'I Went To Med School Only To Realize I Couldn't Stand The Sight Of Blood'-Esque Professional Experiences
There are many people who dream of having one specific job their entire lives.
Their desire to pursue it never dies from childhood through college.
And then, their dream finally comes true, and they begin to study or work in the field they've been waiting for all their life.
Only to discover they have an aversion to a fundamental element of the profession.
Such as an actor having crippling stage fright, a teacher who hates public speaking, or a doctor who faints at the sight of blood.
Things which will no doubt prove a problem towards, if not flat out disqualify, their ability to thrive at work.
A recent Redditor was curious to hear examples, both theoretical and actual, with people whose phobias, fears, and aversions hampered their jobs, leading them to ask:
"What's the 'went through med school just to realize you couldn't stand the sight of blood' of your job field?"
Honestly, though, who Can Stand Vomit?
"Went through nursing school, only to figure out I cant stand vomit."
"Just vomit though!"
"I can stand blood, feces, urine, biliary drainage, pulmonary secretions, etc."
"There's just something about vomit."- deofictitio
They're Not Prepared For The Real Thing
"Well, I'm a phlebotomist, sooo."
"Never had anyone who ended up not being able to stand the sight of blood, but have had several people who couldn't do other specimens collected or received in a lab."
"Urine, stool, sputum, etc."
"Also people who were surprised that most of our draws would be kids, the elderly, chemo and dialysis patients, all notoriously difficult draws, and thought everything would be exactly like it was in school."
"I've had new people in the hospital when I was there tell me they 'won't' attend the Code Blues because 'they can't see anyone die'."
"Like, it's a hospital."
"People are in bad shape and die in it."- ICanHandleItOk
It Takes A Special Type Of Person...
"Got a prestigious degree in finance and economics, realized I sincerely hate the type of people who work in IB/Finance."
"Not all of them of course, but you all know that guy who thinks 'Wolf of Wall Street' is a documentary about him."- MoschopsChopsMoss·
Season 4 Money GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphyActual 'Nightmares At 20,000 Feet....'
"There’s quite a few pilots that are scared of heights."- TRex_N_Truex
The Open Sea Isn't For Everyone...
Had a teacher in my nautical academy that found out he was chronically seasick."- N-Gannet
You'd Think They'd Have An Idea?
"I work in a pathology/bacteriology lab, so basically if you're at all squeamish, you've got no chance."
"I took swabs from a chunk of necrotic tissue on my second day, and I'll never look at fried mushrooms the same way again."- godoflemmings
Bacteria Microbiology GIF by kirunGiphyNot As Glamorous As They Expect
"Many people become a lawyer only to discover they hate practicing law, because they didn't really understand what that meant when they went to law school."
"Law is very boring, involves a lot of minute, rote work which has little practical effect on a case, and is ultimately soul sucking.'
"Being a lawyer involves very little grandstanding in court room."
"Many lawyers NEVER do that."
"Even trial lawyers, like you see on TV, only get a couple trials a year at best and some go years between trials."
"The only kinds of lawyers in court every day are criminal attorneys."- MentoBecomesManatee
Some People Just Can't Find The Words...
"My brother in law went through seminary and got a job as a youth pastor, only to find he absolutely could not speak in public."
"He does construction now."- sh4w5h4nk
Didn't Think This Through, huh?
"Sound engineer."
"I’m sensitive to loud noises."
"Should have thought that one through."- sequentialsilence
*loud internal screaming*GiphyStick To Ground Level Fires?
"Went to school for firefighting, had a classmate drop out because he was afraid of heights."- cok3noic3
We'd like to think that we know some professions aren't as glamorous as they might seem, or are portrayed in films or television shows.
But sometimes we just need an hour or two of first-hand experience to truly see what we're getting ourselves in for, and start considering other professions.
Only to discover something about that job we also can't stand...
