How severe before it's a phobia?

Dudess

I am utterly petrified of rats. Ok fair enough, they are dirty brutes, it's not the most irrational of fears (heh heh). I mean, some people have a fear of buttons. But I can't even look at pictures of rats. I run away screaming like a little girl if I see a dead one - ok it's not nice to look at but it can't actually do anything to you!
If I, for whatever reason, had to live in a place with a sizeable rat population, I'd gladly purchase a firearm. A couple of cats and/or poison wouldn't be enough for me.
Stemming from this fear is a less understandable one - mice. Well they are quite dirty, but they are so tiny and it's not like they'd attack you the way a rat would (rare I know but I have heard of people encountering rats that weren't afraid of them - YIKES!! :eek:). I think my fear is simply due to the fact that they're from the same family as the rat.
I remember one evening being at home in the folks' house watching TV on my own. Next thing I sensed movement behind the heater a few feet away. I crept over there soundlessly, praying it'd be a spider (I've no probs at all with those little guys!) and to my horror (yes, horror :rolleyes:) it was a most terrifying, nightmarish sight... a tiny mouse . I immediately left the room (heart pounding), locked the door (cos, you know, the little fella might try to follow me) then left the house, got into my car, phoned my mum on my mobile to let her know there was a visitor in the kitchen and drove back into my apartment ten miles away (didn't even want to hang around the house long enough to phone her on the landline). Now THAT is ridiculous!

But I've often wondered, while the above might seem like phobic tendencies, would it not have to be even more severe to be classed as a phobia? E.g. not being able to leave the house in case there's a rat out there?

Or is there a "scale" of severity when it comes to phobias?

watna

I've wondered this too. Tomatoes freaking me out doesn't really negatively impact my life in that I can't do things, only that I have to be more fussy when eating out. So I suppose it's not a phobia really. I've often wondered is there a scale of scaredness? Does it have to get to a certain level?

Dudess... never, ever read 1984. I'm not really afraid of rats but it scared the crap out of me. Also, ratatouille. My mum couldn't watch it because she hates rats, even though the rat in it is quite cute!

jhealy74

mine is breaking my teeth...weird i know but i smashed them up when i was young and now it always crosses my mind when out on the bike etc

Dudess

Oh 1984 is probably my fave book so maybe I'm not that bad! I agree, that scene isn't the nicest (and I've seen the film too - nasty, not pleasant to see the moment in question immortalised on screen) but I managed to psyche myself up for it. There's also a rat-related, ahem, passage in American Psycho which had me speechless for a good while (rare ). It's actually worse than the 1984 one - :eek: Thankfully not immortalised in the Christian Bale movie.

What did spook me good was a cheapy 80s horror called Nightmares - basically three or four short films rolled into one (starring... nobody of note). The final one was called Night of the Rat and it's about a giant rat terrorising a family. It was on the Sci-Fi channel one night. The giant rat's babies are the size of normal rats and the mother rat is about the size of a dog - ridiculous of course but I was a shaking wreck while it was on. Of course I could have left the room but the morbid curiosity was too much for me. Horrible!
The film Nosferatu features a big swarm of rats too - gave me the shivers big time.

The Pied Piper - my hero.

LadyJ

Imo, there are degrees of phobia. I mean, I am not afraid of small, skinny spiders but even seeing a photo of a large one gives me a shooting pain from my foot to my heart that would surely cure the hiccups and I scream involuntarily. I would still say that I'm arachnophobic even though I can handle the small ones....

If I knew that there was a large spider in my house I would leave immediately, if I saw one, I would probably be paralyzed with fear, maybe even collapse. I don't know how I would cope living in a country like Australia where giant spiders roam free! It's ok though because I'm still afraid of flying so no 18 hour plane rides for me!

Fajitas!

I'm the same with all spiders... I've had some bad experiences with the little ****s

LadyJ

Dudess, was just browsing the web and found this. Sounds like your fear of rats could certainly be described as a phobia considering your need to get the hell out of the house!

Crumble Froo

emm, yeah, dudess, i'd recommend not checking out my posts in the 'ideal pet' thread on the ladies lounge... i've posted a couple of pictures of me and a rat there... (he's domesticated though, on the offchance that makes any difference).

im terrified of spiders, but trying to overcome that. no way in hell am i gonna hold one to get over it, but i can handle one being in the room as long as i can see it at all times and will know well in advance if the ****er's coming anywhere near me.

nikki 122

I'm terrified of really big things like statues and buildings when i'm around them i get all nervous and i start shaking is there anyone else out there like that ?? any idea how i can overcome it?

Crumble Froo

actually, now that you mention it, dublin city used to completely freak me. too many people, buildings too tall, not enough sky... completely claustophobic in there... but go into a room, doors would get open, people in the room, i get completely agoraphobic in there too...

LadyJ

nikki 122 wrote: »

I'm terrified of really big things like statues and buildings when i'm around them i get all nervous and i start shaking is there anyone else out there like that ?? any idea how i can overcome it?

nikki, your first step to overcoming a phobia is to discover why you are afraid. Understanding is the key. However, this is slightly off-topic so perhaps you could start a new thread or seek advice in the "Ever conquered a phobia?" thread.

Crumble Froo

teh only phobia i have a good reason for is my one of people touching my neck/throat area. and, as far as i know, a phobia is defined as an irrational fear. and my fear stems from my nearly being choked to death a couple of times. so i wouldnt entirely coutn that as irrational...

Creachadóir

I'm petrified of mice and rats. I developed the fear when abroad (as a student) and lived in various dives over the summer where there were rats/mice. Although I got over it at the time, and miserably co-habited with the rodents, I had several disturbing dreams about them, and now I'm even frightened of plastic rats (ie there was an incident with plastic rats at Halloween!). I wouldn't stay in a building if I knew there were mice/rats there.