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
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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.
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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).
I have had a phobia of wasps, which has in turn come to include bees and flies, for as long as I can remember.
It has taken me until this summer to talk normally to people about it because people always tell me it”s silly because it doesn”t hurt when you get stung. The problem is that no-one likes them, but not with the same severity, which makes it hard for them to understand. I went to my GP in Edinburgh to ask about treatment, but she told me the waiting list for really effective help would be about 5 years. I wasn”t prepared to wait that long, so I got a job in Germany and as soon as I start paying medical insurance over here, I can be treated. It”s such a refreshing change in attitude over here: that a psychologist/psychiatrist is just viewed as another type of doctor, and not as a taboo subject.
Sarah
I am 22 and have been suffering with a mixture of phobias and anxiety disorders for about 4 years.
It all seems to lead back to obsessive thoughts. I used to be able to get in lifts, planes, trains and go wherever I liked but now I am restricted as I seem to have a mixture of claustrophobia, illness phobia and agoraphobia. I have lost my self-confidence and sometimes get frightened for no particular reason. I cannot be in a situation where I am unable to get home and have real problems travelling outside what I would call my “safe area”. So being stuck in a traffic jam outside of my “safe area” would send me to immediate panic. During panic, I experience dizziness, increased heart rate, de-personalisation, fast breathing etc. I don”t suffer with panic often, but anxiety and worry is with me everyday which causes my physical problems that I believe to be serious illnesses like “cancer”.
I attended counselling sessions provided by the NHS which helped with coping with everyday anxiety but not the phobias. I write to tell anybody that has developed phobias from anxiety problems, if you can understand and learn to control the general everyday anxiety symptoms and cause (if you know what the cause is?), you can then concentrate on the specific phobias. I did this by going to a counselling session that, at first, I believed wouldn”t work.
I have begun working on my inability to travel outside my “safe area” and have managed to visit a friend of mine that I previously was unable to. Good luck.
Scott
I am terrified of both needles and fish.
People can understand my fear of needles and just think I¢â‚¬Âm over reacting but no one understands about the fish. I was in a restaurant on holiday last year talking to the person next to me when unbeknown to me the waiter came up behind me with the fish platter. When I turned round and came face to face with the plate I filled with panic, flung my chair back knocking wine on the table behind me and began sobbing uncontrollable. It was one of the most humiliating and terrifying moments of my life. My boyfriend understands and came straight over but the rest of the table were angry which made it all worse. People seem to think you are doing it for attention which just shows how little they understand.
I”ve tried hypnotherapy but it did\”t work for me but am desperate to find some helpful hints soon as I need some dentistry work done as I have had to have fillings in the past without anesthetic to avoid the needles but can”t face that again.
Tory
I have a severe phobia of butterflies and moths.
My heart is racing just typing the “b” and “m” words I don”t remember how this started – my mum says she doesn”t recall me ever liking them. I”m now 37. I can”t even look at photographs of them. It”s awful, because most people think butterflies are “beautiful” and their images can be found everywhere: on clothes, in advertisments, on cards, pictures etc. etc I know I”m partly responsible for the severity of the phobia because I am terrified to get help. I”m too scared to confront the objects of my fear and it is this avoidance which has exacerbated the problem for so many years. Thanks for letting me share my experience.
Cerys
I have always had a small fear of heights,but when I was pregnant with my first child I got on an escalater and I froze.
Since then my fear has got worse. When I was expecting my second child I had to go up an another escalator which was an open kind. Unfortunately my partner was not very sympathetic and went on ahead. I panicked and went on but cried all the way up. Since this experience I have avoided escalators wherever I can. My partner has helped a bit and if I have to go on one he holds my hand tight and I shut my eyes. I struggle when I go to shopping centres (they are all so high) and I have to go as close to the shops as I cant go near the edge. If my children get close to the edge my heart starts pounding. I don”t know if there are other people like me but I am OK on cliffs or mountain type situations – I can even look over the edge.
Sharon
I have a morbid fear of birds.
