Do you have any unusual phobias?

[Bron357]

Phobias can be intensively personal and can have significant impact on quality of life.
Some are the result of distressing / upsetting situations in childhood. A friend of mine is unsettled by feathers and scared of birds, especially a group of them. She has had therapy and is fortunately alot better now. It went back to her being “set upon” by a flock of seagulls when she was a small child and was eating hot chips down at Manly Beach. People normally throw the seagulls a few chips but because she was small and had stepped away from the picnic table, a dozen or more seagulls just descended upon her. No wonder, that would be a horrific experience as a toddler.
Some phobias or fears I consider totally rational - like fear of heights, fear of dangerous animals but others are quite unusual.
I have / had a fear of holes. It’s called Trypohobia. I feel intensely uncomfortable viewing items with holes in them for eg crumpets (Google this breakfast type item) or cooked corned beef. Travertine marble and Lotus Pods also give me the creeps. It makes no rational sense but I just get a very unsettling feeling viewing (let alone eating or touching) things with holes in them.
Did you know that there’s name for phobias like fear of teenagers (might make for a few difficult years if you have children and I guess being a High School Teacher would be out of the question) and a fear of the colour purple. I love purple, it’s my favourite colour. Also intriguing phobias like fear of buttons, fear of clocks and my personal favourite, fear of long words. Someone totally insensitive called this phobia Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - I kid you not.
Anyone care to share things that make them go “ugh”?

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I feel like most of my phobias are common ones - claustrophobia, pyrophobia etc. Though the latter made life a bit difficult growing up Indian since all our prayers and rituals involve fire. I was simultaneously terrified of and inured to fire lol because of it - it still makes me break into a cold sweat but I can also pass my hand close to a flame.

I do have some weird fears but I also have an anxiety disorder so I get to play the fun game of “is it just anxiety or a legitimate phobia” quite often.

actually a weird one I have is a phobia of insect legs specifically - I don’t like insects but looking at them from the top doesn’t creep me out. But if I spot their legs it makes me want to vomit. Don’t know if that has a name. I can’t abide centipedes and millipedes for that reason - just saying the word makes my skin itch. I suppose it’s a form of entomophobia?

Thinking about it further, I also have a phobia of some flying insects - wasps, hornets, cockroaches and moths specifically - though I’m okay with other flying bugs as long as I don’t spot their creepy hairy wiggling gross anxiety inducing feet.

 

[missy]

Not unusual unless you think about why someone hundreds (thousands) of times bigger than it would be scared of it...I am talking about

Big ass bugs.

I know they cannot really hurt me because I am bigger and stronger than they are but if they get away I am terrified.
That ick factor is just too huge to overcome.
And thinking of them getting on my body well

So not unusual but ridiculous I am well aware. I do not like bugs especially ones I cannot catch and release or if I must, kill. My (irrational?) thinking is It's them or me.

 

[missy]

Another fear that may be more unusual is losing a loved one. Especially my DH. When Greg used to travel more for work every time he would get on the plane I was terrified the plane would go down or something equally bad would happen. I think that is more of an unusual phobia.

I don't know anyone else who feels the same way I do about that. Luckily he doesn't travel anymore without me and if we both go down that is fine. I just don't want to be on this earth without him. That is my weird phobia if you will.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

phobias like fear of teenagers (might make for a few difficult years if you have children and I guess being a High School Teacher would be out of the question) and a fear of the colour purple. I love purple, it’s

I have none, but having a 14 y/o son I'd say fear of teenagers is not a phobia. It totally makes sense!

(JK of course, mine is pretty cleanly and his sweet self peeks through the "been there, seen that" blasé attitude often!)

 

[Made in London]

I have a phobia about fish. I cannot bear to see them out of the water, flapping & gasping. My worst phobla is claustraphobia, I had no idea how bad it was until I went in to have an MRI scan. I couldn't go through with it & screamed for them to get me out. What didn't help was that they had me clamped to the table with straps so that I couldn't move. The feeling was like pure terror!!!!!!!

