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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2009 11:27:36 GMT
phobia: A persistent,abnormal, or irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid the feared stimulus. Got any?
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Post by happytraveller on Apr 26, 2009 14:20:23 GMT
I am a bit claustrophobic. And I don't like big spiders. Not really a phobia but I just don't like them inside my house.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2009 15:26:07 GMT
I don't like deep water, and I can also get claustrophobic from time to time, especially if my legs are completely trapped like on a tiny Asian bus. I had to fight back from screaming once in Laos.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2009 17:05:05 GMT
I have a crippling fear of driving on interstates,freeways,highways with more than two lanes. It has only intensified with time. I used to be able to drive from here to NY and back by myself.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 26, 2009 17:18:05 GMT
What constitutes a true phobia, i.e., persistent,abnormal, or irrational fear, and what is simply a healthy human desire to avoid certain things or situations. I'm fairly claustrophobic, but obviously being shut up with insufficient oxygen is detrimental to ones health. Same thing with being frightened of big highways -- you can get killed there.
I don't like open water at all, and even seeing situations in movies with open water at night almost makes me sick to my stomach with a dread-like fear. Since it's extremely easy for me to avoid such water, does this atavistic fear constitute paranoia?
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Post by Jazz on Apr 26, 2009 17:42:01 GMT
I cannot stand being under water. I love swimming, can certainly swim underwater, love boat rides, canoeing, being far out in the ocean etc. but once I tried snorkling. To test it out, I went under in water only up to my waist (ie: I knew that it was safe) but within seconds I began to panic. I have always wanted to scuba dive but I don't think that I can do this.
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Post by spindrift on Apr 26, 2009 21:06:41 GMT
Most people hate being under water. I'm a scuba diver but gave it up because I couldn't find anyone to dive with me. I could have joined a club but I learned to dive 20 years ago before it was a popular sport. I have an Open Water qualification and can dive down to 60ft. I'd like to do night diving.
I don't think I have any phobias unless it's being with unpleasant people.
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Post by hwinpp on Apr 27, 2009 2:50:48 GMT
I have a fear of hights but I've been able to control it.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2009 3:10:26 GMT
My only fear of water is if I'm in a pond or small body of water where I can't see the bottom and I'm frightened to death to put my feet down to touch "bottom". I much prefer the open ocean,gulf or sound. Rivers are ok,not my preference.
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Post by happytraveller on Apr 27, 2009 6:35:17 GMT
Yes there are situations that freak me out while driving a car. I don't mind hightways so much but getting lost in a city that I dont know is one of my phobias. changing lanes, checking for signs, pedestrians, bycicles and red lights and all the traffic around me can get me kind of claustrophobic. I avoid it as much as possible.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 27, 2009 17:15:03 GMT
Yes, many of the fears we regard as phobias are evolutionary adaptations that allowed us to survive, reinforcing the avoidance of that situation in successive generations.
As bixa said, claustrophobia is useful if it keeps you from suffocating. And fear of spiders and snakes may protect you from a venomous bite.
Dying from these things prevents your fearless genes from being passed to the next generation. In theory.
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Post by rikita on Apr 27, 2009 21:48:59 GMT
real phobias not, i think... but various rational and not so rational fears. i guess my fear of dogs can sometimes take phobia-like form, but then, that is mainly when a big unleashed dog is coming towards me, so that might not be all that irrational. fear of the dark is not so rational - then again, it is not the dark itself that scares me, just the things that might be there and i don't see. etc.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 3:25:36 GMT
This past week a dear friend who doesn't drive and couldn't leave work anyway called me to ask a favor. He needed some property survey map from City Hall which is located downtown(or downriver) from where we are. I don't have much occassion to go down there but I told him I would oblige. The time was 1:10pm and the office closes at 2:00pm(don't know why,NOLA ineptitude). So, I truck on down one of the three lane avenues that I'm familiar with,no traffic circles or merging lanes involved.I get to the intersection that I recall the last time I was at one turned left and soon thereafter pretty close to Perdido Street (translates into "lost" I believe in Spanish) and City Hall. But no,I make the turn and I'm on a one way(brand new) winding,curving ramp with the Crescent City Connection looming larger and larger before me. No where to turn around,off,one sign that says "breakdowns pull to right".Does nervous breakdown qualify I'm wondering? Cars behind me and then cars racing on each side of me and there I am with the Mighty Mississippi way down below.So,amazingly I get to the West Bank and exit and try to find my way to turn around and go back. All this time mind you I'm under this time constraint because my friend really needs this document . At the toll booth and it's 1:40,there's a line. I make a point of asking for a receipt as I know Mr. C. will never believe me when I tell him what happened. I also ask for the exit # for City Hall. At 2:54 I was on the 5th floor of City Hall in the property office. The woman said to me "you look like you've just been through something". My response was "you have no idea". The thing is I really don't have much vivid recall of the event,I kind of liken it to times I've been on stage performing and a form of stage fright but the performance comes off fine. It was like being on automatic pilot.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 3:28:47 GMT
Crescent City Connection
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 4:50:23 GMT
I have a friend who completely freaks out on bridges like that. Luckily he doesn't drive, but it is not pleasant doing the driving when it seems as though the person sitting next to you is having a heart attack. I can hear his breathing changing already before the car even gets on the bridge.
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Post by happytraveller on May 20, 2009 5:39:56 GMT
Hey Casimira, well done !
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Post by bixaorellana on May 20, 2009 5:58:38 GMT
And she lived to tell about it!
I am not bridge-phobic, and I always liked the Crescent City Connection because of the beautiful views it affords.
THIS is the bridge that always gave me the heebie-jeebies. Awful video because the person who made it left the car radio jabbering, but it really gives the feel of crossing that monster:
(for obvious reasons, locally that bridge is called "The Huey P. Narrow")
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 7:02:21 GMT
I always liked the bridges on the Chef Menteur Highway -- and I drove over them last year for the first time in at least 20 years.
