Phobias

[Wainy316]

11 minutes ago, BOF said:

Phobias I don't understand - Trypophobia. Google it. That's one way of finding out if you have it or not. People are weird.

Ha, yeah I think I have that to a degree.  Nothing major but does make me feel slightly strange and uneasy.

[Phil Silvers]

1 hour ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

On topic when we lose a game. Scares the hell out of me. 

I have good news, we're going to lose no more than 2 more games this season. 2nd beckons.

[Vive_La_Villa]

My sister has a phobia of buttons. Weirdo.

[trekka]

I'm fine with heights if I know I am safe.  Looking at videos of people climbing towers etc when one slip could mean their death - sod that! 

On the public speaking, I hate it with a passion and reside myself to the fact that I'm generally useless at it.  It is the feeling of the unknown.  I can go into a brief knowing that I know everything but as soon as I stand at a podium or in front of a large crowd I fall apart.  I can't remember anything I am meant to say,  go bright red and turn into a sweaty mess.  I then start stammering and generally can't wait for the whole ordeal to be over.  If I am asked to provide a brief nowadays, I go fully armed with cards with everything written down.  So be it if I need to read them verbatim.  Before you ask, yes, I have undertaken effective communicating and presenting to audience courses.  I wouldn't class it a phobia as such, it just isn't my thing. 

[Chindie]

1. Heights (Acrophobia)

Like others, I'm fine at heights in a stable environment - I can look at the window at the ground from a high rise with little effect - but in a less stable situation I'm going to be worried. When I was younger I got stuck trying to climb down a cliff for a bit and was not in s good place.

2. Public speaking (Glossophobia)

Like most people I suspect this is less a true phobia and more 'just don't like it'. I'm going to be nervous and worried about it but I'm not going to be petrified.

3. Snakes (Ophidiophobia)

Snakes are fine. I'm not going to be rushing to kiss a cobra but I'll happily hold a python (insertKenneth).

4. Flying (Aerophobia) 

Similar to heights. Am I petrified on a plane? No. Am I aware that I'm a thin metal tube thousands of feet in the air and if things go wrong I'm dead? Yes.

5. Spiders (Arachnophobia)

I don't like spiders but I wouldn't say I was truly phobic of them. I'm not going to be happy with one near me but I'm not going to be screaming running from them. I've caught and disposed of enough at this point it's hard to be truly terrified of them.

6. Crowds/Being outside (Agoraphobia) 

This is a difficult one. I don't like being in busy surroundings and I don't like being outside, but that's a related fear rather than being outside itself 

7. Clowns (Coulrophobia)

Never understood this. Do I like clowns? No. But I don't understand being scared of them. Although perhaps on a related note when I was younger I would actively avoid people when I was out and about who were in costumes doing advertising work. I literally used to cross the road to avoid them.

8. Enclosed spaces (Claustrophobia)

Controlled enclosed space, fine. Unexpected, no. I got stuck in a lift a few years ago and that was fine, but it was only for about 15 minutes. I'm not the guy that's going to be going potholing or doing my best Bishop in Aliens impression though.

9. Mice and rats (Musophobia) 

Fine, nothing to be scared of.

10. The dark (Nyctophobia)

Fine.

My fears are all because I'm nuts really.

[bickster]

42 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said:

My sister has a phobia of buttons. Weirdo.

My missus has that

[Designer1]

2 minutes ago, Chindie said:

7. Clowns (Coulrophobia)

I'm the opposite with Clowns as I collect them - the creepier looking the better.

[PussEKatt]

I only have one and thats large spiders,any spider bigger than 1 inch and im otta there.

 

[Vive_La_Villa]

I wonder if the original IT film created a generation of clown phobia. 

[chrisp65]

56 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

I suffer from  Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia , which is only really a problem if watching Mary Poppins or visiting Wales   

Mods, this is why I’m constantly filling your inboxes with ranty accusations. The sooner you ban this guy the sooner I’ll stop sending you weekly reports on his transgressions. And once again, a transgression is not an angry pre op.

I don’t think I have any phobias, other than chirpy cockneys dishing out free crisps. My job means I spend a fair bit of time climbing scaffolding and ladders and standing on roofs (I’m a burglar). More often than not I’m fine with this. But some days I just can’t do it, it scares the crap out of me. So 9 times out of 10 I’m happy  to do the climb and privileged to see a cityscape from another angle. But every now and again, I have to apologise and say it’s not for me today.

I’ve been quite surprised how well that has been accepted by contractors and scaffolders when I’ve said it. I guess its a lot less hassle for them if I freeze before I’m up there rather than once I’m up there.

I am not John Noakes. Couldn’t do that.

 

[tonyh29]

2 minutes ago, Designer1 said:

I'm the opposite with Clowns as I collect them -
 

Always knew you were Steve Bruce 

[Wainy316]

2 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

I only have one and thats large spiders,any spider bigger than 1 inch and im otta there.