There is nothing to fear except fear.... yeah right. Not True! Fear is real. Fear is a thing that is disturbing and scary and it's totally fine to have it. You don't need a big 'Braveheart' like speech to avoid it. Because you can't avoid it. In fact, we must embrace it. We all have the things that strike our cores the most. So let's chat about it.
Redditor u/BoobySponges wanted everyone to own up and discuss all the things they want to hide from by asking..... What's your worst fear?
For reals.....
GiphyLosing grip with reality. Racing_in_the_street
For reals. The idea of onset schizophrenia or dementia is absolutely terrifying. I have nightmares about this. OiTheCats
Worth It....
i think for most of my life it's been that i won't end up doing anything that i think is really worthwhile. not necessarily leading a bad life, but sort of a meh life. that's a really sad thought to me. Reddit
Me too, me too.....
Being alone. depthstrider117
It's already killing me, TBH. And the fact that the more you're alone makes you more alone is something I just can't get my head around. TheHater4936
Me too, me too. BoobySponges
From Within.....Â
Getting eaten alive from the inside out by wasps. inomenat
There is this moment in the Witcher game where you are talking with a ghost woman who paralyzed by a potion and then was eaten alive by rats while she could feel everything but couldn't move or scream or anything. That certainly is up there on the list of bad ways to go. fail-mail-ninja
The Cycle....
That my son will grow up to be like his abusive father, despite how much I try to teach him differently. I worry it won't be enough. claricia
Man, breaking those family MOs are tough...even more so to identify and figure out how to get out of it without going crazy. Its great to hear others that have made it though man, congrats, truly, I know how difficult it can be. jhans22
Losing It....
The thing that scares me most is losing my mind. I see dementia in everyday life more and more and it terrifies me. It could happen to any of us and indeed probably will happen to many of us. The downside of longer life spans is our bodies will become less able and the part that I fear more than any is to lose my brain, who I am and all the memories from my life. If I think about going deaf, becoming unable to walk or even losing my sight, I could imagine dealing with it. But to lose who I am, nah, that's truly, truly terrifying. TannedCroissant
I imagine if I was insane.....
Being locked in a mental hospital while sane.
Several jobs I've had involved being in and around these units. I've had interactions with the patients that left me scared of being in there for good.
I imagine if I was insane I wouldn't care as much. Wowiejr
After Me....Â
My biggest fear is that my wife will be depressed when I am gone. She is 6 years younger. Im caucasian and she is asian. I also used to smoke and drink a ton. Many factors suggest she will live much longer. I have made sure that financially she will have a better than average situation but she has always said that when I die she wants to die.
I am hoping that we can start a family before we are too old so she will have a reason to live and be happy when she is old. blazingeye
The Future.
GiphyTurning into one of my clients. I'm a hospice aide. I know exactly what its like to die slowly from a horrible disease. I'm in the process of changing careers, I think I've had enough. Huxeley
Reddit is having a field day talking about things that creep them out - and I'll be honest, I'm totally here for it.
I. Freaking. Hate. Worms. There, I said it. I don't mean earth worms, though. Specifically I have some serious issues with parasitic worms. I didn't even think about them until I briefly worked as a vet tech.
Guys, there is an ungodly number of worms that can work their way into your body and wreak all sorts of havoc and you won't even know it til you start losing weight and feeling them wriggle or maybe you poop out a squirming clump of... *heave*
You get the point. I'm going to stop talking about it because I'll have a gnarly case of the jibblies all day long if I don't.
Reddit user Webtrauma asked:
What everyday thing seriously creeps you out?
Now, I don't know if this question was asked to specifically induce some of that web trauma their username suggests... but that's pretty much exactly what happened. Brace yourselves, folks. It's about to get awful up in here.
Chipped
Plain bare nails don't bother me, painted and manicured nails don't either. But it really repulses and creeps me out when someone has chipped/flaked nail polish, the feeling intensifies when they're preparing food meant for me. There's no real logic behind it, it's just something that has creeped me out since pre-K.