Although I don”t recall ever being atacked by a bird or anything, I have an intense desire to avoid their presence at all costs. Whether dead or alive (sometimes dead is worse as they will not go away and I can”t stand looking at the bodies of dead birds), I cannot stand their presence. As Marianne said, pigeons, seagulls, and chickens are amongst the scariest birds to me. For some reason I am not terrified by hummingbirds and have less of a fear of ducks. Anyway I don”t know what else to say except I feel very foolish sometimes because I often get ridiculed by friends who don”t understand why these creatures bother me. Unfortunately I cannot understand it either, but that does little to ameliorate the situation.
Temi
For as long as I can remember I have had a debilitating fear of heights.
I can cope in a tall building or airplane etc. as they are enclosed, but if I am close to an open drop I feel dizzy, sick and weepy, often crying and shaking. I imagine myself slipping or some kind of accident happening to push me over the edge. Oddly I am not worried about the falling or even the landing, it is the going over the edge that makes me feel sick. I can”t go over footbridges although I am fine in a car or train on a bridge. I can”t have open windows on upper floors or go on roof terraces or balconies as I am convinced I will topple over the edge. I can”t even watch other people standing close to edges without feeling sick. It is very frustrating.
Lesley
I definitely found this website very helpful especially as I”ve been living with the fear of caterpillars for the majority of my life and I”m only 20 years old.
It seems as if noone understands how I feel because I”m so afraid of them. I can”t even look at them in a picture as I start to breathe heavy and my heart beats 10 times quicker. I just wish I could get rid of this feeling. People don”t know how it feels to be afraid to go outside and to be afraid to walk under trees. They think you are being dramatic and are just looking for attention, but who in the world would want that kind of attention. I even become terrified if I hear a story about caterpillars. If someone knows how to help me, I would definitely accept advice!
Lee
I have lived with a fear of insects all my life and have managed to cope reasonably well up until last year.
I moved to a new home which is a semi and it seems to attract more insects than anywhere else I have ever lived. I am unable to go into the garden and when I do try spiders seem drawn to me and I end up shaking and actualy being sick. I am terrified of all insects except woodlice – which is very strange. If I see an insect I shake, vomit and itch all over and I can”t rest until its gone. If its late at night I am unable to sleep for fear that something is crawling over me. I once found a caterpillar in my broccoli and felt sick for three days. Since then I haven”t eaten any green vegetables. I am constantly asking my husband to evict insects and am feeling very down as my fear seems to be becoming worse. I am frighted of the effect it will have on my life if this continues, there is also the chance I will make my four year old terrified too. It helps to talk about it but some people think you are just being dramatic and should just get over it. With the help of this website I have tracked down a hypnotherapist in my area and am hoping to obtain some treatment. I don”t wish to hold a spider or anything ridiculous but it would be nice to just enjoy my lovely home without being consumed by fear.
Samantha
I have a phobia of cockroaches.
I am 47 years old and I have been afraid of them since I was two years old. Even as I share this with you, I am feeling anxious, but I am glad I can share this with people who understand my fear. I have two older brothers who believed in my fear of these creatures and they have always been very understanding. However it has been extremely difficult to hide this fear at work where cockroaches frequently appear during the hot summer months. Being in a supervisory position, the last thing I want is to embarrass myself in front of my co-workers. Unfortunately this happened one day, and whilst some of my co-workers were understanding, others were not and to this day still make fun of me. They also believe that if they expose me to cockroaches then this will relieve me of my fear. Any time they bring up the subject, I feel sick to my stomach, start sweating and have trouble breathing. I try to quickly remove myself from the situation and find myself going into the ladies room or leaving the office and hiding in my car until I am able to pull myself together. Usually after these episodes I have nightmares about cockroaches attacking me, experience headaches and feel extremely vulnerable for days. I do hope that eventually I will be able to overcome this phobia and that more people become aware of the reality of phobias like this to enable them to understand what people like myself go through. I did not choose to have this phobia – I don”t like having it and as much as I try to control my fear, it continues to dominate my life.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story.
