phobias

[beautyundone]

hello there. my name is ashley. i'm 15 years old and a sophomore in highschool. yes, i am young, but i enjoy discussions of this nature and found this place to be quite intelectually stimulating.

anyways, the reason i've created this thread has more to do with a personal problem than anything else. i, like many others, have been diagnosed with many disorders, including OCD, depression, & anxiety. there are several others that i meet the criteria for, but have not been officially diagnosed as such. the main focus of this post, though, as you may have gathered from the title, would be phobias. i've suffered from a severe phobia of tornadoes (random, i know) since before i can remember. i naturally associate thunderstorms with tornadoes, which, in turn, leaves me with a phobia of thunderstorms as well. at one point, it got so bad that i refused to leave my house for a good two or three months if not absolutely necessary. i am tormented by this fear from the beginning of spring (early march) until the end of summer (late september) as well as during any other thunderstorm that occurs over fall and winter. to be more concise, this fear has taken over my life. it rules me. i will not leave the house until i have checked the weather channel to make sure there are no storms in my remote area. if a storm does hit, i go into a panic attack (often accompanied by hyperventalation). i've talked to my psychiatrist about this, but he has done nothing to relieve me from this constant source of stress. i feel that if i could be rid of this problem, i would sleep easier (i have nightmares about tornadoes nearly every night) and my stress level would be greatly reduced. my friends and family are always teasing me or getting irritated with me because of my phobia and telling me to "get over it" because it's "illogical". i know it's illogical. i'm a very logical person. i just cannot seem to convince my nervous system of it.

so basically, what is a phobia? what could have triggered it? (i have no memory of any event that would have set it off) what can i do to rid myself of it? CAN IT BE CURED?

sorry for the lengthiness of my post. i really do hope to find some answers here, though. i've looked almost everywhere else.

 

sincerely,

ashley

[JPQuiceno]

hello there. my name is ashley. i'm 15 years old and a sophomore in highschool. yes' date=' i am young, but i enjoy discussions of this nature and found this place to be quite intelectually stimulating.

anyways, the reason i've created this thread has more to do with a personal problem than anything else. i, like many others, have been diagnosed with many disorders, including OCD, depression, & anxiety. there are several others that i meet the criteria for, but have not been officially diagnosed as such. the main focus of this post, though, as you may have gathered from the title, would be phobias. i've suffered from a severe phobia of tornadoes (random, i know) since before i can remember. i naturally associate thunderstorms with tornadoes, which, in turn, leaves me with a phobia of thunderstorms as well. at one point, it got so bad that i refused to leave my house for a good two or three months if not absolutely necessary. i am tormented by this fear from the beginning of spring (early march) until the end of summer (late september) as well as during any other thunderstorm that occurs over fall and winter. to be more concise, this fear has taken over my life. it rules me. i will not leave the house until i have checked the weather channel to make sure there are no storms in my remote area. if a storm does hit, i go into a panic attack (often accompanied by hyperventalation). i've talked to my psychiatrist about this, but he has done nothing to relieve me from this constant source of stress. i feel that if i could be rid of this problem, i would sleep easier (i have nightmares about tornadoes nearly every night) and my stress level would be greatly reduced. my friends and family are always teasing me or getting irritated with me because of my phobia and telling me to "get over it" because it's "illogical". i know it's illogical. i'm a very logical person. i just cannot seem to convince my nervous system of it.

so basically, what is a phobia? what could have triggered it? (i have no memory of any event that would have set it off) what can i do to rid myself of it? CAN IT BE CURED?

sorry for the lengthiness of my post. i really do hope to find some answers here, though. i've looked almost everywhere else.

 

sincerely,

ashley[/quote']

 

 

Hello Ashley. First thing, your phobia IS NOT illogical. If your family and friends won't respect you and treat you right because you have a phobia, then thats very wrong of them. (lets leave it at that)

 

Second. Have you ever tried being hypnotized?

 

I have heard that it works verry well in the case of phobias.

 

I hope you get better.

 

-JPQuiceno

[beautyundone]

yes, i have considered hypnotism. unfortunately, i don't believe our health insurance covers such treatment and we're on a rather tight budget. not to mention i have never heard of any hypnotists in the general area.

[Inferno]

Ashley, your phobia is not illogical. I'll try to support you more from now on.

