Phobias/Irrational Fears?

[Zyztem]

My fiance and several of her siblings have a kinda wierd thing going on that literally gives them goosebumps. I've tried finding any kind of refernece on it, but to no avail.
Whenever they see a pattern of smaller holes that appear to have depth to them (like looking at the end of one of those clear gel-type Nerf footballs) they get creeped out and you can see the goosebumps rise.
This sound familiar to anyone? Anyone else have a wierd aversion?

[Rage_Garden]

Yea that happens to me. When I see a large group of little holes with depth I cringe and have to turn away. Same thing with several slits paralell to each other. I cringe thinking about it. Like on my soap the other day (lol) the letters had depth that kind of freaked me out so I proceeded to rub them out with my thum until they had no more depth. I dont get goosebumps though. Maybe its a just thing like fingernails on a chalk board.

[Zyztem]

You know, its funny you mention the slit thing, 'cause that creeps her too. It's kinda funny, but the members of her family that it doesn't affect insist she was kidnapped and er, ahem, probed. (Jokingly, of course!)

[Strife]

I can't relate to that depth phobia, but I do hate the sound of anything scratching against a chalk board! :eek: It has something to do with me when I was a kid leaning against my window. My nails had sometimes scratched against the metal where my hands rested, that feeling was annoying..

[RavenWhitefang]

Clusterphobia
http://www.unusualphobias.com/clusters.html

Couldnt find much more about it, but some people that have this have named it clusterphobia. From what I read, it tends to run in the family.
As far as fearing depth, that would be bathophobia, mostly sufferers have the fear of the depth of drowning or falling with this one.

[just_me]

one of my phobias id hot food (coffee, hot chocolate,) i hate the feeling of hot things like that i aqm not really afraid of them but they piss my off when ever i get my toung burnt i want to beat the crap out of my coffee :grin

[Zyztem]

Thanks all for the info. It's helpful being able to put a name to it.

[VegasRonin]

I discovered I'm mildly claustrophobic while I was in the army. Not a good condition if you're a Tanker (its tight quarters in a tank). It never really bothered me until one night. I fell asleep in the driver's compartment, with the night periscope mounted. The night periscope is pretty cumbersome contraption that hangs down between your knees, making the already tight fit even tighter. When I woke up, I felt trapped and then it became hard for me to breathe. You should've seen me tearing out of the hatch. It never happened before or since but it made me realize that its there. Another fear that I realized I have, is swimming in deep clear water and not being able to see the bottom. This is particular funny because I grew up in Hawaii, and surfed and swimmed quite regularly. This fear only manifest itself in the ocean and not in lakes. For some reason, murky water doesn't bother me but clear water and still not being able to see the bottom does. Haven't figured that one out. :vbroll:

[mysticalzoe]

I have alot of fear, I am terrified of total darkness, in fact once I had a panic attack because I couldn't see my hand, my husband wasn't too happy because I had to sleep with the light on. I have clausterphobia, I am terrified of windows being open at night, scared I will see something, I have fear of heights, and refuse to go on bridges, or anything else that is up high and moves. I'm also terrifed of dogs.

[Rage_Garden]

^^^At my school we have a construction class that I was in. I was the most non caring about heights I guess so I took the job of being on a 16 foot ladder on almost the top step looking strait up trying to hammer a 8 penny nail through a board like 3 feet above my head with the sun also in my eyes. That was insanely scary but at least someone was holding the ladder.

Im also afraid of the dark but mostly its because I think someones behind me. I saw some weird shadows last night so I proceeded to just leave some lights on. Im getting tired of the fear real fast :crs: (place ghost here) But I have run a 100 yard dash from my neighboors house to mine at midnight! That wasnt exactly fun and exciting though because all I had was a Maglight lol.

[Achluophobia]

Im not scared of the dark, I just thought my name was different.

Anyway I dont exactly fear this but I dont like the black sections in the sea.
Say if im on an inflatable and swim out reall deep, the dark sections to get abit scary, especially with my wild imagination. I also dont like it when there are odd things floating about and you think it might be a jelly fish.