 

[Bron357]

I don’t have any fear of snakes or spiders or any insects which was funny when I was young. The naughty boys at school would catch spiders and lizards and then drop them in the laps of the girls who would then scream the place down. I’d be on hands and knees trying to rescue the poor creature and set it back in nature.
I know plenty of people who are freaked by cicadas, especially holding them while they “drum”. I used to collect their nymph shells along with dead moths (i know, I was a strange child).
I did a terrible thing, not as intended, to a friend as a young teenager. Walking to the train station to catch a train to school I found a cicada nymph shell on a fence and collected it. At the train station my friend was waiting for me with her back to me so I secretly placed it onto her arm (her jumper sleeve) as a prank. A few minutes later she looked down and saw the shell and freaked. I mean full on freaked, she fell to the ground screaming and thrashing triggering hyperventilation and was close to falling off the platform onto the rail tracks. The Station Master came running and an ambulance had to be called and off she went to hospital. She was never able to articulate what it was in her hysteria and the cicada shell fell off her arm and was crushed and not noticed by anyone. Boy oh boy did I feel bad. I never owned up to the prank I just did 2 years of being extra extra best friend to make up for my foolishness.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

I have an intense irrational fear of
Any park rides that involve water. I'm always petrified that somehow the ride is going to malfunction & I'm going to get flipped, trapped, thrown, held down & then my body will be ground in the gears or I will drown.

I've also always felt like there's invisible sharks in the water of those rides. I'm more scared of those then real ones I think. It's so stupid but when I'm on one it feels very real & my mind plays dirty tricks.

Relating to that fear Is the irrational fear of mechanical animals submerged in water - usually found in the same parks but not always. The movie jaws really f@!$Ed me up as a kid. I was aware the shark was fake but that fact haunted me and made it worse. I felt like I'd be killed if I was next to one.

And again relating to the two above, lastly my greatest irrational fear is anything large and man-made that Is underwater or submerged in water. I get an awful feeling just thinking about it and I tear up a bit.

These three all have separate names that I found after looking them up a few years ago, but I'm too lazy to go find. I'm not sure what it is with man-made things and water but I cannot deal with the above mentioned. Those are my only real irrational fears where I absolutely am not willing to face them & guarantee I'd pass out if I was forced to.

 

[GoldenTouch]

trypophobia - phobia of holes. You may need to google it… horrible (in my opinion!)

 

[rainydaze]

I don't know what the name for it is (some who know me have said tryptophobia, but based on what others here have said about that, it doesn't seem quite right): I am freaked out by things like the reproductive pods on the back of ferns, boboa tea... so, repetitive circles, I guess? I think they have to be 3D. It doesn't bother me in art, but certain instances of it freak me out.

And @missy, I experience that too! Every time DH leaves - even to drive somewhere - I have to shut the voice in my head that says he's going to die in an accident. Same for when he travels by plane. We have a third child who is still too young to fend for herself, so I also find myself having to grapple with the thought that DH & I might both die in an accident if we're driving anywhere together, or if one of our driving teens drives us both together. There is no rational foundation for this - I have not suffered any traumatic, sudden losses (ugh just saying that makes me think I have tempted fate).

 

[missy]

And @missy, I experience that too! Every time DH leaves - even to drive somewhere - I have to shut the voice in my head that says he's going to die in an accident. Same for when he travels by plane. We have a third child who is still too young to fend for herself, so I also find myself having to grapple with the thought that DH & I might both die in an accident if we're driving anywhere together, or if one of our driving teens drives us both together. There is no rational foundation for this - I have not suffered any traumatic, sudden losses (ugh just saying that makes me think I have tempted fate).

Yes. Same. Even when he drives without me. I truly didn’t think anyone else felt similarly. Somehow it’s comforting. Sending you lots of well wishes for both you and your DH. Your kids will hopefully always have you both around. I get it though. Completely.