[JPQuiceno]

Why don't you look into hyponist, then worry about the money after. I doub't you would need more than 3 visists to a hypnotist to get cured. Good Luck.

[-Demosthenes-]

Hello Ashley. First thing, your phobia IS NOT illogical. If your family and friends won't respect you and treat you right because you have a phobia, then thats very wrong of them. (lets leave it at that)

Well...

Main Entry: pho•bia

Pronunciation: 'fO-bE-&

Function: noun

Etymology: -phobia

: an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object' date=' class of objects, or situation [/quote']

Make of it what you will.

Why don't you look into hyponist...

I really don't think that hypnotists really do anything, but it is because you think it does that it works.

 

...i enjoy discussions of this nature and found this place to be quite intelectually stimulating.

If this is what you’re after, I enjoy similar discussions.

 

I've always thought that phobias were weird. I am afraid of needles, and blood and stuff, I don't think it's quite a phobia... I'm not sure. I've found that phobias are usually based on a very rational fear, like things that can hurt you. Others could have possibly been based on traumatic events or a mix of both reasons.

 

I wonder why we have phobias. I think that it is a rather recent thing (relatively) when we starting getting enough leisure time to think about things a lot, and now we think about some scary things a little bit too much.

 

I've also noticed that doing things that involve surviving are very enjoyable. This is why camping is so enjoyable; you can work on staying alive by doing things like making shelter and cooking food outdoors. This is true to a greater extent in situations like war, it's exhilarating to plan, fight, and stay alive (hence videogames). It's very weird and hard to explain. My point is that since now-a-days we don't really have to concentrate on "surviving" much more, maybe it's being diverted to some other thing that can think about. We might need a certain about of "survival thinking" and having a phobia and actively planning and avoiding it how we in modern days "survive"?

[JPQuiceno]

Well...

 

Make of it what you will.

 

I really don't think that hypnotists really do anything' date=' but it is because you [i']think[/i] it does that it works.

 

 

If this is what you’re after, I enjoy similar discussions.

 

I've always thought that phobias were weird. I am afraid of needles, and blood and stuff, I don't think it's quite a phobia... I'm not sure. I've found that phobias are usually based on a very rational fear, like things that can hurt you. Others could have possibly been based on traumatic events or a mix of both reasons.

 

I wonder why we have phobias. I think that it is a rather recent thing (relatively) when we starting getting enough leisure time to think about things a lot, and now we think about some scary things a little bit too much.

 

I've also noticed that doing things that involve surviving are very enjoyable. This is why camping is so enjoyable; you can work on staying alive by doing things like making shelter and cooking food outdoors. This is true to a greater extent in situations like war, it's exhilarating to plan, fight, and stay alive (hence videogames). It's very weird and hard to explain. My point is that since now-a-days we don't really have to concentrate on "surviving" much more, maybe it's being diverted to some other thing that can think about. We might need a certain about of "survival thinking" and having a phobia and actively planning and avoiding it how we in modern days "survive"?

 

Keyword "Usualy"

 

This time it is not. If she was afraid of erasers, well the can't harm her therefore its illogical. But storms are frightneing to people and in some cases phobic. Perfectly logical.

[Mokele]

I've heard that psychologists working from the behaviorist perspective (and using behaviorism in their therapy) have great success in curing phobias via slow, progressive desensitization. They're also much more mainstream and what society considers to be typical psychiatry, and thus will likely be covered by insurance.

 

Mokele

[beautyundone]

yes, well, the desensitization methods would be a bit difficult to use with my phobia. for people who are afraid of dogs, it's not a problem to let them get used to being around dogs and petting them. but tornadoes ARE dangerous. weather is beyond our control; whereas, dogs are a controllable variable. see my predicament?

[LucidDreamer]

beatyundone, I don’t think your case is a typical run of the mill phobia and I don't believe that standard phobia treatment would be effective in your case. I think your problem has less to do with a specific fear of tornadoes than it has to do with your general anxiety. I think you are experiencing a hyperactive state of alertness. Your mind is telling you that something is wrong and that bad things are likely to happen. These phobias are common among people who suffer from GAD, panic attacks, and OCD. A lot of people with these disorders have some unfounded fear of immediate danger and death. Many people fear that they are going to have a heart attack or some other kind of physiological problem, but a fear of death from some element of the environment is not uncommon.

