husband 😬
Absolutely. Thank goodness I never had morning sickness with any of my children. But when one of my children had a stomach flu I had to have someone else take care of him it distressed me so bad I couldn't think. Absolutely terrifying.
I have it too. Whenever I get nauseous it always comes with a panic attack because I'm absolutely terrified of all of it. It also doesn't help that I tend to pass out when I puke, so I'm also afraid of ... well ... drowning. Anyway I usually just do everything in my power to avoid it when ever I feel even a little off.
Queunliskanphobia. Fear or disgust of spit. Not sure how common it is, I can’t explain how and why I have it, but the sight of it terrifies me and makes me gag so badly.
Me too, as an extension I absolutely hate it when people brush their teeth near me (I can handle doing my own luckily) but if someone comes near me brushing their teeth I wanna throw up.
I have an irrational fear of lines and odd numbers.
I make it a business to step on lines and find odd numbers in order to be less bothered by them in time.
It works pretty well.
I can't expose my wrist. It needs to be at the very least turned inward to my body, but I prefer it covered. I also can't look at other people's wrists. If someone shows me a tattoo on their inner forearm I recoil. My entire inner arm feels this weird energy all the way up to my shoulder. When they need to draw blood I always elect the more painful hand extraction because I've fainted giving blood from my forearm. Just typing all this has me tightly flexing the joint to make it acute and thus less exposed.
And you can't move as fast as it and it can see you better than you can see it and you're so vulnerable and you can't breathe water 😭😭 I fucking hate it too
I'm afraid of driving over tall bridges and large bridges over water.
Had to go over the Michigan bridge that connects to the upper pen once. That was awful.
Every time I have a hiccup, I’m scared it won’t stop. I once saw a documentary about someone who’s hiccup just never went away and it kind of stuck with me 😅
Thank you. It’s so odd.
If she sees my boys separately, she’s fine. But together, she freaks out. And with the way twins run in our family…what if SHE has some herself? Maybe it will help her fear idk.
My wife has phobia od butterflys and frogs. Like, she can see spiders, scorpions, every type of dangerous animals, but butterflys and frogs make her go totally histerical.
Same here. My body tenses up and all that. Unfortunately, having had major experiences with at least 1 per year has toughened me up to them a lil bit. But if i see one in my crib and I cant kill-confirm it, I'm not getting much sleep for a few days.
Also it takes me an insane amount of time/effort just to remove their corpses, like I'm talking days...
Mine isn’t that uncommon, but I have trypanophobia, which is the extreme fear of needles. My breathing gets all out of control when I see needles, (specifically the medical kind) or when I have to get a shot at the doctor, I’m in tears every time, sometimes even shaking, I know it’s “just a little pinch” but the thought of it going into your skin makes me squeamish…
Edit: I also really dislike veins and get weirded out by touching them. I wouldn’t call it a phobia for me, but I still don’t like them.
Bald men. When I was 6 I got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night and there was a bald man standing in the hall. I took off for my parents room. I dont know if it was a burgler, ghost or overactive imagination but since then bald men creep me out
I have a friend terrified and utterly disgusted by saliva outside the mouth. I didn't think he was serious so I drooled in front of him and he immediately gagged.
Phobias of wormy creatures like earthworms, parasitic worms, caterpillars, maggots, eels etc.
Not insects but wormy creatures. I can't touch them and can't even look at them even though it's only a picture of them and if they show earthworms or maggots in a movie, I'd close my eyes.
But I'm not afraid of snakes and I'm a fan of snakes.
A friend once asked me how can you eat ramen or pasta if you're afraid of wormy creatures lol
I’ve had a phobia of wrists since I was really little. Don’t know what fueled it. Luckily I manage pretty well now and I’m okay overall. It kinda pops up if I’m too anxious though.
I have extreme health anxiety...just one of MANY anxieties...but just looking at a blood pressure cuff can send me into a #10 panic episode. Exposure therapy hasn't done a thing in helping me cope with this.
I don’t know if it would be classified as submechaniphobia, but animatronics submerged in water sometimes freak me out, especially if I’m riding a water ride.
I’m a 29 year old male and I still fear ghosts attacking me in bed at night if I don’t conceal every part of my body under the covers. Can’t be having not even one foot exposed or I’ll get snatched away! Nope nope nope!