 

[rainydaze]

Yes. Same. Even when he drives without me. I truly didn’t think anyone else felt similarly. Somehow it’s comforting. Sending you lots of well wishes for both you and your DH. Your kids will hopefully always have you both around. I get it though. Completely.

Thank you @missy - you are so right, it was comforting to read someone else feels similarly too!

We are both so fortunate to have such strong relationships with our DHs; I imagine we have this fear in part because we have so much to lose. I have heard that having a loving companion adds years to our lives, so you and G should have many, many more to come as well!

 

[DejaWiz]

Earthworms. Yeah, those little harmless buggers.

I don't have a problem with snakes...I'll gladly hold/pet them at a zoo or friend's house that used to have a python as a pet.

The worms get me, though. Weird.

 

[Matata]

Acrophobia -- fear of heights but it is rarely debilitating for me. Mostly it happens when DH and I are on one of his infamous hikes on a thin crumbly edged trail on the side of a mountain.

I found this article with some interesting, uncommon phobias:

Guide: Uncommon Phobias & Extraordinary Fears | Louis Laves-Webb

Phobias create fear, anxiety, and instability in our lives. Read our list of uncommon phobias and how we can help you overcome yours.

www.louislaves-webb.com

 

[VRBeauty]

I don’t think this quite rises to the level of a phobia, but I can’t deal with really graphic depictions of violence, so there are a lot of movies I just don’t even consider seeing. Part of the reason is probably that I’ve always been rather squeamish - I ruled out nursing as an option because of this way back in the first grade, even though my mother was a nurse and loved it. Part of it might be that both of my parents lived in occupied countries in WWII - one occupied by the Nazis and the other by Imperial Japan. They didn’t regale us kids with war horror stories, of course, but between what little they did disclose a bit and I suppose my imagination supplied a bit too. And I tend to really get into and personalize a well-done movie - I suppose I’m a directors dream in that respect. Back when Platoon came out I thought I might somehow have gotten control of that, and that I “should” see it for some reason. I think it was the opening scene that depicted a helicopter landing in a Vietnamese village, and some older villagers coming out to check it out. I immediately thought “that could be my grandmother or grandfather, and I don’t think this is going to go well for them.” I left my date to finish Platoon while I found a theater that was showing something more benign - “Earnest Goes to Camp.” My sweeties knew that any show involving violence would involve a lot of me clutching their arm, burying my face in their shoulder, or otherwise covering my eyes, and they knew it was their job to somehow let me know when it was safe for me to look again.

 

[Dancing Fire]

I am fear of heights.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

clowns

 

[Gussie]

Snakes. It's so bad that I have thought about therapy. But I know it would be exposure therapy and I might die of a heart attack in the process. Only half kidding.

 

[Snowdrop13]

I haven’t but I have a colleague who is beard-phobic and another who is cotton wool phobic (hates the squeaky feeling when you roll it)!

 

[Lookinagain]

I don’t think this quite rises to the level of a phobia, but I can’t deal with really graphic depictions of violence, so there are a lot of movies I just don’t even consider seeing.

I can't watch movies with a lot of violence and blood either but I have never thought of it as a phobia. I tend to close my eyes during those scenes as they just make me squeamish. I'm not afraid, per se, but grossed out. And I don't like bugs or rodents like mice. The mice thing might be a bit of a phobia because I don't like dealing with them (my dog will drag them in from outside once in a while so he either has killed them or found them dead). If they were alive, I think I would freak out. But wouldn't most people? Is it a phobia if it is a common reaction?

Webster's says this:

Definition of phobia​

(Entry 1 of 2)
an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation

Here's the definition from Wikipedia which makes it seem more than basic fear

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation.[1] Phobias typically, result in a rapid onset of fear and are present for more than six months.[1] Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed.[1] If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress.[1] Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia,[1] and panic attacks, which are often found in agoraphobia.[6] Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.[1]

 

[lilmosun]

When in a situation where I know someone is going to approach my back, anxiety sets in as I anticipate the moment. Totally irrational. I often wonder if an another life, I got shot in the back or something.