 

If you were to measure people in a range from extreme alertness to danger to complete calm you would be too far towards the side of alertness to danger. To cure your phobia you must treat the underlying problem. If your current psychiatrist is not helping you then you should seek out another one. This may sound silly, but exercise, a healthy diet, and some form of meditation have proven to be helpful in reducing anxiety though I don't think that will completely relieve you of this problem. SSI's like Prozac have also proven helpful but I hate to suggest that to someone who is only 15. I am sure you will beat this and you will be enjoying life to the fullest soon.

[beautyundone]

i take 200mg's of zoloft and 300mg's of wellbutrin xl each day for anxiety and depression... i'm not really sure what else there is to do. i've been afraid of them for as long as i can remember, so i'm not really sure if there's a source of the fear or not. i'm very confused as to who i should see, what i should do, and what drugs would be effective. *sigh* it's proving to be quite difficult to deal with.

[LucidDreamer]

I think you should try Mokele's suggestion. I don't think your phobia is beyond it's scope. If you want to relieve yourself of this specific phobia then desensitization might be your best bet. You don't have to do battle with a real tornado to confront this fear. The majority of those storms that you are petrified of do not result in tornadoes. I think maybe your afraid to try it because of your phobia.

[beautyundone]

perhaps... we'd have to go chase storms to do that, though. haha.

i'm willing to try anything; i just wasn't sure if that was the most practical way to go about it.

[Bettina]

i've talked to my psychiatrist about this' date=' but he has done nothing to relieve me.

[/quote']

 

(Sarcastic) Sounds like the same one I am going to.

 

Hi Ashley. I'm 17 with my own problems. You might have come to the right place. Smart people here. I am interested in your problem and will stay in touch.

 

Bettina

[BenSon]

i naturally associate thunderstorms with tornadoes, which, in turn, leaves me with a phobia of thunderstorms as well. at one point, it got so bad that i refused to leave my house for a good two or three months if not absolutely necessary.

perhaps... we'd have to go chase storms to do that, though. haha.

i'm willing to try anything; i just wasn't sure if that was the most practical way to go about it.

I'm a little confused from your first post it sounded like there were lots of storms for three or so months, so why would you go chasing storms? Or was it that you were afraid of impending storms? Either way don't go chasing storms let them come to you and when they come just take it in steps. First just sit by the window, then maybe sit in a car outside (unless your clostrphobic as well) then finally just stand out in the rain. You can probably think of better steps that suit you and your environment but you get the idea.

 

~Scott

[beautyundone]

i'm scared of impending storms... if there's a threat of storms, i won't leave the house. also, that summer was about two years ago when we had insane weather; severe storms every couple days and such.

[Mag]

well, you could go out in a storm, or when its cloudy out and such.

 

I bet it would only take a few times go out in such weather, until you "realized" that there was nothing to be scared of.

 

Also, when i was talking to my psychology teacher last year, i told him i wa scared of bee's and wasps and other things that fly and sting.

He said it wasnt really a fear, because it can cause pain.

 

But similarly, my fright of bees is exaggerated.

 

I would say the same thing about yours - except that in this case it seems to be very exaggerated,

 

Anyways, good luck, i hope you find something that works.

[Psion]

I have a quote for you that I've developed that I think you might want to take into consideration.

 

"Fear holds us back from our greatest dreams and goals."

 

Lots of interesting things can happen on a rainy day. You could come across a $20 bill or make a new friend. Meet a musician or see something magical.

 

Fear holds us back from a lot of amazing things that happen in this world.

Weather is a beautiful thing that many find an appreciation for.

 

The cool rain beating on your face after a hot summer day can be refreshing and yet enlightening. You aren't constricted to the sink inside of the house where you can only splash your face with water.

 

Sometimes nothing really triggers fear.

 

Take into consideration people who are born with fear.

 

We're only human, right?

Many of us have some type of fear and it's only normal to have that.

We are born with instincts that we must learn to overcome.

 

Perhaps your instincts tell you not to go out in a storm. Taking advantage of the TV helps you avoid the situation. Avoiding things without experiencing is something that can turn into a cycle for people who do it.

 

The best thing I can recommend to you is that you face your fears. You use logical thinking by going out into that environment and experiencing it. Not staying inside a house by thinking, but experiencing the world for what it really is.

 

I find that if you dislike what you are doing to others or yourself, don't do it. Do the exact opposite.