Hi lovelies <3 With Halloween just around the corner, I thought this might be an appropriate discussion c:
What phobias do you all have? Have they ever effected your quality of life? How do you manage them?
I have plenty of basic garden variety fears (drowning, being murdered, harm to loved ones, etc) but only two (technically three) I would consider phobias in the official definition of the term: blood-injection-injury type phobia and automatonophobia.
The blood-injection-injury type phobia encompasses three specific phobias. I have two of the three: needle phobia and injury phobia. Both are troublesome since they can't always be avoided :c Since this type of phobia often manifests as a vasovagal response, I frequently faint during medical procedures involving blood draws, vaccinations, medication administration, etc. or when I get hurt (sometimes even minor cuts and bumps). The needle phobia is less of an issue than the injury phobia since the only time I'm being poked with needles is when I'm in a controlled environment like the doctor's office. But I've been known to injure myself at work and have to lay down until symptoms subside :(
Even reading those Wiki articles made me feel sweaty and weird. Ew.
Oddly, I don't seem to have as much of an issue when I'm being tattooed. I do get a little lightheaded but the feeling passes pretty quickly once the process begins. Huh.
By and large I can avoid dolls, mannequins, wax figures, etc. so the automatonophobia does not really effect my quality of life. Furthermore, it doesn't make me faint so it's much more manageable, haha. But my family and friends are mean and sometimes send me pictures of gross dolls and I have to quell the feeling of nausea :c Jerks.