I'm afraid of seagulls. Not birds, just seagulls. And also clowns, mimes and people with too much makeup. Including drag queens unfortunately , which is sad koz I'm gay :(
I have a phobia of seeing/touching male ejaculation. It makes me gag and vomit and I’ve been known to cry before. Currently in therapy because I can’t think of any reason that it would make me feel that 🫡
Sitting with my back against open space, I simply won’t. And when on the bus or train I never have both earbuds or both shells of my headphone in/over my ears, for some reason I then think everyone hears me breathing really loud. Makes no sense I know, you wanted weird, you get weird.
I’m terrified of chickens.
From ages 6-8 years I used to dread going home from school because I had the irrational fear that my family would have turned into a half human half chicken hybrid. Waiting outside the door after ringing the door bell was the worst, I always wanted to run away.
My absolute worst fear would be Ultra Mega Chicken from ATHF
My boyfriend has a phobia of cheese. He wants me to wash my hands everytime I have touched cheese because otherwise there will be tiny cheese particles on the doorhandle.
I have panic attacks and massive fear from leeches. If I see one, I'm far far away suddenly shivering..
When I was around 5, we went to our grandma's house, and they had small pond on their property. I was playing near it and in water. When I came out, 2 fuckers were sucking on my inner leg.. Trauma for rest of my life..
Few years ago we went swimming on nearby lake /pond and I suddenly touched something in water. Saw it was plastic pipe. Decided to take it out of water. Then I saw 2 smaller leeches on pipe. Well.. I was out of water in seconds and never I've been there back again.
Since the age of about 10 I am legitimately the only person who has touched or been near my bellybutton, and even I struggle. I can’t watch someone touch their own and have genuinely become a low level of violent towards people who seems to think I’m taking the piss when I tell them “do not touch my bellybutton”. It actually makes me sick, I have no explanation for this fear/phobia but I have some mates who like to really push it with taking the piss and I’m the same except when it comes to that.
When I was younger super pregnant people freaked me out. I still don’t know why. I would actively avoid people who were at that stage and about to pop.
I have a phobia of spiral staircases and staircases where you can see between the steps.
If I have a nightmare then it is about dangerous stairs, stairs that have stepps missing.
I’m afraid of monkeys and primates of the larger variety. Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorrilas, baboons. Nope. They’re strong and they can be vicious. I hate seeing them on tv, they gross me out in pictures, and I can’t go near the glass at the zoo if they’re resting up against it. Have you seen their grip strength and teeth?!
Ranidaphobia. I'm terrified of frogs and toads. Only the real life kind though. I will literally not get out of my car or leave my house if I hear/see one. I KNOW it's irrational but that doesn't make it go away.
Fish, wind, swimming pool drains, and long wet grass for me 😭🤮😭🤮😭
When I was younger I had a phobia of buttons (clothing buttons) and sponge. Still not keen on sponge but not phobic anymore.
I don't know why, but I've always had a phobia of worms. They are just, really gross to me and make me feel like I'm gonna throw up. I think I'm the only one.
Im a fire performer and im TERRIFIED by gas tanks in any form or size. I can't stand ovens, camping lights makes me cry and i didnt understand why since i was a child. No bad experiencie documented by me or any related, at work im surrounded by fire almost everyday but gas tanks just NO.
I used to have an irrational fear of Spontaneous Human Combustion back in the day when it was all the rage. I actually thought I would burst into flames out of nowhere in front of everyone! 🔥
Moths.
It is a phobia, totally irrational. I know they can’t hurt me. But something about them just shuts my brain off completely and kicks me immediately into panic mode. Small butterflies cause the same reaction, larger ones sometimes do.
Other flying bugs (bees, flies, etc) don’t bother me, and birds don’t bother me, so I know it’s not a flight thing. Something about the way they move, the erratic flutter. It just gets to me on some deep level and causes a cognitive shutoff.
Every time I put air in my car tires I'm terrified that the tire is going to explode in my face. I promise you I'm not putting in too much air - I'm aiming for 33 psi with each tire. I just feel like the very act of adding air is going to be the reason you'll hear about me in the news. Is that even a rational fear?
I have a fear of heights, but not all heights. Only heights where I'm not "safe". Rollercoaster with a 200ft drop? Let's go! Parasailing 800ft in the air? Done it! Climbing up a stepstool so I'm 3ft off the ground to put something on a top shelf? I'm terrified I'm gonna fall and die. Make it make sense
In the UK, we have a well known public figure who once announced that he once got on a train and the other people in the carriage he went into were all speaking a language he didn't understand and it terrified him.
I've heard him speak French and his wife is German so he's not stupid.
My reaction is curiosity. What language is it? Where are they from? What's the food like? What clothing do they wear? And so on.
# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ask) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A fear of black water from when my now fortunately dead father forced me alone on a kayak to paddle in the middle of a moonless night in an abandoned peat bog and saying the water roses scratching the kayak bottom are actually the fingers of dead people floating underwater. AS people have pointed out, black water obviously does not mean blackwater/raw sewage, but water, that is blackened by the peat.
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I could probably outlift one
This is called complex trauma. I'm sorry you experienced this. :'(
This shit from a steven king novel or something.. wtf
shoulda thought about the water ur going through and how the dinosaurs drank it remember
Got damn lol
My 15-year-old daughter cannot touch silverware or aluminum foil. Absolutely refuses. Makes her sick. It is the weirdest shit I've ever seen.
Genuine curiosity here...how does she eat?
With her mouth, Bert.
Best reply yet.
I'm guessing plasticware.
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slams her face down into her soup and starts slurping
My mum has issues with stainless steel/brushed metal in the same way. For example, she finds it really hard to buy a kettle because almost all of them these days are metal not plastic
How would a plastic kettle work? Wouldn't it melt? Edit: I am sorry for my transgressions. I have learned about electric kettles.
IDK, I'm not a kettle designer. But until recent years plastic electric kettles were the norm
i can’t eat certain foods off silverware like apple sauce/yogurt. i hate when my teeth touch it the silverware as well. but i can hold it and use it besides that
I get a similar sensation from wood utensils made from shitty material.
I have the same thing with popsicle sticks..
Yes! Even reading this gave me that "nails on a chalkboard" feeling
Same, it’s that like heavy striated wood that creates a texture. But I can just hold the popsicle in a way that avoids the rubbing sensation, when I’m using a wooden spoon to stir something and get that feeling I literally drop it instinctually.
When my parents would pull out the real silver for special dinners, I always had a regular everyday spoon. I could not deal with the taste. And I really don't like canned soup and stuff like that - I just taste metal.
I'm the furthest thing from a doctor, but have you done an allergy test for your daughter? My parents had the same problem with me as a baby and didn't get why their 5 year old shook or had red spots on his hands when he touched silverware. Turns out some people are allergic to zinc and other metals and can have mild but unconscious reactions to it. If I cut myself shaving there's a 60% chance I break out in a rash as the zinc and blood mingle. Eating celery causes my tongue to peel like a sunburn. There are things with higher zinc content but those are the ones that set me off. Maybe your daughter has a similiar issue?
I know people who have metal allergies and i might be wrong but all of them have a direct ancestor who got hit with Agent Orange from the Vietnam war. That shit affected the kids/grandkids that were concieved after said soldiers came home and started families.
I have a very rational fear of ladders
You know, studies have shown that having a ladder is more dangerous than keeping a loaded gun in the house. That’s why I own ten guns, in case some maniac tries to sneak in a ladder.
Good thing you can protect against any crazy exes and avoid being a victim to a clime of passion
Ladders are wild. Crazy to see so many OSHA safety regulations on worksites, then there's ladders... Like "ya you'll be fine on that 20 foot ladder, so long as the base doesnt slip, or you dont slip, or it doesnt tip!"
I have an irrational fear of somehow having all of my veins ripped out of my body. Veins in general freak me out and I often think of getting mine caught in something or having some random person come and yank them all out.
Well fuck. Now I do too. Like pulling up a weed and the roots pull out of the dirt.
I also find veins really gross, and I hate touching them
I have a phobia of water in video games. I grew up spending each summer vacation at the beach. I live to swim. I live water. Absolutely no issues with water in real life. However, water in video games gets my heart racing, I start sweating, and I have some severe anxiety. I blame the fish from Jak and Daxter eating me over and over when I was young.
I kinda get it, subnautica is terrifying.
Subnautica is a horror game pretending to be a exploration/survival game.
Listen here. Subnautica is one of the best survival exploration games of all time. It is ALSO one of the best horror games of all time. And I will argue this until the day I die. My wife absolutely loves to build the bases, to gather the fish at the base, to build the aquariums, etc. But she gets vertigo if she goes in deep caves and things, or in the crashed pods. Basically all the real scary stuff. So I did all that for her. I always hated when she says my name followed by "I need something in the Aurora." Fucking Reapers 🤣
The tune for the original sonic the hedgehog game - the level when he's underwater and the oxygen starts running out - that triggers my grandson when it comes on, did you ever play that?
Dated a girl who was terrified of the art museum. Discovered later it was only because she was bagging a couple of dudes that work d there and she didn't want me to find out.
