h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I like the unusual phobias, such as the fear of being approached by a person on your left, or the fear of arm wrestling.

Well, I posted this link back on post 26 - plenty of odd phobias listed there.

http://www.phobialist.com/reverse.html


az

Oh, sorry. The old 'read the first post and last post' approach often has that result.

How on earth does someone develop a phobia of outer space? Bad childhood experience in a rocket?

What fears do people have, and particularly : Why do they have them?
is an intresting question.

. Im going to have to say Furbies, mainly because they are evil. Mine said "Be afraid" to me!

. Daleks. Thats totaly normal though because they are evil killer monsters with high squeky voices that yell "Exterminate" At you. Scarey.

Boath totaly useless i know.

Apparently, we're biologically prepared to fear certain things, such as spiders, creepy-crawlies, snakes, wasps, which explains why we can have these fears without necessarily having direct experience of them. Fear of the dark, of water, and of heights are all natural fears to have in this context.

Not sure that there's much distinction between a fear and a phobia...a phobia is a fear of a particular thing

agraphobia - fear of crowds and open spaces
arachnophobia - fear of spiders
etc etc

Some fears are acquired as a result of exerience or conditioning - which might explain the tube example - but generally they build on predispositions. In Vertigo, Jean Paul Sartre wrote that it is not so much a fear of heights as a fear of throwing yourself off.

It is very difficult to condition a fear of cotton wool or a flower.

Some fears have developed over time through superstition, and the association of negative events with dates such as Friday 13th

triskaidecaphobia - fear of the number 13

The good news is that no fear is completely insurmountable. Exposure to what you fear - through techniques of flooding and sensitisation - can help to put fear into perspective.

The difference between a fear and a phobia is that a fear is less potent and more resonable. One of the definitions of a phobia is that it is so exaggerrated as to be irrational, and the sufferer knows this. For instance, they know the chances of beinghurt by say a pigeon is very low, but they still have a phobia. I watched a tv programme where a man had a phobia of baked beans - that's irrational.

fear n.

A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger.
A state or condition marked by this feeling: living in fear.
A feeling of disquiet or apprehension: a fear of looking foolish.
Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
A reason for dread or apprehension: Being alone is my greatest fear.


phobia n.

A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous.
A strong fear, dislike, or aversion.


From dictionary.com

I suppose that settles the main question, then, although it may be seem like a simple fear to the person in question, while others may consider it a neurosis or phobia.

The suggestion that it is in our genes to be scared of spiders, as they were a threat to the earliest men, but not of electricity or something, makes sense, in a way.

When you become a mother (a father, too, perhaps?) you become aware of more dangers. Since having children, I would never go on a roller coaster or other fairground ride.

However, it is important not to transfer your fears to your children. Mine have always been allowed - encouraged even, to boldly climb trees and do what boys want to do. They were the only ones in their kindergarten who could climb the trees in the garden with no trouble - probably because they had not, like many others, always had over-worried mothers yelling at them "be careful" all the time.

I find it's the opposite, actually - people say they have a phobia when they actually have a fear. Something that is not strong enough to be a phobia. They exaggerrate.

I have a fear of having a phobia. Is that a fear, or a phobia? Does it have a name? is that name Edward?

I have a fear of phobias named Edward.

RF

I think there actually is a phobia of being afraid. I'm not joking.

"Not sure that there's much distinction between a fear and a phobia...a phobia is a fear of a particular thing"

There is a 'small' but clear distintion between the two both semanticly and in practice.

"Some fears are acquired as a result of exerience or conditioning - which might explain the tube example - but generally they build on predispositions. In Vertigo, Jean Paul Sartre wrote that it is not so much a fear of heights as a fear of throwing yourself off.

It is very difficult to condition a fear of cotton wool or a flower."

Interesting you should mention behavioural conditioning and cotton wool, I'm told that in the 30's, before clear ethical codes were established, some behavioural psycologists did an experioment on an infant making loud banging noises to get the child to cry every time they introduced a white rat to him, untril just introducing the rat made the young fellowc cry and be upset, he grew up to have a fear of all thing white and fury, such as cotton wool candy flosh, beards even.

"The good news is that no fear is completely insurmountable. Exposure to what you fear - through techniques of flooding and sensitisation - can help to put fear into perspective"

That's not an opinion I share... Some do argue that there is no behaviour, such as being afraid of something, that you can learn that can't be unlearned, I don't really buy this, one can certainly given enough time support and energy can learn to *manage* most behaviours but at the deepest level things are still there, near hardwired into the mind.

"Interesting you should mention behavioural conditioning and cotton wool, I'm told that in the 30's, before clear ethical codes were established, some behavioural psycologists did an experioment on an infant making loud banging noises to get the child to cry every time they introduced a white rat to him, untril just introducing the rat made the young fellowc cry and be upset, he grew up to have a fear of all thing white and fury, such as cotton wool candy flosh, beards even."

They did. It's famous, it's called the Little Albert study. It was conducted by (if memory serves me right) Watson and Raynor.

i have a strange fear!!
im afraid of crossing bridges!!
i hate to drive over tall bridegs and look down at the water!!
Im always afaid of falling over the railing and into the freesing water below..

Phobia of phobias is Phobophobia

Bridges or of crossing them- Gephyrophobia.

I think i admitted in a thread once before that I hate the sight of peaches and just thinking about them now makes me feel queesy and prickley. Irrational I know and some one did tell me what it was called. i hated escalators and electriciy pylons as a child but I'm ok now. other than that I'm pretty sane (i think )

c x

Phobias "must" have specific triggering events which can be traced back - theorically
And that is why phobias are called "irrational", because you can't see a clear and recent trace about 'em. And that is the same for my phobia; I can't be in the same room with a buzzin' flyin' hairy insect..arghh mere thinking one entering the room Im in makes me shiver

but this was just a simple phobia called "specific phobia". But we
( psychology ) can't still give a clear answer for more complex social phobias.

When I was a child, I had an overwhelming, almost constant fear that my teeth would fall out. I know this is supposed to be a common dream for anxiety or some such thing, but this was while I was fully alert. Every couple of minutes or so, I would run my tongue over my teeth to ensure they were all in place and not loose. When I got a loose (milk) tooth, I would worry away at it to get it out of my mouth as soon as possible.

I guess I eventually grew out of it, but even now I find myself checking at times and I watch what I eat/drink VERY carefully (as there is no point helping things along!).


My phobia/fear of spiders however has only gotten worse; my reactions are completely irrational (at least, some part of my brain tells me this is the case), but my instincts win over every time.

This is not helped by the fact that every spider to cross my pass AWLAYS changes direction and heads straight for me! Seriously, I must have killed their ruler in a past life or something.

I went through a phase about a year ago of having dreams where my teeth would stick together a,nd sometimes in trying to unstick them I would pull them out. It was actually very unpleasant.