Following on from a derailed convo which started in the below link onwards, thought it’d be nice to have a thread to discuss phobias and maybe even exchange tips/support for dealing with them if we have any in common.
As mentioned I’ve had a dog phobia my whole life and it really is something I’ve just learned to live with. I wont go to friends or families houses if they have dogs, even if they promise to take the dog elsewhere I am just paranoid something will go wrong and its really something irrational that I struggle to deal with because they never understand me.
Yeah its a nuisance. My high school best friend got one not long after we became friends, never been to her house lol. My in laws and sister-in-law both have dogs, so cant go to theirs which makes gatherings annoying as I just don’t go. My in laws are always like “oh we can put them in the garage!” and its like… well no.. because they’re there and what if someone who doesn’t know opens the door or whatever!
Like I mentioned on the confessions post I made, my boss and HR manager really didn’t take it seriously enough and it infuriated me.
Omg and when they’re like “oh but my dog is great” or whatever and its like… right… that doesnt help me at all in reducing my anxiety. A few years ago I accepted its something I just have to live with, and it doesnt bother me really, but since moving here and having the issue with the in laws its a bit of a nuissance. Oh well, gets me out of social events!
Yeah I don’t do heights either, I’m always terrified that a railing is going to break if I lean against it, thankfully a fear of heights is rarely an issue in Doctor Who. Now a fear of spiders on the other hand, horrifying, I’ll never forgive Chibnall for Arachnids of the UK
I’m pretty sure I have mild emetophobia. I get very anxious if I ever have a malaise feeling or even minor nausea. I don’t immediately panic if I see vomiting on screen but I get very uncomfortable. Some things I can handle easier though (as a niche example, the idle animation of a zombie throwing up in the video game Left 4 Dead 2 doesn’t bother me like at all). Also unlike some other people with emetophobia I am not triggered by words like “sick”, “vomit” etc.
But I can’t handle it much in real life. Whenever I hear about anyone near having vomited or having the stomach flu that makes me very anxious. I don’t know how this even happened to me, because back when I was younger it wasn’t a problem (well it was obviously not fun to throw up but it didn’t paralyze me). I actually never had to for a long time. It was actually the day I left 6th grade (summer 2015) where I couldn’t attend cause I was sick in the morning. It only happened twice though.
Then we get to last year in March where I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really unwell. I went to the bathroom because I had to pee first, then after that I must have passed out or something because I woke up later on the floor. There was some blood on the floor (I had hit my brow and chin and somehow broken part of one of my teeth) and I pretty much immediately had a panic attack. My parents helped me (and my head and everything was fine, don’t worry). I still felt nauseous and later did throw up in a bucket we brought up. Except it wasn’t a one or two-time thing like in 2015. It happened multiple times throughout the day and it sucked majorly. Luckily I got better after a few days and I think I didn’t vomit on any other day during my sickness. While I did realize during that sickness that it wasn’t the end of the world, it didn’t cure my phobia. I’m still very afraid of ever having to throw up.
Why do they make the fear of long words a long word? Do they like torturing people?
Anyway, I have one proper fear, and that is the fear of dentists. Specifically, going to the dentist’s (not the person). I don’t even know why. I’ve never had any trouble when going there, and my teeth have always been healthy. I guess it goes back to my childhood when I was constantly being told that if I didn’t brush my teeth properly, my teeth would rot, and so every time I went for a checkup, I was afraid they’d start drilling into my teeth. My final, free, and mandated checkup was back when I was 18 when my health was checked to see if I was fit to join the army. That was 11 years ago, and I haven’t gone to a checkup since.
I was also bitten by a dog at a young age, but the memory is hazy - it was a big dog and it pounced on my back and I landed on the floor and I think it bit my neck or something? No permanent scarring.
I don’t have a dog phobia, I’m fine with small dogs, but if I see a strange dog or a large dog walk up to me I’m definitely getting out of the way. I’d never own a dog.
I’m also a bit scared of the dentist, but I still go! I just worry the whole time before. When I’m actually there, it’s fine. You should get a check up @MrColdStream !!
For me I’m worried that I will have to have something done (I had all my wisdom teeth out and I absolutely hate needles in my gums!) so ironically the best thing to do is to go and get checked and prevent needing anything done at all!
Oh I also hate needles. If I just see that on TV I have to look away. But I still get jabs when I need them. You have to overcome your fears when it’s important.
that doesnt help me at all in reducing my anxiety. A few years ago I accepted its something I just have to live with, and it doesnt bother me really, but since moving here and having the issue with the in laws its a bit of a nuissance. Oh well, gets me out of social events!