What phobia do you have if any?

[GH85Carrera]

The thread on MRIs has several guys admitting claustrophobia. That seems weird to me, as it is an open tube, not a tiny box.

To my knowledge I don't have a phobia of any sort. Certainly a respect of dangerous things, but that is just common sense.

I have worked on processors in very small dark-rooms in very cramped area, no issue.
I own a Cessna 182 for my business and certainly have no fear of flying.
I have held boa constrictors nad pythons.
My mom used to have a tarantula and I let it crawl around on my hands. I do not handle household spiders or outside spiders, but I have no real fear of them.
Same for snakes. I certainly will stay far back from any poisonous snake but again common sense, not hysterical fear of a garter snake or harmless snake.
I have had to speak in front of crowds. I am not great at it, but I did not have any problems.

I think Mike Rowe has to be the number one, no phobia man on the planet. He has been there done that on every crazy phobia known to man. I have never jumped on alligators, milked venomous snakes and spiders, hung on the side of a tall building, craw into tiny spots to do maintenance, he has done it all.

So on scale of 1 to 10 with a one as a Barney Fife afraid of everything and a 10 as a Mike Rowe and willing to do anything within the limits of common sense and safety where do you rank?

I would rank myself as a 8.5 to 9.0.

[Evans, Marv]

I don't have any I can think of either. Likewise I don't think there's anything wrong with using common sense. There are things I very much dislike - black widows - and my wife has a tatantula for a pet. I laugh when I see or a video a 200 lb. man jumping up on furniture when he sees a mouse. I've been in a few instances where people who panicked or acted irrational duriing dangerous situations made things potentially worse for themselves & people around them.

[Bill Douglas]

I don't know if it's a phobia, but I wash my hands about 50 times a day.

If I've eaten something and touched it I'm almost in pain until I've washed my hands. Very weird. And it's nothing about cleanliness as I eat food I've dropped on the floor LOL

[Seahawk]

Fire.

I know water (surfed and kayaked for 50 years), fly, climbed, SERE school, dated Latina's...

The Navy Shipboard firefighting school in San Diego f'ing terrified me. I did it but the flight response was strong.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Fire.

I know water (surfed and kayaked for 50 years), fly, climbed, SERE school, dated Latina's...

The Navy Shipboard firefighting school in San Diego f'ing terrified me. I did it but the flight response was strong.

That is not a phobia! That is smart. Fire is bad pookie. A phobia is you can't light a fire in the fire place using a match.

[flatbutt]

I'm afraid of being afraid so I'm afraid that I'm not afraid of anything.

[JavaBrewer]

Heights, or more likely falling from height. I have zero issues flying, even when with my pilot friend in his piper cub with the cabin sides folded down. But standing on elevated position is not good. Example, the wood grandstands you find on sports fields, I cannot go up more than a couple rows. Outside stair cases are also no go. Heck my knees start knocking inside a building more than a few stories tall. I thought open water diving would terrify me but at 100' feet deep have floated over the 20K foot drop off in Grand Cayman with not a care in the world. Strange.

[Nostril Cheese]

Driving over giant bridges. Like the Golden Gate. Only started happening in the last 10 years. No idea why.

[masraum]

I'm not aware of myself having any phobia. I can imagine that I might not like REALLY tight spaces. Like when you see some spelunkers wriggle through a tiny hole or narrow crevice to get into a cavern on the other side. But I've crawled under things and been in small spaces without ever freaking out.

I think spiders and snakes are interesting. I've touched/held snakes and a caiman (the reptilian). I've nearly touched some spiders or watched them really closely, but I'm also not likely to hold or play with a large ugly spider.

I've jumped out of a perfectly good plane, and climbed trees and been on top of buildings, but I'm not likely to stand on the ledge at the top of a tall building.

Things that I think I would do.

I think I could/would do this if I needed to.


I am pretty sure I would not do this.



I would LOVE to do this


I would probably not push it to the extreme



I think I could manage a box of snakes.


I could not, would not manage my head in a box of tarantulas.