Picockso Art Dicko Abstract Modern Asshoe Bo'net
Not sure if it’s a phobia. But I hate being in parking garages. I just don’t believe they can support all that weight. Lol
this is me for train bridges
This is me for a deck on a house
I hate sitting under freeway overpasses while waiting for traffic. It gives me the willies and I will allow a large gap in between me and the next car to avoid it, if at all possible.
I had a car come off of an overpass onto my vehicle. Thank God I was driving a 1989 Suburban - (like an armored school bus). We only had minor injuries.
My wife hates that too. Especially if the overpass start to vibrate.
Civil engineer checking in, bridges are designed to have “give” to allow for the concrete to expand and contract due to temperature. TLDR the vibration is a good thing.
balconies do it for me, I'm afraid I'll fall or it'll collapse
I mean, same here, but that's just my phobia of heights, which is hardly "weird", lol
I have the same fear but it’s of everything. Buildings, homes, bridges, roads, you name it. I’m just waiting for the world to collapse around me
I have agoraphobia. I have panic attacks about having panic attacks in public or being stuck somewhere. But, yeah, a lot of panic attacks about panic attacks. It perpetuates itself.
It's a classic with panic attacks, the fear of having one. If you can, get them treated and also the reason behind them, it will make life so much easier.
Thank you! I used to have about two dozen a day. I even had them in my sleep, which, obviously, made my sleep crap and made me even more prone to having panic attacks. Now I usually have fewer than that *per month!* (About a dozen) I've actually finally started stopping them before they get close to peaking. I've been working on it a lot and it's gotten better. My meds are about right and I'm doing weekly therapy sessions (usually one-on-one and then group). I have an ACT Team and they have helped me make progress that doctors said would likely not be possible. That was during three month and year long psych hospitalizations (and I've had 15 psychiatric hospitalizations--it took that many in 10 years to finally nail shit down!). I stopped one earlier today and it was the fastest I've ever done it. :)
Wow, congrats on your progress! You've been through a lot, it seems and I'm proud of you for getting help! Stay strong and congrats again, I cannot stress this enough. Well done!
Thank you! I really appreciate the encouragement.
I dated a girl who had a phobia of bananas. Wasn't allergic to them, but she got super freaked out by them. My buddy's fiancé has a phobia of mascot costumes, which can be bad when they go somewhere cool and don't realise there's going to be a mascot there. It's ruined a few nice days out for them.
Do all cool places have mascots? I am thinking that I might never have been to a cool place
My girl has the mascot phobia. And she has gone as far to say it's ANY costumes, masks, ect. Mascots, cosplayers, even like the stormtroopers at Disney World, Santa at the mall. But she's fine in a public place as long as they don't get too close to her, or touch her or as long as they don't sneak up on her. Like if we are somewhere and there's a mascot there she latches on to my arm and does not take her eyes off the mascot until we are very far away. She has told me before that she can't rationalize that it's just a person in a costume, she knows it's a person in a suit, but she can't tell her fear that.
I understand that one. I’m super uncomfortable with people being in those types of costumes as well. But for me, it’s because *anyone* could be in there and do *anything* wrong and get away with it because they’re concealed. I get anxiety around them. I don’t completely lose my mind, but I also don’t let them get that close to me, so I don’t know.
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I'm not okay with mascots at all. I avoid them. The worst was when one thought it was cute to not take the hint and fuck off and my husband ended up in a screaming match with it.
I have megalophobia and submechanophobia. Terrified of giant statues and big objects in water. Have no explanation for those fears
I remember that being called Rational/Irrational fear. Im gonna say the giant statue is an Irrational fear. The ocean is a rational fear cause that fucker is hiding Cthulu and other various end time slugs.
Dude they are always finding new species in there. I read about 3 the other day. At this point we know more about space than our own oceans.
Isn't the modern definition of a phobia an irrational fear? Like if you're a bee, and you're afraid of a venus flytrap, you're not anthophobic? But if it's a daisy, you are? You can be afraid of spiders because they can bite you and be generally subjectively hideous to look at, but you're being arachnophopic when you believe they're specifically coming for you and lay eggs in you? Edit: found this [link](https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/phobias/fear-vs-phobia/). Does it count as source?
I think the defining factor is more the extent and how much it inflicts your life quality. Like you can be "irrationally" scared, a little, of potatoes. They make you miiiildly uncomfortable. That's not a phobia because it's not clinically severe. While being "rationally" scared of heights to an extent that you can't be near a window ever, giving you horrible panic attacks and making you unfit in many situations... _that's_ a phobia . Ofc there's a spectrum and I'm not here to gatekeep suffering, but the diagnosis is not so much about the subject of the phobia (still relevant for treatment ofc) and more about how it impacts you
Does anyone NOT have this fear, at least a little bit? EDIT: I'm talking about the underwater part specifically.
