About phobias- Specific phobias
- How we can help
- Want to know more?
- Phobias Information Video
- Personal experiences
About phobias
A phobia is an irrational fear of an object/situation that would not normally trouble most people. As the name suggests, simple/specific phobias are phobias that are about specific objects or situations. They can be quite distinct in nature and easily identified. For example, fear of spiders, fear of thunderstorms or fear of heights.
Any phobia may produce a state of panic when the sufferer is confronted with the phobic object/situation. A wide variety of physical symptoms are experienced such as nausea, increased heartbeat and jelly legs. For this reason, many people with simple or specific phobias enter into a pattern of avoidance which can vary enormously in severity from someone who would not want to touch a spider, to someone who cannot even look at a picture of a spider in magazines, and therefore has to vet everything they come into contact with. The latter demonstrates just how debilitating even a simple phobia can be.
Specific phobias
Monophobia
Monophobics typically fear being left alone as they worry about having a panic attack and having to cope alone without their “support” person. This phobia is often associated with agoraphobia and panic disorder.
Trypanophobia
Trypanophobic sufferers feel panic, revulsion and symptoms of anxiety at the thought of an injection, let alone the sight of a syringe and needle. Sufferers may pass out during the course of having an injection because of intense anxiety.
Sexual phobia
Sexual phobias are often very complex phobias covering many different aspects of sexual relationships. Types of sexual phobia may include:
- Fear of losing control of yourself & bodily functions
- Fear of being inadequate
- Fear of infection
- Fear of becoming pregnant
- Fear of intimacy
- Fear of having abnormal gentials
Blushing phobia
Sufferers find that their blushing is not controllable, and is often severe enough to apparently be noticed by others. The attention that sufferers receive as a consequence of blushing creates more nervousness, and in turn more blushing. This particular phobia is associated with social phobia.
Driving phobia
There are many different aspects to this phobia, which seems to be becoming more prevalent as roads get busier. Some people find it hard to cope with the speed of modern day road travel, others fear traffic jams and avoid situations when driving where they feel ‘trapped’ and unable to escape. What sufferers have in common is the fear of having a panic attack whilst driving and of losing control of themselves or their vehicle.
How we can help
Anxiety UK is a user-led charity with more than forty years experience in supporting those living with anxiety. By becoming a member of Anxiety UK, you will have access to a range of benefits, including:
- Access to reduced cost therapy within two weeks of submitting your therapy request
- Access to our helpline (available Monday-Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm) staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety
- Receipt of four issues of Anxious Times, our quarterly members” magazine
- Access to the members only section of our website, featuring regular support surgeries facilitated by anxiety experts
- Access to specialist helplines, including the psychiatric pharmacy helpline and the psychology information helpline
And many, many other benefits that will help you manage your anxiety long term. To become a member of Anxiety UK click here or ring 08444 775 774 today.
Want to know more?
The Anxiety UK site has information on a range of resources to provide more detailed information and help.
Anxiety UK Publications
- Anxiety UK publishes a fact sheet and audio-tapes dealing with specific phobias. These are available from the Anxiety UK online shop
|
Anxiety UK relies on donations to keep its services running. If you found this information useful please make a donation – no amount is too small.
|
 |
Phobias Information Video
Find out how phobias can affect people’s lives, how they cope and how it can be treated on the NHS Choices website.
Personal experience
Do you suffer from specific phobias and want to share your experience with other people? Post your personal experience in the comments box below where it will be sent to our moderator for approval. Many people find this part of the site very useful when trying to understand their disorder so your comments really do make a difference. Please note, all comments submitted to the Anxiety UK website may be used by Anxiety UK for (but not limited to) publicity and promotional material.
If you would like to make contact with others who are living with similar experiences, you can do so via the Anxiety UK Pen-Pals scheme which is a service available to all Anxiety UK members (in both electronic and hard copy format).
Living with a fear of clowns
As long as I can remember I have lived with the fear of clowns (coulrophobia). I always thought I was on my own but over the years I have realised there are a lot of people in the same situation as me. None of my family or friends realise how afraid I am. They used to think it was a joke, and I suppose to most people, it does sound silly.