Elva
I have a debilitating fear of spiders which seems to be intensifying as I get older.
I know my fear comes from my father and I have been afraid of them for as long as I can remember, but it has got to the stage now that if I am caught in a room with one, I will go into hysterics and hyperventilate. I will cry uncontrollably and get angry with myself as I cannot even get close enough to the wretched things to even hoover them up or spray them. I travelled in Australia and had some close calls with some huge spiders out there, however none of them caused anywhere near the same type of reaction that I now have. I know its stupid as they are so small compared to me, but they are so fast.
Philomena
I have 3 main phobias¢â‚¬Â¦.wasps, flying and spiders.
I am terrified of wasps¢â‚¬Â¦.people say rational things like “stand still and it won”t sting you” which probably sounds like very sensible advice until you understand that rationalising an irrational fear simply doesn”t work. It is the equivalent of me saying to someone “stay still” when being run at by a wild bear or tiger. That”s the level of fear I feel. I once ran across the road to escape the stripy little flies of evil and then realised I had left my 3 year old son on the other side. I can think of nothing else when wasps are around and avoid BBQ”s etc. so I don”t have to face my fear.
Believe me¢â‚¬Â¦.it annoys me and frustrates me far more than it could possibly annoy or frustrate any of you. Spiders are similar but at least I can cope with them if they don”t come too near me. Also, when they are in their own habitat (i.e. not my home) I can bear them more for some reason (not ON me though).
Flying is a real pain as in my heart I am a wanderer and traveller. I love the thought of experiencing new cultures and places. However, my fear keeps me stuck here. It all begins with the fact that I can”t get over having to walk through a “terminal” ¢â‚¬Â¦ how much more warning do you need?!! But seriously, the lack of control and being inside a pressurised container, trusting a complete stranger to get me somewhere, I just can”t get past this fear. At least if a bus crashes there”s at least a chance of survival. I know people say helpful things like “there”s more chance of winning the lottery than dying in a plane crash” but I say that”s what everyone who dies in a plane crash tells themselves too.
Jacqui
I have had a bird phobia for as long as I can remember.
It started with being attacked by a large male pigeon in a big square in Copenhagen when I was 4 years old. This was followed by having a boy thorw a live chicken at me when I was 6 (he discovered my fear and thought he was being clever). As a result of being taken to the movies when I was 7 to see the film, “The Birds” I then began to faint. When I was 11 and 12 years respectively, a black bird and then a sparrow flew in through my bedroom window. I received very little sympathy from my family, most of whom loved birds, except for my maternal aunt, who also had a bird phobia.
By the time I was 26, I was in such a state of constant anxiety living in Toronto where there are millions of birds that I actually walked out in front of a moving bus to avoid the dreaded creature. I eventually got help at Sunnybrook Hospital”s phobia clinic and received behaviour modification training. Part of the course involved having to go on trips around Toronto with my friend to seek out anxiety-provoking situations so that I could learn how to handle them. I am still terrified of birds, but as I live in Northern British Columbia, there are not so many birds in your face as there are in the city. My eldest daughter and my niece also have bird phobias, so I wonder if there might be a genetic component in addition to the childhood traumas. I say this because neither my niece or my daughter have experienced any acute incidents with birds like I did, but they still have a fear. People always ask me why I “hate” birds. I have to explain to them that I don”t hate them, I fear them. The only bird I am not afraid of is the duck and the hummingbird. The worst birds for me are pigeons, sea gulls, swallows and chickens. I also don”t like feathers.
Thank you for reading my story.
Marianne
Living wih a fear of snakes
I have a phobia of snakes. Even the word makes me feel ill and my phobia has become worse over time. My mother says that I was always dubious of snakes, but not to the degree that I am today. I can remember a school trip when I was about 5 when we went to the zoo. I actually went into the reptile house and looked at them through the glass, whilst hugging my teacher – something that makes my head feel heavy just thinking about it now. My phobia became worse, and at one point even cartoon images upset me. I had a friend at school who exaggerated the situation by saying I had to ¢â‚¬Å“pull myself together¢â‚¬Â. I also had very unsupportive teachers at secondary school who got angry with me as when I sat my GCSE”s I actually vomited on an exam paper, and fell off my chair, completely irrationally. My parents had warned them but they paid no attention to the situation.
