Me too, flatty.

I also used to have a fear of getting my finger stuck in the drain at the bottom of a swimming pool.

You can go on a tour inside Mammoth Cave. Very, very interesting. At some point on the tour you must pass through a narrow gap which is called ‘Fat Man’s Agony’. One person at a time, inching sideways. Of course that is with electric lighting, abuncha people milling around and conversing, upright and knowing it opens back up on the other side a few feet away.

I simply cannot imagine squeezing upside down, alone, in total blackness, not knowing what is on the other side and then getting stuck with one arm over my head, the other at my side with my body twisted in total silence.

That's like a hell nooox10000% and foolish 10000% x10. :eek:

Yeah, I've been having dreams lately where I'm stuck in some tight space and can't breath. Never had that issue before, I'm almost thinking its' sleep apnea.
Then THAT video came up in my YT newsfeed. THANKS YOUTUBE!!!! (Not).

I have no irrational phobias other than fear of landing in a wheelchair, which isn’t completely irrational after all and I still do some dumb stuff on occasion. My wife on the otherhand nearly wrecked her Suburban when a spider ran across the inside of the windshield. Like two tires off the road and in the ditch and about to be 4 before I grabbed the wheel. She loses any higher order processing if she sees one anywhere in the house (and she can see them from what seems like 50ft away) and I have to immediately get it. She also is very bad with heights… shaky legs and paralysis sort of thing.
I used to be a bit frustrated with it all until oddly enough when I was gripped by the grief of my fathers passing. I had never experienced anything like it, and the absolutely dominating power of the emotion and heaving sobs that would come over me without warning for quite some time humbled me into the realization thatthere are things beyond our rational control.

From my surfing days a few near drowning scenarios leaves me most fearful of drowning.
At least, I'm in Hawaii when those nightmares visit.
It also affected my times in a sailboat when land couldn't be seen.
That shudder that flows through your body is primal stuff.

Years ago I built my garage and put the roof on (11ft tall walls). I had no problem with heights except at one point, I looked down upon the neighbors fence and all kinds of dog poop on the ground and thought with my luck I would fall, break my back on the fence and end up face first in the poo. I actually had to back up from the edge and sit down for a few minutes and then was fine.

I haven’t done any real cave exploring in my life and am not claustrophobic, but just thinking about getting stuck in an underground cave- heck even reading the above comments makes me anxious.

We’re getting into panic attack territory, now.

I’ll never forget being absolutely positive I was about to freeze to death if I didn’t make it across a barren field on my way home after the last final of finals week.

I suppose being extremely sleep-deprived, wee-weed up on caffeine, dehydrated and malnourished helped a little. But really, I was terrified. I remember seeing the lights of the dormitory blinking on and off in the distance. I had trouble breathing. It was awful.

As a scuba instructor, and Caver, I see "panic" often that manifests itself from ones own inner anxiety and "fear".

it's all in your head.

if you can control yourself and breathe deep, the solution is out there.

I feel exactly the same way - probably my only "fear" growing up surfing then kayaking.

Learning how to "drown proof" in th Navy was a real challenge for me.

My business partner has a real fear of bridges...if we have a meeting here in Pax I go pick him up in Virginia and then drive him over the Route 301 bridge, which used to be a two lane nightmare.

He gets vertigo. It is real and I never kid him about it unless...

As a scuba instructor, and Caver, I see "panic" often that manifests itself from ones own inner anxiety and "fear".

it's all in your head.

if you can control yourself and breathe deep, the solution is out there.



So for us adrenaline junkies, lets combine both.........scuba in an overhead environment caving deep into the cavern system floating along neutrally buoyant through that world.

all while deep in the mayan jungle. To the underwater cenote cave system called Dreams Gate. An Advanced dive for sure!

https://vimeo.com/114802443

I agree. I got over it but it took a few "extra sessions". Had to

Drown proof(ing)... do you take a pair of camo fatigue pants with you to the beach or ocean?

When I was stationed in HI we had 2 Soldiers drown together, dang near drown a third helping them. After the investigation and questions by the Commanding General, I feared that he was going to order everyone to take camo pants with them to the beach any time they went as was taught in the drown proof class. We were that far into the weeds.

Bridges fear:
I'm not to fond of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel system. Come out of a hole into daylight, go on a bridge for a bit, then disappear down another hole under the water. Its a bit freaky.

Wow I forgot about that class in Army basic training.... My BDU pants did not do to well retaining air as a life preserver. Lol

I remember thinking back then that in anything besides a calm swimming pool, I doubt it would be worth the effort.

I saw a show that was on cave diving and, I think, was specifically in the cenotes down south. There was a guy that did A LOT of diving, but no cave diving. They gave him some training and took him down with the regular cave divers into the cenotes. I'm not a scuba diver, but I think the cave diving thing looks/sounds great (I do understand that it's not a regular dive). But, if I had to take off my scuba gear to wriggle through a little hole, nope, I don't think so. I think that's where I'm turning around. Again, unless this is well known, and there's folks doing it every day, then I may be convinced that it's OK.

I don’t get in the water of it doesn’t smell like chlorine.

Well, not true. I will walk along the shore of Lake Michigan and let my ankles get wet. In daytime only.

So what's the fear? Fear of drowning? Fear of "I don't know what's in there that I can't see"? Something else?

How about beaches, like the gulf coast of FL or Atlantic or Pacific?

I grew up swimming, mostly in salt water, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico. I've done very little lake swimming. The deep mat of vegetation on the bottom of a lake bugs me. I don't like to stand in that stuff. But it's not a fear/phobia.

Never been a fan of heights (the edges actually) and tho' I walk with no issues on shallower roofs.... I could never be a roof girl :D!

Over the past few years, bridges have begun to really bother me .... the higher, longer ones that I used to one-hand-on-the-wheel, neck straining to see the boats, etc. are now a white knuckle drive across staring at the road ahead. They have a rescue truck that retrieves about one "freeze up" each day over Lake Ponchartrain .... I might put the number in my cell phone if I go back to 'Nawlins ;).

For me, it's the realization that I'm not a predator in the water (big water, like oceans). Not so much a fear of drowning...just knowing I'm prey.

I've developed a little bit of anxiety on long/high bridges the past couple years. Not sure where that came from, as it just popped up. I used to jump out of planes for the Army, so heights never bothered me before but I tense up noticeably (to me) when I have to go on a large bridge.

My parents lived across a big bridge from Pensacola, FL for many years. At some point, my mom developed a crippling fear of driving over them to the point that she'd try to do it, but always end up stopping before the bridge to make my dad do the drive. Before my dad died, he was in a hospital in P'cola, and she had to drive back and forth many times over the course of a month or so. I was only able to be there with her for about a week of that time. Because she HAD to make the drive, she did. THere were two bridges, and she'd drive a bit out of her way to use the smaller of the two, but she managed. I think she even mostly overcame it by forcing herself to make the drive.

Are you kidding me? There’s all kinds of icky horribles in there. Especially Lake Michigan. Not to PARF it up but the government knows there’s sharks in there. Tsunamis are nothing to laugh at either and what about Oprah! She lives in Chicago, sometimes. Same water, you know.

Not worth the risk, IMO.

I did that with blue jeans once during a Red Cross demo. Nearly dislocated my shoulder they were so heavy!