The Screams
GiphyChildren tend to scream a lot when there's nothing wrong, they're just playing and having fun. Absolutely flays my nerves.
There's an elementary school behind me. So whenever I happen to be out back during their recess, I get to listen to the herd of children screaming. Are they playing? Are they fighting? Being slaughtered? We'll never know.
This. A teenage girl ran down my street the other night screaming at the top of her voice "HELP ME! NO! NO!". Ran to the window to see what was going on thinking she's being chased with a knife and her friend was just trying to take a bad photo of her for Snapchat.
- Maxative
Driving
Driving. You're trusting that everyone else is going to follow the rules of the road but any old a-hole can just kill you in an instant.
I'm not even afraid of being a victim of careless driving. I'm afraid of being the perpetrator. I'm terrified that someday, my attention might lapse, and I'll be a killer.
Same here. It blows my mind how casually people can take driving and how they'll distract themselves with texting or talking on the phone.
When I was very young, I heard one of the little kids next door get hit by a car. I heard the drawn-out, incoherently worded shrieks of his mother as she ran towards the road to stop him from wandering out into it, and the squeal of the car tires as the driver tried to brake before hitting him.
He survived and wasn't permanently injured (amazingly), but in the first few minutes after it happened, when the driver sat shaking on our front porch as we waited for the ambulance and police to arrive, little kid me never forgot the driver's eyes. I saw someone who would give anything in the world to take back the last thirty seconds of driving. Anything to make that one moment not happen. It stuck with me as I grew up, and I will never drive carelessly because of that.
Microscopic
The fact that almost every human is covered in microscopic mites living off our hair follicles, eating our bodies' natural oil secretions.
- erst77
So Fragile
Sometimes I stop to think how fragile society is and it scares me. Everyone is collectively deciding to be a normal functioning adult today and one day we could just.... not. And it would be chaos. Same goes for currency. It's so fragile that if we all decided money was worthless, it would be worthless.
Creepily Waiting
Pamphlets left on the seats of public transportation like trains or buses. Sometimes they're religious, sometimes they're medical, but all the time it feels like someone's creepily waiting for me to open it.
Windows
GiphyWindows. But only at night.
Same. My kitchen/dining room has three very large windows that face the equally large backyard. Every time I go down there in the middle of the night I have to tell myself, "focus, don't look out the window, there's gonna be a face if you look."
Yeah, I live in a flat, by myself, but have my own private entrance. It has a large pane of glass in it, but slightly frosted. Every night I go down there to make sure the door is locked and I'm convinced there'll be a face there, or as I turn to go up the stairs I'll hear a knock, or the letterbox will open and I'll hear someone say something like "you'd better hide."
My brain just likes to scare me
Surrounded By Killers
The news around killings, basically. There's always stories of someone murdering someone either out of enjoyment or out of circumstance, but the fact is, anyone around us could be now or in the future a murderer and we could be the victims.
I seriously walk down the street and think of how I interact with someone and whether or not they could become vengeful. What if I say something rude and that's the moment they snap and pull out a knife and stab me? What if I hurt someone's pride and later that night I find them outside my workplace or home, ready to exact their revenge on me?
- Deplete1
Wet Sink Food
Soggy wet food I have to clean up from the sink after washing dishes.
Growing up my family would just leave the sink full of water and add the dirty dishes for like 2 days at a time. I gag even thinking about the gross wet pieces of food I had to touch to drain the sink. 🤢
Thanks for ruining my night.
Pregnancy Woes
Every human grew inside another. That is gross. I have 2 kids and am intimately familiar with the whole process. I'd much rather people grow in like... pods or something.
Yes, this is so creepy and gross to me. I don't want kids ever and I seriously don't know what I would do if it happened to me as I probably wouldn't have access to an abortion. It terrifies me to the point it's hard for me to interact normally with a pregnant woman, I avoid looking at them.