My Dad always remembers taking me to the circus as a youngster; a clown apparently came up to me trying to be funny. Dad said I was petrified and jumped on to his knee, crying. I guess this may be where my fear stems from. I do remember that I used to go to friends parties but would always ask if they were going to have a clown beforehand – if they did, I wouldn”t go. Some people must wonder what the big deal is? For me, I just can”t bear their painted faces, curly wigs and big size 12 shoes.
Lauren
I know how you feel, I have an intense phobia of clowns and I have no idea how it started but I remember never particularly liking going to the circus because I always thought there were good clowns and bad clowns. Now I’m petrified of all clowns, I cant stand to see pictures of them in magazines and if there is a fancy dress thing I have to make sure no one is dressing as a clown otherwise I won’t go. My friend once thought it would be funny to chase me round school dressed fully as a clown. It wasn’t funny. I ended up hiding in a corner, crying my eyes out.
I have an awful fear of spiders.
So much so I cannot even say the word. I have to call them “spders”. If I see one near me I suddenly have hysterics and start crying and screaming, barely able to stop my legs from crumbling. It is worse if I am inside or not free to escape (a small garden for example). If any one tries to come near me to console me I cant allow it, I cannot have anything touch me as I freak out. This fear has grown worse as I have got older (I am only 26 now ) . I am an actor and as such I often have to tour around old dusty theatre venues. I always have to warn those in my cast of my phobia as many people do not seem to fully understand a phobia is not a dislike of something, it is a totally debilitating, irrational and uncontrollable terror that most people cannot comprehend. On one occasion I was travelling to a theatre in the tour van (a simple ford transit) I was in the front passenger seat and there was just myself and the driver. I was checking the map when I noticed a small spider hanging from the roof a hands length from my face trying to land on my map. Obviously I totally freaked out and jumped onto the driver. She tried to pull over but in my terror I couldn”t wait, luckily she managed to slow down considerably before I jumped from the moving car onto the embankment. Thank goodness it was a small country lane and nothing busier. I just wasn”t thinking about myself or my drivers safety just that I had to escape. A truly terrifying experience. I never had to ask her twice to remove an offending creature from the bath for the remainder of the tour. I know my reactions are ridiculous and totally unnecessary but I cannot control it. I am more afraid of large British garden spiders than tarantulas but even pictures unnerve me.
Julia
I have a phobia of robots which I know sounds ridiculous.
I think it started when I was about 4 and my parents took me to see Father Christmas arrive on a train at a local town and he had a large silver robot with him. Now I know it was just someone dressed up but I can still remember the feelings of panic I had. I tried to climb off my dad”s shoulders onto a nearby wall & remember feeling sick & crying. I sill get panicky & can”t visit places that have robots – my husband would like to go to a Dr Who exhibition but that is definitely out of the question. I went once only to find that there was someone dressed up as a Cyberman and when they came up behind me and touched me on the shoulder I went hysterical. I also have a major phobia of mice which is getting worse as I get older. I don”t even like looking at pictures of mice and keep 3 cats to keep mice at bay. I also have a really irrational fear of having my blood pressure measured and an increasing fear of doctors and hospitals but I think this is more likely to be a fear of being ill. All these phobias became more intense last summer when I had a severe bout of anxiety and couldn”t socially interact. I would like to get rid of these phobias, especially the blood pressure one because I work as a nurse and it sounds so ridiculous.
Eileen
I thought I”d conquered my phobia¢â‚¬Â¦ apparently not.