Over the last 5 years, I have been pursuing my dream to become a teacher, and I think this has actually helped me. I had to supervise some children when a visiting reptile handler came to show the children a variety of snakes, lizards etc. I can remember scratching my arm in panic. However, I managed to stay in the room -something I viewed positively. I have been accustoming myself to pictures, etc. but have not been brave enough to deal with the real thing yet – the thought makes me ill.
I had a nasty experience last year, when on a holiday with a Brownie Group. We were visiting a rainforest where there was one glass tank with one python in it. I decided to see how it would go, however on our way, I shared my problem with what I believed to be a sensitive member of the staff, only to be ridiculed. This resulted in me becoming a shivering wreck and I could not go through with seeing the python.
I believe that many people underestimate how badly phobias effect everyday life, and many people are so narrow-minded, that they will never appreciate the perspective of a sufferer of a phobia. A dear friend of mine, has a mortal fear of going through a door into a room full of people. So many people laugh at her, but we have an empathy for each other.
Phobias do rule lives. Phobias do cause no end of problems, and phobias are genuine.
Kelly
I am afraid of assignments.
This has blighted my life for 10 years, as I’ve been trying to be on an academic path, but because I can’t complete my assignments, I fail my courses and can’t get qualifications. I’ve been told that I need to get over my “mental block”, that I just need to start putting something, anything, down on the page, and it will get better from there; that I need not to procrastinate; that I am trying to be a perfectionist and should be satisfied with things that are less than perfect. I could cry for each time I’ve been told these things. If I could find any way to do them, I would, just so I could stop failing, and feeling like such a pathetic, weird, un-helpable failure. It doesn’t get better however I try. I sit at my paper and cry fo hours as I try to write something, and I write whatever I can, because I know I will never be able to look at it again, so this is my only chance. Absurdly (to me), I can do exams; they don’t worry me. I know from my results in these that I am intelligent and capable, and this makes me despair of myself even more, as I wonder what on earth is wrong with me and why I cannot do something that is so normal and that most people, while not liking, just deal with their dislike and get on and do.
I have felt like such a useless, hopeless, undeserving person. I am ashamed of my inability to do things that I am supposed to do, that I run away from these things that scare me, and that I am always trying to cover up my problem from the rest of the world.
I didn’t know it was possible to have a real phobia of something like this. Recently, I made a personal friend, and for whatever reason, for the first time in years felt that this was someone who it might be ok to tell my situation to. My friend happens to be a clinical psychologist, and far from completely not understanding, belittling me or minimising the problem, for the first time ever, someone said to me, what you are telling me sounds familiar to me, and I think you have a recognisable, genuine, treatable problem. This is such a surprise to me, and a relief; and it’s been a relief to discover here that other people can be debilitatingly afraid of unusual things too, beyond any rational rhyme or reason. If my friend can see some sense in my situation, it returns a tiny bit of hope to me that maybe, after all, other people somewhere will be able to, too, and that I will be able to get some help and get my life back the way I want it to be.
I’m writing this in the effort and hope that I, too, can start believing that I have a real, understandable problem, and that I am worth helping, and that I am not, as I’ve believed all these years, entirely alone, but share with many other people the same problem, simply about a different object.
i’m 14 and i have a fear of getting close to boys even ones i like
the now it’s december but in october i was sexualy asulted and i some how can’t get over it i pass out or am sick when boys try to get close to me even when i want them to
my mum says i can talk to her but i don’t like or want to i want to go to my doctor but i feel bad going behind my mums back and not talking to her
i won’t talk to my teachers either cause they don’t need to know but i really am scared for life i just wish there was some way to over come this !
