View Full Version : Weird fears or phobias?
I'm always fancinated with unusual and weird phobias and fears, or the more common ones, like fear of spiders or heights, but very extreme enough to cause panic attacks. I'm also facinatedby the fact that some of the weirder ones have actual clinical names. Do you guys have any or know of people who have them - weird ones or extreme ones? How do you/they deal with them? I don't really have any myself except maybe fear of mechanical failure (like on a plane or carnival ride as I don't trust most mechanics) and a fear of not being the person in control of something (driver, pilot, operator of things) - don't know if those are real phobias or not. I once knew a guy who had steam-phobia (can't remember it's clinical name). He was an engineer working on a coast guard steam ship, high pressure steam runs the power plants and engines, and it got so bad that he actually got discharged from the service. Also knew someone who was afraid of the color white - which also has a clinical name.
Here's a dictonary of phobias that has a very long list (A to Z) of very unusual phobias.
www.phobia-fear-release.com/phobia-dictionary.html
IshbelRobertson
4-25-13, 1:41pm
I have two bad phobias
Touching velvet fabric. I have had this phobia since I was a very young child. Can you imagine how bad it was when my Mum insisted on dressing us (sister, too!) in pretty velvet dresses in the winter?!
The other is PRGs (people of restricted growth)
I have two bad phobias
Touching velvet fabric. Haptodysphoria - An unpleasant sensation derived from touching certain objects. Common with fuzzy things like velvet
I have always found this interesting too Spartana. Some things are soooo strange and can't be explained, it makes you wonder if its in their genes! Or maybe an experience in their past lives??
I know people who go berzirk with snakes or spiders. DH has always had an extreme discomfort when something is swinging.....like a hanging lamp. He HAS to bring it to a perfectly still position before he can relax.
Ishbel........sorry if I'm a little dense..........were you being funny with the PRGs, or do you mean dwarfs? kids?
I absolutely hate certain materials on my skin, but it doesn't make me panic. Its just a severe physical discomfort.
Oh.....I guess I do have a bit of claustrophobia.
IshbelRobertson
4-25-13, 4:38pm
I mean dwarfs/midgets, not children!
I cannot describe the feelings of panic when I spot anyone of RG. one year I had three in my tutorial group. I found that a really difficult academic year.
I hate to watch any film, such as star wars, with midget characters. When I was a kid I hated midget circus clowns. I could never watch the sequences in the wizard of oz with the munchkins, either.
Spartana, thanks for giving a name to my velvet phobia. I wonder whether my midget phobia has a name?
Thanks for the explanation Ishbel.
Creepy-crawlies, dark places, and heights, are mine.
One of my kids is very uncomfortable around elderly people, while another is uncomfortable around those with special needs.
I used to be afraid of going under bridges, overpasses, skywalks, stuff like that. Total and uncontrolled panic attacks. When I was in my 40s I forced myself to go under those kinds of things and now I never even notice, which is nice because it was very embarrassing. Shudder.
However, I love all kinds of creepy-crawlies and just about nothing else bothers me.
Does cleaning the toilet count?
I have two bad phobias
Touching velvet fabric. I have had this phobia since I was a very young child. Can you imagine how bad it was when my Mum insisted on dressing us (sister, too!) in pretty velvet dresses in the winter?!
The other is PRGs (people of restricted growth)
I am the opposite about PRG. They fascinate me and I have sort of a thing for dwarf men (cough cough Peter Dinklage.)
My youngest has Aichmophobia "fear of sharp objects like knives or scissors". Its funny to ask him to unload the dishwasher. I'll come along behind him and find all the knives still in there. He did ask to learn how to sew so he could hem his pants and it suprised me that he'd hold a needle. He was fine with the needle but had to come find me to use the scissors to cut the thread.
I dislike clowns but I wouldn't call it a fear, just a disdain.
I don't know if there is a fancy name for it, but swimming pool drains freak me out. When I was a kid, I saw a segment on 20/20 (I think), about the dangers of pool drains. Things like kids getting their insides sucked out or drowning from suction pressure holding them under the water. The last time I really swam was maybe 10 years ago. I had access to a municipal fitness center due to my office being located in that town. They had a large lap pool that was only five feet deep at the most. If I couldn't get a lane on the edge of the pool, I usually didn't swim, as I did not want to be swimming in the middle of the pool over the drain. One time I decided to swim in a middle lane when it was the only one available. One lap did me in. I panicked when swimming over the drain in the middle of the pool. I've never swum so fast in my life.