My phobia is mottephobia – fear of moths. Last night, I was getting ready to go to bed when I discovered a large moth in my bedroom. I have no idea how it got there as I keep my window and door shut all the time. It swooped under my bed and then started dive bombing around the lamp shade. I screamed and just ran out of the room as fast as I could. As I stood in my kitchen, hyperventilating and crying and decided I had to find somewhere else to sleep. I could not go back in there – my bedroom is my “sanctuary” and it had been infiltrated. I called my friend and explained what had happened and she said I could stay at her house. This morning she came back with me to my house and attempted to find the offending creature – but to no avail. She managed to get some clothes for me so I could at least get dressed as it is not an option for me to go back in there until I”ve seen the corpse – and can therefore be convinced that it won”t be coming back. So, I am waiting for my sister-in-law to come round and hunt it out. I have had cognitive behavioural therapy in the past, but is hasn”t “stuck”. I really want to conquer this problem as I feel such a fool having to run to other people for help. It is getting ridiculous when I am scared to sleep in my own bedroom.
Samantha
I”m 25 and my fear of dogs is starting to affect me to the point where I won”t cross fields, go to the beach or even visit friends.
I have to ask people if they have dogs before I visit their homes as I am more scared of my friend”s reaction to my phobia than I am of the actual dog itself. Why do people not understand? The most common thing people with their dogs say when they see me is ¢â‚¬Å“oh he would”nt hurt a fly¢â‚¬Â and they LAUGH. That is what I am scared off¢â‚¬Â¦ people just don”t understand that I am petrified of dogs and laughing at me makes me feel so stupid and childish. I hate this phobia as dogs are everywhere.. but after reading a lady”s comment about getting a dog to overcome this fear, I think I may do that in a year or two. Thank you. x
Lynne
i have the same phobia and the same symptoms. I become not a very nice person where dogs might be concerned and totally dont trust the people (even my friends) around me.
People have also suggested to mr to get a puppy of my own so i get used to it from a baby, but i feel i wouldnt be able to take it for a walk in fear of meeting another dog.
That usualy the fault of your parents or being bitten.Some children never have a dog because thier parents dont like them and they pass that fear onto thier children If you got a tiny puppy about ten weeks old that you knew could not harm you by the time it has grown up you would have grown to love and trust it
I have a fear of blood that causes me to pass out at the smallest site of it.
I feel sick or dizzy just hearing people talk about the subject. I start flapping my arms if people mention it because I feel “funny”. I have no idea where the fear started, I just know that I used to pass out at primary school so its been a fear that I have had since I was a child. I have passed out many times in the past often out in public due to the smallest cuts that most people wouldn”t even notice and by passing out I have caused more damage to myself resulting in stitches and trips to casualty. Most of the time it hasnt been that bad but is embarrassing as it casues a comotion and I scare the people I am with as they don”t know why I have passed. My family are worried that one day I will hit my head when passing out and do some serious damage. I try to kneel when I know I am going to pass out, but this often doesn”t work. I would love to be able to get this under control so I at least stop passing out from a papercut. I also hate the idea of needles and anything related to blood.
Emma
I used to adore birds and would watch them from my window all the time.
Then my uncle took me to Trafalgar Square in London to teach me to feed the birds. Some idiot thought they would be clever and placed a handful of corn in my hair. Before I knew it I was covered in pigeons, flapping and beating their horrendous grey feathers. My eyes are actually pouring with tears as I write this. My uncle beat them off, but from that day onwards I have always feared birds, I also hate feathers. When I grew up, a violent ex boyfriend of mine placed his vicious pet macaw on my head, in the full knowledge I am terrified of birds, and began to laugh when it started to claw at me. I am now so scared I had to wait an hour for my brother in law to come three quarters of a mile after my pet cat killed a bird. I also have to have a cat as I feel birds won”t land in my garden if they see a cat. Thank you for understanding my fear, no matter how ridiculous it seems.
Jo
I”ve always been afraid of spiders but, my arachnophobia is getting worse with age.