- irytek
The thoughts of an entirely separate living entity growing inside my body. Feeling movement inside myself and it be a living being. Freaks. Me. OUT!! Never had kids. Just can't even fathom it nor having some kind of fluid suddenly shoot out my nipples. WTF?!?! Any other time, I would be rushed to ER!
Wormstink
Worms on the sidewalk after a rainstorm.
No clue why, but every time it really freaks me out!
And they smell!! People think I'm nuts when I say I can smell the worms outside.
Same! I start to feel really pukey if I focus on the smell cause it means I'm smelling my fear, inhaling them into my body. Ewwwwwww
- tazbunny
Yes! I was at the height of my morning sickness in the spring, and the smell of post-rain-sidewalk-worms still turns my stomach four years later.
Curtain Concerns
Closed shower curtains. ANYTHING could be back there...
- Trenz007
The shower curtain touching me without consent.
Baby Teeth
The way real teeth are in a kids jaw developing to push the baby teeth out ...
Disgusting
(Google it there's little holes with teeth in the middle making their way up the jaw so gross)
No Alibi
I have a lot of hair on my head and I shed everywhere I go, worse than a husky. I get paranoid that I may leave some of myself at a future crime scene and the forensic people will collect my DNA. Then I'm involved with some crime I wasn't aware of, and I'll have no alibi.
The Pledge
GiphyThe pledge of allegiance. The fact that kids are forced to swear their undying loyalty to a country, to promise to not even question it, and that it is protected by religion... Its shockingly horrible.
- bigkek42
Reciting the pledge of allegiance everyday in school. I'm getting hella propaganda vibes whenever I have to do it.
- Xylostos
Everyone is afraid of something, but for most of us it's something that "makes sense" like spiders, snakes, etc. That's not the case for everyone, though.
Scientists haven't fully figured out the mechanisms of fear. Some seem to be instinctive, like our fears of predatory animals such as sharks, crocodiles, etc.
But others don't seem to make any sense at all. There are theories that they may develop after a trauma, but that's not always the case.
As far as science is concerned, the mechanics of fear are an unsolved mystery.
Some people develop fears of totally innocuous things like butterflies, pieces of string, or the breeze. Yes, a fear of the breeze or moving air is a real thing.
It's called "aerophobia" and can be so bad that people who suffer from it can't go outside, be near a window where they might see plants swaying in the wind, or even be in a room with a fan.
Quora wanted to know:
What is a weird fear that you have?
People's responses were incredibly varied and unusual - demonstrating that just about anything can end up as a trigger to someone. Before we get into the answers, we wanted to take a moment to thank responders for their willingness to be vulnerable and share.
Some answers have been edited for clarity or language.
Wrists
I know this is going to sound odd, so bear with me.
I have a fear of wrists.
For as long as I can remember, I have been terrified of the underside of wrists. I can't look at my own wrists. I definitely can't touch them. I don't own a single watch or bracelet. Sometime I even struggle with long sleeved shirts, because I can feel it touching my wrists.
One time, I scratched my wrist on a nail and I almost passed out.
Anytime wrists are shown on TV, I have to turn away. Once someone unexpectedly cut their wrist during a show, and I curled up in the fetal position and couldn't move for at least 10 minutes. I still shiver when I think about it.
I haven't met anyone else with a fear like mine. Most people just laugh and hit their wrists together, just to see my reaction. *shudder*
Oh, and wrist tattoos? I will never understand how anyone could ever want one.
DoodleBob
GiphyAs a kid I was terrified of DoodleBob.
Whenever his episode would come on I would run to the kitchen and hide, peeking every couple minutes to see if the horror was over yet.
I don't know why, but I found him so scary. I couldn't stand his talk, his walk, or his look. Maybe it was because he was a mock-off of the loveable SpongeBob.
With every "'me hoy minoy'" I trembled with fear. With every crazy shriek I screamed on the inside. Every time he flicked that pencil and came up with something new I feared that he would create something even more horrifying than himself.
Looking back now, I actually find it kind of funny and feel a bit stupid that DoodleBob had managed to make me run for the hills.
