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Dodgeman

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2016
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So is there anything that you are afraid of of that you have a phobia of?

Tell us what it is here!
 
As a child I had a traumatic experience involving needles during what should have been a fairly mundane medical procedure. I have been horrified of needles ever since. The last time I had to get an injection I cried and then passed out, and the last time I needed an IV I made my wife come to hold my hand and keep me calm.

It’s frustrating and embarrassing. I know how irrational and ridiculous it is, but I have no control over it. I have considered seeking therapy for this issue and probably will in the near future.
 
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Living too long, wearing a diaper, losing control of bodily functions and being a burden to someone in general.

Amen !

I'd vote for assisted suicide if the chance ever came, but I'm not holding my breath waiting.

Oregon and Washington in the US have already proved that they're more progressive than California in that regard (and that was in the 90's).

BTW, you're familiar with Dignitas, right ?
 
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I always hated spiders.
Being claustrophobic didn't bother me driving a truck. I got stuck in a elevator once between the 40th and 41st floor for about 10 minutes and I thought I would go nuts. Just to look at a closed MRI machine gives me chills. After the age of 55 I didn't like heights anymore. When you start to get older things just fall apart. LOL
When I was young, none of these bothered me, except spiders. :)
 
Spiders are a definite fear of mine. Last weekend I noticed a big spider right by my bedroom door. No one else was home at the time, but I knew my dad would be home in a half-hour, so I waited in my room for that time, not leaving until he came back and could kill the spider for me. :eek:

I also do have some degree of claustrophobia, but not about elevators or small rooms, it has more to do with the height of the place than the width. A room with low ceilings freaks me out, as would a crawlspace or MRI or any place where I feel like I could be suffocated from above. I've had nightmares about crawling through a very narrow crawlspace.

I have some kind of fear of needles/blood, though it's not as bad as it was when I was younger. I still don't like being in hospitals, though (being at the dentist has never bothered me).
 
Nothin'

:D

Really, I don't have any kind of phobia, i.e., an irrational fear, I occasionally will have a reaction that's more what I'd call concern and/or caution. I don't have any of the usual suspects I hear from people: heights, spiders/snakes (love snakes :D), things like public speaking.

The wife and I have tried to instill the "no fear" (but always proceed with appropriate caution) perspective into our little G (she's 10). She rides the biggest roller coasters, surfs, did an advanced slack line course with us, held all manner of snakes I've caught in the yard (yes, clearly ID'ed ...), snorkeled in the Keys (came within 30 yards or so of a nurse shark), heck, she had some medical tests a few months ago (no issues, just a precaution), and didn't even flinch at the various poking and prodding.
 
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I don’t know what qualifies as fear... I could not be a spelunker who must crawl and wiggle through tight rock walls for more than a meter. Crawling under a vehicle for repairs or full body MRIs don’t bother me. I would not parachute. But I’d do these things if necessary.

I dislike spiders but normal house or yard ones are tolerable. If it happens to be unusually sized (which we don’t have in Minnesota, at least where I am) - and I am the final arbiter - ...if it’s inside the house or outside and even so much as glances at the house....it ain’t gonna make it.
 
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As a child I had a traumatic experience involving needles during what should have been a fairly mundane medical procedure. I have been horrified of needles ever since. The last time I had to get an injection I cried and then passed out, and the last time I needed an IV I made my wife come to hold my hand and keep me calm.

It’s frustrating and embarrassing. I know how irrational and ridiculous it is, but I have no control over it. I have considered seeking therapy for this issue and probably will in the near future.

This is really interesting where a phobia inflates a small prick into a huge psychological issue. However, I am sympathetic to the trauma. I suspect that the only way to overcome this would not be talking it through but a combination of discussion and physically having different degrees of your skin/muscle being pierced.

My impression is that needles are sharper and thinner now than they were 50 years ago. For a shot in the arm the entire key is to relax the arm. Muscle tension exaggerates the pain. I was amazed the other day when having some blood drawn, the nurse just slipped the needle in (to my arm) and I felt virtually no pain, when usually there is a bit of a prick.
 
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Arachnophobia (my step dads fault) and heights.

heights because of my medical condition the higher I go the more unsteady I am on my feet.
 