Ah, well you certainly live in the right place then.

[bickster]

5 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

I only have one and thats large spiders,any spider bigger than 1 inch and im otta there.

 

Do you measure them before you become scared?

[tonyh29]

7 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

I only have one and thats large spiders,any spider bigger than 1 inch and im otta there.

 

save me typing it again   .. not sure if if I'd call it a phobia of spiders , more a phobia of being raped and eaten by a spider 

 

On 02/10/2019 at 22:29, tonyh29 said:

My spider story ..

was in a hotel in China and saw a movement out the corner of my eye ... massive great spider , it being China I couldn’t decide if it was likely to cause me harm so I thought I’d trap it in something and chuck it outside ... nearest suitable object was the ice bucket , trouble is the spider was bigger than the ice bucket by some considerable margin , so instead I opted for the rolled up newspaper approach ... spider sorta laughed at me but ran off back up into the ceiling area... little while later it comes back so I whack it again with the newspaper and it runs off under the bed , I’m on the floor moving the bed etc when like a bad horror film I see a giant spider shadow on the wall , turns out mr spider is crawling over the bed side light ,ready to pounce as far as my imagination was by then concerned ... as newspaper wasn’t working i upgraded to the Chengdu version of the yellow pages and suffice to say spider problem was no more 

I kinda felt bad but hey if your gonna spider go spider in a forest not my hotel room 

obvious candidate would be a huntsman which I know now to be harmless but I dunno    I’ve seen smaller elephants than this thing !! 

[PussEKatt]

@tonyh29Your story about the Huntsman reminds me of a guy at work a few years ago.First of you do realise that the Huntsman is called that because they go twords you,not away from you. 

Ok, so this friend from work ( Rosco ) was working in his roof when he saw a Huntsman so he tried to shh it away and it jumped on his knee.Without thinking he hit it with the hammer he had in his hand at the time.Did some real damage to his knee,he was off work for a while.True story.

[sharkyvilla]

I think we've done this before with my fear of buttons.  I know it's weird and hard to explain but I can't stand wearing them unless they are covered up by a tie or whatever.  I never liked public speaking but that was because I was extremely shy in almost all circumstances but I went to the doctors and basically got over my social phobia over time.  Then there is heights, I can't stand the bastards.

[PussEKatt]

15 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Ah, well you certainly live in the right place then.

Actually there is a black spider here that is around 1 inch long and is fairly common ( you see maybe 2/3 a year ) when I see one of them im off,even though I know they are harmeless.

[Follyfoot]

1 hour ago, bickster said:

Is this really a phobia for most people?

I don't mean people don't like it, I'm not a big fan of it myself but Public Speaking is a skill that can be taught. People don't like it because a) they aren't trained and usually b) some ego / self image issue

It makes people nervous or anxious and I fully understand why people feel that but a phobia manifests itself as an overwhelming and debilitating fear. I'd be shocked if that were the case with Public Speaking

 

I definitely get the debilitating fear with heights but not a lot else

Back in the day I got roped into a number of industry conference speeches, always remember the first one, was shaking like a leaf, stuttering, almost in blind panic. After a director of the then Lehmans, who had noticed my discomfort told me to imagine all of the audience were in their underwear, which at the time I dismissed as being nonsense. Next speech up got to the stage and was all of a quiver so shut my eyes for a second and did as he said. Unbelievably it worked and has worked ever since 

[Vive_La_Villa]

9 minutes ago, Follyfoot said:

Back in the day I got roped into a number of industry conference speeches, always remember the first one, was shaking like a leaf, stuttering, almost in blind panic. After a director of the then Lehmans, who had noticed my discomfort told me to imagine all of the audience were in their underwear, which at the time I dismissed as being nonsense. Next speech up got to the stage and was all of a quiver so shut my eyes for a second and did as he said. Unbelievably it worked and has worked ever since 

But then you have to try and hide your erection.

[blandy]

5 minutes ago, PussEKatt said:

the Huntsman is called that because they go towards you, not away from you. 

I didn't know that. One evening in the outback I was sat outside my accomodation on the doorstep, door open, looking outwards, when I heard pitter patter footsteps. Then around a corner came a large spidey. It was fairly dark, so I couldn't positively ID the type, but by size it looked like one. It saw me sat there and stopped its yomp towards me, about 10 feet away. I sat still and did a mental communication with it "you be one your way, and all will be well, but if you come any closer, I'm gonna have to get my shoe". We understood each other and it wandered off in a different direction.

The rascals were abundant, which kind of surprised me for a desert location - redbacks, funnel Web spiders, Huntsmen and loads of other types I don't know the names of. I'll not post pics, seeing as people might freak out.

I'm not bothered by them in terms of fear or 'owt, but don't want them stomping around the bedroom and stuff.

I don't think I'd be keen on something like pot-holing and crawling through underground tunnels and stuff, but not to phobia levels. None of the other stuff bothers me, really.