When did it start for you?

LadyJ

So does anyone remember a specific starting point for their phobia?

With spiders my earliest memory of being afriad of them was when I was about 6 or so and there was a clip from "Arachnophobia" on tv. I've never watched the film but I think it was some part where there was a spider on the toilet bowl. For months I hovered over the toilet seat and to this day I still get worried sometimes while peeing!

The feer of flying was more gradual for me. It started when I was 12ish. I loved flying before that but it just escalated from then on until I had such a bad panic attack a couple of years ago on a four hour flight that I vomitted and have not gotten on a plane since.

From going to counselling I have realised that my fear of flying is probably linked to the death of my mother when I was 11. Therapist suggested that I may have a fear of being that "one-in-a-million" person because of suffering such a great loss at such a young age. It makes sense to me I guess.

So any early memories from anyone else?

Fajitas!

I think a spider tried to get a bit too close to me when I was a baby. Never been able to handle them.

Clytus

Spiders is mine...and I still remember the reason why.

I was about 4 or 5 and playing out the back of my grandmothers house. She had this old coalshed that had all sorts of brica brak in it so I just loved rooting through it. Anyway...this one day I found a type of trolly and turned to bring it out into the garden....and there at the doorway was the Biggest spider I had ever seen. I just froze while this thing wandered staright in front of me and i watched as it climbed over come coals and into the corner of the shed.

Since then Iv been utterly terrified. the thing is that Im a fairly practical sorta fella...I see things for what they are,so the fact that I have this totally irational fear of spiders totally frustrates me....Im about a 1000 times bigger than it,I could kill it in a second, it could never hurt me, so why do I freak when I see one?????????.

Marksie

Wasps: wasps are mine. I am off and running.

For me it was about 9 or 10 and one just landed on my hand and repeatedly stung me.

Oh and needles! strange for somene who worked in the nedical profession. But blood and all that fine, but you mention needle and i go white.
that one strted when the company nurse missed the vein and went for bone

ergonomics

When I was 5 I was playing at my cousins and slipped on the grass. I landed on a slug. I think it hit my hand. That night I had a nightmare that my room was full of slugs. They were pouring in the window and down the walls and where just everywhere. Been petrified ever since. And since snails are just souped up slugs I hate them too.

Donegal Lass

Spiders for me too! Arachnophobia has a lot to answer for imo! But i think it really kicked in when I used to waken several times a week in th night thinking there were spiders in my bed! this went on over a 5 yr period and scared the hell out of me!

I still have an awful fear of them and if i know there is one hovering around somewhere, i will not sleep until it has been "dealt with". Some people think its bad luck to kill them... I personally dont care, Id rather have bad luck thanks!

I also cant sleep in a room if a wardrobe/desk/dressing table door or drawer is open! cant really explain this one and cant exactly blame it on monsters inc!

LadyJ

Donegal Lass wrote: »

I also cant sleep in a room if a wardrobe/desk/dressing table door or drawer is open! cant really explain this one and cant exactly blame it on monsters inc!

I can relate to this. Hate when my wardrobe is open at night. Freaky.

Weidii

Like the OP, I think my phobia (of things submerged in water) stemmed from a movie. When I was four or five i watched Jaws a couple of times, and the scene where the boat is partially submerged in water and the dead guys head pops out scared the bejaysus out of me. It's a shame that phobias can start from such silly things, but I guess it shows that films have a rating for a reason! I'll never let my kids watch anything scary like this when they're young.

Black Swan

Bushphobia. Whenever I see his face or worse, hear him speak, I want to throw up!

ahoney

Ergonomics, I know exactly how you feel! I cant even say the name of them, hate them with a passion. I was on holidays with family probably aged 10 in waterford and had written postcards, went out for day came back and postcards were on the floor and i picked them up and on one of them was the biggest slug ( ugh even typing it gives me shivers) , i was in hysterics, parents were sickened too and we packed everything up and drove home. To this day I am freaked out by them, i know they are so slow moving etc and arent a direct threat but its weird what the brain does. I'm sure people think its mad but everyone i know has something they cant abide. With my sister its cotton wool, with another friend its mayonnaise which can be funny for others but a nightmare for him!

petals

I dunno when my phobias started..

At one stage after the concorde crash in Paris I was afriad of flying and used to have mad panic attacks on the planes and cry for the whole journey but then I got over it and i'm fine with flying now... was fine bout flying before the concorde crash as well.. dunno what that was about.

NonDrinkersClub

My needle phobia started when I was 7 years old in Australia and some ditsy nurse broke a needle in my arm. Scary ey?

5starpool

I was on water slides when I was 9 and went down head first backwards and had to be pulled out at the bottom. My older brother (22) convinced me to go up again, and said he would hold on to me, but he pushed me down on my own. I had to be pulled out again at the bottom. I have hated water since (in the swimming sense).

I also hate moths cause they are disgusting. I wouldn't say I was afraid of them, but if they all died I would be happy.

rugbug86

Needles and blood. Started when I was 6/7 and having an operation and when they put the needle in my hand (I don't know the in's and out's) they hit something wrong and i bled everywhere.

Since then I've needed to be gassed/restrained etc to be given a needle. I also been known to vomit when I get one.

Has a huge impact on my life - especially that my doc has referred me lots for blood tests and I'm too afraid to go :P

misslt

Can't really say when I started being afraid of spiders, I think I just didn't like them as a child. I'm quite dramatic so as I got older the fear got worse, and now I can get hysterical over teeny tiny spiders. They went from 'scary' to 'omgicantbreatheimgonnadie' about 3 years ago when I was home alone and a spider the size of my hand was on my living room wall. I was on the phone to a friend at the time, and I couldn't speak or breathe properly, between shrieking and crying.

As a child I was also afraid of water in my eyes - my dad used to have to hold me over the bath and my mum rinse my hair I used to squeal and thrash around that much!