Claustrophobia
Acrophobia
Arachnophobia
Can you ride in an airplane where there is a physical barrier between you and the height you are aware of? For myself airplanes are no issue, and I can stand on the edge of a cliff with a railing, no problem, but remove the railing and I could not stand within x number of feet for fear that something unexpected might send me over. I’d describe it as ramped up caution.

My wife is different. When we were dating, I tried to take her through a wooded area to a cliff to see a view in the West Virginia mountains and I could not get her out of the woods, within 150’ of the cliff. I just could not understand her fear, and apologized to her later for being frustrated with her. There are just not that many circumstances in life where you have to stand by a cliff, but it has not been an issue since and we have been in high places. For the first cliff, it could have been the story I told her of a friend who was part of the road construction crew cutting in the road below, who ended up riding a bulldozer down when part of this cliff collapsed during construction and ended up with a broken back? :oops:;)
 
As a socially anxious person, almost everything.

Social occasions, especially formal ones (weddings, funerals), meetings, calls, driving, gyms, swimming, dates/relationships/sex, holidays, crowded locations..

Probably not terrified of the above, like some other phobias/fears people suffer from; but enough to want to avoid all of the above.
 
This is really interesting where a phobia inflates a small prick into a huge psychological issue. However, I am sympathetic to the trauma. I suspect that the only way to overcome this would not be talking it through but a combination of discussion and physically having different degrees of your skin/muscle being pierced.

My impression is that needles are sharper and thinner now than they were 50 years ago. For a shot in the arm the entire key is to relax the arm. Muscle tension exaggerates the pain. I was amazed the other day when having some blood drawn, the nurse just slipped the needle in (to my arm) and I felt virtually no pain, when usually there is a bit of a prick.

I’m not really sure how to explain it, but it isn’t the pain that is the issue. The phobia is based wholly on the idea that the needle is piercing my skin and entering my body, and the pain itself doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s just the needle.

I am honestly getting a bit nauseous just thinking about it.
 
Can you ride in an airplane where there is a physical barrier between you and the height you are aware of? For myself airplanes are no issue, and I can stand on the edge of a cliff with a railing, no problem, but remove the railing and I could not stand within x number of feet for fear that something unexpected might send me over. I’d describe it as ramped up caution.
No I can't fly. I have a mild case of edema in the legs also I have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which my red blood cell count is low and causes breathing problems (shortness of breath). As for claustrophobic in a plane now, Yes. Once they close the door of the plane I want out!
 
I always hated spiders.
Being claustrophobic didn't bother me driving a truck. I got stuck in a elevator once between the 40th and 41st floor for about 10 minutes and I thought I would go nuts. Just to look at a closed MRI machine gives me chills. After the age of 55 I didn't like heights anymore. When you start to get older things just fall apart. LOL
When I was young, none of these bothered me, except spiders. :)

Wow yeah that elevator thing is no fun. Even a closed MRI machine! I don't think any one likes those though.
How did they get you out of the elevator?
[doublepost=1528380998][/doublepost]
No I can't fly. I have a mild case of edema in the legs also I have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which my red blood cell count is low and causes breathing problems (shortness of breath). As for claustrophobic in a plane now, Yes. Once they close the door of the plane I want out!

I flew recently it was not that bad, but I still do not like it at all...
[doublepost=1528381028][/doublepost]There has to be a way for you guys to beat these things.
 
I’m not really sure how to explain it, but it isn’t the pain that is the issue. The phobia is based wholly on the idea that the needle is piercing my skin and entering my body, and the pain itself doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s just the needle.

I am honestly getting a bit nauseous just thinking about it.

Sorry to hear this, a therapist trained in phobias? There has to be an approach where the fear of the body being pierced is identified, and not because of associated pain. I’m no doctor but if there is fear, it’s origin can be identified, the key has to be helping you figure out that this kind of piercing is beneficial and not to be feared. Yes, easy for me to say! :)

No I can't fly. I have a mild case of edema in the legs also I have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia which my red blood cell count is low and causes breathing problems (shortness of breath). As for claustrophobic in a plane now, Yes. Once they close the door of the plane I want out!

Interesting, and sorry to hear that, but I was wondering if height would bother you while airborne in an aircraft? From a claustrophobia standpoint, is that if being in a truck or car does not bother you, the issue involves lack of control, often associated with fear of flying, the choice is not yours, and it’s not as simple as pulling over to the side of the road. Yet, tens of thousands of people die regularity in earth bound vehicles, where there is not much chance to think about impending oblivion.
 
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