Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[KvP]

Getting an IV really make me truly dislike needles. Ick.

Those little butterfly needles? but they deliver delightful painkillers! And they don't even hurt going in!

Remind me never to rely on you people if I ever need medical attention.

Not the drinking water, but deep water. Oh man...insanely scary.

I hear you. I can go out to the beach and swim, but I can't go out too far. There's a point where the shelf drops off and you're suspended over the oceanic void. I hate that feeling.

[E. Spaceman]

I used to be very uncomfortable around telephones. Now i work tech support.

[Tom]

Not the drinking water, but deep water. Oh man...insanely scary.

I hear you. I can go out to the beach and swim, but I can't go out too far. There's a point where the shelf drops off and you're suspended over the oceanic void. I hate that feeling.

Something like that happened when I was scuba diving. I swam out pretty far and I'm like "Shit were the hell did the coral go!". Deep water is real scary when you dive down heaps far and there is all this pressure on four lungs as you try to make it to the surface again.

[Ozymandias]

I'm afraid of Americans.

[KTkat]

That is one of the least irrational fears I've ever heard.

Also, being high places with no means of protection other than your own sense of balance is fucking terrifying.

[BobJoeJim]

I hope no one freaks out on Chrasstor though. I mean, he's only being honest.

Of course this is true, and it would be both silly and downright rude to freak out on him about the midget or gay thing, there's nothing wrong with his being honest.  Am I allowed to freak out on him for this though?

I tried to find that one quote from the Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers movie, where that one princess girl is all, "I don't fear death, I fear being caged or whatever..." and then Aragorn is like "You're a princess, that shit aint gon' happen."..

THOU SHALT NOT BUTCHER TOLKIEN!!!

[The Overachiever Bandit]

I'm scared of roaches, and the mascot from this bank in my hometown. It's a blue owl, and it freaks me out.

[Tom]

I'm afraid of Americans.

That must make things difficult, they're every where.

[KvP]

I'm not entirely sure everyone here gets that reference. Not that I blame them. We are pretty unsettling.

[Storm Rider]

Hell, I know what that's referring to and I don't even listen to Bowie.

[bryanthelion]

I second Chrasstor's fear of new people. I end up making myself look shy (best case scenario), douchey (worst case scenario), or I giggle alot (middle case scenario).

[jhocking]

Lately I've realized I have a fear of heights. I'm not sure when that started, I certainly didn't used to mind heights. I think it may be a side-effect of my coming to grips with being a clumsy oaf.

Also, getting sliced open by skates. It's not totally irrational, since I play hockey. I almost sliced my leg open when I fell the other day during practice. And the locker room horror stories about toes getting stepped on and stuff. I put my shoes on immediately after taking my skates off.

aaaaand now I'm nervous about this. Thanks!

Also, have you seen Blades of Glory? lawl

I hear you. I can go out to the beach and swim, but I can't go out too far. There's a point where the shelf drops off and you're suspended over the oceanic void. I hate that feeling.

Oh man now I'm remembering the time back in Egypt when my family took a trip to the Red Sea. My dad and I were going out scuba diving and my mom and sisters were snorkeling alongside us. As we approached the dropoff in the coral shelf my mom stopped at the edge and peered over it, and then abruptly turned around and raced back to shore. I nearly choked on seawater from laughing.

[Patrick]

Somebody mentioned a fear of flying. I've never understood it, because it is several thousand times safer than driving. The requirements are rigorous as all hell. There's a biannual medical examination, there's a requirement for a bare minimum of I think 36 hours of ground school, and that's just for flying in CLEAR weather. There's a whole different level of shit you have to do to be able to fly in fog or clouds, and yet another different level of shit to be able to fly paying passengers, all requiring ground school, in-flight instruction, and a signed doctor's note every two years saying "This person's okay to fly."

Besides, air traffic controllers are ALWAYS watching and providing instructions to aircraft both on the ground and in the air.

Does this help? :B

[ampersandwitch]

It shouldn't really.  The whole point of a phobia is that it's not rational.  Is there really any logical reason to be afraid of clowns?
I mean besides John Wayne Gacy Jr, I think we're good.