On Purpose
I have an insane fear that someday I'm going to crash my car - on purpose.
Sometimes, while I'm driving, and I'm being tailgated, I have this incredible urge to slam on my brakes and have the guy behind me plow into me. More often, though, when I see a stopped car in front of me, I want to hit it with mine, just to see what would happen. Even pedestrians, I start to target them before I realize what I'm doing. I want to watch them jump and run away.
Also while driving I get insanely-strong urges to:
- While I'm at a red light, just go, even though there's cross-traffic going.
- Take my hands off the wheel and see how long I can go before I crash.
- Drive into the reservoir. It looks so pretty.
- Close my eyes and see how long I can last.
That last one especially scares me. Once or twice I even started to do it - just closed my eyes for a few seconds before I stop myself.
Butterfly In The Sky...
The fear of butterflies. I don't know exactly why or how I came of to be scared of such innocent and innocuous creatures, but I am afraid of butterflies since childhood and even now at the age of 22! Not to mention how utterly disgusting moths are.
Even seeing a picture of butterfly on internet causes heart palpitations.
Ancient humans have always been afraid of flying creatures, maybe I somehow carried the trait. It is strange and embarrassing at the same time, to be afraid of such things. Generally I am not afraid of insects and reptiles. Neither am I afraid of birds or bats.
But encountering a butterfly really sends chills down my spine and my mouth runs dry. Eww it's so disgusting.
Socks
I have a very weird fear. Well, it isn't so much a fear but an aversion. I loathe the very idea of it.
I have a phobia of 'socks'.
It is worse if it is wet socks or dirty socks. Muddy socks. Old socks. Unwashed smelly socks. Socks with threads coming off.
I know that socks won't bite me and they won't band together to attack me or anything. It isn't exactly fear but more like disgust. That doesn't mean I don't run to a completely different corner of the room when I see socks. I just hate them.
I hate the very thought of them.
This phobia is so weird that it doesn't even have a name.
Elevator
I have a fear of elevators… something about falling down and getting splattered at the bottom. Or even weirder, to go up so fast that it flies out of the roof and falls down the building.
Nowhere Is Safe
ANTS!!!!!
I am truly afraid of ants.
When I was 13-ish, my ex-stepdad tried to "toughen me up" by making me help him remove weeds and plant some new plants in the garden without any gloves. He shoveled a large chunk of ground into my hands and I was supposed to place it to the side. It turned out that that particular piece of ground was also an anthill. Not the superficial useless dirt on top of the ground but the actual heart of the thing.
He shoveled an ungodly amount of ants into my unprotected hands and chest. I passed out a bit, then bolted into the shower screaming obscenities to everyone and everything. I ran and stripped naked as fast as humanly possible, got under the frigid water and danced like an octopus doing Capoeira while on meth.
My dad walked in and told me I was a wimp for being afraid of ants. Then, very large, very red and EXTREMELY ITCHY spots appeared on my skin. I ended up having to go to the hospital. That's where we were informed that I am actually highly allergic to ant-bites.
After that debacle, I swear ants hunt me down! They follow me everywhere to finish the job!
One time, I was using the toilet when I noticed a black tiny speck moving up my calf. It was an ant. I looked to my right and there was a literal conga line of ants ambling unto the back of the toilet. They were going for a sneak attack!
Then, I was doing push-ups during martial arts class and an ant bit me on my left hand right between my index finger and middle finger. It swelled up and I could not use my left hand for anything. That single ant bite removes my ability to use that hand for about a week. A clear use of intimidation tactics and psychological warfare to lessen my will to live.
Another time, I saw an ant on top of my foot while I was showering. Rambo Ant hated me so much that it decided to attack me through a literal waterfall of death (to the ant). Rambo Ant risked its own life to attack me when I was most vulnerable — half-asleep, naked and alone.