Ugh. :|(
...I dislike clowns but I wouldn't call it a fear, just a disdain.
I amend my assertion that nothing bothers me much. Clowns totally creep me out. Nightmares tonight. Lordy.
In my defense, clowns have a history dating to ancient cultures of having the provenance of the trickster, often of a malicious nature.
Still.
I absolutely hate roaches and will just about run through a friggin brick wall to get away from them. Years ago I threw away a Dustbuster because it had vacuumed up a roach and in my mind I couldn't figure out a way to empty the Dustbuster without the roach coming back to life and jumping on my skin and biting me.
Even as I type this I know it's crazy, but that's my only real phobia, so hence I will give up a lot in my budget except the pest control guy's monthly appt at my house!
ToomuchStuff
4-26-13, 4:08am
I certainly wouldn't know about all fears, but I have had a fear of snakes for just about as long as I could remember. When I figured out what two instances started the fear, it diminished, but has never gone away (and since that time another incident happened, still panicked and ruined a good pair of pants, by jumping into a paint can, but MUCH less so)
After I figured out how it originated, I was around a friend who was a snake breeder, and I could actually be around them, but not handle them.
The only other fear I have, that has any debilitating effects, has both genetic and environmental causes. I have been working on that one for a LONG LONG time, and doubt I will be over it before I die.
Mighty Frugal
4-26-13, 12:06pm
My dh has a quirky phobia. He is 'afraid' of jewellery. He doesn't wear any and won't even touch it. He hates anything metallic and dangly and stuff that has coloured beads, stones, etc. Even my kids' little bubble gum machine rings etc. He tells me to 'get rid of that' as if it's a severed frog's head.
For me I am morbidly afraid of bugs/spiders. Enough to scream and do my 'spider dance' whenever I come across one. I run very very fast and scream very very loudly and people laugh and laugh
awakenedsoul
4-26-13, 12:23pm
I have some claustrophobia. When I was a Rockette, I had to wear a bear suit and dance. They strapped the head on with velcro and the mittens were huge. You couldn't let yourself out. You had to wait for the dresser. I coudln't see in mine, because the eye holes were teeny tiny slits. Long story short, I was taken out of the number because I would freak out in the costume. I told them I'd have to go home because I couldn't handle it. A friend of mine did the part and they fixed the eye holes for her so she could see. One guy in the number was hyperventilating. Somehow he got though it.
We had little people in the show. They played Santa's elves. I just loved them. They were so sweet, caring, and kind. I think they have to endure a lot of hurtful reactions, due to their appearance. They are very sensitive. I felt a real spiritual communion with them. I still see some of them (from the Radio City Christmas Show) on t.v. sometimes. (Well, not anymore, since I canceled the cable.)
iris lily
4-26-13, 12:25pm
The fear of snakes and bugs is in our genes. I like spiders and snakes and mice, but I won't claim that a scuttling or writhing thing down by my feet doesn't make me jump, it does. I really do like spiders a lot, I will often pick up a Daddy Long legs and put him outside. The small spiders are allowed to live in our kitchen near the compost bin--there is often one in the summer who lurks there, waiting for fruit-fly type tiny bugs.
Cockroaches--those are entirely different, ugh they are terrible
these other phobias are very interesting.
I am the opposite about PRG. They fascinate me and I have sort of a thing for dwarf men (cough cough Peter Dinklage.)The Prince Charming of "Game of Thrones". He is a cutie! I think people have weird phobia - like that of PRG people - because they were scared of them as kids when at circuses, etc... Who here doesn't get creeped out by clowns on occasion? Real human clowns? Midget clowns? Clown dolls (remember the evil Polterguist clown)?