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Post by spindrift on May 20, 2009 9:47:59 GMT
I find bridges really exciting.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 10:10:36 GMT
I have never had a problem with the Huey P. Long. That's what people find so mind boggling. One time I had a van load of adolescent mental patients and had to drive over it,the radio blasting Jethro Tull. None of the other staff members would do it. I know it has to do with the width,I'm fine if I'm confined to one lane and there's not all kinds of cars and trucks rushing on each side of me peripherally. You'll be pleased to know Bixa that they are widening it which is great for you,bad for me. The best is when there's a train overhead and the whole thing rumbles.
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Post by Kimby on May 21, 2009 0:54:12 GMT
I have developed mild claustrophobia recently as a side-effect of having an MRI done on my shoulder.
The tech didn't tell me that the tube was open on the other end, and he said I could either close my eyes or keep them open. I made the mistake of opening them and seeing that the tube was only a couple inches above my face. I thought I was in a dead-end tube with almost no airspace and got a bit panicky. A lot of people are bothered by the noise, but it was the lack of air that got me.
Since then, I've had the same sensation when boarding a small aircraft (19 passengers) on hot tarmac with the only moving air coming in the boarding door, and also when hiking in Utah in a narrow canyon that dead ended in a cave. Normally I would love exploring the cave with a flashlight, but this time I started fretting that the flashlight would run out of batteries and we wouldn't be able to find our way out. It felt just the same as in the MRI.
When I was a kid, I would crawl through tiny dark tunnels between hay bales in a barn with no claustrophobia, and once crammed into a dog house with my two sisters. But now I have to be a bit mindful of close quarters.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2009 1:51:12 GMT
I used to go spelunking in caves in the Ozarks when I was in college.Couldn't do it now,no way.
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Post by Kimby on May 21, 2009 2:03:00 GMT
I was just thinking that spelunking and losing your light would be my worst nightmare.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 21, 2009 2:07:03 GMT
Reading your post, Kimby, I could feel myself gasping for breath. I guess claustrophobia is a real phobia because it's frequently not rational. I have waked during the night convinced I've used up all the oxygen in the room.
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Post by Kimby on May 21, 2009 2:34:12 GMT
I have a friend who is very sensitive to low oxygen levels. Her new home is not small, but is so tight (energy efficient) that she had to turn up the ventilation system because she could sense the shortage of oxygen.
My parents used to have a camper that they used in cold weather with a catalytic heater. With four of us sleeping in it and the heater running, we were gasping like fish out of water when we woke up!
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Post by Jazz on May 23, 2009 0:43:03 GMT
phobia: A persistent,abnormal, or irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid the feared stimulus. Got any? I have one more, although I do not avoid the stimulus. I love bridges!...yet I have never driven over one when I don't think...what if the car veers out of control and I plunge into the water? What do I do? I entertain myself, with each bridge drive, with these thoughts, on some level....should I leave the doors unlocked?...there is supposed to be a pocket of air, isn't there?...how much breathing time do I have? should I wait until the car fills with water before I try to open the door or will there be too much pressure? should I have a hammer to smash the window? Will smashing the window with my foot be enough? What if I panic and forget everything? Thank god it will be inland and hopefully warm water...I can swim or float until someone spots me! In the past I have driven over the Sunshine Skyway in Florida, USA many,many times (reputedly the longest bridge in the world...5.5 miles or 8.85km) and I think about this from the moment I drive onto the bridge to the moment I leave. Note: I once drove over the highest part of the Sunshine Skyway moments before the heighth of a hurricane hit. One of the most terrifying times of my life!
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Post by bixaorellana on May 23, 2009 1:21:52 GMT
The Sunshine Skyway -- isn't that over Tampa Bay? Is that the one that collapsed during a hurricane a few years back? You must love all the bridges between the keys. The longest highway bridge over water in the world is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, mere inches short of 24 miles long. I used to live on the north shore. This makes me homesick!
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2009 1:37:43 GMT
that video begs for a Lucinda Williams soundtrack
Jazz,I'm still looking for the railings on that bridge,it appears to have NONE,certainly no shoulders for "breakdowns".
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Post by Jazz on May 23, 2009 6:03:13 GMT
The Sunshine Skyway goes over part of the Gulf, not Tampa Bay, from St. Petersburg to Ceia in Manatee County. The railings are low to useless. I looked at the 24 mile causeway!!! Unbelievably, I started to think...what would I do...
The bridges between the keys are indelibly etched in my memory. My mother and I have driven to most southern island and were returning on the Seven Mile Bridge. I only had my driver's learner permit for a few days and she had just bought a new car a few weeks before. A violent storm loomed out of nowhere, the sky was black within moments and the rain almost totally obscured my vision...neither one of us knew how to turn on the windshield wipers to full speed and I accidently ripped off the lever in my panic and it fell on the floor under the seat. Thus, I was driving blind! The only thing that saved us was that the storm was so powerful and frightening that the car ahead drove very, very slowly....I inched along with my head out the window, following his tail lights...this was all I could see until we hit mainland.
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2009 11:57:58 GMT
I had a similar situation happen to me while driving over the Lake Pontchatrain Causeway. I used to do several gardens on the North Shore and one day I had to use my husband's car whic h was fairly new,even newer to me. I couldn't find the defroster button as all the buttons had these silly markings,you know ,the stick figures in various positions. In the meantime the windshield,back window were so covered in fog,condensation,I could see nothing.In a panic I'm pressing every button,hot air blowing,cold air blowing...Finally,I came out of the thick fog and saw a flock of Pelicans overhead. I like to think they were watching over me guiding me to safety.
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