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The makers of Fear of Spiders Phobia Treatment claim the new app will eradicate your spider phobia, using "NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), visualization, and mind mapping methods." Essentially, the app lets you choose scary photos of spiders, then stare at them until you aren't afraid anymore. At $2.99, the app is way cheaper than therapy, but more expensive than looking up photos of spiders on the internet, which might have the same effect. The company, Self Study Apps, also offers apps for getting rid of your fear of flying and dentists. They do not have any apps to deal with fears of rare diseases, used towels, or the mail, though, so they are useless to me. More »
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Animal Planet's My Extreme Animal Phobia is still churning out episodes of regular people with animal-related fears and just like they did with man terrified of puppies, this week they forced a woman scared of kittens into the local ASPCA. While I feel for Sandra, I also appreciated her friend's assessment of the situation: "The cats, they are behind the cage, it's not like they can get to her. It's like when she hears 'meow' she starts crying — and I'm like, 'Are you serious?'" To Sandra's credit, staring directly into a feline's strong glare can be creepy sometimes — and let's be honest: they are the devil's pet. More »
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Marvin Cruz, a dude who looks like the type you wouldn't want to piss off, has...a crippling fear of puppies? This clip comes to us courtesy of Animal Planet's new series My Extreme Animal Phobia (premiering tonight!) and will feature adults trying to work through their extreme fear of animals. Marvin had a terrible experience as a child when a pit bull attacked his neighbor and left him with over 1000 stitches. So let's see how Marvin does when presented with an adorable little pit bull puppy. We don't even need to bother with giving you a spoiler on this, do we? You already know how it goes. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5852214&view=rss&microfeed=true A new study shows that the hormone cortisol, when taken in combination with exposure therapy, could greatly reduce fear of heights. It's not yet clear whether the treatment will work on other phobias, so I'm going to have to cope with my fears of the number 43 and looking directly at the microwave a while longer. More »
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25-year-old Briton Sarah Lister developed a fear of knees after seeing her father dislocate his knee as a child. She's trying to overcome her Genuphobia before her 2010 beach honeymoon, as seeing or touching knees makes her panic. [Daily Mail] More »
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Once again, The Onion hits a bit too close to home with this hilarious article about a theater audience that completely freaks out when performers leave the stage and take their act into the aisles. More »
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• In search of relaxation, U.S. soldiers in Iraq are frequenting local salons for manicures. Of his new beauty regime, private Billy Scott says: "It makes you go into a different world." • More »
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• Megan got some airtime with feminist grand dame Gloria Steinem and we were all a little awestruck.
• We suspect that Ms. Steinem would not approve of John Edwards' wandering willie.
• You know what else she's probs over? The annoyingly quirky and underwritten Manic Pixie Dream Girls littering movies today.
• However, she might like Mad Men's sassy, gorgeous Joan Holloway.

More »
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You know how a lot of women's magazines have "new trend" alerts? Well here's a new phobia alert! There's a slew of scientists, shrinks and sociologists over at the International Society for Humor Studies contemplating gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at. (Yeah, it's a slow news day for all of us.) According to CBS News, "A typical gelotophobe could hear a stranger's laugh and think it is aimed at him. In an extreme case this could provoke breaking out in a sweat, heart palpitations, trembling or simply freezing up." In some countries, up to 30% of people suffer from some form of gelotophobia, and while this entire piece sounds like a one person trend story, I can sort of relate. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5023942&view=rss&microfeed=true As part of her therapy for severe coulrophobia (fear of clowns), a woman is forced to sit in a room and watch a clown make balloon animals. She immediately upstages him by having a completely hilarious, physical and emotional freakout. More »
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