My sister has a few odd phobias - one is being afraid (creeped out) by loose buttons - either a single loose, unattached button or a whole bunch of them together. I figured it came from a childhood fear of those creepy button-eyed dolls (Raggity Ann and Andy maybe). She also has to have the toilet paper roll go on a certain way (rolling overhand rather than underhand) or believes the world will end (probably more OCD than a phobia). She even comes into my bathroom and changes the direction of my toilet paper roll so it's going the "right" way. When she was a kid she was terrified of "The Hair Puller" - basicly an under-the-bed monster who grabbed you by any loose hair showing while you slept and pulled you into it's hideous lair under the bed. So she completely covered her head with numerous blankets wrapped so tight she could barely breath. Then she'd have all her gazzillion stuffed animals on her bed with her for protection. When I left home at 18, she was 15 and still did that. She doesn't now (I don't think!) but she still sleeps with a stuffed animal ("Bunny" or "Pig") and even takes one with her anytime she travels - even backpacking. For comfort? Or for protection from the Hair Puller? This is a woman who is an heavily armed and highly trained security officer for a defence contractors weapons test site. Now THAT's scary ;-)!!
I don't know if there is a fancy name for it, but swimming pool drains freak me out. When I was a kid, I saw a segment on 20/20 (I think), about the dangers of pool drains. Things like kids getting their insides sucked out or drowning from suction pressure holding them under the water. The last time I really swam was maybe 10 years ago. I had access to a municipal fitness center due to my office being located in that town. They had a large lap pool that was only five feet deep at the most. If I couldn't get a lane on the edge of the pool, I usually didn't swim, as I did not want to be swimming in the middle of the pool over the drain. One time I decided to swim in a middle lane when it was the only one available. One lap did me in. I panicked when swimming over the drain in the middle of the pool. I've never swum so fast in my life.
Ugh. :|(I saw this show too. Not afraid of swimming pool drains but sure am alot more causious around them. I also have a bit of fear about sink drains. I got that from a short story by Stephen King in which a finger kept coming out of a drain getting longer, and longer and longer. Now I have to look down the drain before using it. I also don't like mirrors or reflective surfaces - who knows what you may see in them! So I ban reflective glass surfaces and mirrors from my living space. Except the bathroom mirror, when I have to put on make up, but I won't look into it at night...in the dark... :-)!
So many things, though generally not to the extent of full blown panic, though mostly because I avoid those particular situations.
Let's see: heights, speed (being on motorcycles, horse riding faster than a walk, rollerblading on surfaces that aren't perfectly level, skiing on surfaces that aren't level), fire, gas explosions, electricity, phones, vacuums, things with more than 6 legs, asking people for help in a store, water that is over my head.
And since it's been mentioned - Peter Dinklage, yes, awesome, in my opinion.
I am very phobic of driving on expressways or of being followed too closely by vehicles. I think both stem from a near collision long ago when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a semi swerving to avoid slamming into the back of us on a crowded freeway. He crashed into concrete wall instead and careened over the top. I still remember saying my prayers while it was all unfolding. Dh is petrified to go under our pier and beam house - I guess that is claustrophobia?
treehugger
4-26-13, 1:29pm
I don't have any phobias. I used to let insects really freak me out, and then I took a pests & diseases (horticulture-related) class where I had to make an bug collection and I learned to find them interesting instead. I certainly understand people being afraid of creepy-crawlies, and I wouldn't say that I would really enjoy coming home to a kitchen full of cockroaches, for instance, for for the most part, I'm cool with insects/arachnids. We don't live in an area with really bad bug problems though (too dry here), so it's easier for me to be "live and let live" about them.
I don't enjoy flying, but that's more for the stress of traveling (getting to the airport at the right time, getting through security, dealing with delays, etc.). I definitely do understand how some could have a real fear of flying itself. Some things are better not to think too much about. Denial can be your friend.
Kara
I absolutely hate roaches and will just about run through a friggin brick wall to get away from them. Years ago I threw away a Dustbuster because it had vacuumed up a roach and in my mind I couldn't figure out a way to empty the Dustbuster without the roach coming back to life and jumping on my skin and biting me.
Even as I type this I know it's crazy, but that's my only real phobia, so hence I will give up a lot in my budget except the pest control guy's monthly appt at my house!
My stepson is like this. He is a tall strong young man with no fear of poisonous snakes and will catch them along with possums, armadillos etc. But a roach? Honey he will run over you trying to get away from one of em. He squeals like a lil girl when encountering them. Funniest thing ever but dangerous if you are in his way when he spots one.