[MoonlapseV]

im terrified of the ocean in general. i cant go even go up to my knees without freaking out. its basically because i have a severe fear of sharks, and other things in the water. it also just grosses/freaks me out to think you could be stepping on fish or creatures or something. im also very scared of murky lakes.

imvery afraid of large spiders. just seeing a picture of one makes me shiver in disgust.

im also scared of the dark. not really the dark itself, but what lies within the dark. i cant stand walking down dark dark hallways.

[Zyztem]

Im not scared of the dark, I just thought my name was different.

Does that mean you're afraid of sneezes?... :evlol: Just kidding.

Seriously though, I can identify with water based phobias. I absolutley cannot tolerate standing in mud while in the water. On land doesn't phase me a bit. Seeing something in motion near me while in the water gets me. Also, seeing something large underwater, harmless or not, freaks me too.

[Marajadex]

Check out
http://www.phobialist.com/

Reading this list could cause phobias!
Me... I can't stand cockroaches and snakes used to make me run. However when the theatre I worked out did the musical Carnival we had live animals in the show and one of them was an eight foot boa. A good friend of mine was in charge of feeding it and having it ready for when they needed it on stage. Kind of made me think twice about my fear.

Sometimes confronting a fear of phobia can make things better. I still don't want to see any cockroaches! :eww:

[Red Shift]

I have an irrational fear of extra terrestrials, i have no idea why they scare me because i love the thought of them existing, i only have to look at a drawing of one and instantly i have sweaty palms and extremely nervous, i have tried to scare it out of myself by typing in stuff like aliens on google image search but im starting to think this is making it worse, any ideas on what to do?

[VegasRonin]

I have an irrational fear of extra terrestrials, i have no idea why they scare me because i love the thought of them existing, i only have to look at a drawing of one and instantly i have sweaty palms and extremely nervous, i have tried to scare it out of myself by typing in stuff like aliens on google image search but im starting to think this is making it worse, any ideas on what to do? I don't have a fear of ETs but when I see a pretty good pic of one, I get a sense of looking at something that is definitely wrong. I get a sense that these lil' guys are no good. Don't know how else to explain it. Its like something that's instinctual is activated, and its telling me to avoid them.

[Marajadex]

I have an irrational fear of extra terrestrials, i have no idea why they scare me because i love the thought of them existing, i only have to look at a drawing of one and instantly i have sweaty palms and extremely nervous,Hmmmm... Do you think you may have had an alien encounter and that is why they get to you?

Aren't headtrips fun! :burnin:

Acutally the idea of shadow people and ghosts get me a little. If I am driving home late at night and Coast to Coast is doing their "Ghost to Ghost" or shadow people topics I usually change the station or put in a CD. I usually get home late at night when everyone is asleep, and they all sleep with their bedroom doors open so I have to navagate around with out turning lights on. Not the best time to be thinking about ghosts and all. :devsmoke:

[Red Shift]

Its like something that's instinctual is activated.

Its funny you should say that, have you seen the film signs with Mel Gibson?

I get a funny kind of victory feeling when his brother beats that alien to death with a base ball bat and i get a funny feeling as if i want to do the same, if any ET's ever want to make contact with humans, it would be wise for them not to contact me first, especially after watching signs :devsmoke:

[kur]

since i have been young(er) i have always been deathly afraid of snakes, heights, small places, and thunder/lightning. its just something that i have always had.

also, when i was young(er), (3 or 4), i used to have nightmares almost every night about the store manicans (you know, the things that model clothes), but the kind that dont have heads or hands, coming to kill me. i really dont know what my parents fed me as a child. i just find it odd that this nightmare happened almost every night for two years.

i think that these fears get 'hardcoded' into your mind while you are young, and then they're incrediblly hard to shake or get rid of as you grow older.

i havent had that nightmare in quite sometime :-), although when i was 13 or 14 i did have it again. and its funny; because i remember it so vividly; as if it was almost real life.

[Red Shift]

Hmm...what Marajadex said back there is really playing on my mind now, although i have no recolection of missing some time or any strange images of things round me testing me or anything, perhaps its just a fear of the unknown....who knows?

