phobias - Jezebel

posts about #phobias more →
Weak In The Knees
When You Have A Ridiculous Fear
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
Man, I was volunteering building houses and one of the girls I was working with dislocated her knee and broke her kneecap I think. The screams still haunt me to this day.
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Skellatrix
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
Panic? Talk about a knee-jerk reaction. Ba-dump!
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NotChoinski
09/18/09

@Skellatrix: Her Aunt is Emily Patella.
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morninggloria
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
She's so anti-drug that she says no to all joints.
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elliebean
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
On the topic of knees but not phobias: a kid my bf works with thought only 1 in 100 people had knee caps. They learned this because one day he sort of bragged about having knee caps.

Poor Sarah Lister, if only it was true. She wouldn't have to be afraid anymore.
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WashingMyHair
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
I bet that she rarely (if ever) uses the phrase "the bee's knees".
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alexburrito
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
She really kneeds to get over this.
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Mary McCarthyite
09/18/09

@alexburrito: Yes, she needs to put a cap on her anxieties.
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geeky_reader
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
Good for her. I'll happily stay as far away as possible from worms and slugs and snails for the rest of my life. But of course a fear of knees would have a much greater impact on your daily life.

My 'not normal' body fear/dislike involves a person's ankles touching each other. I can't stand even the thought of rubbing my ankles together or even resting them against themselves. I have a scrunched up freak-out face just writing this because it makes me think about it.
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Skellatrix
09/18/09

@geeky_reader: Either your "not normal" fear is more common than you think, or I must know you because I know someone once said that to me.
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geeky_reader
09/18/09

@Skellatrix: I've only dished out my 'ankle thing' to a few close family members and my husband and probably the folks over at Pop Candy.
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EarlyGrey
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
I have such a low tolerance for dumb phobias. Certainly someone must have indulged this to let it get this far. Never mind the fact that SHE HAS KNEES!
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colormeroutine
09/18/09

@EarlyGrey: My personal pet peeve "phobia"? Girls who claim they can't stand/pass out at the sight of blood. What, do you remain in bed in hysterics for 1/4 of the year?
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EdnasEdibles
09/18/09

@EarlyGrey: I used to work with someone who claimed to be afraid of plastic forks. Just the plastic ones. She'd start making a fuss if anyone used one. I'm convinced it was completely for attention.
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gherkinfiend
09/18/09

@EarlyGrey: I take it you don't have any phobias? Essentially they are all 'dumb' because they are based on irrational thoughts, but to people who suffer from them, they can be crippling, not something to be written off casually.

People's dismissive attitudes of my phobia stopped me getting help for increasingly unbearable anxiety until a few weeks ago. Thankfully I stopped feeling dumb for having a phobia and am addressing it and getting my life back.
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Ri_L
09/18/09

@gherkinfiend: People's dismissive attitude towards my phobia stopped me getting help for years. I have emetophobia, and before I got on my depression meds I was so afraid of throwing up that sometimes I couldn't eat. And yet nobody thought to take an 11-year-old girl refusing to eat and screaming hysterically at food to get any kind of psychiatric help, just told her she was irrational, she could fix it, and she was only seeking attention.

After the meds kicked in, I was astonished at how healthy I felt, and that life was possible without the burden of that constant fear.

I'm still afraid of throwing up -- when Mr. L. got stomach flu two winters ago I was shaking and wouldn't go near him or look him in the eye -- but at least it doesn't consume me anymore.
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gherkinfiend
09/18/09

@Ri_L: That's great news! Phobias can be overcome, but it's bloody hard to do when people think they are funny or only their phobia is worthy of concern.