[tania]

well, what usually makes something a phobia in the first place is that it's irrational and difficult to explain.
thus i am superior to all of you because i have no phobias. only completely rational fears. it is totally justifiable to be afraid of molasses, but you guys are just weird.

[Runs_With_Scissors]

Also, have you seen Blades of Glory? lawl

Actually, I watched that last weekend. Absolutely amazing movie.

Oh, and in reply to the fear of IV's. When I was getting prepped for my first surgery, they didnt exactly warn me that they were putting the IV in, so when the lady was like 'one two three -jabs in hand with hella scary needle thing' I kinda flipped out a bit. Especially because blood started spurting out of the thing since there was no stopper in the top to stop stuff from coming out. Now they have to put me under before they come near me with the IV. Thank the nurse and my mom(who totally lied to me just so I would agree to sit still for them to do it) for that irrational fear.

[supersheep]

Flying.

Actually, per 100 million passenger hours, it's actually slightly more dangerous than driving. And per million journeys, it's something like 60 times more dangerous.

EDIT: To clarify, the reason it's per million journeys is because that's how the statistic was given (in Kasperson et al, Communicating Risks to the Public: International Perspectives, pp. 109-111, available here.) And while you might be less likely to die on a plane than in a car, you are more likely to die on any particular plane journey than on any particular car journey.

[jhocking]

What does that mean? Why would per million journeys be any different than per journey?

[tania]

also, people tend to spend far more time driving than flying. that statistic seems a bit arbitrary.

[camelpimp]

Getting an IV really make me truly dislike needles. Ick.

Those little butterfly needles? but they deliver delightful painkillers! And they don't even hurt going in!

Well, they DO hurt if they have to freaking, uh, dig into you to hit your damn veins. I have notoriously hard veins to hit. When I have to get blood drawn for any reason, I have to be pricked at least twice. And that's if they know what they're doing. Most people who do that sort of work in doctor's offices don't have much experiance at all. I remember one time they were trying to get blood from me, and they had to bring in three people before ONE of them could get it. By the time they were actually drawing blood from me, I was near passing out from the stress. And, uh, no, I would rather not give blood. I know I should. But I no good experiences I have had.

[TheFuriousWombat]

Flying.

Actually, per 100 million passenger hours, it's actually slightly more dangerous than driving.

I don't know about you, but I don't really think I'll ever spend 100 million hours (about 11,415 years if my calculations are correct) doing anything at all.

[supersheep]

By that token, you'll only die if you drive for about 350 straight years. Guess all those poor suckers who die in car crashes must be kinda glad that they can finally stop cruising up and down the highways.

STATISTICS WOW.

[Patrick]

Well, they DO hurt if they have to freaking, uh, dig into you to hit your damn veins. I have notoriously hard veins to hit.

I am pretty sure the arteries in my arms are made out of guitar cables. You can start hating me now.

Supersheep, I'd be interesting in knowing whether or not that book included military and private aviation in their statistics. U.S. Army helicopters are kindof notorious for falling out of the sky at a moment's notice, and three men died in different incidents at the Reno Air Races this year (because they were being FUCKING STUPID, but that's another story).

[Dissy]

I'm afraid of Americans.

I love you now.


I have a strong hate for needles.  Dunno how it started or anything.  Its not really a fear in so much as I can use them to give insulin to my dog, or for playing darts and stuff, but thinking about them piercing my skin, or seeing them do so makes my stomach churn, and on occassion, pass out.  And I have to watch it go in, otherwise I'll either freak out, or pass out.  The time I went in for a quick oral op, the surgeon used a huuuuuuuuuuuge needle to numb the area he was working on. The first time he poked me, I bit down, hard, and broke the syringe.

For all four of the surgeries I went in for that required knocking me out, they used an IV, which "isn't" a needle in the technical terms as its a plastic tube, not metal.  Fucking doctors.

[jhocking]

I like needles, mostly because injections do not bother me in the slightest and I can go into all the gory details when talking to squeamish people.