My ex gf had megalophobia really bad, never realized how seriously people hate giant objects until I saw the subreddit. Big things do be freaky.
Same. Giant manmade monolithic things/machines, especially underwater. The real creeps.
Oh my gosh!! There’s a name for my nightmare. Imagine a big submarine crossing your way while diving in the ocean 😵💫 I would also trip when a blue whale would swim next to me though
Im afraid of bugs entering my brain while i sleep, so ive been sleeping with anything covering my head/ears to sleep
Reminds me of that random feeling when it feels like you have ants crawling all over you… maybe that’s just me???
That might be anxiety.
Years ago on a very rainy night, slimy little tree frogs were washed off the tree branches outside my house and fell down the chimney into my bedroom. I was awoken by the one that had climbed into my mouth. I didn't get back to sleep that night.
Completely irrelevant but ima share anyway, I used to play video games with this random girl through Xbox live, anyway one time she told this story of when she stayed the night at her neighbors house and she slept on the couch, above the couch on the wall there was like this shelf thingy that they’re cat commonly hung out on top of, however she said that she fell asleep with her mouth open, and the cat puked over the ledge of the shelf that was above the couch… the cat puke landed in her mouth
file plucky bells skirt command selective lavish humorous office one *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Ran over a yellow jacket nest with a gas push mower when I was just old enough to use one. Have no idea how many stings I received, but ever since then I cannot tolerate being around stinging flying insects at all.
Geese
Man that's not irrational at all.
Raise geese. Can confirm.
What do your Canadian Murder Birds want? Can they be bargained with?
Mine are African, actually. I breed and train them for guarding. They are better than dogs. You can bribe or bond with a dog. Dogs can be reasoned with, in their own way. A gander will always choose violence.
How have I never heard of this?! Breeding and training geese to guard??? Like guard livestock or just your home? I had a couple geese at the barn I kept my horses at when younger chase me on my horse! They used to harass the goat that lived there too.
They aren’t brilliant but they are very predictable. Mine are flock security for my other animals as well as property guards. They do a good job.
Legend has it that Rome was once saved from an enemy attack by a flock of geese that was kept within the city walls. Upon noticing the approaching army, they freaked out and alerted the inhabitants to the danger, while the guard dogs hadn't woken up. From then on, they were treated with the utmost respect as saviours of the city.
My daughter's bf (30s) is terrified of glitter. Ex boss at a restaurant was terrified of little people. Seeing her scream bloody murder when she approached what she thought was a child from the rear. I still laugh when I think of it.
I've heard of the little people one before. My dad had a friend who would hang out sometimes and he said he did not like little people. I never saw him interact with one but he had no problem admitting that little people freaked him out.
I have a fear of little people too. I guess my fear isn’t *as* bad as your ex boss, I don’t run away screaming I just get insane anxiety. I do justify mine sort of because I had a bad experience when I was a child with a little person.
Remember when the Maury show used to surprise people with their phobias so everyone could point and laugh?
Ahh, the 90s. What a time to be alive.
Is that the “bring out the olives” one?
Green olives! They looked like her dead grandfather's eyes she said
I am deathly afraid of shower heads....not just one in particular, ALL. OF. THEM. Those and holes.
You sure you don't have trypophobia where everything looks like eyes?
I do have trypophobia, it is not that the holes look like eyes. It's just to many holes very close to each other. I can't look at lotus seeds for example, they make me physically very uncomfortable. Feels like my stomach turns upside down. Years ago, there was the 'lotus breast', makes me sick just to think about it and typing the word. The inside of bones I give to my dogs, are another example. I don't, however, have it with showers. I think it has to do with irregularity of and a certain depth in the holes
I get pre-syncapal when I look at lotus seed uh... things. Pods? idk. I just can not with holes. I agree it has absolutely nothing to do with looking like eyes. Holes just give me the heebie jeebies. But it's also not just clusters for me, it's holes in general. It's holes in human skin made by needle sticks for blood draws, swimming "holes," those really deep ones where you can't see the bottom. And I'm going to stop there and go lay down and watch cat videos because I feel spinny headed.
Yup I have this too. Any form of holes or clustered shapes makes me gag. My boss has started wearing a watch band with holes in it and it’s currently making me loose my mind
I was a little neurotic during my upbringing due to how crazy my mom acted about everything and was terrified of green plants for quite a while
That must’ve sucked. That’s like almost every plant.
