Getting stuck in an elevator. With the Muzak version of "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" stuck in a loop.
Hospitals and doctor's offices. Fuck those places. I've nearly passed out in several hospitals while visiting them. I turn into the biggest bitch whenever I go into them. It's not the blood or the injuries that freak me out but the places themselves. They're nothing more than sterile places of death. I can handle looking at injuries outside of a hospital setting and am very okay with them. As soon as that same injured person is in a hospital I can no longer look at the injury and get extremely light headed. All of the contraptions and shit just freak me the fuck out. I'll watch fucked up shit of soldiers being killed and wounded in battle and my friends' battle footage of dudes being torn apart in Haditha and am fine. The moment a surgical procedure is shown on tv I have to turn it. I fucking hate hospitals. My other phobia is being buried in snow. I've snowboarded in extremely deep powder, wrecked, and didn't know which way was up. Scariest fucking thing of my life. Complete darkness, extremely difficult to breath, and very hard to move. I'm terrified of being caught in an avalanche even though I've taken an avalanche survival class but they scare the absolute shit out of me.
I have to post this because the fact I met 2 people with similar phobias in such a small group (R.A. staff, 30 people college) was insane. One girl Kathy was deathly afraid of condiments: ketchup, mustard, mayo. And another girl Alex was just scared of ketchup. The ketchup I can understand, blood and all. But when Kathy freaked out at the other ones, I just couldn't understand.
XKCD nails it. In a similar vein, my phobia is outlasting all meaningful emotional attachments so that you slowly fade into indifferent alcoholism while your friends look after their kids and pursue their careers. Also, needles. I used to be fine with needles, I really did. Then somewhere in my early twenties I became a giant pansy and now I tend to turn white and start sweating when they come out. In Vietnam I was so dehydrated that the nurse couldn't find a vein, and I was treated to her repeatedly scraping the needle across the bones in my hand. My housemate could hear the scraping of bone and chose that moment to ask me 'how it felt'. My response was too caustic to reprint even here.
Asians. No matter your perspective or angle on Asians, you still can't see past their squinty little eyes. You don't know what they're thinking, and their little hands are so deft and fast, so close to the ground, and so immoral, you never know what to think. They creep me out.
June bugs. I don't mind spiders, and I'll swat a bumble bee to the ground with my hand in order to step on it, but holy hell, I will not leave my house in June at night. They're like drunk kamikaze pilots who learned to fly yesterday. With sticky feet. I'm getting one of those zapper lights this year. Maybe two.
Add me to the list with bees and wasps. *shudder* Also, bugs with way too many legs. Big example- my old apartment got house centipedes that would skitter across the walls and disappear, leaving me knowing that it was somewhere but I couldn't see it. Don't know what they look like? Google them and enjoy your nightmares. Cockroaches are also awful. Spiders aren't too bad unless they are really big or on me. I am afraid of not being able to breathe. My worst case scenarios for death involve not being able to breath. Drowning, suffocation, etc. It makes me stressed out just thinking about it. I know I have mentioned this on the board before - I HATE ticking clocks. I can't stand being in a room with one, let alone sleeping in a room that has one. My ex had one on his wall and anytime I stayed over I would put it in his closet and bury it under clothes so there was no chance I could hear it. I have no idea why they bother me so much but they really make me uneasy. I won't run screaming from the room or anything but I won't be able to really concentrate on anything else. It will just flood my mind with ticking and I will start to get freaked out. Also, fuck clowns.
Talking to people on planes, it creeps me the fuck out. Fortunately you can buy armour in the form of, laptops, noise cancelling headphones, iPods, books and vast amounts of liquor. It’s weird because I’m not a shy guy, far from it. But If I’m sitting next to you on a plane and I’ve never met you I feel awkward, uncomfortable and my mind draws a blank if asked a simple question. I suspect I come off as a slightly creepy tard, and unlike most problems, masturbation just seems to make things worse.
Spiders are my true phobia. I seize up in fear and panic. I am actually really cool with wasp and hornets. It's their god damn nest that freak me out. Dark dirt grey alien ships of terror. My grandpa's barn is filled with mud wasp nest. Freaky looking things with little holes those bastards can pop out of. Gross Though it isn't a major phobia for me but flying freaks me the fuck out at times. Just turbulence and landing. I've only been on one flight where turbulence was somewhat severe. Something about the jerking and the wings flapping around like they will snap off at any second kind of freaks me out. The rumble of landing also spooks me. I always imagine the wheels giving out and the plane turning end over end.
Here's a funny thing. I never used to have a problem with flying - until I experienced a major earthquake. Since then, turbulence feels enough like what it was during the earthquake that it somewhat freaks me out. I don't curl up into a ball or start sweating or anything, but it does unnerve me.
I'm petrified of going to the dentist. I haven't had an appointment in two years but finally made one for the end of the month. When I'm in a dentist's chair, the feeling uncontrollable vulnerability is like being conscious for my own open-heart surgery, only (adult) dentists lay the guilt trip on heavy because I forgot to brush closer to my gums. This is a sharp contrast to my childhood dentist who joked with me, gave me toys, and let me play Sega. Every time I've gone to a dentist since I was 13, I'm made to feel like shit. And I honestly try to take care of my teeth. I brush twice daily, use mouthwash every other day, use a toothpick if I can't floss. In 2007 I had to get fillings put in. It was the most uncomfortable day of my life. It was so bad, I needed oxygen before I even sat in the chair. This next appointment is long-needed. I tend to grind my teeth, especially in my sleep, and my worn enamel is making it harder and harder to drink cold beverages. Petrified. Petrified of the guilt trip and petrified at the thought of facing the drill again.
It's been mentioned already and it's cliche, but flying is my biggest fear. My family went on a ton of vacation's when I was little, so I have a lot of experience flying, I've just never been able to kick this fear. It is worse now that I'm older because I'm not a little girl anymore and I'm not accompanied by my parent's who would tell me everything's OK, "it's just a little turbulence!" The scariest part for me is soon after takeoff when the sound of the engine gets quiet once the plane has reached a good altitude. Everytime I think to myself "OMG the engine has stalled!!! We're gonna free fall!!!!" I also don't like unexpected turbulence. If the pilot announces we will be having some turbulence I'm OK with it since he knew but I freak out when it just happens with no warning. This past summer was the first time I had to fly by myself to visit my fiance. I was a nervous wreck! I got to the airport extra early to make sure nothing went wrong with checking in and security because I'm paranoid. It went smoothly so I had about 2 hours to kill before I had to board. I used every second of those 2 hours to sit at the bar and get a good buzz before I boarded. I felt great when I got on the plane but then I thought to myself I'm not going to be coherent enough to put on the oxygen mask or pull the floating device out in case of an emergency! I love going on vacations and traveling so flying is inevitable for me but I will never be comfortable with it. I think people who enjoy flying are absolute freaks!
And that "dentist office smell" that hits you as soon as you walk in, the sound of the drill in the background and the look of obvious discomfort on the swollen face of exiting patient--sensory overload. Take a Valium or Xanax an hour before and tell the dentist you want the gas. iPod, headphones and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" make for a much more pleasant dental experience. Unless its a deep scale cleaning. I don't think general anesthesia would have enough of an impact.
I love the dentist. Getting my teeth cleaned is the highlight of my day. I especially love how bones being sawed into smells like teeth. It makes me happy. My irrational phobia is flying. I had one bad flight a few years ago, so now I practically roofie myself when I travel.