[Runs_With_Scissors]

My middle school had to call my dad so he could come hold me down to get a TB test done. I bit him and everything. Not exactly the behavior expected from an 8th grader. It was great. The nurses there hate me.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

i actually have something constructive to add!

if you are afraid of needles and want to get over it just stop brushing your teeth for a while then when you go to the dentist to get fillings don't even think about closing your eyes. just sit and stare at the giant needles they stick into your mouth. eventually it won't be so big of a deal.

i'm speaking from experience as i used to be violently afraid of needles (as in, i would fight to get away from them) but i've been to the dentist something like 5 times in the last month and a half just for cavities and now needles don't bother me so much. i won't be putting any in my arms but in the mouth is actually sort of bearable now. it still makes my arms sore talking about needles, though, so it's not a perfect solution.
don't ask why i had so many cavities, it's a long story. i promise it wasn't my fault, though!

also, i recently discovered that i am afraid of people lurking outside my window. i lived on the second story (or higher) my whole life and now i live on the ground floor and never open my blinds for any reason for fear of someone just standing there looking in. this is a completely irrational fear since i live in the middle of fucking nowhere and own several guns but i can't talk myself out of it.

[Emaline]

Somebody mentioned a fear of flying. I've never understood it, because it is several thousand times safer than driving. The requirements are rigorous as all hell. There's a biannual medical examination, there's a requirement for a bare minimum of I think 36 hours of ground school, and that's just for flying in CLEAR weather. There's a whole different level of shit you have to do to be able to fly in fog or clouds, and yet another different level of shit to be able to fly paying passengers, all requiring ground school, in-flight instruction, and a signed doctor's note every two years saying "This person's okay to fly."

Besides, air traffic controllers are ALWAYS watching and providing instructions to aircraft both on the ground and in the air.

Does this help? :B

It doesn't help.

Its not that I don't trust the pilot. I don't trust the plane. I am convinced something will go wrong with it, that no one could have predicted, and we will all come crashing down, above the ocean(which is insane because the only times I have ever been in a plane was flying from St. Louis to Las Vegas, and St.Louis to Chicago), and we'll all drown or be eaten by sharks, or some other such fate.

I'm usually ok until we begin to take off. At that point I can't breathe, and I start freaking out. It's pretty much like that the whole time we're in the air. I think it's my fear of falling really. I'm afraid of how high we are, and falling from that point.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

if it makes you feel any better, you'd most-likely die in the crash before you got the chance to drown or be eaten alive.

[mostlyharmful]

I'm absolutely terrified of water.  Well, water by proxy--it's really just submersion.  Swimming lessons were horrible.

Insects are almost as scary.  For a while there was a wasp's nest outside of my bathroom window and on several occasions they flew in while I was showerin'.  Not fun.

I'm afraid of assailants coming through the front door even though I live in suburban Texas.  I hate how my family deliberately unlocks the door just to mess with me.   

Solutions to the above:

- Avoiding swimming and only take showers.

- Keep your place clean, set traps and have bug killa handy.

- Lock the door.

If only they weren't compulsions.

Edit because I'm slow and miss nuances in my language...

[Madartistgirl]

 Terrified of spiders. Of all sizes. Even the really tiny ones freak me out. I just have to see one and I start hyperventilating.
 Also needles. Even talking about them makes me cringe. I don't think that I could EVER give blood or even THINK about it.
 Actually, anything to do with blood makes me start hyperventilating. I would make a REALLY crappy doctor  .
 I agree with the deep water thing too. The worst part about that is that it's NOT IRRATIONAL. There actually COULD be a shark swimming underneath you! Or a poisonous jellyfish! Or any sort of jellyfish. Even if it's a lake. Maybe.
 Actually, I even get a little frightened of deep swimming pools, although I'm starting to get over that.
 I'm actually quite disappionted that all my phobias seem to be quite common. I wish I could be scared of something more unusual! Like paper or something. 

[ThePQ4]

I used to be terrified of water, but I'm kind of over that now that I'm a better swimmer...now I just don't really have much of an interest in swimming or anything like that. Anything that involves me being out in the sun is stupid (I burn so easy, it isn't even funny).
I've mentioned my fear of CPR dummies before. The things freak me out!! Eeee, luckily, I don't have to deal with them often, so it's all good.