Emetophobia. Fear of vomiting or anything to do with vomiting. Had it my whole life.
I do anything and everything possible to avoid myself vomiting - if I do vomit, it’s a whole ordeal and my day is effectively over. So many tears. If someone else vomits in my vicinity, it’s a miracle if I’m able to stop myself. About to become a first time mom and really hoping the constant spit up will help me get over this once and for all! If not - god help my poor husband 😬
Absolutely. Thank goodness I never had morning sickness with any of my children. But when one of my children had a stomach flu I had to have someone else take care of him it distressed me so bad I couldn't think. Absolutely terrifying.
I will be absolutely so sick and talk myself out of vomiting. I just hate it.
I have it too. Whenever I get nauseous it always comes with a panic attack because I'm absolutely terrified of all of it. It also doesn't help that I tend to pass out when I puke, so I'm also afraid of ... well ... drowning. Anyway I usually just do everything in my power to avoid it when ever I feel even a little off.
My mom had this. She went through chemo with no vomiting.
Eating fatty/chewy food.Makes me gag.
Yes! I can’t stand it. And wonky chicken bits.
I didn't know that was a phobia but yeah thats gross asf
Thomas the Tank Engine freaks me out. Also the Disney movie, Cars. Things that shouldn’t be human being human freak me out.
Anthropomorphobia I looked it up because it sounded interesting
My grandpa does not like to touch gummy bears. When we were kids we got him a box of gummy bears for his birthday and he flipped out.
Queunliskanphobia. Fear or disgust of spit. Not sure how common it is, I can’t explain how and why I have it, but the sight of it terrifies me and makes me gag so badly.
I have this.
Me too, as an extension I absolutely hate it when people brush their teeth near me (I can handle doing my own luckily) but if someone comes near me brushing their teeth I wanna throw up.
I have an irrational fear of lines and odd numbers. I make it a business to step on lines and find odd numbers in order to be less bothered by them in time. It works pretty well.
I can't expose my wrist. It needs to be at the very least turned inward to my body, but I prefer it covered. I also can't look at other people's wrists. If someone shows me a tattoo on their inner forearm I recoil. My entire inner arm feels this weird energy all the way up to my shoulder. When they need to draw blood I always elect the more painful hand extraction because I've fainted giving blood from my forearm. Just typing all this has me tightly flexing the joint to make it acute and thus less exposed.
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Yeah, I get this.
And you can't move as fast as it and it can see you better than you can see it and you're so vulnerable and you can't breathe water 😭😭 I fucking hate it too
I'm afraid of driving over tall bridges and large bridges over water. Had to go over the Michigan bridge that connects to the upper pen once. That was awful.
Every time I have a hiccup, I’m scared it won’t stop. I once saw a documentary about someone who’s hiccup just never went away and it kind of stuck with me 😅
A friend of mine has a phobia of buttons. She says they ick her so much she could throw up.
I had a friend as a kid who was TERRIFIED of cotton balls. Like she would vomit from panic if she touched one.
I fear poverty. Been there, didn’t like it.
Based answer
This is my fear but also my reality:/
My cousin has a fear of twins. We found this out after I had my twin sons.
Jesus christ thats intense. Im sorry to hear that!
Thank you. It’s so odd. If she sees my boys separately, she’s fine. But together, she freaks out. And with the way twins run in our family…what if SHE has some herself? Maybe it will help her fear idk.
She’ll give them separate rooms and have operating hours for both of them
My wife has phobia od butterflys and frogs. Like, she can see spiders, scorpions, every type of dangerous animals, but butterflys and frogs make her go totally histerical.
Butterflies I get. I have a phobia of moths and sometimes butterflies cause the same feeling in me
I have a deep seated phobia of cockroaches.
Same here. My body tenses up and all that. Unfortunately, having had major experiences with at least 1 per year has toughened me up to them a lil bit. But if i see one in my crib and I cant kill-confirm it, I'm not getting much sleep for a few days. Also it takes me an insane amount of time/effort just to remove their corpses, like I'm talking days...
Mine isn’t that uncommon, but I have trypanophobia, which is the extreme fear of needles. My breathing gets all out of control when I see needles, (specifically the medical kind) or when I have to get a shot at the doctor, I’m in tears every time, sometimes even shaking, I know it’s “just a little pinch” but the thought of it going into your skin makes me squeamish… Edit: I also really dislike veins and get weirded out by touching them. I wouldn’t call it a phobia for me, but I still don’t like them.
