I’m not sure if this is counts as any kind of real phobia or not (so please don’t nitpick me on the term), but I really dislike craneflies (if you don’t know what a cranefly is, here’s a picture of one resting on a human hand) - now the odd thing is that they don’t bother me at all under normal circumstances, in fact, I went ouf for a walk this evening and crossed a field of long grass and there were hundreds, probably thousands of them, flying up off the ground as I approached, alighting briefly on me, brushing past me and so on - not a problem.
But if just one of them comes into the house in the evening and starts flying about the room, I turn into a gibbering wreck - almost any other insect will have a decent chance of being carefully evicted in a postcard-covered tumbler; craneflies just have to be swatted.
I don’t understand why I feel this way; I think it’s something to do with the way that they just seem totally out of control when they fly about a room.
Do you have an irrational fear of something that is only triggered in a specific context? Talk to me.
I have a problem with all insects inside my apartment or office and all insects crawling on me, and with swarming insects anywhere.
If a bug crawls on me, or if it’s inside my apartment or office, I freak. It. Must. Die. The only exception is fireflies (which we don’t seem to have here in CA). All other bugs in those contexts must be sprayed or squished.
Seeing a few ants won’t bother me (unless, as noted above, they are inside- then They Must Die). But if I see a whole swarm of them, that skeeves me out. I don’t like seeing them swarming along those trails they follow. I don’t like seeing large swarms of other insects, either- I don’t like clouds of gnats, for example.
I’m a big fan of apostrophes. I like them in contractions, like it’s and can’t. I like them in possessives, like Podkayne’s friend’s high-school roommate’s sister’s dog’s veterinarian.
But seeing the inside a plural gives me the screaming heebie jebbie’s.
Argh! ARRRRGGHH!!! AAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!
Mostly unsteady, or unsecure heights. I have no problems with roller coasters and some balconies, but I HATE bleachers (especially the ones we had in high school-pep rallies made me a wreck if we couldn’t sit near the bottom.
Or recently, we went to my cousin’s house, where he and his wife are adding on to their house. A few weeks ago, they had the upstairs put in, but only a ladder to access it. There was no way I was going up that ladder. But after they put the steps in, I had no problems, even though you could still see down to the first floor.
I’m affraid of attractive women, but only if they are seem available and talk to me or show interest. A married beautiful woman is easy for me to talk to, but if the same person was unmarried I would be so worried that I might try to get away from her and talk to someone else.
Many years ago my car was rear-ended by a semi while zipping along the expressway. :eek: I’m fine, the car’s fine, even the dog who was riding in the back seat was fine. According to the state trooper who took the accident report, it’s amazing the semi didn’t just flatten my car. At the last moment, you see, I had spotted the grillwork in my rearview mirror and instinctively sped up my car, which prevented catastrophic damage to me and my vehicle.
I’m perfectly comfortable being around semis, unless one’s close enough that all I can see is grillwork in my rearview mirror. Then, while I wouldn’t quite describe my reaction as “phobic”, I start breathing really hard and have to fight the urge to floor the accelerator. Took me years to bring my reaction down to just that, believe me. I can’t imagine how bad I’d be if I had actually been injured.
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