response 1 of 62:

Nov 26 00:30 UTC 1998

It should be noted that the clinical use of the word "phobia" is significantly
more rigorous than the dictionary definition. Phobic reactions include intense
physiological and psychological discomfort, not mere heightened anxiety.

I'd also say that "unreasoning" in phobias aren't an issue of not being aware
of why you have the fear, but rather an issue of being aware that the fear
is unjustified. For instance, someone from the bayou has a genuine and
legitimate reason for fearing snakes... some of them are deadly. Someone from
Michigan doesn't. you may, however, be fully aware of why you have that
fear... perhaps when you were four, your older brother would terrorize you
with a rubber snake.

at any rate, I have an actual phobia: social phobia, an intense discomfort
about being in new places or situations; in my case, it focuses around parties
where I only know a few people, if anyone, crowded trendsetter places like
dance clubs, and places where "outsiders" are supposedly ridiculed (local
bars), as well as places of ill-repute (strip clubs); I also fear rejection
to the point of violence, mostly because it's so much work for me to make new
friends, that if I lose the ones i have, I'll be alone. ={

response 3 of 62:

Nov 26 06:27 UTC 1998

I have an irrational fear of heigts -- even to the point of walking around
work hole coveres on sidewalks.  

response 5 of 62:

Nov 27 00:21 UTC 1998

Heights, especially if I'm on a balcony (I won't go NEAR them) or
near a floor-to-ceiling window.
Spiders - pictures or the real thing...doesn't matter.  I will
FREAK.
Closed spaces - crowded elevators, full cars, *severe* crowds (like
a packed mall or after a concert gets out).

All of these give different reactions.  Heights will make me come
close to fainting, spiders make me feel like my skin is crawling and
bugs are in my hair, and closed spaces make me light-headed and can
cause a severe asthma attack.  I don't know why I have these
phobias, and there are situations where they won't bother me as
badly.  <shrug>  Psychology is so fascinating.  =)

response 7 of 62:

Nov 27 13:54 UTC 1998

        Re #1:

        Christ, that describes half of GREX, being paralyzed in new social
situations.  I'd wager it's a common phobia, though I'd never thought of it
as a phobia - traditionally the clinically diagnosed phobias I've heard of
were unreasoning, usually a strong response to a strong situation being echoed
in a weak-stimulus situation - whereas most of the social phobics I know just
worry too much about what other people are thinking or pay more attention
to the conversations in their head.  Or they just don't have some of the 
rules of interaction down.  But then again you may be talking about something
of an entirely different order.

        Re #0:

        I really have a bad learned reaction to cheese.  It's irrational.  I
used to be lactose-intolerant, strongly, but I don't have learned reactions
to the other thing I'm allergic to - dogs and cats - and I'll play with them
for hours before I realise I've gotten myself a nasty reaction.  But cheeses
often bring up very unpleasant images even IF I would enjoy the taste.  The
exception is on pizza.  I don't understand it.  I'm flaky that way.

response 9 of 62:

Nov 29 19:25 UTC 1998

Well, I doubt I have the Real Genuine Social Phobia, but strange people are
one of the things that freak me out the most. Water also does in some
situations - cold water, or a fast current, or just huge stretches of it. But
neither of those affects me all that much, and I dout they're worthy of being
called "phobias" ("phobiae"?)

response 11 of 62:

Nov 30 09:15 UTC 1998

Geez, do we all think we have social phobia? Actually, I don't really 
think I'm afraid of interacting with people; rather people in general 
terrify me, especially in crowds.  You know, going out to the mall, and 
getting in crowded elevators.  Just really looking at a bunch of 
strangers is scary. 

Some people who know me think I am afraid of germs. Although I am very 
picky about where I eat & wash my hands many times a day... well, it's 
more a "compulsion" (if that) than a phobia.

I do remember one.  I used to be (at about 14 years old) very 
homophobic! I remember I had this friend who was gay (but a boy) but I 
was just totally freaked out about lesbians. One time after some remark 
he asked if I was bi or something, and I said "Oh, God NO!".  Of 
course, it really freaked me out, because I was afraid I might be gay. 
(This reminds me, I even wrote a note to the school vice principle - i 
was always in trouble- that I thought she was a lesbian and it freaked 
"us students" -me- out. Funny how we forget the bad things we do, but 
she probably wasn't...)

response 13 of 62:

Nov 30 23:45 UTC 1998

#11> Do you get sweaty palms, have trouble breathing, or go out of your way
to avoid certain social settings? Are there places that you simply can't bring
yourself to go, so much that the mere thought of it makes you want to cry,
run away, or stop breathing? If so, you, too, may be a Social Phobic. Just
call 1-800-IM-SCARED, and for four low monthly payments of ... oh sorry, too
many late night infomercials.

response 15 of 62:

Dec 1 09:50 UTC 1998

<lise pats lumen on the back> Don't fall! ;)  

re #12: I don't know to be honest, I gradually (at about 15) started 
acknowledging my own MOTSS feelings & started getting used to the 
idea.  I remember in particular being attracted to Sophie B Hawkins in 
the "damn i wish i was your lover" video.  That's the first time I 
explicitly acknowledged to myself that I had such feelings.  My former 
homophobia seemed pretty silly by then. I realized I was mostly afraid 
of myself.  (Still am, sometimes..)

response 17 of 62:

Dec 1 14:10 UTC 1998

being attracted to sophie hawkins isn't enough in and of itself to determine
sexuality. she's one of those people that seems to be attractive to a very
diverse range of people, include very gay men and very straight women. =}

speaking of which, she's scheduled to have a new album out jan 7. yay!
 
lumen> I'm VERY afraid of myself. I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm afraid
of hills... what I'm afraid of is getting about halfway up and then getting
stuck; perhaps my car stalls out, or maybe it just doesn't have the power.
Many a nightmare based on that one.

response 19 of 62:

Dec 2 19:01 UTC 1998

Re 17, I have had nightmares of being in a car that I could not stop, but not
one that insisted on stopping.  How can it put you in any danger to be in a
stopped car?  You can always get out of the car and continue on your way.

response 21 of 62:

Dec 3 12:34 UTC 1998

Nope...I've had the same one.  =)  Mine also involves forgetting to show up
for an exam at the end of the semester.

response 23 of 62:

Dec 4 22:29 UTC 1998

My related dream is signing up for too many courses and forgetting to drop
them by the deadline and having to do all the work for them before finals.
Jim dreams about not understanding his schedule or losing it and not knowing
what class to go to next, he just wanders the halls.  He never had problems
with exams, he could handle stress, but he always worried about showing up
at the right place at the right time.  Or bringing the books for  different
class, carrying a ton of books but none for that class.  He has also had the
dream in which he knows he has not been to a class for a month, that dream
happens so often it has become a part of his memory, of reality, he thinks
he really did that but cannot name a class that he skipped for a month.