My Fears, Phobias, and Their Origin



As long as I can remember, I have always had a problem with sharp acute structures. Ranging from thorns to pigeon repellent spikes, and all other objects similar have always made me feel uncomfortable. When I encounter these shapes, I will often feel as though my eyes are about to be poked by the object near me giving me immense fear. This phobia will be heightened or diluted depending on the objects proximity to me. For example, when stuck with a needle prior to my wisdom teeth removal, I had full body shakes which only subsided when the anesthesia took hold. I have learned to live with this negative reaction to sharp objects over time and have enhanced strength when encountering sharp objects.

Image result for the meg            Another miscellaneous fear of mine is specific to swimming in the Arc pool. I have an irrational fear that the pool bottom with fall revealing a large body of water underneath the pool where a giant shark will emerge from the depths to eat all individuals present in the pool. This originated during a swim meet I began to think about how deep the pool was. This lead to the thought that I was falsely perceiving the depth and that there was in fact a much deeper body of water bellow housing a gigantic shark. Weather this improved or harmed my 200 free time is a mystery.

Looking into the fear of sharp objects, it seems that one moment could have instilled this phobia within me. While living in Minnesota there was a path through the woods that I would frequently walk through, one day I decided to venture within the woods in earnest. I was walking across a down tree when the branches supporting me gave way. On the forest floor, there was a surplus of sharp brambles waiting for me that stabbed my right calf. I then had to pull myself back onto the tree and walk home with blood running down my leg. This fear may be a result of this incident enhancing my caution when around sharp objects.

Regarding the fear of the Arc pool, its genesis could be related to race anxiety. Prior to beginning a competition I will typically have butterflies in my stomach and have complex irrational fears. For example, during cross country meets I will check the ground for bear traps, just in case. During standard swim meets, I would spend my race anxiety wondering how I was doing in reference to my fellow competitors, however this was off put by there being more to look at below me and metric pools taking more time to swim across. So I had a perfect combination of a pre-race anxiety fueled creativity along with additional time to create an absurd fear with no basis in reality.

Comments

  1. FaizahOctober 18, 2019 at 5:49 AM

    I think it's interesting that you can pinpoint an origin story for your fear of sharp objects. I don't think I could tell you exactly when or where most of my fears came from. Still, I think falling onto a bunch of sharp brambles is a valid cause for your fear, and I hope you are able to one day overcome it!

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  2. 1000gamesOctober 18, 2019 at 9:44 AM

    It's interesting to see where people's fear manifested from. A lot of people have fear simply because it's their nature to fear for their survival (i.e heights, poisonous spiders, etc). There a lot of people who are scared of things because of an experience. I have a mild case of Trypophobia. There's something about a lot of holes in a concentrated area that makes me uncomfortable. I don't necessary scream in fear but I wouldnt approach it either.

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  3. Maximilian YLudaescherOctober 18, 2019 at 9:52 AM

    I like how this post has a more personal touch. Phobias are something that can be hard to discuss, but I appreciate how you even found the origin of your fear of sharp objects. Finding where your fears come from is difficult, so its a refresher to see such a detailed post.

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