[VegasRonin]

Hmm...what Marajadex said back there is really playing on my mind now, although i have no recolection of missing some time or any strange images of things round me testing me or anything, perhaps its just a fear of the unknown....who knows? I have an interseting story that I may one day relate. Not anytime in the foreseeable future though.

[Red Shift]

How come you don't wnt to tell it, brings too much shit back?


I would love to hear ya story!

[mysticalzoe]

Red Shift,

I am exactly like you when i see aliens, only I start hyperventilating, sweaty, sick to my stomach, and I start panicking, can I be honest with you? Since I have all of these signs and one scary dream I have been told I've been abducted by aliens, and the sad thing was I had flash backs from these abductions, I'm serious. the dream that scared me and woke me up, I've read they do come through your dreams, I had this dream i was waking up, in strange place, and everything is fuzzy, and I see these three figures looking at me with a huge light behind them, and as my eyes focus I see there aliens, and i am naked and a gray balnket is drapped on my legs, and they show me this fetus, and I think they took it from me, and I look over and see another girl with blonde hair, come to find out she was real and contacted me through a website I went on, and they are removing a baby from her too. Then i black out, in my dream, i wake up and I'm sore down there and i start having my period, it delayed 4 days. Freaky huh? Now here is something that is goign to give you goosebumps, I had this dream in March on my birthday. two weeks later I get some very scary flashbacks and I mean they are real. i am laying in bed cannot sleep, and i am in the fetal position with my face down on the mattress, and I open my eyes, I'm not dreaming by the way, and I am no longer in my room, I am floating out of my window, I see the ground, the fence, and I look to my left and see my window, I am very high up and then i see this light coming from above I don't look but feel like lifting in the air, I immdeiately jerk from my bed sweating, and I realize i am in my own room, then i look toward my doorway and see a figure standing there, and I close my eyes and open them and it's gone. My last flashback before i finally fell asleep was of me in a spaceship seing the ground below me. Now if I was never abducted how come I got flashbacks of seeing stuff and so on? I was never hypnotized or anything it just happened, and yes it scared me, and I terrified of sleeping for the longest time, i would stay up and wait for my husband to come home, this lasted a month, this year. nothing like it has happened since. Someone explain it to me.

[Red Shift]

wow thats creepy, earlyer on in this thread i have mentioned myself not seeing images, but reading your post made me think of a dream i have not thought of for ages, in the dream i am in a place very unfimiliar and im no sure if its on earth or not and im aware of things watching me even though i can't see them and im convinced they are not real.

Now another thing about me is my insanely detailed imagination, i can be lay in bed looking at the blinds at my bedroom window that are letting a bit of light in, then i notice a figure of a very slender and tall (about 7 feet) being just looking at me, i can also imagine very highly detailed planets and im now wondering if im just remembering seeing them from if i was ever abducted

Also this is the scary part for me, since reading your post i can see the face of an alien studying and looking at me, and this is creeping me out now

[mysticalzoe]

Red Shift,

Maybe it's not your imagination at all, ok I have question where is the face? Where do you see the face then? When I was looking for answers i happened upon websites about aliens, and on yahoo, i know this is corny but I joined a group for a short time called abductionbuddies, thats how i contacted certain that i still talk to to this day, and they non judgemental and I'm sure they can help you out. I do believe in alien abductions and feel i've been abducted once, and maybe you have, but i can't say wether you have been or not, because in my own mind, i still don't believe it myself even though I really do believe, does that make sense? let me know

jessica

[Red Shift]

The face is either close up as if its examining my face, or its just out of reach of my arms almost as if its in the shadows.

and your post makes perfect sense to me

Do you remember the url for the abduction buddies because i think i will check it out,

for now ill just search google

Pete Davis

[mysticalzoe]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/abductionbuddies/

I hope this helps you have to join, then fill out a questionaire and they will let you in the group they were nice to me and I'm sure they will be nice to you. Let me know if this has helped you. i don't know about you but I don't like them and don't like the fact that they take people against their will, which I feel is wrong! Good Luck! Let me know what you find out!

Jessica

[Red Shift]

Right ive signed up and im awaiting to be viewed by the group owner.

