Bear said:
Having a phobia means you're afraid of something irrational, as in it cannot possibly harm you. Having a fear of sharks, for instance, has no phobia, because it can actually hurt you.
Hmm, so does that mean my fear of physical pain/torture is not a phobia? Maybe...
Some phobias I have:
- Claustrophobia: fear of tight spaces. For me, it has to be a
very tight space, as in I'm hardly able to move, and I have to be lying down. For example, if someone put me in a coffin and sat on it so I couldn't escape, I would totally freak out. But squeezing into a vertical space between buildings doesn't bother me. This is also a reason why I don't like waterslides that are so narrow you have to lie down in.
- "Pestophobia": Fear of bugs, but specifically the ones that are pests, like wasps and cockroaches and moths. (Not butterflies, dragonflies, honeybees, etc.) The exception is flies for some reason--I guess I'm just used to them. ("I wouldn't hurt a fly, so a fly wouldn't hurt me.") But maggots scare me. Another possible exception is spiders, but I'll get into that later. I don't shriek or even cringe at the sight of one of these bugs, but I do shudder a tiny bit, and can't wait until the bug disappears.
- "Aquanasalophobia": Fear of getting water up my nose. Another reason why I don't like the aforementioned waterslides, and the reason why I always hold my nose when going underwater (though I might let go once I'm in the water).
- "Vocalophobia": Fear of talking to people. This especially happens when I want to ask someone for something, or carry on a conversation with someone I don't know too well.
- "Mesmerophobia": Fear of looking at people when talking to them, especially into their eyes. Perhaps I think they're trying to hypnotise me?
- "Adipophobia": Fear of fat, specifically animal fat. This also includes fat on my body, oddly enough--I just... really hate the feel of it. Note the distinction from Anorexia nervosa, which deals specifically with a fear of
being fat to the point of not eating. This I don't have.
- "Observophobia": Fear of people watching me. For some reason I have a tendency to want to do things secretly and quietly... although this does not stop me from performing in public or getting undressed near a window.
- "Justophobia": Fear of cops, lawyers, anyone with a justice-related job. I don't think I'm gonna explain this...
I think it's natural for someone interested in the paranormal to have paranormal-related fears, as they would be more aware of the topic. But with me, despite my fond interest in anything paranormal, I have no such fears--in fact, I personally view such fears as rather silly. Nor do I have any indirectly-related fears, such as hemophobia (fear of blood) or necrophobia (fear of dead things).
And now for a couple fears I try desperately to conceal, and/or only have partially.
- Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders. I do show the same signs with any bug upon seeing a spider (see "Pestophobia", above) and still get nervous about touching one, but I quell this with the knowledge that spiders get rid of a lot of the real pesty bugs. I have saved a spider's life quite a few times, and I'm bothered when someone kills a spider.
- "Murkophobia": Fear of the dark. In most cases, I
love darkness, especially when indoors--in fact, I get annoyed when someone turns on the lights. I also enjoy walking outside at night. But whenever I do that, I occasionally get a tad fearful, as if someone will mug me or something.
- Cynophobia: Fear of dogs. It doesn't mean I don't
like dogs--it means that I usually shudder and/or jump slightly at the sight or sound of one, especially if it's otherwise quiet or if it's nighttime. (I'll note that this works only with
domestic dogs. If I feared foxes, I wouldn't have picked Ninetales as a username!)
- "Pilphobia": Fear of theft. It gets to the point where I frequently look at my purse, and walk back to my car to make sure it's locked. Or, I frequently wonder, "Is anyone going to try to steal my laptop?" or "If I leave this here, what are the chances that someone will take it?". I think this may have also, oddly enough, led to me falling in love with a fictional character I created who's a thief, so maybe I figure if I keep him in mind, I can more easily prevent theft? Of course this also means that I don't necessarily hate thieves in general. I think falling in love with the aforementioned character may have led me to advocate them...
^^I think I developed this fear after having a jacket, a purse, two MP3 players, and a GBA (w/ Pokemon Ruby) stolen... and after my boyfriend's DS was stolen. Curiously, ever since I developed this fear and the aforementioned character, I've never had anything stolen from me. Hee hee--it works after all.
