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Phobias anyone?

arthurfakaya

arthurfakaya

Well-Known Member
I'd be interested to get people's thoughts on whether they believe phobias affect those on the spectrum more than NTs. What phobias do you suffer from? Do you believe your phobias are related to autism, or simply coincidental? Do you think phobias serve a purpose, or are they completely irrational? Do you believe you could conquer your phobia given sufficient time and training?

I have acrophobia - a fear of heights. I don't just need to be at a height to feel it, I can just be watching a situation on TV. I can rationalise that a lookout or a balcony is safe and not about to collapse, but nothing could convince me to approach the edge. Yet I can fly on a plane, no worries.

I'm also wondering if social anxiety and selective mutism are phobia related. :shocked:
 
Apart from common phobias such as fear of spiders there is one phobia which has dominated my life from a young age (primary school) and that is being in groups of people. I always hated being in the classroom and now as an adult I never travel on buses or any form of public transport. (I've never been on a bus since 2004). I think this is strongly related to my Aspergers and it seems to be hard wired into my personality. There are many other people who feel the same about being in groups of people but it can also be because of other reasons such as psychological problems and not just Aspergers. I think that there are also some people with Aspergers who are lucky and don't have such phobias.
 
arthurfakaya said:
I have acrophobia - a fear of heights. I don't just need to be at a height to feel it, I can just be watching a situation on TV. I can rationalise that a lookout or a balcony is safe and not about to collapse, but nothing could convince me to approach the edge. Yet I can fly on a plane, no worries.
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Wow, that perfectly describes me too. I am especially wary of physical danger. I've always had trouble with water as well. My swimming teachers had a very difficult job getting me to jump into the pool from the edge, and swim on my back. I'm also terrified of undersea predators - when they're in their element, and we're so far away from ours, we're practically at their mercy.

I hate fire as well. I always struggle to light a match, and have always stayed at a safe distance from campfires.

Lastly, I used to have a hypersensitivity to loud, sudden noises. Thankfully, extensive therapy has now almost desensitised me to them, but it's still left me with this unbearable globaphobia. I am constantly anxious around balloons - they always seem so delicate, and capable of making such a monstrous sound. However, once the sound actually comes, of course, it has almost no effect on me.
 
I have mentioned this somewhere in another thread but can't remember where. I have koumpounophobia, fear of buttons. I know it's weird, but there it is. I have read that Steve Jobs also had it (also supposedly an Aspie). Could be why the iPhone and iPad have none.
 
Fish. The way they look, their scales, their giant unblinking eyes and creepy mouths. THE GILLS. They're so fast and unpredictable and when I stick my legs in the water they come up and try to eat my freckles. The last time (last summer) my dad got me to go fishing with him I caught a huge one and screamed until he threw it back. Turns out I don't like them much better out of the water unless they are dead, headless, skinless, and on my plate. Speaking of which, I haven't had sushi in awhile...
 
Pyrophobia; fear of fire. I can't light a match or a candle, and I hate campfires. I had to sit out an experiment in science class that dealt with fire, as well.
 
buckyboy14 said:
Pyrophobia; fear of fire. I can't light a match or a candle, and I hate campfires. I had to sit out an experiment in science class that dealt with fire, as well.
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Ah, right, that's what it's called. I forgot to mention that I too could never handle fire in science experiments.
 
I don't know if it's really a phobia, or if it's just that I don't trust people, lol.

I'm always a bit weary if my dad turns on the bbq or my mom is cooking. It both runs on gas, and since I feel that both are not really capable of doing it in an orderly fashion, I'm always stressed out that someday it'll catch fire and explode.

I had situations where I told my mom to watch the pans when cooking and make sure to have a visual if the fire is even on. I've had situations where my mom thought it was one and I smelled gas... turns out she didn't light it properly and the kitchen was filling with gas... more than once. Same for my dad and the bbq.

I'll put these things on myself and keep around... it's more the clumsiness of others that triggers stress and all, rather than the actual "object".

I should add, that this is also a reason why I would rather just have a house with no other houses detached to it... and rather not live in an appartment around others (such as a flat)... the idea of the possibilty of them messing up and the place exploding or catching fire and in result I'm having to deal with damage and all myself, stresses me out.

I don't know if it's even a irrational fear... it's not like it never happens... irrational would be not going out because you're afraid some day the engine of a airplane will smash you when it falls out of the sky.
 