Thanks for the link

Yeh i agree with you, if they are going round abducting us against our will, that makes them as bad as scientists that test on animals and i don't agree with that either.

In my dreams i don't remembering them doing anything to do with my reproductive organs but then again i can't be sure, i can't imagine how you must feel if you thinkthay may have taken a child from you, perhaps they have some form of rapid pregnancy

Ill let you know how i get on with this group, thanks for your help so far

[mysticalzoe]

Hey,

No problem anytime :wine:

[VegasRonin]

How come you don't wnt to tell it, brings too much shit back? Not ready to convince people that I'm not a loony tunes just yet. Keep it to myself. Maybe on my death bed or something.

[Marajadex]

Question Red Shift...
Do you watch TV before going to sleep at night? Fall asleep with the TV on?

I usually fall asleep with the TV on, It has a sleep timer so it will go off automatically, and I find that when I fall asleep watching something intense I usually dream along the same lines. Example... If I fall asleep watching the X-Files I will have a dream along thoes lines. I fell asleep once watching the movie 12 Monkys and the dreams I had that night were definatly in the vein of that movie.

On the same token... I have had nights when I fell asleep and it feels like 5 minutes have passed and it is morning. These mornings when I wake up every thing is stiff and aches, I feel more tired than when I went to bed. I have usually and jokingly refered to these night as "abuction" nights. Now you and MysticalZoe are making me re-consider this. :yikes:

When I was a teenager I was hypnotized by my boyfriend... Yeah it was a sick and twisted relationship but alot of fun. He took me thru a made up alien abduction... Kind of like an X-Files episode yet this was years before teh X-Files was even thought of. He was good at hypnosis and I think I am very suseptable. I to this day know he did this yet some of the memories he gave me seem very real. Ooooohhh... Maybe he WAS and Alien! :burnin: Ok now my head is going in circles and I think I need a drink!

[Red Shift]

I don't normally watch tv before i goto sleep, i guess sometimes i do but only very rarely.

wow, do you remember the methods your boy friend used to hypnotise you?
I found something on the internet and ive been trying to use it to hynotise other people and myself, im not sure self hynotising is posible, but ive been trying.

[Marajadex]

wow, do you remember the methods your boy friend used to hypnotise you?It was so many years ago I am not sure I totally remember. We had gone to see a hypnotist show... "Reveen" I believe. We were both called up on stage as part of a big group and I was one of the few left actually hypntized. The boyfriend was not. He got to watch me make a fool out of my self. We purchased one of the records (yes vinal recording that tells you how long ago it was) one side was basic hypnosis and the other side was hypnosis to quit smoking. If I remember correctly we played the record in a dimly let comfortable room and he just took it from there. If I still have the record I is burried in my storage unit somewhere.

[Defiant Noquisi]

I have regular fears, like needles and lightening. Those arent any big deal really.

There is one thing that absolutely terrifies me, makes me sweat and I even have difficulty breathing....y'all are going to laugh your asses off.......

a serious relationship with a man!

I cant take it! When some guy starts getting serious I get ready to run as fast and as far as I can. Anything beyond "Was it as good for you..." and Im ready to hits the bricks leaving skid marks. :yikes:

[Orange]

