Do you have a phobia?

[BRMBug]

My ant-phobia took a creepy turn this morning. I...don't want to get into the specifics as it'd be TMI and disturbing. But let's just say I wound up screaming and pretty frightened when taking care of some type of personal business.

THOUSANDS OF RED ANTS, SWARMING >_<.

I had to put an ant trap in the bathroom. The nest appears to be in some hole/crack leading under the tub. Just great

I'm still horribly freaked out and nervous to go back in there. So yeah, I think I really do have an ant phobia, then.

Well, just spray some Raid around the bottom of the tub. That'll probably take care of them. I've got a small problem with roaches coming up through my drains, but there's some major under-foundation plumbing that needs to be done to take care of that.

[Edduyasha]

My ant-phobia took a creepy turn this morning. I...don't want to get into the specifics as it'd be TMI and disturbing. But let's just say I wound up screaming and pretty frightened when taking care of some type of personal business.

THOUSANDS OF RED ANTS, SWARMING >_<.

I had to put an ant trap in the bathroom. The nest appears to be in some hole/crack leading under the tub. Just great

I'm still horribly freaked out and nervous to go back in there. So yeah, I think I really do have an ant phobia, then.

Well, just spray some Raid around the bottom of the tub. That'll probably take care of them. I've got a small problem with roaches coming up through my drains, but there's some major under-foundation plumbing that needs to be done to take care of that.

Where I live, there's tons of bug problems... I currently have a dead roach by my pencil sharpener, and tons of ants in the bathroom (carpenter ants in the ventilation system)... The worst was the moth infestation, though- there were tons of moths in my pantry, and we had to throw out just about everything. It was so gross...

[albino.black.sheep]

My ant-phobia took a creepy turn this morning. I...don't want to get into the specifics as it'd be TMI and disturbing. But let's just say I wound up screaming and pretty frightened when taking care of some type of personal business.

THOUSANDS OF RED ANTS, SWARMING >_<.

I had to put an ant trap in the bathroom. The nest appears to be in some hole/crack leading under the tub. Just great

I'm still horribly freaked out and nervous to go back in there. So yeah, I think I really do have an ant phobia, then.

Well, just spray some Raid around the bottom of the tub. That'll probably take care of them. I've got a small problem with roaches coming up through my drains, but there's some major under-foundation plumbing that needs to be done to take care of that.

Where I live, there's tons of bug problems... I currently have a dead roach by my pencil sharpener, and tons of ants in the bathroom (carpenter ants in the ventilation system)... The worst was the moth infestation, though- there were tons of moths in my pantry, and we had to throw out just about everything. It was so gross...

We've got like hundreds of ant nests surrounding our house in the cracks of the crazy paving and I'm paranoid they're actually eating the foundations of the house, so it will collapse eventually.

[Edduyasha]

[quote="albino.black.sheep":06685][quote="Edduyasha":06685][quote="BRMBug":06685][quote="Cerisa_Roz":06685]My ant-phobia took a creepy turn this morning. I...don't want to get into the specifics as it'd be TMI and disturbing. But let's just say I wound up screaming and pretty frightened when taking care of some type of personal business.

THOUSANDS OF RED ANTS, SWARMING >_<.

I had to put an ant trap in the bathroom. The nest appears to be in some hole/crack leading under the tub. Just great

I'm still horribly freaked out and nervous to go back in there. So yeah, I think I really do have an ant phobia, then.[/quote:06685]
Well, just spray some Raid around the bottom of the tub. That'll probably take care of them. I've got a small problem with roaches coming up through my drains, but there's some major under-foundation plumbing that needs to be done to take care of that.[/quote:06685]

Where I live, there's tons of bug problems... I currently have a dead roach by my pencil sharpener, and tons of ants in the bathroom (carpenter ants in the ventilation system)... The worst was the moth infestation, though- there were tons of moths in my pantry, and we had to throw out just about everything. It was so gross...[/quote:06685]

We've got like hundreds of ant nests surrounding our house in the cracks of the crazy paving and I'm paranoid they're actually eating the foundations of the house, so it will collapse eventually.[/quote:06685]

Same with us, we've got carpenter ants (they eat wood), so yeah... Oh, well...nothing lasts forever, I guess.