Everytime the subject comes up on Jezebel, people make the same jokes or confuse a fear with a phobia and make them seem silly and inconsequential. It drives me nuts.
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EarlyGrey
09/18/09

@gherkinfiend: I didn't mean to be dismissive, phobias are just not something I understand or would be able to deal with. I have a very low tolerance for irrational thinking and behavior. It's why I don't work with kids and the mentally ill. I also don't think all phobias are dumb - I certainly can understand a phobia of something that might actually be dangerous, unpleasant or life threatening.
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colormeroutine
09/18/09

@gherkinfiend: I had an intense phobia of helium balloons as a child. I used to cry and hyperventilate whenever I was in an enclosed space with them, especially a car. My mother refused to deny my brother balloons because of my fear of them, so I spent a lot of car rides freaking the fuck out. Which did exactly 0 good, so I eventually progressed to freaking out silently and then only just feeling uncomfortable.
But the thing is KNEES are something you encounted hundreds of times a day, especially in the summer. She's engaged, so she obviously hasn't been shut in her house for years. To have maintained an actual phobia for that long of something that common seems physically impossible, and it must have been highly indulged by the people in her life.
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slowpoke.r
09/18/09

@colormeroutine: There is something called "blood-injury phobia" that apparently affects about 15% of the population by causing them to either become faint or pass out altogether when they see blood from an injury in real life.

Not saying all those girls have it, but it seems like a valid condition that people don't even realize they have. Hence the cliche of med students passing out when observing their first surgery that pops up on TV dramas every so often.
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Mary McCarthyite
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
Wait, wouldn't a fear of knees have adverse effects on sexytimes? I am intrigued.

Also, that is the strangest photo. I can only imagine those dudes are all naked. I hope, for her sake, they are not.
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Tchotchke
09/18/09

@Mary McCarthyite: Nah, you can just wear knee pads during sexytime.
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morninggloria
09/18/09

@Tchotchke: Wait, doesn't everyone do that anyway?
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Tchotchke
09/18/09

@morninggloria: Well, that depends. If you are really into safety, a helmet and wrist guards are the gold standard. Knee pads are the bare minimum for safety precautions.
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rollsnide
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
I never, ever poke fun at seemingly weird phobias, seeing as my list consists of frogs, balloons, clowns and escalators.
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EdnasEdibles
09/18/09

@rollsnide: None of those is weird. Except for maybe balloons. Everyone should be afraid of clowns and escalators can eat your toes. Frogs are slimey and while I don't fear them, I can understand if others do.
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
09/18/09

In reply to Weak In The Knees
Quick, somebody call Maury Povich! Have I got a scoop for him!
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GirlFailer
09/18/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: edit: I screwed up.
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Edited by GirlFailer at 09/18/09 11:30 AM GirlFailer was starred GirlFailer was unstarred

margareita metermaid
09/18/09

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: oh my god, did you see the cotton balls phobia episode? that was one of tv's all-time best moments.
i really felt for that lady; i have a fear of both little holes/dots and dry feet, respectively. just thinking about dry feet in sand makes me shiver. ugh.
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GirlFailer
09/18/09

@GirlFailer:
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Her Grace
03/24/09

In reply to When You Have A Ridiculous Fear
It would be more efficient for me to list what I am not afraid of.
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NewsBunny
03/23/09

In reply to When You Have A Ridiculous Fear
One of my fondest fantasies is being able to become invisible.

I would be able to watch people, unseen, all day long.

And no one could drag me onstage for anything.
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Cerridwen
03/22/09

In reply to When You Have A Ridiculous Fear
Crane flies. Absolutely terrified of them. I will run screaming from the room if I see one. They are so huge, with their creepy bodies the size of my pinky finger, and they fly around all herky-jerky, so that you never know where they are or where they are flying to. *Shudder*

I also hate driving. It gives me panic attacks. I hate the sense of being inside something bigger than my body, such that I do not have control over its boundaries. Ok, that probably made no sense. Suffice it to say, my anxiety dreams consist of me driving large trucks on the highway. And for this I will probably be eternally a public-transit-taker.
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mbot says Spock yeah!
03/22/09

In reply to When You Have A Ridiculous Fear
I have a fear of falling backwards when riding up a long escalator. As if my sense of equilibrium will suddenly stop for some reason and I will tumble all the way down.

I also occasionally become afraid that I'm going to drop whatever little thing I'm carrying-- a mug or something-- totally randomly and feel I have to grip it very tightly.

Geez, it's like I have no faith in my basic motor skills...
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