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RobertCloud -> RE: It's my phobia!! (3/29/2007 9:22:46 AM)
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Actually most people have several phobias but many never come in contact with their phobias. Mainly, it is a fear of the unknown or a fear of death.
Mine are common, I cannot swim, and have almost drowned twice when I was rather young and twice again later, once as a teen and once in my thirties I do not know if I will ever get the courage up to take the lessons I want to take. I want to overcome the fear. I can handle water as long as I am on a firm footing and I can see the bottom, if it goes beyond that my heart races and I panic.
Snakes... I can handle snakes behind glass, or even domesticated pet snakes, those I can even handle and have owned two burmese pythons, one of which grew to over 9 feet long before it died from cancer. I got the original python because of an incident that occurred with one of my favorite uncles.
We had gone ginseng hunting in Ohio. I had just found a rather large cluster of ginseng when I heard what I thought was a stick falling out of the tree. As I bent down to get the ginseng the stick started slithering away from me. I ran in the opposite direction. I did not care that I was running through a briar patch and that it ripped my jeans and my calves and thighs to shreds I just had to get away from the snake.
Now as long as I know the snake is not poisonous I can handle being around them, but in the wild you have to get to close to find out so in the wild I am still terrified and I still move very quickly away. I no longer run, but believe me, I walk as fast as I can.
Large insects, biting or stinging insects... actually stinging insects do not bother me at all, though I am am terrified of the idea of running into some Africanized Bees, that is not likely to happen where I live. Other bees, wasps, hornets and such I just swat away and if I get stung I get stung, I am not allergic and I remove the stinger and I am fine. I have had to learn to overcome this fear because I have had several people around me over the last several years that are so allergic that one sting could kill them, so I have been the one to step in between the insect and the person to protect them. I am the same way about most biting insects, most it will just hurt a bit and damn thing will die for biting me. Then you get to the large ones, the ones that are not true insects... Arachnids, Arthropods, Millipedes etc.. and again many of these I can handle being around without fear, I don't want them on me... and will shake them off me if they are on me. Spiders I do not kill, for the most part, I carry them outside, unless there are a lot of them. My basement was recently infested with a cupboard type spider and I had no choice but to kill a lot of them, but normally I would have carried them outside. (I capture them on paper or in a cup to do this not with my bare hands). Large spiders I have not had to deal with anything larger than an old silver dollar yet and handled it well. I have had a few friends with tarantulas but I have not held them and won't.
Fire... having survived one house fire I have a healthy fear of them... but I do not panic so it is not a phobia with me.
Auto Accidents... God I have had enough of these that most people would never even get in a car again, but I look at it that I have had enough that if I live to be 300 I should never have another.
Most other things it is a matter of respect, respect dogs that I do not know, I am not terrified of them, but I will be weary of them. Respect wildlife, when I am in the wild, I have to be careful of what might be there, but I am not terrified to the point I will not venture into the wild so it is not a phobia.
Phobias keep you from doing things, my mother suffered from agoraphobia for ten years and for ten years she did not leave the house. She did not attend my wedding, she did not even go to the hospital when she had an attack of Bell's Palsy and because of this has some permanent paralysis on a side of her face, she could not go... the minute she even tried to get the mail her heart would race, she would get cold sweats, and she would almost pass out. That is a true phobia...
I understand them, because the last time I almost drowned the very idea of stepping into the water I got the same panic attack reaction she had.
I don't get them anymore, but I know the difference between a healthy and strong fear versus a true paralyzing phobia.
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