When I go for a massage, they can't start with my back because I jerk whenever they touch my back (until they get me totally relaxed). When I had a chest x-ray, they had to retake it I jumped at the pop noise of the machine. The worse part of my c-sections was the spinal (double whammy because I am needle-phobic too). My dh thought they forgot to get him because it took so long for them to administer (and it is sooo painful when they miss because I couldn't be still).

 

[MamaBee]

My mom has the one with holes. She says it’s clusters.…I understand so I must have a touch of it. For me it’s only a certain type…. It makes her nauseous. It doesn’t affect me like that. I just don’t like to look at it.

I also have a pretty bad bug phobia. I can’t look at grasshoppers at all. They scare me to death. I‘m also terrified of cicadas. There’s a tiny bug called springtales…I heard they can get under your skin…That freaked me out..I saw a few in my sink in my house in Maryland…They are so tiny you can barely see them.

I’m also afraid of deep water. I had a drowning accident when I was sixteen. They pulled me out…thinking I was dead. I haven’t been in ocean water since that time.

@missy I also have the fear of losing a family member to an accident…or cancer… If they fly on a plane I’m sooooo nervous..I’m also afraid of flying in an airplane. I do go on them though..but I don’t like it AT ALL…

Other than those things..I’m normal..

 

[MamaBee]

clowns

I don’t like them either!

 

[rockysalamander]

I have some strong dislikes, but no real phobias. Maggots get close, but I encounter them in my work and keep my professional face intact. My family mantra was basically 'if your afraid of something, keep doing it until you are not.'. No respect for unconquered fear. I guess it stuck.

 

[AprilBaby]

Terribly paralyzing fear of heights. Holes I find fascinating.

 

[Karl_K]

I am fear of heights.

I thought I was afraid of heights but I'm just afraid of drop offs/edges.
I loved flying in small planes and repelling down 150 foot cliffs.
But stand on a stool and look down and it bugs me.
I also don't do ladders for the same reason.
I think its because I'm clumsy and fell and fractured my skull twice when I was a young kid.

 

[bright&shiny]

I have a common one, but it bothers me so much, I won’t say it - even here.

I also have the fear of large man made things in the water (I became and excellent and fast swimmer because of this phobia) and large man made things going from the ground up (like a hurricane “proof” traffic signal post or a windmill). Also - grates or plates in the ground.

Ok. My anxiety raised about 200% answering this. Off to have a soothing moment to recover. Ugh. How did my brain get this way???

 

[oncrutchesrightnow]

Plants. Best my family can figure, it was because my mom hung a plant above my baby crib. For some reason I still like trees as a whole. But not closeup photos of leaves.

Whenever people post photos of jewelry on plants I freak out. Why do people like those serrated killer flora things?

 

[LilAlex]

My worst phobla is claustraphobia, I had no idea how bad it was until I went in to have an MRI scan

Same! And I have heard this from many people after an MRI. "Hmmm, I guess I have claustrophobia! Who knew?" It does not cause it but it sure invokes that "Oh now I get it" response. Doesn't help that you are usually anxious about the medical setting, potential diagnoses, etc.

 

[rockysalamander]

Same! And I have heard this from many people after an MRI. "Hmmm, I guess I have claustrophobia! Who knew?" It does not cause it but it sure invokes that "Oh now I get it" response. Doesn't help that you are usually anxious about the medical setting, potential diagnoses, etc.

Normal MRI machines can make everyone feel constrained. The sounds that are chaotic and loud, space (or lack of), needing to hold still, and fear are potent drivers for many. I feel you on this one. I'm not normally claustrophobic, but getting a MRI takes all my self control to remain calm.