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Phobia of sharks and cockroaches
I used to have a phobia of driving, but talked myself out of this, I will still have panic attacks but I tell myself to stop and promise to let the attack happen later when it is safe (it works for me)
those are mine
 
OK I have a massive fear of Clowns (oh and one should not read Stephen King's IT to help with your fear of clowns just FYI). I also have a big fear of crowded and or enclosed spaces such as elevators.
 
I actually really like tight, enclosed spaces with lots of people around me. It makes me feel...secure, I guess. I tried explainig that to kids at school once, but they just called me gay.
 
Homophobia is a mental illness, Buckyboy14. Those poor students are suffering from it & I hope they get the help they need.

Famous Autistic Professor & animal behaviour specialist Temple Grandin felt the same way you did & she invented a squeezing box machine that mimicked that effect. The machine has been incorporated world-wide into many programmes designed to assist Autistic people. It has enjoyed great success: you're NOT the only one!
 
Soup said:
Homophobia is a mental illness, Buckyboy14. Those poor students are suffering from it & I hope they get the help they need.

Famous Autistic Professor & animal behaviour specialist Temple Grandin felt the same way you did & she invented a squeezing box machine that mimicked that effect. The machine has been incorporated world-wide into many programmes designed to assist Autistic people. It has enjoyed great success: you're NOT the only one!
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Talk about synchronicity! I just happen to be reading Temple Grandin's book at the moment: "Thinking in Pictures - My Life with Autism" Copyright 1995, 2006.
 
I think small spaces are cozy and snug and I actually like them. But I do not like crowds and I don't like to be touched unexpectedly. Especially my legs for some reason. that always makes me jump.

I've had a couple MRI's and can't see what the fuss is about--and you can't get a much smaller space than that and still fit inside it.
 
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My biggest phobia is probably the fear of being chased it terrifies me!
I also have fear of heights. It's not too severe, but there have been many times where I felt like fainting because of it.
I'm not claustrophobic, but I panic when I feel suffocated: I can't stand being pressed in a crowd or having something around my neck.

arthurfakaya said:
Do you believe your phobias are related to autism, or simply coincidental? Do you think phobias serve a purpose, or are they completely irrational? Do you believe you could conquer your phobia given sufficient time and training?
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I think my phobias are coincidental, I don't know if they serve a purpose. My fear of heights makes my legs feel week and my head spins, so I don't think it's useful at all! It endangers me more than 'protecting' me. :(
I think I could conquer my phobias, but haven't made a serious attempt yet.
 
thanks to my dad torturing me with war of the world albums when I was five one of my biggest fears is being abducted by aliens. I won't go camping in the bush, until I met my husband I slept with my ears and or head covered in an attempt to protect myself and I even stay up to really late and I'm mega tired on nights my husband has night shift so I will fall asleep instantly and not lie there worrying about aliens. I also sleep on my back or with my back to my husband so I can best defend myself and I made my husband switch sides of the bed so that he was closer to the door than me to protect me from aliens. Now because my dogs sleep with all the time I can generally sleep better because my dogs bark at anything so I know if something was in the room that wasn't supposed to be they would go nuts.

My other bad one is a very severe phobia of medical procedures specifically anything to do with the private area or needles. I have massive panic attacks talking about them with people. The worst part is its now morphing into a doctor and hospital phobia because doctors don't want to deal with people who have severe phobias so they tend to be insensitive and this only makes me trust them less. One specialist I went to for a specific medical test I wouldn't let my GP do was so uncaring and insensitive I got out of there before she could touch me and now I won't go back. I haven't been to a dentist since I was 17 because the last one I went too was horrible to me over my phobias.

And the big one all apsies have ... people. I can't stand being touched by anyone but my husband and I loath public transport as there is no sense of personal space. I hate night clubs for the same reason. And bars. And anything with lots of people. Which makes certain things difficult then people get upset with me when I get crabby ... like when I went to our town's A&P show ... my husband told me off afterwards because I had gotten a bit rude ... mostly because I couldn't take a step without crashing into someone and for someone like me that is like hell.
 
Fear of winged creatures, its the flapping of the wings, the chaos of it scares me. People don't seem to think it is too weird except that it includes butterflies, I think it confuses people cause they think ooh pretty.

Also afraid of condiments, its the texture, the smells, the sight of it. My boyfriend told me a story involving ketchup once and I threw up. I have often have a hard time doing dishes because so much the stuff is gross to me. Its also difficult to watch people eat, especially if I am eating.

I small spaces as well. When I was little I slept on the top bunk, I would wedge myself between the mattress and the railing because it seemed comforting.
 
Aichmophobia - fear of knives

I actually don't keep any knives in my house except for a steak knife I use to cut vegetables with.

Astraphobia - fear of thunder and lightning
 
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