I don't really have any phobias, I am scared of a few things, but mostly, I have to be the brave one in the house. I really don't like big dogs (except Golden Retrievers), but my family is afraid, so I have to be brave. I don't like spiders, but the only one not afraid is my 3-y/o and I'm not about to let him deal with them. Cockroaches freak me out, and hubby is able to deal with them, but everything else is my job. My sister is happy to be a passenger in the car, but she has an incredible fear of driving. She's on her learners, and even looking at the road rules book or holding car keys makes her an anxious shaky mess. Hugs for all of you that suffer from those awful phobias!!
This thread makes me feel so grateful for being me. I don’t have any phobias or anxiety. There’s plenty of things that I don’t like but nothing close to this extent.
Same here. Terrified of birds and never go into those enclosed bird aviaries at the zoo etc. Funny thing though is that I love photographing birds but again at a distance. Nothing tame.
Oh I love to photograph them too - from a distance - and I think tame birds are creepier than wild ones!!
I don't really have any phobias, but as a child I HATED geese! We had a family that lived about a half of a mile down the road from us and whenever they went out of town, we had to take care of their animals. They had two or three geese that roamed the yard and would chase after us as kids hissing. I was always terrified of getting out of the car at their house until my Mom would chase them away. My Mom kept telling me if we ran at the geese they would be scared, but as a small child I just couldn't believe it.
Heights/Fear of Falling. I almost slipped off the side of Mesa Verde when I was a kid (thankfully my mom had a hold of my hand!) so now I just can't do heights. I'm slightly ok on our back deck, but I get the chills, heeby-geebies and can't breathe if I'm near anything out in the open. It's one of the reasons I don't do most roller coasters anymore, except for the Disney ones that are either dark or next to the ground, like Thunder Mountain. But I haven't let it stop me from doing things I would've regretted not doing. I have climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty (and also held up the line when taking the stairs down. oops.). I have taken a hot air balloon ride and was silently freaking out the whole time. And I hiked to the top of Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) in Norway and almost looked completely over the edge to the fjord 2,000 ft below. I'm most proud of that one. I also am claustrophobic. I can't even crawl underneath the bed to clean. Don't ask me to do a panic room because I'd most definitely panic. I've mentally trained myself to go on airplanes and subways without issue just because I don't have another choice. Yet I was once stuck in a NYC hotel elevator with 18 middle school students and two other adults. They wondered why I was making them all sit down until they saw how much extra space appeared. That was 20 minutes of sheer terror for me. Now I take the stairs if I can.
It's funny about the spider thing. I don't like them at all, but I decided I wouldn't be afraid of them after I saw the looks my friends received when they ran screaming out of our camp cabin because there was a spider in it. I then became the designated spider killer, and now they don't bother me anymore.
I guess I don't have any phobias. I pick up worms, photograph snakes, birds, etc. If we find spiders in the house, I usually will trap them with a glass and deposit them outside rather than killing them. We have bats hanging on the doors of our storage shed, and as long as they aren't flying around, I'm okay with them since they eat mosquitoes and we have millions of them. I also don't mind mice as long as they aren't dead, beheaded in a trap... I don't mind heights either.
Nope, no phobias. However, I'm not wild about birds because I was dive bombed by one in Miami. Silly me walked (1st mistake) through a park, and walked close to a tree for the shade (mistake #2) and a bird flew into/through my hair squawking. Also while I have no fear of needles, vaccines are fine, I have a history of passing out when I have blood drawn. Basically, leave my veins alone!
I don't think I have anything strong enough to be called a phobia. I hate spiders, but I'm not the kind of scared that prevents me from getting rid of them. They've just always creeped me out and they are not welcome in my house. Perhaps they've gotten the message somehow, because there rarely are any in my house. The worst thing is when someone posts a spider photo of online. I have dropped my phone while scrolling because someone shared a spider photo. Hmph! I also avoid looking at spiders in magazines and books. I get a little nervous driving across big or long bridges, but it's a totally reasonable response I think, especially for someone who grew up in southern California (therefore very knowledgeable about earthquakes, and familiar with news photos of collapsed freeway bridges). There's a very long and very narrow bridge -- one lane in each direction -- across the Potomac River. It's a more scenic route I can take from where I live in Fredericksburg up to Maryland or D.C. and that bridge takes my breath away, it's so scary. Even more so the morning I drove across it in the FOG!!! I can understand claustrophobia when I'm in a crowded elevator or something like that, but it doesn't stress me. And when I've walked on cliff edges and atop tall structures, I've avoided getting too near the edge, but again, I think that's wise, not an irrational fear. Interestingly, I've developed some fears a little bit since having kids. For instance, there are these cliffs in San Diego, right on the ocean, Sunset Cliffs, where my husband and I climbed 23 years ago with no fear or hesitation. I brought my kids there last month on our vacation, to show them the awesome view, and I was quite nervous, telling them we'd just walk out a short distance and stay seated, not climb around and risk falling.
Your geese maybe.... But overall? Geese are mean. They will chase you and try to bite you. Unlike ducks, they don't usually run away.
yep me, as stated many, many times (thank you naming fairy for reminding me everytime I post...). Oh and Santa too, practically a clown in my opinion. Less scared of spiders than I was. As a child I was terrified of caterpillars - big problem every spring as we had a giant grapevine near the garage that caterpillars loved! Every time we had to go somewhere, a giant meltdown would occur... A related note- my hub is turning 50 so a themed party has been organised- the theme being Fear and Loathing! I may end up dressed like a clown - maybe this will cure my terror...
Pretty much all of the above. LOL I don't like birds, except at a distance, either. One time, my grandson and I were in a pet shop and a big parrot was flying around loose. It decided it liked me and came up and attached it's huge beak to the back pocket of my jeans!! Cameron was screaming "my grandma hates birds and a parrot is hanging on her butt!!!" We still laugh so hard when we tell that story.
Snakes are my biggest fear. Although, one time a medium sized lizard got into our house and I reacted pretty badly, so maybe unexpected reptiles? I like to go see them at the zoo though, as I feel safe with the barrier.
Deep water that I can’t see the bottom of! If I’m on a huge boat it is bearable, but I would never be in a small boat in deep water or worse yet actually swim in deep water. No way!
I guess I'm weird - I love bridges and often go out of our way just to drive over a big one. The Sunshine Skyway is my favorite. New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia and that bridge in Charleston are both pretty cool, too. My dream is to someday climb the Sidney Harbour Bridge. Plus, I live in Pittsburgh, the City of Bridges! 446 bridges. You can't go anywhere without crossing a bridge.
New River Gorge Bridge is an hour from my house. I love it there!! Bridge Day in October is amazing...getting to walk on the bridge and watch people actually jump off of it!