Last month, I was happily reading under my covers at night when I felt a tiny imp stab my inner thigh. It was an ant. It bit me about 2 inches away from my genitals. The area swelled up and I could not wear underwear for days. The ant could have gone for the money shot but, it did not. It chose not to. It was a warning. The ants were telling me that nowhere is safe. Not my home, not my bathroom, not my bedroom and not my own bed. NOWHERE IS SAFE!!!
Moo
GiphyI thought my fear was pretty weird, but after reading some of the other answers I feel pretty normal.
I'm terrified of cows; to the point of panic attacks, lots of tears and an awful lot of swearing.
An Extension Of My Mind
I'm afraid of things puncturing my skin, because my skin feels like an extension of my mind. I have to look away and distract myself when I get vaccines. There's no way I could ever inject medicine into myself. I can poke my finger with a pin, but just barely, and it takes all my willpower, and the very outer edge of my finger doesn't count as part of my skin anyway.
Bad news: I'll probably die of something that could have been treated using injected medicine.
Just Watching
I have a certain fear that people would say was weird. I'm afraid of portraits. They make me feel very nervous and self conscious. They're just literally watching me, their eyes following me wherever I go.
I don't like photographs of people looking at the camera, it's as though they're staring back at me. Any magazine, poster or picture of people looking at the camera or at me will make me either leave the room or cover the pictures over.
Flush
Flushing toilets. If the toilet isn't flushing it's fine, but every single time I flush the toilet it scares me. I absolutely can NOT flush a toilet in the middle of the night. I like using public washrooms cause flushing a toilet in public is the least nerve wracking for me. Don't know why it freaks me out but it has ever since I was around 7.
People Share the Weirdest Phobias They Struggle With On A Daily Basis
[rebelmouse-image 18349162 is_animated_gif=We're all afraid of something. Our phobias can leave us paralyzed with fear, and it often seems like no amount of guidance can alleviate what scares the bejesus out of us.
JohnPosu asked, What's your weirdest phobia you have?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Sleep paralysis is often blamed for alien abduction stories.
[rebelmouse-image 18357349 is_animated_gif=Due to night frights, sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming, I fear sleep.
But they're so soft! Then again, they do eat your clothes...
[rebelmouse-image 18357350 is_animated_gif=Fear of moths. Not butterflies too, just moths.
I'm wearing headphones tonight. Nope nope nope.
[rebelmouse-image 18357351 is_animated_gif=Cockroaches in my ears, which has evolved into a completely crippling phobia of cockroaches in general.
People find this out and they're like "but the cockroaches here are too big for that!" Like this is in any way based on logic.
I just wanna add, I am loving the stories coming out of this you guys, it is SO nice to know I'm not the only one! There are dozens of us. DOZENS!
There's a fine line between being afraid and being completely, and utterly, annoyed.
[rebelmouse-image 18357352 is_animated_gif=I get like one of those shocks that run all through my body for a moment like I've been electrocuted whenever I hear the alarm clock buzzers. I'm not afraid of them, but they ALWAYS shock me in that way.
Tiny deformed humans? Pass.
[rebelmouse-image 18357353 is_animated_gif=I have a fear of human sculptures, but only if they look sloppy, and especially if they're small. Something about them just really unnerves me.
Oh yeah this is really unnerving. Just... back up... please.
[rebelmouse-image 18357354 is_animated_gif=Anyone, but especially children, standing on a balcony or ledge will very soon jump, be pushed or fall to their death. I can't talk with people on balconies, or go near cliffs or ledges.
I had this same fear! I got over it by watching the movie again and again.
[rebelmouse-image 18357356 is_animated_gif=I mentioned this in another thread about strange childhood fears, but it's stupid enough and scares me enough that I'll mention it again: E.T dressed as Santa.
As in, the alien from the movie E.T. That weirdo creeps me right out with his long-ass glowy finger and springy neck and skull shaped like a pair of binoculars. I had a nightmare as a child that he killed and replaced Santa, and the mental image of that monstrosity scurrying through the house in Santa's duds gives me all kinds of heebie-jeebies. I'm in my thirties, and I still can't sit down and watch that movie because I can't stand looking at that thing.