It seems that my fear has got much worse since I”ve moved to the UK. Being from Florida originally, I”ve seen some massive ones, but they mostly stay outside. Here, on the other hand, they make themselves quite comfortable in my home. And the so called “house spiders” are too big for me to handle. When I see one of those big black things, I go into immediate panic mode. I can”t move and begin to hyperventilate and cry. I”ve had to call my friend in the middle of the night because a particularly large one was on the stairs and I couldn”t do anything about it as I was freaking out so badly (thank goodness she and her husband were still up). Basically it”s got to the point that I”m constantly searching the rooms when I walk into them, looking for anything that might look suspiciously like an eight-ledded creepy crawly. I”ve jumped and screamed before at the sight of a piece of fuzz out of the corner of my eye because I thought it might be a spider, much to my husband”s amusment. There have been certain car adverts on TV that I can”t watch because of their “spider like” content and forget about any nature show that might have anything to do with spiders, no matter how interesting they might otherwise be I can”t see one in any context without getting completely disgusted and feeling sick. The phobia has also started to affect my sleep, now that the weather is getting warmer and they”re starting to come into season. I check all the corners of the bedroom, under my pillow and the sheets before getting in bed. But, after I turn off the light, I lay awake and wonder if I”ve missed one. It almost becomes an obsession, and I wind up having to turn the lights back on and check again. No matter how many times I check, once I have them in my head, I can”t stop thinking about them and where they might be. I know this is quite a common phobia, but I feel like my friends think I”m being ridiculous when I blurt out “it”s going to get me” or “it”s chasing me” after seeing one. My husband is very understanding, though he does think it”s a bit funny that I”m convinced that all spiders are out to get me. Even when I hear myself say it I know it”s very ridiculous that something like that would try to purposely hurt me, but I can”t help feeling like that way. Now after typing this I”ll probably be thinking about spiders for the rest of the night.
Rae
Fear of needles and also flying insects.
Needles – I”ve been terrified of needles for as long as I can remember. When I was a baby I spent a lot of time in hospital suffering from anaemia and also growing up I”ve had to have a lot of blood tests, so I think my fear may come from this. Whenever I even think about injections I start to panic a little, and cry whenever I have to have one. I try to avoid having them as much as possible and even refuse them, which I know I shouldn”t. Flying Insects – from being a child I have had a fear of wasps and bees, but as I have got older this has gradually become worse and I am now afraid of any kind of flying insect. With this phobia I also find myself panicking, even when looking at pictures of wasps or bees, or even hearing the buzzing noise. With both of these fears, people have always thought I was being silly and have found it hard to understand.
Stephanie
I”m only sixteen, but I”ve developed a fear of getting on a bus by myself.
I”ve only ever got on a bus alone, once. I”m able to get on with other people, but I always make them buy my ticket. It”s driving me mad, because I lead quite an active life, and often need to travel a slight distance but because of this phobia I have to either walk, or get a taxi, as I simply cant bare to get on a bus, by myself. Even when I”m with someone I know on a bus, I still don”t like it and I panic when the bus starts to get full, because I think I won”t be able to get through all the standing people to get off the bus, and the driver will end up driving off while I”m still onboard. My dad tried making me buy my ticket awhile back, while with him, and it made me panic so badly. I”ve never read of anyone else having this problem.
Bridget
I have this problem too, im 17 but no one seems to understand what Im feeling.
They just say its a confidence issue which is annoying -_-
Hi CP
I am sorry that you are experiencing a difficult time. Lack of confidence can be one of the underlying problems but situations can be varied for different people. Have you tried to talk to any professional about your problem? I know it can be scary but they can give you some practical advice and offer any options available and appropriate for you. You can also contact us on 08444 775 774 as we can provide more advice and information to you. At the mean time, you might like to consider doing more exercises or something that you always enjoy doing. This can help to improve your metabolism, sleeping, breathing and build up a positive lifestyle. And the more you do, the less attention you will pay on those worries.
Best wishes
Shirley
When I was 4 we had a housefire.
All my belongings were lost and as a result of this experience I developed 3 main phobias, fire, (understandably) throwing things away – I have obsessively hoarded for about 10 years and only recently stopped. The strangest of my phobias is however books; because of the fire damage all my books smelt of smoke, and until about 3 years ago I couldn”t bring myself toopen them because they stank of smoke. Even if I get the slightest whiff on one of my parents” old books that we kept from that time I will go into a big panic and curl up on the ground. It”s nice to see I am not the only one with bizarre phobias.