My sister has this totally irrational fear of needles. She freaks out. She had to get an IV put in because she had an infection and they had to give her some antibiotics and they kept missing her vein... Her boyfriend thought she was going to have a friggin' heart attack or something, or at least break his arm. I've never had a problem with needles though. Yay me.

[Patrick]

Or a poisonous jellyfish! Or any sort of jellyfish.

...shit, way to ruin ocean swimming for me.

Oh well I'm always afraid of getting hypothermia anyway. Skinny jackass like me shouldn't be swimming in something that cold and uncaring anyway.

[Boro_Bandito]

I'm not afraid of the sea, or snakes. I want to die actually on my ship wrestling with a giant sea serpent as it drags me down underneath the waves in the middle of a hurricane.

Instead I'm deathly afraid of being near most insects beyond ladybugs, though I have a morbid fascination with them because I love watching specials on them on Animal Planet.

Also, afraid of mass murderers getting into the house to kill me and my family. I have an elaborate escape plan and sleep with an old BB gun within reach of my bed, though I admit that fear is less now that I have a cell phone. Can pump and shoot then club, all while dialing 911.

[Dissy]

I know how to cure your fears of flying.  When you get to where you are going, take off your shoes and socks, and make fists with your toes.  And walk around doing that.


I think everybody has an ingrained fear of heights and water.  Because in the back of our heads, we know that one wrong move and we could die.

[Emaline]

When you fly anyway, you have to take off your shoes. At least at the airport.

[KickThatBathProf]

My roommate has a fear of whales

[jhocking]

Better not show him this then.

Or this.

And definitely not this.

[a pack of wolves]

Vomiting. Scares the living daylights out of me. I can't even watch it on the TV, and as for being near somebody else hurling... urgh, nothing worse except going through it myself. If someone were to offer me the choice between throwing up or getting a broken arm then I'd smash the damn thing myself.

[BobJoeJim]

The third whale video is awesome.  People are idiots.

"The would-be rescuers press closer, at one point trying to rope the whale and drag it to sea"
"Specifically what spurred the attack will remain a mystery"
Hmm, let me think.

[jhocking]

Man I didn't watch that first video all the way through until now. Towards the end those whales are real assholes.

[camelpimp]

My friend is scared of Oompa Loompas.

I want to say that's irrational, but I know in my heart it's not.

[Liz]

The original Oompa Loompas or the new ones?

[bryanthelion]

The originals are definately scarier then the new ones.

[camelpimp]

Original. She hasn't seen the remake, to my knowledge. I can't imagine she could bring herself to do so.

[Liz]

That's definately not irrational then. The old ones were ridiculously creepy, the new ones are just kinda weird.

[Ladybug]

While I'm not particularly afraid of the water (or, well, if I think about how fucking deep it is, it is kinda scary, but falling off of a boat tube at about 50-70m deep didn't bother me that much), I haate the thought of being "deep" (as in 3-4m) after jumping into water, and not getting up to the surface fast enough, even though I have plenty of air. It freaks me out completely, to the extent where I'll breath out submerged and end up actually needing air before I reach the surface. Not very optimal. Also, I'm scared of sharks and snakes, but I'm not planning on coming into contact with either.

I think I also have a slight fear of heights, but mostly because I can't seem to trust railings and stuff like that. I don't understand how people can lean on railings that are more than 2m above the ground.. I keep thinking that it'll come loose, and they'll just fall down, because they've put too much of their weight on it. I think I used to do that as well, but not any more.

Oh, and fires. Ever since I was a kid, the only thing I'd have recurring nightmares about is/was fires - family/friends dying, being disfigured etc. Often there would be a fire, someone would die, it would be put out, we could all go inside again, and it would reignite, someone else would die/get injured and it continued. So yeah, fires scare the crap out of me, although not as much now as it used to.

[just-another-andy]

I have a strange phobia that's been a problem ever since I can remember.

Jewellry.

Can't touch it, be near it, hear it jangle or...smell it
without freaking out majorly. It's so ridiculous and it hinders me quite a lot.

HATE!

[audacity]

ET. The alien.
Don't even get me started.

[Ozymandias]

^ Oh, that reminds me.


Alf.