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Fear of lightning/thunder: Is this common amongst aspies?

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I'm scared of thunder and lightning. I don't mind it so much when the storm is far away, but when it's close and severe I panic inside, though I try to hide it if people are around. One thing's for sure: If it's lightning outside, there's no way I'm stepping outside.

Do you know if this is common amongst aspies? I've never bothered to ask this question before, but I sometimes assume that my Asperger's is what makes me fearful of thunder storms.
 
Lightning and thunder doesn't scare me at all. You're a wussy, ???.
 
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I am very risk-averse and thus do not want to walk out into any thunderstorms. I know it isn't that big of a risk, but I'm stubborn. I also am afraid that the lightning will go through the building that I am in and end up going through ME. In most cases, this fear is irrational, but it worries me enough that I can't knowingly try to sleep during a thunderstorm.

Aside from that, I think thunderstorms are exciting. I just wish I could enjoy them from someplace I feel safe.
 
When I was visiting family over in Kansas many years ago, there were huge lightning storms throughout the night. These were very fascinating to me as I had never seen so much lightning before. Then when I was in Virginia a few years later, there were tropical storms which were also interesting.
 
Calvert said:
Don't insult the moderators! :lol2:

I'm more fascinated by it now than afraid. I was a bit afraid when I was younger as lightning can be dangerous and even kill.
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??? knows that I jest. That is kind of wimpy of him though.
 
I don't recall ever being afraid of thunder or lightning, most of the time storms just fascinated me. My mum tells me that when I was about 2 I ran out into the garden naked during a storm and went down the slide.
 
My son isn't afraid of storms or lightning. Thunder, if loud can make him jump and seemed tense. But tornadoes, he is terrified of them. We live in Florida, near the ocean so tonadoes are always a threat when there is severe weather. He clings to me during those times.
 
I also live in florida, and absulutely love thunder storms,as the smell of ozone is crisp and clean,the flash of lightning,and deep rumble of thunder awesome! The only problem that I have ever had was when the lightning struck so close that it sounded like an explosion,this frightend me senseless,and I ran the heck 'out of dodge at that point.
 
I would love to go to Florida just to watch the storms - they're a bit crap in Britain, esp the north. Staying fully on topic, yes, when i was kid i was terrified of lighting - it was the unexpected nature lighting strikes that did it. I suppose the reluctance to want things to happen unexpectedly is the autism link to astraphobia (fear of thunderstorms)
 
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I haven't much information concerning whether or not 'astraphobia' is comon to us, or not,as I have a few friends who I do not believe have autism/aspergers who are absolutely petrafied of lightning strikes and will not under any cercomstances go out doors during a lightning storm! I agree that unexpected things can be a bit of a problem,but for me,this is more of a deal concerning people dropping by without my prior knowledge,or unexpected phone calls before twelve noon. These are the things that really shake my tree! I hope that you can visit Florida at some point, the storms are absolutely awe-striking here,and I have seen some really fantastic cloud formations,colorful sunsets,and lightning that actually travels in 'webs' across the sky!:D
 
They don't scare me when I'm up and about, walking around my apartment or clubhouse. However, they do scare me in the middle of the night, when I'm sleeping but than I just look out the window. I don't want to be sleeping during a thunderstorm.:sleep:
 
I wold say that if a thunderstorm happens while you are trying to sleep,stay away from the window,and make sure the computer,and T.V. are shut off.As long as the lightning does not have an active metal conduit to travel through, you should be quite alright.
 
I used to be senselessly terrified of thunderstorms because of tornadoes. They are so unpredictable! And getting worse. It used to be that spring and summer were the scariest seasons and once you started getting into fall and winter then you could relax, but not any more.

Anyway I started studying thunderstorms and tornadoes so I would know what to look for and when to be scared. And guess what, about two years ago I saw my first tornado and I wasn't a bit scared! Actually I was a little disappointed in a way, like that is the thing I have been afraid of all my life? It didn't look like the Wizard of Oz tornado or any of the pictures, it just looked like a giant dust devil spinning around. I was pretty close to it, too, only a few blocks away. It wasn't a real strong one and didn't do a whole lot of damage, just knocked down some trees and tore up some roofs. I didn't even expect to see a tornado that day because it wasn't tornado season and it wasn't tornado weather, so it was just some freak thing. And it is true what they say about them sounding like a freight train or a jet.
 
Spinning Compass said:
I used to be senselessly terrified of thunderstorms because of tornadoes. They are so unpredictable! And getting worse. It used to be that spring and summer were the scariest seasons and once you started getting into fall and winter then you could relax, but not any more.

Anyway I started studying thunderstorms and tornadoes so I would know what to look for and when to be scared. And guess what, about two years ago I saw my first tornado and I wasn't a bit scared! Actually I was a little disappointed in a way, like that is the thing I have been afraid of all my life? It didn't look like the Wizard of Oz tornado or any of the pictures, it just looked like a giant dust devil spinning around. I was pretty close to it, too, only a few blocks away. It wasn't a real strong one and didn't do a whole lot of damage, just knocked down some trees and tore up some roofs. I didn't even expect to see a tornado that day because it wasn't tornado season and it wasn't tornado weather, so it was just some freak thing. And it is true what they say about them sounding like a freight train or a jet.
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Do you live in the American Midwest? It does seem like tornado season is getting longer and longer. I live in Nevada so we get very few natural disasters here besides a few earthquakes and wildfires. I moved here from New Jersey a few years ago, I drove out here. So I drove through Iowa, Nebraska, etc. and I remember thinking about how I was driving through Tornado Alley. The Parkersburg, Iowa EF5 tornado hit just two days before I drove through that general area. Just two days after I drove through Nebraska they also got a tornado outbreak where several tornadoes touched down near the highway I was driving on.
 
Yes, I live in Michigan. We don't get too many natural disasters here. About 5-6 years ago we had an earthquake which woke me up because the bed was shaking. I thought it was the cat licking herself and was about to yell at her to knock it off when it stopped. When I went to work everyone was talking about the earthquake! Actually what a lot of people don't know is that there is a major fault area down by St. Louis which has the potential to produce a really big one (the last was in 1812 and changed the course of the Mississippi River). If it ever happened again, it would be worse than anything in California because absolutely no one is prepared.
 
i actaully love thunder and lightning BUT i am terrified when it rains really heavily i dont know why though
 
I am not scare of thunderstorms. Just as well, I live in Jakarta and we get some intense tropical thunderstorms here.

Actually from my apartment I can watch the storms move across the city and see the lightning hit radio antennae and tall buildings. We had a direct hit on our building a couple of months ago - that was a bit scary.

I find the loud claps of thunder startling and I tend to jump a bit. My 2 year old daughter laughs at me when I do that. I'm sure she is thinking "Daddy is a wussy".
 
I was pretty scared when I was little. But my dad helped me get over it by making popcorn, and we'd sit out on the (covered)-porch and watch it like it was a film. I still crave popcorn in thunderstorms, though. Pavlov would be proud lol.
 
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