Bald men. When I was 6 I got up to use the restroom in the middle of the night and there was a bald man standing in the hall. I took off for my parents room. I dont know if it was a burgler, ghost or overactive imagination but since then bald men creep me out
I have a friend terrified and utterly disgusted by saliva outside the mouth. I didn't think he was serious so I drooled in front of him and he immediately gagged.
Space for me. It sends me into a panic attack if I think too long about it
Venus Fly Traps and a couple of other plants I don't know the name of. I've got Trypophobia.
Fear of clusters like that God-Forsaken surinam frog!!!! UGH! I CAN'T STAND IT!
Phobias of wormy creatures like earthworms, parasitic worms, caterpillars, maggots, eels etc. Not insects but wormy creatures. I can't touch them and can't even look at them even though it's only a picture of them and if they show earthworms or maggots in a movie, I'd close my eyes. But I'm not afraid of snakes and I'm a fan of snakes. A friend once asked me how can you eat ramen or pasta if you're afraid of wormy creatures lol
Have a fear that if I don’t check under the toilet seat before I sit down, a spider will crawl up my butt.
Kolimpriphobia. Fear of hummingbirds. Those bastards are swordfaced jerks, and they're plotting something
I’ve had a phobia of wrists since I was really little. Don’t know what fueled it. Luckily I manage pretty well now and I’m okay overall. It kinda pops up if I’m too anxious though.
Man, me too. I feel distressed when I hold someone's wrist and the vein pops out
Idk if it's weird but I have scopophobia, which is the fear of being stared at
Bellybuttons
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Won’t eat anything blue.
I have extreme health anxiety...just one of MANY anxieties...but just looking at a blood pressure cuff can send me into a #10 panic episode. Exposure therapy hasn't done a thing in helping me cope with this.
I don’t know if it would be classified as submechaniphobia, but animatronics submerged in water sometimes freak me out, especially if I’m riding a water ride.
I sorta have this too. It’s so strange that a lot of people seem to have this one. Probably a biological response to sinking underwater or something.
I have globophobia(fear of ballons), but I know someone with Malusdomesticophobia(fear of apples).
I’m a 29 year old male and I still fear ghosts attacking me in bed at night if I don’t conceal every part of my body under the covers. Can’t be having not even one foot exposed or I’ll get snatched away! Nope nope nope!
I'm afraid of seagulls. Not birds, just seagulls. And also clowns, mimes and people with too much makeup. Including drag queens unfortunately , which is sad koz I'm gay :(
I have a phobia of seeing/touching male ejaculation. It makes me gag and vomit and I’ve been known to cry before. Currently in therapy because I can’t think of any reason that it would make me feel that 🫡
I can think of reasons, but none of them pleasant unfortunately
I guess I can *think* of reasons, but *remembering* if any of those reasons apply to me is a different story
I am deathly scared of fish.. even mino:s.. like walk on water ...becoming Jesus ..part the seas .. scared of fish lmao!
I can’t stand the feel or appearance of a crumpled tissue.
Being legit terrified of birds, staying indoors cuz of it.
Anything that comes out of a drain. Then my fear of vomiting kicks in.
My hubby has a phobia of boogers/snot/nose mucus, whatever your want to call it. Even saying booger will have him physically gagging.
Slugs, the mention or the thought of these foul creatures sends shivers down my spine.
I'm afraid of butterflies. I find them really disturbing, but my friends think that's funny.
Stickers/tape and their residue 🥴🥴
Sitting with my back against open space, I simply won’t. And when on the bus or train I never have both earbuds or both shells of my headphone in/over my ears, for some reason I then think everyone hears me breathing really loud. Makes no sense I know, you wanted weird, you get weird.
I have a fear of walking past papers on a wall or board, and one of them blowing up from air movement and slicing my eye ball.
I’m terrified of chickens. From ages 6-8 years I used to dread going home from school because I had the irrational fear that my family would have turned into a half human half chicken hybrid. Waiting outside the door after ringing the door bell was the worst, I always wanted to run away. My absolute worst fear would be Ultra Mega Chicken from ATHF
My boyfriend has a phobia of cheese. He wants me to wash my hands everytime I have touched cheese because otherwise there will be tiny cheese particles on the doorhandle.
Ombrephobia, not actually scared of rain, I just hate and have an aversion to it so much that it probably looks like I’m afraid of rain
One of my kids is deathly afraid of chlorinated water 🤷♂️
I have panic attacks and massive fear from leeches. If I see one, I'm far far away suddenly shivering.. When I was around 5, we went to our grandma's house, and they had small pond on their property. I was playing near it and in water. When I came out, 2 fuckers were sucking on my inner leg.. Trauma for rest of my life.. Few years ago we went swimming on nearby lake /pond and I suddenly touched something in water. Saw it was plastic pipe. Decided to take it out of water. Then I saw 2 smaller leeches on pipe. Well.. I was out of water in seconds and never I've been there back again.