[SuperMaids]

No one seems to share the biggest one of my (many, many) phobias; a paranoid fear that my veins hate me. I somethimes think they want me dead and will close valves, tear apart, melt, thrash their way through my skin or clot up just to get me.
Sleep also makes me petrified, so I don't ususally do it (thanks to the greatest of all substances, COFFEE, this daydream's almost a reality!) but I do have to sleep sometimes and get worried people are going to get me in the night or that my bed'll come to life and eat me (with it's springy teeth).
Any of you guys have a fear/ hypochondria about these?

[Kyle the Skeptic]

I suppose it's perfectly rational to be concerned about conditions like hypertension and heart disease, but only up to a certain point. After all, you don't want to stress yourself out by imagining conditions that aren't really there. Just watch your diet, get routine checkups at your doctor, and don't sit around all day without getting any activity.

Also, you have to sleep. Doing what you describe is far more detrimental to your health than what your phobia involves happening. Besides, if someone were really coming to get you, you'd be far more defenseless in a sleep-deprived state than if you were well-rested.

[SuperMaids]

Phobias are by definition irational. I know I'm more likely to have a heart attack if I'm always stressed up about my heaty potentially tearing it's way out of my chest and shooting itslef through a wall, and that not sleeping (much) probably isn't the best way of preserving what little brains I was born with, but that doesn't mean I'm not still sh*t scared to sleep
I'm more scared of my bed than sleeping actually; sleep on a chair doesn't creep me out that much. It just alwas seems like it want's to eat my brains, my bed that is.
Any fears of your own you'ld like to bring to the party?

[Jay C]

[quote="Cerisa_Roz":9e226]Bees...ugh. I stepped on a bee as a kid. I didn't see it in the grass at all, it must've been deep down.[/quote:9e226]
You mean, like, barefoot? Oh my God, I would have absolutely [i:9e226]bricked[/i:9e226] it if that was me.

Also, even though I live medical shows like House, Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs, the idea of getting surgery also creeps out out to no end. Just the idea of... well... [i:9e226]things[/i:9e226] going into you, all prodding around and cutting and stuff. Fukken EEP.

[quote="SuperMaids":9e226]Sleep also makes me petrified, so I don't ususally do it[/quote:9e226]
Sleep is the cousin of death.

[Blue Twilight]

^Have you ever been stung by a bee before, James? I havent gotten stung yet, which makes it so much worse because I have no idea how much it's going to hurt or whether or not I'm allergic. :/

The prospect of death kind of frightens me at times. Like what if our souls don't make it to "heaven", or worse, what if there's no afterlife? What is going to happen, and what are we ourselves going to experience? I've had panic attacks over those thoughts.

My old childhood fears are pretty laughable now. The one that took me the longest to get over was weird/distorted faces in art. There was one Picasso-eque painting in my parents' house that used to terrify me as a kid because the face was... well... distorted and weirdly-coloured. Closing logos used to scare me, too, most notably the PBS animations from the late 80's/early 90's and flashing WGBH sign. It had to be the black backgrounds. I got over all those fears around... I'd say age 7. Haha, I was so lame.

Also, I was deathly afraid of going on a ferris wheel after seeing a news report about a girl falling off. Amusement park rides haven't fazed me since I was about 10, though.

[SuperMaids]

Sleep is the cousin of death

Sleep basically is death. Only it doesn't last forever.
When you're asleep, the whole world can change but you wouldn't be a part of it, you loose time in your life when your asleep. Essential for a healthy life it might be, but we shouldn't have any more sleep than we can find, and we certainly shouldn't like it, shouldn't use it as an escape from our problems.

