I'm Not Crazy ... Really!

I started thinking about fears and phobias the other day and I thought well, I'm afraid of a few things, but everyone is, right? After giving it some more thought and adding up all my strange aversions, I realize perhaps I have a few more than everyone else. The first one, which a lot of people have, is the fear of snakes. I hate snakes! I really can't even look at them in photos. They're just slimy and creepy crawly and just skeeve me out. I went to the zoo one time and they had a reptile center. I knew it was a bad idea for me to go in that little building but I thought I would brave it out. I was on a date and didn't want him to know I was afraid. I walked unknowingly right into the snake room! As soon as I realized all the aquariums were filled with snakes I literally ran out of the room, shaking and screaming like I was having a seizure or something. My date and everyone else around, thought that was just hysterical. Yeah funny, ha, ha!

I also have a fear of tight spaces and heights. When hubby and I were in Vegas, we stayed at the Stratosphere—it's the tallest building in Vegas. Up at the top, they have windows that you lean over and look down at the city. I could not look out over. I was inching towards it like I was on a tightrope. Hubby kept laughing saying "you're not gonna fall out" But all I kept imagining was the glass would break as I was leaning on it and I would fall 1149ft to my death. (that's how tall the building is, I looked it up) Hey, I don't know if they have those windows secure enough to hold a big girl like me!

I went to a picnic a couple of weeks ago, and was so happy to discover that a friend of mine has a phobia just like me. We hate feet! I can deal with baby feet, but adult feet are disgusting. Hubby knows his tootsies better stay on HIS side of the bed. God forbid he should actually touch me with those things, uh, so gross! He tries to do it sometimes to tease me—first I start screaming like a little girl and then I get mad. I think I have this aversion to feet because when I was a kid my mother always wanted us to rub her feet (she was a needy woman) and the thought of it would make me sick to my stomach. I won't go into detail on the "mother" issue—that will just bring up a whole new array of neurotic behaviors. I'll save that for another post—perhaps there's a book in my future.

My last and final fear, (at least the last one I'm willing to reveal) is those damn barriers on the highway. I guess they call them cattleshoots. OMG, they scare the crap out of me! Actually they only scare me when someone else is driving. I'm fine when I'm doing the driving—I'm guessing it's a control thing. All I can think of the whole time is that we are going to hit the barrier and FLY up in the air and flip the car and end up on the other side of the highway! It's ridiculous, I know, but as soon as I see the construction signs that say narrowing lanes, I start to feel the panic rise up in my chest and I literally stop breathing and get hysterical until we get through it. If the construction goes on for miles, I will go from laughing to almost crying to any emotion in between. Hubby, of course, just laughs at me the entire time—no compassion at all.

So, when I started to write this post, I thought I would be sharing normal fears. I'm thinking maybe a trip to the doctor might be in order here. Can anyone say "Prozac"

Much Love—Jodi