Stella
I swear a phobia of fire is one of the hardest to deal with, I struggle to even say or write the word I’ve developed OCD type rituals at night that most people struggle to understand but it makes me feel better. It makes me glad to know I am not the only person out there suffering with this fear. I also have a fear of dental injections which I am pretty certain is now a phobia, after my last one :/
Amy
I”ve recently developed a phobia related to my own house.
I have close neighbours and thin walls – they played loud music and I trained myself to panic. I can relate to the fact that phobias are all about control – or a perceived lack of. I can also believe that phobias are made worse by avoidance. I started avoiding spending time in my house to the point where I”m now mostly staying with my parents. The crazy thing is that the noisy neighbours moved out and I introduced myself to the new people. They”re much quieter but still if I hear noise I start to panic. You can imagine the restrictions. At the minute I”m trying to find out if it”s worth me persevering and trying to get back into my house gradually – or if I should just give up and buy a detached house.
Nicky
My spider phobia¢â‚¬Â¦.
I”ve suffered with a phobia of spiders for the last 20 years and I”ve decided I cannot take it anymore. Just this morning I turned on the shower and was about to get it when I saw one the size of my palm. I don”t think I”ve ever experienced a panic attack like it – I cried, I was nearly sick and I couldn”t stand up and it took me 2 hours to calm down. I”ve actually escaped from the house until my boyfriend came back as I can”t bear to be in the house. I”m obsessive as I look in all four corners of the room before entering and I”m unable to do certain things like hang the washing because I know that they hide inside pegs. I have nightmares and actually go through phases of hallucinating occasionally. I would just like all of this to stop.
Penny
I have had a fear of telephones for over 20 years.
It used to be making or receiving a call but now its when I see a phone because I fear that it is going to ring. Even photos of phones can cause my heart to pound. This has affected my life in the most awful way costing me relationships, jobs and money. Its not until you are afraid of something so central to modern life do you realise how life changing phobias can be. I”ve had treatment (talking therapy), I”ve also seen a psychiatrist and taken SSRI antidepressants – all without any results so now I am on a long waiting list to have CBT. Doctors can be so unforgiving about phobias and very unhelpful. I had one doctor who offered me a big list of helpline telephone numbers for me to ring in order to get help. I am not giving up on beating this phobias and will try anythin that can be offered to help.
Adam
I have many varied phobias, starting with balloons.
If I”m standing in the queue at fast food outlets (or any where) & children are near with thev balloons on a stick, my heart races like you wouldn”t believe. I has nothing to do with the popping of the balloon as I would rather eradicate it, so it would be gone. Fireworks are another – bonfire night for me is a total nightmare. Another is submarines – if I see one on a film, or photographs, these all evoke a feeling of dread and horror that is unbelievable. My other one is images of hangings (but I love to read books about this subject) and I cannot abide any one placing their hands near my neck. I think a lot of this. Could this may be past life stuff¢â‚¬Â¦. who knows.
Clare
Red in the face.
I have suffered from chronic blushing for around 10 years. I am now 26 and can remember the extreme blushing as far back as when I was around 13. It didn”t become a real problem for me until I was around 18, but ever since then it has affected almost every aspect of my life and causes me a great deal of stress. I would love to be able to just walk down the street and not worry about my blushing but every time I see another person or a car drive by, alarm bells start to ring in my head and I panic, thinking “will I blush? Will they see me blush? What will people think of me if they see me blush for no (apparent) reason. It is this anxiety that is a root cause of the blushing – and the blushing is the root cause of all the anxiety. I have felt ashamed of my blushing and have kept it a secret from family and friends. After I finished university I did finally go to see a doctor, and 3 doctors later I entered into 6 months of “therapy” at my local hospital. This made me realise the true extent of my problem but after the 6 months was up I was sent on my way with the offer of possible “follow up” sessions. (I had wanted to take the lady therapist a bottle of wine to thank her – but I was too worried about the possibility of blushing when I handed it over, and so didn”t.) A year later, after a failed (short) relationship, I finally had had too much and I broke down in front of my parents and told them everything. For the last 6 months I have been seeking private help and at a mere £125 per hour (nearly half my weekly salary) I have been seeing a psychotherapist once a week. Using a combination of CBT and hypnosis, he has been a help and I do feel like I am slowly on the mend (I blushed slightly about 3 times today). If I don”t care about the blushing then it is far less likely to happen. I need to get rid of the shame that comes with the blushing. If I could only laugh it off and say “oh I”ve gone red”, then that”s when I know that I am on the mend.
