Overcoming a phobia

Getting over a completely irrational and totally terrifying fear that has plagued your life for years.

I still remember when I was horrified by the prospect of boating. You see, when I was 7 or 8 I hit my chin on the front of the boat when we went over a large wake. I had to go to the hospital and it permanently fucked up my jaw, so now I have TMJ. For years after that, going on boats was a horrible experience, and whenever we went over wakes I nearly went into panic attacks.

Now it doesn't even phase me. I can sit at the front of the boat just fine, even going over wakes. I don't have the daring bravado to stand at the front in choppy waters that I had when I was a kid, but that's fine with me.

Have any of you ever overcome a phobia?

My other signature is a Gundam.

No. Teeth. Needles. Spiders. Awkward Humor. Still terrified of all of them.

Read my stories!

I am slowly but surely getting better at dealing with blood. Sort of. Maybe. No. No I'm not.

...

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

I used to be afraid of dogs when I was a kid, but my uncle bought one and the fear mostly went when I got used to being around the dog.

"Well, it's a lifestyle"

I used to be terrified of pencils because of lead poisening I got over it by the realization that there's not much to live for in the first place.

We must survive, all of us. The blood of a human for me, a cooked bird for you. Where is the difference?

I used to have social phobia. Anyone who has ever had it, or even briefly experienced something similar, knows how crippling it is. It resulted in me becoming completely isolated and alone because I was terrified of everyone, including my friends and family. I pretty much never left the house for months because I was so afraid. I had such low self-esteem that I felt like I deserved it. I felt like an abomination, like I was too hideous for anyone to ever like, or even to see me at the same level as them. I was below everyone. That's what my head kept telling me. At one point it became clear to me that I had to change it. I think it started when I realized that most everything I believed about myself was completely irrational. I had to train myself to look at me and the world completely analytically and detached from myself. It took years to overcome and sometimes I still can't really believe that I'm at the same level as everyone else. Maybe I should've consulted a therapist or something, but I'm proud of having done it myself.

I'm not completely healed, though. Every now and then I have these phases where I'm just disgusted with myself and everything else. Also, for some reason it's still not easy for me to buy things in stores. That was always the worst thing for me to do, so it's not surprising that I haven't overcome that completely yet. Nowadays, it just manifests as an uneasy feeling that creeps up sometimes when I'm in that situation.

So yeah. That's my phobia story

I am still currently scared to death of insects and being alone.

I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial

I had a variety of phobias regarding other people before I was removed from school. Me and school

I spent a while on medication, but that just amped me up so much I couldn't even speak. What turned out to work was slowly and gradually reintroducing me to society. (My fear of being touched lasted the longest—what broke most of it was being forced to touch other people in gym class when I went to high school. I still freeze up when hugged.)

edited 5th Apr '11 7:46:05 PM by feotakahari

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful

I've been slowly recovering over my fear of dogs. I can get friendly with them, though strange dogs I don't know barking at me can still unnerve me. So can very large dogs.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

@tnu: Um... you do know that pencil "lead" is graphite, yes? That seems a much easier way to assuage such a fear.

edited 5th Apr '11 8:54:15 PM by Sporkaganza

Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember them, you are not alone.

Yup, graphite isn't poisonous. Which is just as well because I recently embedded some of it in my arm.

I don't really have any phobias.

Maybe cows? That was more a vague uneasiness rather than a phobia, though, and I'm over it.

Be not afraid...

I'll never truly get over needles, but when push comes to shove, I can handle them.

The thing about making witty signature lines is that it first needs to actually be witty.

Even better than overcoming a phobia is overcoming a bias

Sex, Drugs, and Rationality

That's what I keep thinking every time I see the title.

Power corrupts. Knowledge is Power. Study hard. Be evil.

That dosen't sound like a phobia.

If you feel a bit anxious about having a sharp needle jammed in your skin than, then that's natural.

But if you did everything in your power to irrationally avoid getting a shot, then that would be a phobia.

edited 6th Apr '11 5:34:56 PM by DrStarky

Put me in motion, drink the potion, use the lotion, drain the ocean, cause commotion, fake devotion, entertain a notion, be Nova Scotian

In the last year, I've acquired a massive phobia of seeing teeth be ripped out/the bloody, toothless mouth aftermath of such an action in horror movies.

I need to get over this, but the reason I have it is a pretty good one, I'd wager.

If anyone could somehow magically rid me of my ridiculously severe phobia of large flying insects (bees, wasps, cicadas, etc.), that would be cool.

Chances are, I'm not actually wearing any pants right now.

edited 5th Aug '11 12:27:16 PM by Enzeru

Eh, I get over most of my early, stupid biases by getting to know people better. Funny how stereotypes fail to hold up against a sufficiently large sample of people.

The thing about making witty signature lines is that it first needs to actually be witty.

tnu138: I had a pencil pushed into my forearm by the school bully until the pencil's nose made a hole through the skin and was stuck into the flesh. There was no permanent damage from the experience. I hope that makes you feel better.

Then again, maybe not.

On topic: Bees. Seriously.

I got over it.

"Why don't you write books people can read?"-Nora Joyce, to her husband James

I'm too worried on how the therapy might go on trying to overcome my phobia. So, no conquering my fears here.

bye

I've overcome phobias before...but usually by developing a new one that makes the old one look tame in comparison.

whoever wrote this shit needs to step on a rake in a comedic fashion

my phobias come in flavors of the month but each is a type of crazy. :P

Rarely active, try DA/Tumblr Avatar by pippanaffie.deviantart.com

I know other people have already mentioned that the lead in pencils is actually graphite, but this is hilarious.

If people learned from their mistakes, there wouldn't be this thing called bad habits.