Me, I hate those huge black grasshoppers. Eww. I'll stay inside rather than deal with em. Haven't see them for years and I fear their return one day.
I knew a lady who was in her 50's and she was scared of cats. Scared to the point that she would call in sick to work if one crossed her doorstep and would call her mama to come and protect her.
My neice is a grown woman and has a phobia about balloons.
awakenedsoul
4-26-13, 8:39pm
I saw this show too. Not afraid of swimming pool drains but sure am alot more causious around them. I also have a bit of fear about sink drains. I got that from a short story by Stephen King in which a finger kept coming out of a drain getting longer, and longer and longer. Now I have to look down the drain before using it. I also don't like mirrors or reflective surfaces - who knows what you may see in them! So I ban reflective glass surfaces and mirrors from my living space. Except the bathroom mirror, when I have to put on make up, but I won't look into it at night...in the dark... :-)!
That's interesting because mirrors attract spirits. This might be a little too woo woo for some people, but I'll tell Spartana, just in case. When I was about 13 I had this beautiful antique dresser with a marble slab top and a carved mirror. I was sitting in front of it by candlelight. I saw this green light all around my arms, and outlining my hands and fingers. It was bright and clear. Then as I was looking into the mirror, (it was from the late 1800's,) my face started to shift. I saw myself as a woman about 30, and then as an old woman, with silver hair. It was wild. I remember I felt so ugly and awkward at that age, and as I saw the woman I was going to become I thought, "I'm going to be pretty." My heart jumped. Looks are so important at age 13, and I just felt completely unattractive back then. The older lady was smiling at me like, "Don't you worry." I've never had that happen again, but I'll never forget it. It was a magical experience...
AustinKat
4-26-13, 10:39pm
For all the Peter Dinklage fans (be warned, this is from Playboy): http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/20q-peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones
iris lily
4-26-13, 11:45pm
For all the Peter Dinklage fans (be warned, this is from Playboy): http://www.playboy.com/playground/view/20q-peter-dinklage-game-of-thrones
great interview, I read it all.
really great interview. :D
My son has sticky-phobia. He won't eat honey or jam because he can't stand his the thought of hands getting sticky--he has to wash them right away.
My "phobia" is styrofoam. I really can't stand hearing it when it "squeaks." The sound is to me is so much worse than nails on a chalkboard. I will NEVER buy or use a styrofoam cooler, and if something comes packed in it, my DH has to take it out of the package while I hide in another room with my fingers in my ears.
That's interesting because mirrors attract spirits. This might be a little too woo woo for some people, but I'll tell Spartana, just in case. When I was about 13 I had this beautiful antique dresser with a marble slab top and a carved mirror. I was sitting in front of it by candlelight. I saw this green light all around my arms, and outlining my hands and fingers. It was bright and clear. Then as I was looking into the mirror, (it was from the late 1800's,) my face started to shift. I saw myself as a woman about 30, and then as an old woman, with silver hair. It was wild. I remember I felt so ugly and awkward at that age, and as I saw the woman I was going to become I thought, "I'm going to be pretty." My heart jumped. Looks are so important at age 13, and I just felt completely unattractive back then. The older lady was smiling at me like, "Don't you worry." I've never had that happen again, but I'll never forget it. It was a magical experience...
Ha Ha - yeah that's probably why I don't like mirrors. It's bad enough having to look at myself now but seeing a vision of me in old (older?) age would be down right frightning :0!! But seriously, I'm an agnostic so have no idea if there or aren't things like spirits or an afterlife or ???? but for some reason I just get a bit creeped out by looking into mirrors. Probably one too many times seeing my own reflection in the early morning before coffee ;-)! But I think it's cool that you had a "good" mirror experience. I have heard stories from other people of seeing horrible things in mirrors.