Tony
I have had a phobia of buttons all of my life.
Even typing the word affects me. I find it difficult to describe the feeling that they invoke in me. I have just been hanging up some cloathes and accidently came across my partner”s top with those things on. Now I can”t get the image of them out of my head and I guess on some level I feel a little aggitated by it.
This ridiculous fear has blighted me all of my life; it would cause so many arguments with my mother because I could not wear the pretty blouses that she would want me to wear. School was a nightmare.
It even affects the types of job I can get because of the uniforms involved. I worked for a short while with M&S when the staff uniform was cream T shirts, but I could not go back now because the staff seem to be wearing blouses.
It also affects how I relate to other people; I have been remote with genuinely nice people before now because of what they were wearing when I met them. If I touch one I have to wash my hands or rub it off. In fact I hate them so much I don”t think I could cope with the thought of being a magic pill to cure me of it.
Geraldine
Moths and butterflies plague my life.
I can”t even look at a picture of them. This problem ruins summer for me and now I”ve also become terrified of caterpillars. I am reduced to a hysterical wreck when I am confronted with them and the problem is worse if I am in a confined space. My family have to check rooms for me and I can”t have the windows open. I”m too scared to get help and I did think that I was improving since moving to the country. I can sort of cope outdoors but inside I freak out. I suppose I found it heartening to know there are others out there with the same irrational fear and that I”m not just “being silly”.
Andrea
Since the age of 6 or 7 years old I have had a phobia of jewellery.
I can wear it myself only if its new, but I physically can”t touch it if I know someone has worn it. The jewellery can”t even be in my sight it has to be hid where I don”t know. I can physically vomit, and often wonder if anyone else suffers from it. Its weird but I can”t help it. I am now 31 years of age.
Avril
I had what was a deblitating fear of dogs from about the age of 3.
It had stemmed from a dog chasing me when once walking alongside the pram with my mother. Since then I was unable to function rationally when in the prescence of a dog, even if they were with their owners on a lead. I could not walk on the same side of the pavement and even from the distance I would be nervous. Further unpleasant encounters with dogs made my fear only worse. I was unable to play in parks where dogs were likely to be present and visiting houses of dog owners was extremely traumatic. I would be anxious for days leading up to any visits and was entirely on edge for the time I was there, despite the fact friends were good enough to shut their dogs away whilst I was around.
At 15 my fear was only getting worse and it had quite a large effect on my day to day activities. Then my parents dropped a bombshell; they announced they were going to home a rescued dog. They felt it would help me get over the fear. When we first got the dog it was absolutely awful. I couldn”t be with the dog alone, I couldn”t eat in front of the dog (she kept trying to steal my food). I also couldn”t be in the same room when we first arrived home from anywhere as the dog would be really excitable. More and more I was spending my entire evenings in my room away from the dog and my parents were beginning to think they had made a big mistake and so started to look into getting the dog rehomed. Then one day we were in town and we passed an engravers and my dad mentioned that we should get an identity tag engraved for the dog, he then looked at me and asked “What do you think Lauren? Will it be worth while getting one?”. In other words he was asking should we keep the dog? So the decision was down to me; it was my chance to get rid of what was making my homelife a misery, but I chose to keep the dog. I knew I had a perfect opportunity to get over the fear. From that day on I made more of an effort. It didn”t happen miraculously overnight but little by little I got used to Cassie and her behaviour and that she didn”t mean any harm. I never expected to completely get over my fear, but actually I pretty much have. I hardly ever give it a second thought when a dog passes me unleashed in a park, never mind when I pass one on the street with a lead.
