Have you got one? Mine is Claustrophobia. If I see someone on TV getting put into a claustrophobic situation, I start to get all squirmy. In real life, once, I got seated at a tavern with a party of 20. We were put along a wall with bench seating attached to the wall. I had sat down at the end table against an end-wall when suddenly 3-4 tables were shoved together end-to-end. There I was locked in by 9 other diners. I squirmed for about 10 minutes before clambering over the table in a cold sweat for release. I got started on this because I saw one of those scenes where a bunch of clowns pack into a small car. I was watching the one in the corner smashed against the near window. It made me really restless-- even now, just recalling it... I'm squirming in my seat. I'm OK on planes. Don't think I could be an astronaut, though!
Heights to a certain extent are my phobia. I can fly in a plane easily enough, but I get really queezy when I look out from a high-rise window. I also hate lifts. They freak me out, and I will not get in one unless I absolutely have to. I can take going up a few floors, but if I'm in one for a long time, I feel sick.
I've got all kinds of fun ones: Being in a large crowd -- I always have the fear they're going to turn into an unruly mob and I'll be killed in the ensuing melee. Public speaking -- If I know I have to give a speech, I start freaking out weeks in advance. It's all I can think about. During Save Our Rockets, I would watch in amazement as Jeff casually spoke in front of hundreds of people like it was no big deal. I was in total awe. I probably would have just passed out. Blocked exits -- This is a weird one, but I get really upset if I feel my exit from a place is in some way blocked. Even if I don't want to leave, I start looking around for some other way to get out should the need arise. Getting out is very important to me. Unprotected left turns -- Oh the pressure! People behind me -- people coming at me -- the light's turning yellow -- AAARRGHGHHHH!!! I usually drive around the block to avoid these things. I have other lesser phobias, but I think those are the biggies. In my defense, I come from a long line of crazy people -- my grandfather was an agoraphobic who couldn't leave his house for ten years. So, measured against that yard stick, I look pretty damn good!
I sometimes find myself claustrophobic when I'm crammed in tiny places with lots of people and don't seem to have any space to operate, i.e. personal space. There is nothing worse than being a freaking sardine. This leads into my other phobia which I'm not sure has a name. I call it line-o-phobia. I can't stand long lines with people behind me and people in front of me. The longer the line...the worse I tend to be flustered. Sometimes I can control it but when I can't my symptoms usually resemble breaking out in sweats, feeling very uncomfortable, tend to have a pissed off expression on my face, and sometimes my face will turn red. It also depends on the line and circumstances. It's very weird and I think its a spin-off from claustrophobia. For instance, if I'm at a grocery store and there are unusually long lines and not enough cashiers, then the phobia may kick in. I just feel like I'm put in a pressure situation for no good reason just because a stupid store doesn't have enough cashiers to service their customers. If I feel a line is unusually long, then sometimes I will walk out and leave my items(not at a grocery store but a convenience store where everyone is taking their time buying lottery tickets and money orders with only one cashier(hate that when all I want is a few items)). It's not a problem for me in most lines....just some lines. I think it has to do more with personal space than anything else. I hate when I feel crowded. I tend to avoid elevators and use the stairs. I hate when too many people are packed in one room and you can barely breath. Bars/clubs can be an example of that and cigarette smoke tends to make it much worse. Well...those are my quirks. Rarely do I have a problem with it any more but it could happen at any time depending on the situation and whether I feel comfortable or not. Surf
I have a pretty extreme case of acrophobia. I can become pretty non-functional in certain situations. I have been reduced to tears, immobility, crawling, and all sorts of other humiliating things. Some particulary cruesome experiences: When I was about 10 and exploring a castle in England, I was about 4 stories up and came to a sectio that had to be crossed by walking over a gap on a wooden slat (it was not a high-maintained, tourist castle). I basically stopped functioning. Had to close my eyes and be led with people in front and behind me. Interior dome of St. Peters. The small walkway and waist high rail is around the windows - you can't really see it in the image because it is so high up and so tiny. La Defense in Paris. The elevators are Jetson-esque - all glass and small little tubes. I almost went insane on the trip up and back down.
Ignorance . . . i fear it stupidity . . .is worse Racism . . .. . gives me cold sweats glass Elevators are bad on me . . . no tunnels or some **** like that... Rocket River
That's what you get for watching Ed, giddyup. Mine is the same. I can't stand watching movies where people are in the back seat of a car surrounded by two guys...that drives me nuts, as does the mere thought of sitting in the back seat of a two door car.
Elevators - Oh, God, I hate long elevator rides!!! Heights - I'm not awful with this one because I can be ok once I get acclimated but there are some things about being up high I just can't shake. Airplanes - After being on so many damn flights in my life, you'd think I'd be immune, but...NOT. I'm also somewhat of a hypochondriac. I get these sudden fears I have a brain tumor or some illness. Oh, the fun.
Stay away from those Medical books. . . . read all those symptoms. . i start getting them Rocket River
<b>RM95</b>: I don't get this reference? Fill me in. I do get a bit dizzy looking down from heights-- especially open ones.
Oh, that's weird. Last night on the tv show Ed, there was a scene with a bunch of clowns packed into a Slugbug, and they showed one with his face pressed against the window like you described.
As weird as it may sound...mine is wasps. Just because of some incidents that occured long ago. I still remember my first encounter with the creatures at age 4, at the old apartment of a relative. I was walking up to their apartment, on the 2nd story of the building, going up the blue wooden staircases. As I'm walking up the staircase, I have my left hand moving up the handrail. Unknowingly, about halfway up the stairs my left hand comes down right on a place where a wasp has created a nest in the wood of the rail. Stung right in the palm, as just a little 4 year old boy I am surprised and at the same time in pain. But the worst encounter with a wasp for me came at about age 7 or 8. It was during the few years I had glasses, and I was riding a bicycle in my neighborhood to a friend's house. Just casually riding, I turn onto his street, the cul-de-sac right ahead, and a wasp suddenly comes flying at my face! It somehow manages to get stuck in between my glasses and my face. I am freaking out, losing control of the bicycle, unable to see as the wasp is wildly buzzing in front of my right eye. Luckily no cars are on this street as I am attacked. The wasp, frustrated that it is trapped decides to sting me. Luckily it just misses my eye, stinging me right between my eyebrow and eyeball. In the meantime, I am riding aimlessly and come to a stop by hitting the curb and flying into a lightpole. The sting hurt more than the bike crash from what I can remember, but still a scary and at the same time kind of funny experience. I have been stung by wasps several other times, but nothing too interesting about those. So that is why I have a bit of a wasp phobia. Not to the point where I make a scene or anything..but if one is around where I am, I'll be sure to get the hell out of there.
Spiders and anything with a stinger. A friend of mine had a tarantula. One day he but it on my arm while I wasn't looking. I freaked out and swung my arm and the spider goes flying across the room ... to land right on his mom's face as she is walking through the door.
I used to be REALLY afraid of spiders, but no so much any more. But I do have one really strange fear, and I know EXACTLY where it comes from. I have a fear of animals biting me. I'm more comfortable with cats than with dogs, so I usually don't worry about them, but when I worked at the animal shelters, I always kept my distance and was wary of the animals I didn't know, especially the dogs. This fear comes from when I was very young. Probably about 1. I had some toy ducks on a string, and when you pulled them, they'd open and close their mouths. Well, I got my finger stuck in one's mouth. I guess it really hurt and was pretty bad, as I still have the scar from it on my index finger. I'd imagine that's where this fear originated, as something at that age can continue on with you forever. I also fear no beer.
