How many phobias do you have?
Most people have phobias. Phobias are what you get when fear of dangerous things turn into fear of illogical things. Once, long ago, you may not have wanted to walk out into open spaces for fear of being seen and eaten by a predator. Nowadays most open places where humans live are safe zones. You can walk across a square without fear. Still, many people have agoraphobia.
One of the most common phobias is about talking in public. It's one of the least dangerous things you can do. Yet many are less scared of death than of talking in front of others.
I have many phobias. 😀 One is “fear” of goo and sticky dirt. I don't like the feeling of being wet unless I'm washing or showering. As soon as I am done I make sure to wipe off every drop of water. I can handle being gooey, dirty and wet, but I avoid it when I can. 🙂 At times I have been scared of heights too. After having worked on roofs and in other high places I have gradually made it go away. It’s CBT in practice. If I don't expose myself to heights, however, the phobia returns. I used to have severe “party phobia”. Any invite to something that involved more than a couple of people made me panic. 🙂 It's in control now. When I understood that it stemmed from a feeling of not having a clear role or purpose, I could handle going to parties. I accept that at those occasions I don't have a purpose that I find meaningful to me. 🙂 Blood and needle phobia is another one that I can relate to. Today it's very much in control, but there was a time when it was a problem.
The best thing about phobias is that they are relatively easy to treat. The hardest thing is to make yourself ask for Help and in many cases you will need that. Cognitive behavioral therapy probably is the most common treatment.
How many phobias do you have? Can you count them? Which one is the worst? Which one cripples you most? Are there any that you are ashamed of? You are not alone. I find that things I think of as “weak spots” (bad wording) in my person are less so when I am open about them. That can even make them sort of strength. Share if you can. I'm pretty sure nothing bad will happen. 😉
(Photo by v2osk at Unsplash)
Best regards, Niklas 🎈
- Edited by Niklas 2022-02-08 09:44
I have a fear of speaking in front of groups of people. But I learned that it wasn’t speaking that I was afraid of, it was standing in the front of the classroom, which I think is pretty common for students. I have a fear of heights too, something that has never gone away even though I have jumped off a couple bridges and out of a plane 😁 haha. I still get scared mountain climbing when I look down but that’s ok! I also have a fear and strong dislike of being in crowded places with a lot of people, such as concerts, etc especially inside buildings. I’ve just been in too many bad situations that now I tend to avoid going to crowded clubs, concerts etc. I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with that since I have learned that it is something I do not enjoy. The dislike part of is that I don’t like being around of a lot of drunk people that push me, loud music, flashing lights, etc. and the fear part stems from the idea of a fire, bomb, shooting happening and I can’t get out because there is too many people that most likely won’t act rationally.
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I'm scared of a lot of things but social phobia/anxiety is the only one I consider an actual phobia. It's not as bad as when I was younger and I hope I will get better with time, even if I'll never be "cured". I do fear different types of insects, especially the ones I don't recognize, that can fly, move fast or just look weird/scary. I can handle the more common ones like mosquitoes, flies, ants (unless there's an army of them). I have thought about beekeeping as a hobby, and I wouldn't let my fear of bees stop me, and that's why I don't see it as a phobia. I can somewhat handle my fear. My social phobia do stop be from taking a beekeeping class though..
"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
Fears and phobias should be nothing to be ashamed about it, I think sharing that you have a phobia is the first step in overcoming it. For instance, if you're someone who doesn't like rollercoasters and everyone around says let's go on one, by forcing yourself to pretend you don't care is only going to put you in a more stressful situation and reinforce that fear more.
It is also great how you have found why you are fearful of some of those things Niklas! When I was younger I had a phobia of going down escalators, not up them, just down! It was so irrational and I had no reason to be scared. I wasn't afraid of falling or getting stuck or anything, it's just as soon as I was about to step on it I would freeze and fill with anxiety and panic.
It's not an issue nowadays, I think the other year out of the blue I had experienced that same feeling when I was about to go down but 99/100 times I won't even think anything of it. Other than that I can't say Phobias are something I have had any trouble with.
All the best, Leia
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I'm not sure if it would count as a phobia anymore, but I was deathly afraid of dogs, for a long, long time as I was attacked by one when I was younger. Ever since then I have not wanted to be anywhere near one, as kind as they can be, even if they were on the same path as me, I would purposely cross the road to avoid being near them.
It is slightly better now, my family got a dog while I was away at university and didn't know I felt this way, so I guess you could say I was exposed to dogs by flooding?
It isn't anywhere near as bad now, but I still stay away if I can. It's sad as dogs are very popular pets and many become very attached to them, but I can't feel the same way because of it.
I have phobia for hights 😃😃😃
I also have phobia for waves. Often times I wonder if I'd ever get over my phobias