Getting Cassie, our little whippet, (one of the laziest breed of dogs on this green earth believe it or not) was one of the best moves my parents ever made for me. You never quite realise how much a fear can run your life until you overcome it. I would recommend getting a dog to anyone wishing to overcome this fear – it won”t come instantly, it”s a working process but you”ll get there and you”ll make quite a good pet friend along the way!
Lauren
A different slant on fear of insects:
I feel people have little understanding of phobias and the feelings and effects that come with a phobia. I also feel that my phobia is often seen as silly. I fear insects but I fear the look of them and find it difficult to explain this. When you say you are afraid of insects people react by saying “they won”t hurt you”. I know they won”t and this isn”t my fear. And don”t people just love to tell you of their experiences with insects when you tell them you have a fear. Why do people do this? My fear is about the look of insects. I find them so repulsive, so ugly and can”t seem to grasp their intricacies, hairy bits, how they work, what is inside them. I can”t look at anything from ants to beetles and those things beginning with “c” that I can”t even bear to type. Moths and butterflies may look beautiful to some people but if I see their bodies, my tongue stings with shock and I cry inconsolably. I”d love to watch nature programmes but those unusal insects that you find in humid countries have me vomiting. The worst thing in the world is a praying mantis. I once saw one on the front cover of a book in a shop and had to run out to find somewhere to cry without showing myself up. I hate the TV advert that starts with a dung beetle because you have no warning that it is going to come on and the shock of it is so debilitating – so you can avoid insects to a certain extent, but when they are there, in your face and you have no control over looking at them – well, it”s not helpful at all. I want to travel all over the world but just can”t do it. I would love help but I am so afraid that I will have to look at insects as part of therapy that I just can”t bring myself to get help.
Denise
My experience is of a driving phobia which started quite unexpectably with seemingly no precurser.
I have always been able to drive anywhere and had frequently driven to Scotland, Devon, Sussex and up and down from Manchester to North Yorkshire. I was hit from behind on the motorway once and was nervous after that but nothing out of the ordinary. Then one day I was driving down an ordinary A road and I had a full blown panic attack which left me feeling totally out of control and as if I was going to die or crash the car. I had to pull over and it took me ages to move off again. I almost contacted my husband to come and get me but he was working away. Since then the panic feelings can occur at any time while driving or at the prospect of driving on a motorway in particular. I am almost convinced that we will have an accident and if I am driving my vision blurs and I hyperventilate causing me to feel dizzy and out of control. I am consequently not safe driving on these roads and it is particularly bad with my baby in the car. However, the phobia is now also affecting me as a passenger which is causing arguments between myself and my husband.
Tracy
I had this type of phobia too- and thought learning to drive would help me but it was horrific- then i had children so I spent many years always in complete panic until I got home and could get out of the car. It stopped me from socialising and also from taking on new jobs- finally after many years i got a job where I would have to drive – I cried every day for 3 years then it got better..now Other people though it was funny- stupid & did not help me at all. I could not go in other peoples cars or have any one else drive me – I prefered buses and trains. Family knew I had a bit of an issue but did not realise how bad- too many people laughed at me..I now have found many women also have this type of phobia and I have done well to be able to do the driving that I do after years of trying to deal with this. There are others like us out there!!
I have had a fear of ships of all things for years!
Not travelling on them, but seeing them close up, or, much worse, sunk. A picture of a shipwreck is so terrifying I cannot look at it at all. Living close to the River Clyde, you can imagine how embarrassing it was for me when travelling on the train, to ask my friends to tell me when the “big ships” were out of view as I turned to look out the other window. Often they would lie and I would turn round just as the train was passing one particular vessel that was laid up – my heart would almost burst (and naturally, my friends found it excessively funny)
The odd thing is that whilst terrified of them (and incidentally, anything industry related next to a river – such as cranes, the dock walls even ) I found it soon became a fascination. The excitement the adrenilin gave me became addictive, and I started deliberately visiting the docks. On my first attempt at this I managed to stand quite close to the giant Clydeport crane – but could only do so for a couple of minutes – sweat pouring down my face and back, my heart racing something frightening.