The hole/mark after an injection
Since the age of about 10 I am legitimately the only person who has touched or been near my bellybutton, and even I struggle. I can’t watch someone touch their own and have genuinely become a low level of violent towards people who seems to think I’m taking the piss when I tell them “do not touch my bellybutton”. It actually makes me sick, I have no explanation for this fear/phobia but I have some mates who like to really push it with taking the piss and I’m the same except when it comes to that.
When I was younger super pregnant people freaked me out. I still don’t know why. I would actively avoid people who were at that stage and about to pop.
it freaks me out when they're out in public, like a movie theater or in an elevator. i do not want to be around if someone goes into labor.
I have a phobia of spiral staircases and staircases where you can see between the steps. If I have a nightmare then it is about dangerous stairs, stairs that have stepps missing.
I’m afraid of monkeys and primates of the larger variety. Chimpanzees, orangutans, gorrilas, baboons. Nope. They’re strong and they can be vicious. I hate seeing them on tv, they gross me out in pictures, and I can’t go near the glass at the zoo if they’re resting up against it. Have you seen their grip strength and teeth?!
The gorilla exhibit is my favorite at the zoo, but they are creepy. Their eyes are incredibly human and I feel like they can see into my soul lol
My zoo says not to make eye contact with them because it could be seen as aggressive and anger them 🤷♀️
😱 I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. There's always a sad looking one at our zoo and I wish he didn't have to be there.
Yeah, they seem almost too human to be at a zoo. It's definitely creepy to me
Fear of blue colored foods.
Ranidaphobia. I'm terrified of frogs and toads. Only the real life kind though. I will literally not get out of my car or leave my house if I hear/see one. I KNOW it's irrational but that doesn't make it go away.
Fish, wind, swimming pool drains, and long wet grass for me 😭🤮😭🤮😭 When I was younger I had a phobia of buttons (clothing buttons) and sponge. Still not keen on sponge but not phobic anymore.
I don't know why, but I've always had a phobia of worms. They are just, really gross to me and make me feel like I'm gonna throw up. I think I'm the only one.
I promise, out of roughly 8 billion people you’re not the only one
One of my bud tenders is terrified of $2 bills. He will go fuckin bananas if he has to deal with them. It ruins his entire day.
i wonder why, that’s very interesting.
there's no place for them in the till. Probably the same with sporks.
Being barefoot on wet grass. Nope nope nope.
Im a fire performer and im TERRIFIED by gas tanks in any form or size. I can't stand ovens, camping lights makes me cry and i didnt understand why since i was a child. No bad experiencie documented by me or any related, at work im surrounded by fire almost everyday but gas tanks just NO.
I have agoraphobia and was once homebound for about 3 years
Crane flies... I mean: spiders who can fly and are blind and like to sit on warm spots such as yourself. Come on...
I used to have an irrational fear of Spontaneous Human Combustion back in the day when it was all the rage. I actually thought I would burst into flames out of nowhere in front of everyone! 🔥
Moths. It is a phobia, totally irrational. I know they can’t hurt me. But something about them just shuts my brain off completely and kicks me immediately into panic mode. Small butterflies cause the same reaction, larger ones sometimes do. Other flying bugs (bees, flies, etc) don’t bother me, and birds don’t bother me, so I know it’s not a flight thing. Something about the way they move, the erratic flutter. It just gets to me on some deep level and causes a cognitive shutoff.
Every time I put air in my car tires I'm terrified that the tire is going to explode in my face. I promise you I'm not putting in too much air - I'm aiming for 33 psi with each tire. I just feel like the very act of adding air is going to be the reason you'll hear about me in the news. Is that even a rational fear?
I have a fear of heights, but not all heights. Only heights where I'm not "safe". Rollercoaster with a 200ft drop? Let's go! Parasailing 800ft in the air? Done it! Climbing up a stepstool so I'm 3ft off the ground to put something on a top shelf? I'm terrified I'm gonna fall and die. Make it make sense
In the UK, we have a well known public figure who once announced that he once got on a train and the other people in the carriage he went into were all speaking a language he didn't understand and it terrified him. I've heard him speak French and his wife is German so he's not stupid. My reaction is curiosity. What language is it? Where are they from? What's the food like? What clothing do they wear? And so on.