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My phobia are flies
I cannot STAND them and it has got worse! In the summer and because we live in the country and have animals – along comes the flies and I spend of the time cooking, making sure all my food and even plates and utensils are covered and even if I saw a flie but it was no where near my bits, I would have to deal with them straight away. Once, I threw a whole dish out because when I opened the oven door, I could not be sure if the fly had gone in just then or been in whilst cooking, so threw the contents out!!
They are the only creatures that I love watching die on the fly paper! They are dirty and just basically really disgusting.
Once, we were invited for a meal and whilst the lady of the house was cooking, there were an awful lot of flies about and she would just leave the food out to the elements. I tried to suggest covering the food, but she just laughed and would not let me cover them. Anyway, we sat down to a fantastic meal and I was famished. I was happily eating away – until much to my horror – a dead fly in the gravy! I was soooo glad for the glass of wine, because I just gulped it down in stead of retching!! If they just brush against anything I am about to eat or use, I can’t cope.
Public Transport.
I know this is an odd phobia but it is something that has taken control of my life.
It started when I was about 13, I can remember planning a trip with my friends to take the train to a local town only 10 minutes ride away and not long before leaving my friend’s house I felt dizzy and like I was going to be sick or faint, it got so bad I had to sit on one of the steps outside her house and change into shorts and a t-shirt to try to calm down. I couldn’t face the thought of getting on the train and although her house is only a 20 minute walk from my house I had to phone my friend’s mum who wasn’t even in the area to give me a lift home.
I went to the doctor and he said I was suffering form panic attacks, I couldn’t believe he was saying this as I had so many physical symptoms including a knotted stomach, hot sweats, inability to relax or sleep properly, terrible migraines followed by exhaustion, and the constant feeling of a lump in my throat to the point that swallowing was difficult and found it hard to believe that my mind was causing these symptoms.
I was then subjected to humiliation and forced to carry a paper bag around with me incase I started hyperventillating. I then tried “Rescue Remedy” spray that helped a little.
I am now 18 and I have missed job interviews because i’ve had to catch a train or bus to get there. I am starting college in September and will have to catch trains every day. Up until this point I have told myself that it’s all in my head and that I can control it but the hysteria is there everyday when I think about catching transport alone or even with a friend and I don’t know what to do anymore. I am intelligent and need to do this course to get into university and I don’t want my fear to stop me.
If anyone has experienced anything similar i would be completely grateful if you could share any knowledge with me as I am completely on edge as my college course looms closer.
Vanessa.
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I’m almost 30 and still cry when I have to get an injection. I put them off as long as possible and then get nauseous when it’s finally time to go. I get all shaky and start to hyperventilate when I’m called in. I hate even seeing needles and have to look away when someone gets a jab in a movie. Along with this embarrassing phobia is my extreme fear of bees and wasps. I was stung pretty badly on the lip as a kid by an American wasp (which are bigger than the ones here in England) and now completely lose it when I hear a buzzing near me.
I was interested to see that you had the same two phobias and now am wondering if they’re often connected. I don’t remember an event that started my fear of needles, so maybe it’s just the idea of anything penetrating skin. But I feel like I’m too old to have these hang-ups and no one seems to appreciate just how traumatising this is. So thank you for sharing. x
I am terrified of the dark,
I was afraid of the dark as a child (naturally) but I grew out of it, but it seems that in the past few years (I’m 17) that the phobia has come back with a vengeance. As I’m typing this I have the laptop screen pushed so far back I can barely read it, purely because it’s currently the only source of light in the room. I have no idea why I’m afraid. I jump at the slightest noises and I have roughly 3 panic attacks on a single night. The dark is not something I can avoid without keeping the light on but my mother won’t let me since it uses up electricity. She says I’m just being stupid. I know I’m just being stupid and I wish I wasn’t so afraid but I am. But I don’t know how to get help and to be honest I’m too embarrassed to say anything to anyone. How can I explain that a 17 year old is afraid of the dark?