Bit by bit I increased my visits to the dock and noticed that some form of latent fascination was developing into real fascination. Now hooked on ships, I started on a new hobby that has held me ever since (some thirty years or so). So much so I have been running websites about the Clyde and its ships for years now. But they still terrify me, especially, for some peculiar reason, if they are old and rusty. There is a wreck on the Clyde that lies semi-submerged on its side – to this day I simply cannot look at it without being so horror struck – I have NEVER looked at it through binoculars, and even thinking of doing so is – well, unthinkable. I did once try and do a search for wreck related pictures, but after only three attempts at looking at sunken vessels, I gave up.
So I now love ships, the sea and the River Clyde – but don”t ask me to watch the film Titanic – I tried, but as the part nears where she hits the iceberg, I had to stop. No idea where it comes from – a past life perhaps?
Bruce
Dog phobia.
For as long as I can remember, I have had a phobia of dogs. I really want to get over it but I don”t think I am able to. It is scary sometimes because I will see a dog and if it is coming towards me I will run and if I had to, I would probably run in front of a car. I can deal with them if they are on a lead but if they aren”t I go into a totally different place and it doesn”t matter what people say or do, it does not affect me. This problem also impacts on my social life because if my friends have dogs I am unable to go to their house and also if we are out and I see a dog, it gets very embarrassing as I have to move away quickly.
Emma
My experience of spider phobia:
Eight oversized, twisted legs, harrowing cold eyes that stare straight at you and a general alien aura. Picturing this and my palms are already beginning to sweat, the spider my sworn enemy. I can”t really remember when my battle with the species began, but my most vivid memory was climbing up the ladder of my bunk bed to find it was already occupied by this large, still, black monster.
As a child the fear never particularly bothered me as I would just stay away from sheds, not go on camping trips etc. I would also hair spray all the cracks in the wall and check my bed before I slept. Now however it seems that I can”t avoid spiders. My reaction to spiders is dependent on their size. In almost all cases I will go into a state of paralysis, being unable to remove myself from the situation with my knees turning to jelly. If the spider is particularly close by or large then I may proceed with vomiting. My fear is stupidly irrational but unlike my fear of sharks, where I can avoid open water at all times and so avoid the fear, with this phobia I feel completely helpless.
Tracy
Spider phobia
I have the same problem with spiders…I can’t even touch a picture of a spider because I feel like I am going to start crying. I was my Facebook page a few nights ago, and someone posted a picture of a spider and I nearly threw the computer across the room because that is all that filled my news feed. If I see a picture of a spider on a computer screen or even in a magazine picture, I have to make sure that it is on the other side of the room and no where near me.
I have had people laugh at me because of my fear, and that makes me feel even worse about it because then I think that I am being silly for crying over something that I know will not hurt me. I am also afraid to seek out professional help because I find it uncomfortable talking about my fear and always think that whoever is listening is going to judge me. I know that they probably wouldn’t, but because I have been ridiculed in the past for my to fear of spiders, I am afraid they might.
I also have a fear of moths, daddy-long-legs, flies…just about any insect that has more than two legs and as a pair of wings.
It has gotten to the point that I prefer winter over summer because I don’t see them as much, and I am dreading the summer months because I am going to be faced with the things that terrify me the most.
At one point my phobia got so bad that I was afriad to go back into my home. I would go out to college and be a nervous wreck when it came to going home, because I knew that there was something waiting for me within its walls.
It’s really nerve wracking being afraid of a place that you should always feel safe.
Hi Kara
Alot of us here in the office are also afraid of spiders and other insects so you are not alone on this one. Anxiety including phobia is often caused by irrational thinking patterns and negative thinking. Focusing on these thoughts will cause the body to produce all sort of wired sensations and change our bheaviour. I would recommend cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to you if you want to manage the anxiety and phobia. You may also want to check out self-help books from Amazon and Waterstones. Good luck and stay positive.
Andy