My "phobia" is styrofoam. I really can't stand hearing it when it "squeaks." The sound is to me is so much worse than nails on a chalkboard. I will NEVER buy or use a styrofoam cooler, and if something comes packed in it, my DH has to take it out of the package while I hide in another room with my fingers in my ears.From a website: "What is the name of a fear of styrofoam????????????
i am intensely afraid of the aforementioned substance. nad its appearance. and its name. and its texture. and its sound.... oh god.....
what is this phobia called????" apparently the answer was Styrophobia.
iris lily
4-27-13, 12:45pm
really great interview. :D
After reading it I had to go look up on Youtube that segment about how Dinklage's rate of P**sy is up 600%. Stupid-funny it was.
From a website: "What is the name of a fear of styrofoam????????????
i am intensely afraid of the aforementioned substance. nad its appearance. and its name. and its texture. and its sound.... oh god.....
what is this phobia called????" apparently the answer was Styrophobia.
haha!! Cool! I have a weird disorder with a name.. "Hi, my name is catherine and I'm a styrophobic."
I discovered I have a phobia of seeing people in movies fall--because I involuntarily scream when I see they're about to or they actually do. One scream only. I have fallen many times in my life , so I think it comes from that. Phobia of carnival rides like roller coaster or ferris wheel. Of cruel first-degree relatives--I'm too afraid of them to be able to be around them.
decemberlov
4-29-13, 1:54pm
I don't have any myself but my daughter does. She has had a "fear" of spoons since she was very little. She refuses to eat with them. She eats ice cream, pudding, soup, everything with a fork. It's very strange! I always joke with her that the "airplane spoon" when I fed her as a baby traumatized her :laff:
After reading it I had to go look up on Youtube that segment about how Dinklage's rate of P**sy is up 600%. Stupid-funny it was.
DwILF is the one that about gave me a nasal expulsion.
treehugger
4-30-13, 12:25pm
I don't have any myself but my daughter does. She has had a "fear" of spoons since she was very little. She refuses to eat with them. She eats ice cream, pudding, soup, everything with a fork. It's very strange! I always joke with her that the "airplane spoon" when I fed her as a baby traumatized her :laff:
How does she feel about sporks? I must say that is a pretty strange fear. But at least it's a pretty easy one to cope with in daily life (I mean, that she can just avoid spoons without causing too much upheaval for others). Except for eating soup with a fork. That sounds hard!
Kara
decemberlov
4-30-13, 12:46pm
How does she feel about sporks? I must say that is a pretty strange fear. But at least it's a pretty easy one to cope with in daily life (I mean, that she can just avoid spoons without causing too much upheaval for others). Except for eating soup with a fork. That sounds hard!
Kara
she does not like sporks either lol. It is a very silly fear and watching her eat soup with a fork drives me batty!! She uses the fork to scoop whatever is in the soup and drinks the broth...silly girl!
Gardenarian
4-30-13, 2:22pm
I have a phobia about needles, blood, medical procedures. I have overcome this (having spent wayyyyy to much time with doctors) but unfortunately dd has inherited it (I made sure never to mention this around her, but maybe she picked up on it somehow.) Not a weird phobia, but sure is a powerful one.
When there had been an emeergency involving blood I seem to put the phobia on back burner - take care of the emergency and have the meltdown later.
treehugger
4-30-13, 2:30pm
I have a phobia about needles, blood, medical procedures. I have overcome this (having spent wayyyyy to much time with doctors) but unfortunately dd has inherited it (I made sure never to mention this around her, but maybe she picked up on it somehow.) Not a weird phobia, but sure is a powerful one.
My husband used to have a needle phobia. And then he was diagnosed with kidney failure and needed a million blood tests. Needle phobia is gone. So, exposure can help, certainly. But obviously, it's a case-by-case thing.
Kara
I have a phobia about needles, blood, medical procedures. I have overcome this (having spent wayyyyy to much time with doctors) but unfortunately dd has inherited it (I made sure never to mention this around her, but maybe she picked up on it somehow.) Not a weird phobia, but sure is a powerful one.
When there had been an emeergency involving blood I seem to put the phobia on back burner - take care of the emergency and have the meltdown later.
I had always thought that it was mainly men who had the blood phobia. Women have to get used to it to take care of monthly cycle stuff.
Mighty Frugal
5-1-13, 12:54pm
I had always thought that it was mainly men who had the blood phobia. Women have to get used to it to take care of monthly cycle stuff.
yeah, that is kinda what I thought too-how can we be afraid of it when we deal with it every month?
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