I have so many phobias I didn't realize I had in the past couple of days/weeks. I do have a fear of black dots, needles, getting lost, death, mortal peril, spiders, bugs, pain, abuse, addiction, dogs (very little now - more when younger), diseases, infections, choking, floods, fires, burglars, kidnappers, bees, wasps, hornets, stings, being forgotten or ignored, failure, cells, cancer, extreme cold or heat, dentists, deformity, accidents, sinning, nosebleeds, blood, broken bones, stitches, becoming homosexual, black, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, long waits, menstruation, bad memories, ants, becoming ill, nudity, oral surgery, IVs, surgery, poisonous snakes, porn, suffocating, falling, punishment, alcochol, drugs, cigarettes, tobacco, getting wrinkles (I have some on my forehead and I amb only 13!), poison, injury, rape, and probably more. As you can probably tell, I definitely went through the Phobia List to make sure I didn't miss anything.
My worst fear over the last couple of days at school was black holes or dots and sometimes the color black. It all started after I had a nightmare that I had raised bumps (like goosebumps) that had big black holes in them. Then in my dream I ate chili (weird, eh?) and the bumps went away but the holes only got a little smaller. Then, at school, we watched a video about cells and diffusion and osmosis (and we watched it again today for review). I couldn't stand to look at the cells! They really disgusted me and made me feel sick. Then we started the cells unit in science and we had to look at cells under a microscope. I really didn't like it because I felt really sick so I finished quickly and sat down, not wanting to look at extra cells. My science teacher asked why I wasn't working and I told her looking at the cells makes me feel sick. Now I guess I have clusterphobia as many people call it. I don't like to look at some ceiling tiles because they have holes in them or fruit/vegetables with black holes from worms or things (peeling potatoes with holes freaks me out cuz I'm afraid something's going to crawl out). Now I feel grossed out thinking about this. I hope now I can get away with not having to dissect a lab rat in a couple of weeks!! Please oh please!

[Defiant Noquisi]

Welcome to the AO forums Orange. That's a very interesting first post you have shared with us. I'm concerned that you might be lumping "normal" fear with irrational fear? Have you always been afraid of things like this? Do you also have panic and/or anxiety attacks when you feel this fear?

[Orange]

Welcome to the AO forums Orange. That's a very interesting first post you have shared with us. I'm concerned that you might be lumping "normal" fear with irrational fear? Have you always been afraid of things like this? Do you also have panic and/or anxiety attacks when you feel this fear?

Hmm... most of these things I've always been afraid of. The black dots and cells just appeared as we started the cells unit in science or possibly before that when I had the gross dream. Needles are for sure a phobia - completely! I cry so much even if it doesn't hurt, it's not funny! I'm so so so scared right now because next year I have to get a shot.
Also, I've been afraid of dogs all my life and in just the last year, I've been trying to get used to them but I always jump or get scared around them even if I know they won't hurt me. I'm afraid of cats too.
And insects and spiders are of course a yes, because I feel sick around them or even seeing them. And bees 'n' them. I am so scared of them. I have no idea why I love to camp if there's so many ick ick things!
Oh, and thanks. I think this forum I'll definately be active in lol.

[Batmensch]

My worst fear over the last couple of days at school was black holes or dots and sometimes the color black. It all started after I had a nightmare that I had raised bumps (like goosebumps) that had big black holes in them. Then in my dream I ate chili (weird, eh?) and the bumps went away but the holes only got a little smaller. Then, at school, we watched a video about cells and diffusion and osmosis (and we watched it again today for review). I couldn't stand to look at the cells! They really disgusted me and made me feel sick. Then we started the cells unit in science and we had to look at cells under a microscope. I really didn't like it because I felt really sick so I finished quickly and sat down, not wanting to look at extra cells. My science teacher asked why I wasn't working and I told her looking at the cells makes me feel sick. Now I guess I have clusterphobia as many people call it. I don't like to look at some ceiling tiles because they have holes in them or fruit/vegetables with black holes from worms or things (peeling potatoes with holes freaks me out cuz I'm afraid something's going to crawl out).

This reminds me of my wife's terrible fear of honeycomb; not the real thing, particularly, but the repeated geometric shapes. She used to have bad dreams with the honeycomb pattern in it when she was a child, and it still gives her the willies.

[Orange]

Well, I thought about that too. I think I'm also afraid of clusters of things but not as bad.

[Orange]

I also found out that I hyperventilate now from seeing black dots. It totally freaks me out and makes me feel like they're invading me even though they aren't really...
I also found I'm afraid of rats and dissection. We had to dissect lab rats in science this week and for three days we were exposed to them. On the day of the actually dissection, I refused to look at it unless accidental like when someone moved. The whole rat was yellow (from preservatives)!!!!! Gross! Then my mom got mad at me for not looking at it at school and told me I had to look at it the next day... It was really gross but I only looked at it for about 5 sec at a time about 20 times or less. We had to draw a diagram and I had to copy a lot off of one of my group members. Then we had a flag test the next day. EW!