[Sage]

A group of us were discussing flying one day at work, and my friend "A" said he had never flown anywhere before. The rest of us began suggesting possible and affordable trips for him to take, and he finally admitted that he was petrified at the very idea of getting airborne in a plane and went on to say that there wasn't enough liquor in the world to get him drunk enough to board one. Okay...
(In fairness, I was a little nervous the first time I flew, but my nervousness turned to elation immediately after take-off...despite the fact that every other passenger on the plane was praying because we took off in the middle of a rainstorm.)
A few days later I was showing him the photos from my last trip, and to my dismay "A" was unable to even look at the ones taken from the plane because he is terribly afraid of heights. Hmmm...
(I have a healthy respect for heights and I am prone to vertigo, but given a little time to acclimate I rather enjoy the view from a 21st story window.)
For the final straw, during a discussion about pet cats "A" revealed he is also afraid of domestic felines. With my usual compassion and tact, my response to this revelation was "What part scares you the most...the laying in your lap or the purring?".
(Cats do have sharp claws and teeth, but if you watch their body language and respect their boundaries, they'll respect yours as well.)
"A" isn't what I'd classify as a "wimp", and I was amazed to find that a reasonably macho guy suffered from such a wide variety of phobias. This got me to wondering how many regular people suffer from these or other phobias, so I thought I'd pose these questions here:
What are you afraid of?
Have you ever tried to confront or overcome your fears?
If so, what was the outcome?

[Maquisard]

I would never touch a spider with a bare hand (not even to smash it). They creep me out too much.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Mares

I would never touch a spider with a bare hand (not even to smash it). They creep me out too much.

Good one, Mares! The smaller ones are the worst!

[Jelena]

I have an ambiguous relationship to spiders: Outdoors and especially on field trips with my students I seem to be very interested and have no problem with them. I can even pick one up (if it's not too big). Indoors, in our basement where quite large spiders (as large as they get in Sweden) make their appearance every now and then I'm really disgusted with them. If I have to deal with these spiders by myslef I kill them with something large and heavy.

[SoccerDude28]

Spiders are adorable, especially those long legged ones. I never kill them, and instead put them on a newspaper and throw them away.

My biggest fear has to be earthquakes, especially now that I live in the bay area. I have never experienced a major one, but I watched the Tsunami on TV and it freaks me out. Every time a big truck passes by and the window shakes, I think it is an earthquake, and get freaked out.

[lumi]

I'm afraid of not being able to be active. Getting paralyzed, going blind, or some such thing. I'm going to donate a bunch of money to find a cure for those.

I'm also afraid of what's under the water where I'm swimming. I don't like stepping on who knows what or having my feet touch seaweed.

[Melanie68]

I hate it when I get a black widow in my house. I can't even smush them, they creep me out so much. My cats batted around the last one that got in and I scooped it up with a box and threw it outside. *shudder*

The daddy long leg type spiders I can smush on my own.

A friend of mine moved in with her boyfriend last year in a house in the country. One night they were lying in bed and heard a sound that they thought was a mouse. They turned on the light and looked up for some reason and saw a HUGE wolf spider. My friend thought the spider looked neat (I was horrified at the mention of it) but I thought it was funny she made her boyfriend scoop the spider up and put it outside.

[Jelena]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

I hate it when I get a black widow in my house.

Eiw! In the house! I even shudder at reaing that! One thing with our spiders: they aren't dangerous!
That must be the negative side of living in sunny, beautiful California.

[Melanie68]

One of my recurring bad dreams involved spiders and bugs. A couple nights after I got rid of the black widow, I dreamt there was a huge cobweb in the corner of my living room with 8 black widows in a row. I've had other dreams where there are cobwebs everywhere filled with spiders and bugs and I can't get rid of them. I've always had a spider/bug phobia (esp. spiders) although it's gotten better over the years.

[seebaruk]

Jeez. The biggest bugs we get over here are thimble-sized, thank the lord for our freezing non-sustainable weather!

My biggest fear is cancer of the penis.

[stepurhan]

Dentists. I have to be suffering quite severe oral discomfort before I'll go and see one. But I wlll bite the bullet (if you'll pardon the expression) if I have to.

I know it's sort of illogical but I hate the idea of someone poking around in that sensitive an area of my person and you have to be in a fairly vulnerable position for a dentist to work on you. (Leaning way back in a chair with your head bent back) I also get this irrational fear that I'm going to choke when they have their instruments inside my mouth (I have to concentrate really hard not to slam my mouth shut)

Of course, films haven't exactly helped this phobia. ( Marathon Man and Little Shop of Horrors anyone?)

[seebaruk]

Ahhh, both quality films! Don't forget Final Destination 2 I know how you feel, I hate it when they've got both their hands in there and they need the sucky tube to suck up your spit cos you can't even swallow properly.

[SCRUGAtes13]

Originally Posted by SoccerDude28

Spiders are adorable, especially those long legged ones. I never kill them, and instead put them on a newspaper and throw them away.
.

same here, except for the fact that i am scared to the point of running around like a little girl.

the thing i am scared of the most is the sea, i would never scoober dive and my worst nightmare is being stranded in the sea without any land in my view. the thought of a sea storm and being caught in one makes me quake in my b00ts.

[MoriartyL]

I'm scared of Rock and Roll. It's the electric guitars that get to me. It's screeching at such loud volumes, and it's so unnatural... When I hear heavy rock music, I just want to curl up in a ball and hide my ears.

Secondly, I'm afraid of my future self. I don't know what I'm going to be like a year from now- that terrifies me. And what about ten years from now? Am I going to turn into a drone of society, like all the other adults I see? It might happen to me gradually, and I'll get so used to it I won't notice that my life will have become completely worthless! Worrying about this sometimes keeps me up at night.

Finally, I'm deathly afraid of RLacey's new avatar. [shudder]

[Dasilva]

I hate spiders do much, I'd run away like a girl if I saw one in my rroom or something like that. But I'm not afraid of the tinsy 1mm ones and the daddy long legs are okay. Thank god I don't live near bushes and trees so I dont see any spiders in or near my home.

[Jatsie]

I also hate large spiders. If I see one in my bedroom at night I can't go to bed until I have got rid of it. I'm convinced that they will crawl into my mouth while I'm asleep, and that freaks me out.

I can't kill one however, so I have to capture it in a container, then I flush it down the toilet.

As it's summer now I'm going to start seeing them again. I already had my first run in on Monday, it was the biggest spider I've seen yet, the body was about the size of a monkey nut, it was hideous. *shudder*

[RLacey]

I am such a chicken.

I'm scared of spiders, snakes, loud bangs and dogs. Go figure.

And is my avatar really creeping you out, Mory? If so I'll change it to something else...

[MoriartyL]

Nah, just a little. I'll get over it... [shudder]

[Starflux]

I'm extremely afraid of vomiting. Up to the point where it controlled most of my actions a few years back. I'm still dealing with that. It's kind of annoying.

[Jelena]

Originally Posted by RLacey

If so I'll change it to something else...

You new avatar is just so.....not you Rob.