The prospect of death kind of frightens me at times

Repeat; phobias are irational fears. Fear of death isn't irrational, so it's not a phobia. Just try not to think about it.
Or con yourself into thinking you're an immortal like I did, that usually helps.
Good to see that some people can get over the stupid things that freak them out when they were kids; sinclair spectrums (computer from the 80's0 always made and still make me piss myself with their evil colour schemes!

[Kyle the Skeptic]

^Have you ever been stung by a bee before, James? I havent gotten stung yet, which makes it so much worse because I have no idea how much it's going to hurt or whether or not I'm allergic. :/

I got stung by a wasp once. It hurt about as much as a stubbed toe. I knew at the time that I wasn't allergic because I had no other serious allergies to speak of, although I still took an allergy pill and put ice on it.

The prospect of death kind of frightens me at times. Like what if our souls don't make it to "heaven", or worse, what if there's no afterlife? What is going to happen, and what are we ourselves going to experience? I've had panic attacks over those thoughts.

We can always talk about it, if you want.

It's perfectly understandable though. To feel an anxiety towards death is a natural part of being human. It's a consequence of being time-aware, self-aware, and capable of abstract thought. We know that there is a time before we existed, therefore we can't help but think of a time when we cease to exist. Fear of death is what keeps us safe and prevents us from taking stupid risks.

Sleep basically is death. Only it doesn't last forever.
When you're asleep, the whole world can change but you wouldn't be a part of it, you loose time in your life when your asleep. Essential for a healthy life it might be, but we shouldn't have any more sleep than we can find, and we certainly shouldn't like it, shouldn't use it as an escape from our problems.

The key difference between sleep and death though is that death is the complete and irreversible cessation of all brain activity, whereas when you are asleep your brain is very much active and firing away like crazy. Your fear of sleep is due to the fact that it makes you vulnerable while you're not aware of what's going on. The reason your bed scares you probably has to do with how it was designed for lying down, i.e. placing yourself into a vulnerable position, therefore the bed itself has come to represent the arbitrary dangers you feel exposed to while you're in it.

Though you have to admit. If beds really did eat people while they were asleep, it would be pretty cool, huh?

[BRMBug]

Though you have to admit. If beds really did eat people while they were asleep, it would be pretty cool, huh?

I vaguely remember a a Tales From The Crypt like that.

[Guess_Who_I_Am_Not]

I'm afraid of being alone. The idea of having no one to keep company with is horrifying. D: That's also my reason for being afraid of death, in a way. It's stupid, but I sometimes imagine myself dying and then being stuck in my own world, alone, or worse being able to see people but not communicate with them. O_o It's the main reason I have to believe in some kind of heaven-like afterlife to keep going.

[Jay C]

^Have you ever been stung by a bee before, James?

Uhh... ask Lior. XD

LAFFO, I can't believe I actually find that funny.

But really, yeah, three times. It's the idea of getting that scares me so much, like hearing a buzzing sound. I sh*t bricks and scarper as fast as I possibly can.

That reminds me, there was a f*cking huge wasp on the bus, and I was sitting pretty close to it without freaking out. I pwn.

I'm not too worried about being alone. I like to be alone sometimes, actually, as there are so many complete idiots where I live. :3

[Blue Twilight]

It's the idea of getting that scares me so much, like hearing a buzzing sound. I sh*t bricks and scarper as fast as I possibly can.

I think the biggest reason people fear things is because their fear hasn't damaged them yet. The unknown has always been a mysterious and potentially dangerous aspect of reality. The only difference between... say, getting stung by a bee and life after death is how much you don't know what's going to happen. If you're not allergic, the worst the sting can do is hurt for a few days, and then it's over. Death is forever, and there's no telling what happens to a person.

It's perfectly understandable though. To feel an anxiety towards death is a natural part of being human. It's a consequence of being time-aware, self-aware, and capable of abstract thought. We know that there is a time before we existed, therefore we can't help but think of a time when we cease to exist. Fear of death is what keeps us safe and prevents us from taking stupid risks.

You're right, but if we cease to exist, what about our consciousness? And if we have a soul, what is going to happen to it?

It just seems irrational to worry about death so much, though.

I'll save this for MSN later on, actually.