Hi
That must be very distressing for you. Anxiety including phobia is often the result of irrational thoughts/beliefs/fears and negative thinking. The more we focus on these thoughts, the more likely it is for our bodies to react to them and trigger different physical symptoms including panic attacks and change our behaviour. I would strongly recommend you to speak to a therapist and get the anxiety managed. We offer a range of talking therapies and can be face-to-face, over the phone and webcam. Please visit our Get Help session for more information. Stay positive and good luck.
Andy
A year after being told i was suffering with anxiety i was told i probly have monophobia(abnormal fear of being alone) …im finding this hard today as my partner will be away wednesday till saturday and i dont know how to cope with this.
I spoke to someone but i find my self emotional mess.
My partner got me a cat but its not helped, i feel safe when hes about iv never spent a night away from him since we lived together.
( my anxiety also involves loss of appetite where i get so weak i struggle to manage a day, also lack of sleep, and crying outbursts
)
Any comments from people managing this better than me would be great.
I have a really bad phobia that times going to fast it really controls my life I have severe panic attacks about It cant wear a watch or have clocks around me I cant even look at a calander without freaking out because of it I have trouble going out which is not good at all my doctors dont.care they just put me on antidepressents because im severley depressed too
Hello,
Thanks for sharing your experience, AnxietyUK can offer reduced rate therapy services. If you would like more information please give us a call or check out the information on the relevent section of our webite.
Thanks
I have a phobia of people being sick, and I also suffer from chronic blushing.
I can’t remember how old I was when emetophobia started, or even what started it off really but I was young, around 7 I would think. I am not as I was then about it, when I was that young I would ask my mum every night at bedtime if someone was going to be sick, I was terrified someone was going to throw up on me. I have no idea why anyone in the house would have come into my bedroom to vomit on me, but phobias aren’t meant to make much sense! I grew out of the asking my mum about it and for many years the only people I saw being sick were drunken friends, which I am fine with. Drunk people being sick doesn’t affect me, as long as I am also drunk. If I am sober, it bothers me too. Anyway, I had my daughter when I was 23 and she was obviously sick with milk, which again didn’t bother me (handy really as she had reflux so was sick rather a lot!). However, when she is sick from an illness, it’s a different story. That’s how I found this website, last night, unable to go to sleep in case she woke up and was sick all over me I was browsing. I hate it, my poor little girl needed my help but I was so scared she was going to be sick on me I pushed her away. It makes me feel like a terrible mother, but I do care about her of course, I just couldn’t bring myself to comfort her because of it.
Blushing….I also can’t remember when this started. I absolutely hate it though. A lot of people told me I just have to get used to speaking out in front of people etc, btu it doesn’t matter how often I do it, I still turn red. Public speaking is awful, but I also get it ust in general, even speaking to fellow students or work colleagues if I don’t know them well I will blush. If I have to speak to a boss or lecturer, someone “in command” it will be even worse. I have developed a habit of putting my hands over my cheeks after talking, to calm down the heat and try and hide the redness. I don’t think it does anything except make it more conspicuous, but I do it anyway. The worst is when it’s a full on blush, so my whole body gets hot and I sometimes even sweat. It makes me just avoid talking to people sometimes cos I know I will go red, and if I do talk to people I think Oh I’m going to go red now, then I do, then I go even redder because I have gone red. It doesn’t affect my relationships on the whole, I can talk to other people mostly, it’s just people who I really don’t want to make a fool of myself in front I suffer, anyone else I am ok! But this extends to sometimes if my sister talks to me, I don’t want to make myself look silly in front of her, so even with family sometimes it affects me. I did work up the courage once, after reading on a website, to call my doctor and try and get some help, but the receptionist was like “Well I’ve never heard that before, um..I;m not really sure what to do with you” She did eventually tell me she would set up an appointment with a nice lady doctor who would be sympathetic to me, btu after the first half of the conversation she made me feel like a freak so I cancelled the appoitnment and never rebooked.
I sort of hope one day the 2 problems will just go, I don’t suppose it’s that likely though