This is creepy af and will definitely happen one day.
[rebelmouse-image 18357357 is_animated_gif=I have this weird fear at night that the TV is just going to turn on and a loud voice will start yelling at me.
You never know what's lurking in the abyss.
[rebelmouse-image 18357358 is_animated_gif=Deep water, I'm fine swimming at the beach or what not but I have gone swimming in some lakes where I can see the bottom one second and then it just drops straight down and I freak the fuck out. F_ck deep water.
Elmo says, "you're mine now, b_tch."
[rebelmouse-image 18357359 is_animated_gif=Elmo. It's not a crippling phobia like I can be around an Elmo doll or something and be ok. It just makes me kind of uncomfortable. I had a dream in high school that I was a little kid and an Elmo doll dragged me into the closet (a la Chucky) and was going to kill me, then my parents came in and he went back to being a doll and they yelled at me. After they left he went back to trying to kill me and I woke up. Been kind of unnerved by Elmo ever since.
All dolls are creepy tbqfh.
[rebelmouse-image 18357360 is_animated_gif=I didn't think anyone else had this fear. I had a nightmare as a kid that a giant Raggedy Ann doll was trying to kill me, and ever since, I've had a fear of things with bright red hair. Elmo is a big one. Clifford the Big Red Dog, too.
I want my eyes to spring open at my funeral.
[rebelmouse-image 18357361 is_animated_gif=I don't call this a phobia but I have an irrational fear of looking at the face of the person who died thinking they will open their eyes and look at me.
Birds bigger than duck are approaching dinosaur status...
[rebelmouse-image 18357362 is_animated_gif=Any bird bigger than a duck.
Does this guy work for Jigsaw or something?
[rebelmouse-image 18357363 is_animated_gif=A friend of mine is afraid the piston in his office chair will erupt through the seat and impale him.
Well, this is certainly a strange fear.
[rebelmouse-image 18348183 is_animated_gif=I don't like the crease in my forearm being touched. I will immediately feel sick and or have an anxiety attack.
Emetophobia is a very common fear.
[rebelmouse-image 18357364 is_animated_gif=Vomiting. Doing it myself or someone else doing it. The sound, the smell, the taste, the retching, the gargling. I've been like this since I was a child, it leaves me petrified - if I was given an option, I'd honestly choose death in a heartbeat over being exposed to vomit. This has made traveling via public transport and being anywhere near drunk people a f_cking nightmare.
Wanna slowly pull them apart? Or how about that woman who EATS THEM?
[rebelmouse-image 18357365 is_animated_gif=If I even think of cotton balls it gets harder to breathe.
We've all heard the horror stories about people getting sucked in. Watch your shoe laces...
[rebelmouse-image 18357366 is_animated_gif=Escalators.
Not quite hypochondria, but a crippling fear of death, known as necrophobia.
[rebelmouse-image 18357367 is_animated_gif=Every time I get sick, even slightly, I'm afraid that I'm about to die. Like my small illness is going to end up turning into something drastic and lethal. I have no idea why I think this way. I actually think it's because I realized a long time ago that my life can be taken at any time, any day, for any reason, or for no reason at all, and I may not have any control over it.
The other week I had a toothache, the worst one I've ever had. And the idea that it could be the beginning of some lethal infection or something like that kept running through mind.
Once a year, usually January/February, I get very sick with the flu. Every year I end up going to the hospital and they just tell me to drink more fluids and wait it out. It's so frustrating because I'm legitimately afraid that it's going to kill me, despite what they tell me.
Full stop, stay tf away from the eyes.
[rebelmouse-image 18357368 is_animated_gif=Literally, anything to do with eyes. I can't wear contacts, and can't stand putting in eye drops or anything. I can barely stand the puff of air at the optometrist to test your eye.