I'm with Glen, I figure I'm an 8.5-9.0. I figure Mike Rowe is a 9.0 - 9.5. To be a 10.0, you have to throw caution and common sense to the wind and be willing to do anything. The folks that climb crazy tall buildings and hang off of them, those are probably a 10.0 (although they may be able to hang from a 50 story antenna tower by their fingertips but be deathly afraid of spiders).

I watched a documentary on Jeb Corliss. He has always been "fearless" and when he was younger was suicidal, but IIRC, when he realized that he could do extreme daredevil stuff, that took away his suicidal feelings. It's like he has a need to do extreme stuff. And he says that he's not remotely self-destructive, because he's got lots of experience and each stunt that he does is meticulously planned to make it as safe as possible (because he doesn't want to die).

My guess is that if you find someone that's a 10.0, that they may have a psychological need.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I don't know if it's a phobia, but I wash my hands about 50 times a day.

If I've eaten something and touched it I'm almost in pain until I've washed my hands. Very weird. And it's nothing about cleanliness as I eat food I've dropped on the floor LOL

That sounds more compulsive than phobic.

[masraum]

One thing that I've seen mentioned here on the board before is that some folks have mentioned is that they don't like to cross a bridge or be in places like cliffs or tall buildings because they are afraid that they'll jump even though or because, they don't want to die. So it's an odd fear. I've heard that my grandmother has the same fear.

A related fear that I have, but it hasn't impacted my life, is that I'm afraid that if I get in a fight with someone, I'd kill them. I have no desire to kill anyone, and I have no reason to believe that I'm such an amazing fighter (never actually been in a fight) that it could accidentally happen.

[red-beard]

[red-beard]

I do not have a fear of heights. I have an aversion to falling from high places....

[red-beard]

[masraum]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I'd probably do that, although I think I'd be darn tired. i'm not sure that I'd get to the top under my own power.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Fire.

I know water (surfed and kayaked for 50 years), fly, climbed, SERE school, dated Latina's...

The Navy Shipboard firefighting school in San Diego f'ing terrified me. I did it but the flight response was strong.

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

That is not a phobia! That is smart. Fire is bad pookie. A phobia is you can't light a fire in the fire place using a match.

You get used to it!

[KFC911]

^^^ .... knowing damn well he ain't talkin' to me

No effn' way .... RESPECT!

I was skeered to click on this thread .... I won't be back .... lotsa reasons

[beatnavy]

Flying in poor visibility (as a passenger - I'm not a pilot). I love flying when it's a bright blue sky or crystal clear night. I'm not a fan of bad weather and poor visibility. I like my bus drivers up front to have LOTS of visibility in front of them.

[VINMAN]

Really don't have any phobias expect for one that results in me being the butt of jokes and scorn by my brothers in the fire service. My fear of ladders.

The ironic thing is I'm a technical rescue specialist. I have no problem hanging by a 1/2 rope from a tower crane , radio tower or off the side of a building a few hundred feet in the air. Iv'e roped out of helicopters. I have zero fear of heights.
But make me use a 24' extension ladder to go on a roof, I freak. Nobody can understand it.


.

[GH85Carrera]

Many years ago I helped the Oklahoma City Zoo raise some money for the education department.

I set up a 4x5 camera system and a Polaroid film adapter. We could take a photo of a visitor while they held either a 6 fool long boa constrictor, a 14 inch alligator, a ground Owl and some other critters. Lots of people wanted to hold the snake.

Lots of people (mostly women) ran like it was the chain saw massacre guy coming at them with a chainsaw. We tried to get them to come closer and about half actually came over and touched the snake like it was the bravest thing ever. A few actually held it, and bought a picture of them holding the snake.

100% of the money went to the Docents education fund. They paid the cost of the film, and I provided a weekend of free labor. Of course several docents helped and worked for free as well. My mom was the number one on the list of most hours spent as a docent at the zoo for many years.

It was interesting to see some people with genuine terror of a totally harmless snake. Some guys were more afraid than their little daughters. It was hard not to laugh when one 6 foot Marine looking type of guy backed off 15 feet and his little 7 year old daughter and came and held the snake. Dad stood so far in the background he was hardly in the picture.