Hello E-Friends. Maybe just venting, but thought this could be a fun place for us to discuss the things that we are irrationally positive will kill us. I leave with my almost 5 year old in about 11 hours on a flight and I am not doing great. I was given some xanex for this one. Been experimenting with the dosage the last few nights and it seems .75 is where it's at. Also made a hail mary appointment with a phobia therapist yesterday and she actually made a good point. One of my worst childhood memories is learning that my sports hero, Mr Brook Berringer died in a plane crash when I was ten. She said that when I think of planes, I don't think of them as a rational 35 year old man who knows all of the real facts and stats regarding flying, but I think of it as a 10 year old boy who doesn't know any of that, just that a plane took his hero. I'd say overall I'm doing better than I normally do before a flight, but I'm still a wreck. Tips and fellow stories are welcome in this safe space.
I’m petrified of going to the dentist. Even getting my teeth cleaned is terrifying, though I’ve gotten better and do enjoy the feeling afterwards. I went way longer than I should have between visits because of this fear, which only made it worse. My first time back, I was shaking like a leaf in the chair before the dentist even came in the room.
I feel this one too. I put off my wisdom teeth until last spring at the age of 35, had to be fully knocked out but proud of myself for doing it. I would say my top 4 are 1: flying 2: dentist- conquered in 2021 3: shots/needles - conquered in 2021 x2 4: water snakes
For real man, I made it out to be this incredibly terrible life altering thing for 15 years. I went to a couple of dentists who said they wouldn't do the IV sedation. When I finally found one it was going to be like 2 grand. So when I got my stimulus I told myself I would use it on that. I almost chickened out when I was sitting there waiting on the IV but said fuck it let's go. I remember the blinds on the window getting all fuzzy then bam, out. I vaguely remember my neighbor helping me get in the car to go home then waking up in bed. No pain at all, got to have malts for meals for a few days, and now I have zero mouth pain whereas before hand I was waking myself up at night biting my gums due to those wisdom teeth. Find a dentist who will do the IV and you'll be great. Shit, if I could get an IV sedation for flying I would be a world traveler.
If I die today, at least there's a Norm Macdonald-ish joke to be made. "Did you hear about DTO? Yeah, dead. At least he died doing what he hated most in life."
Will I swim in a lake or ocean? Yeah if it’s like a group and we’re drinking. Will I swim in a lake or ocean alone? Why would I?
THIS son of a bitch in particular can burn in hell. It's like an iron maiden torture device and a yo-yo mated and this is their aborted offspring.
yeeehhhhhhhhhhhh IDK man I rx a few benzos to help people with their flight phobia all the time, very few of whom had their best good corn hero die in a plane crash at a young age. I think sometimes people just have trouble moving past the reality that you're sitting in a chair 30,000 ft up in the air going 600mph. If it were about childhood emotional injuries sustained with Brooke's death, you'd expect the fear to get BETTER when you're way up in the sky cuz you're closer to being able to give him a high five.
Dark water when you can’t see what’s around you is not ideal, but snakes is definitely my thing I’m most afraid of
sneks, gar, freshwater sharks, general murkiness swamp people saw a much smaller version of this in Pickwick lake as a child (the fish, I do not know the man now, nor when he was much smaller)
I have a fear of severe thunderstorms. I used to basically plan my life around whether or not it was going to storm on a particular day. Now I'm pretty much fine during even strong thunderstorms, unless I am on my bus with 80+ kids and then it's back to freaking the fuck out.
yeah but he doesn’t even know what happens to human bones when an alligator eats a person, so is he a good one?
I had this one when I was younger, was pretty much over it, then was in Tuscaloosa in 2011, surprisingly didn’t come back fully truthfully I think my phobias are more related to control, or lack thereof, but it doesn’t really track with flying never bothering me
If this info somehow ever saves a person, I want credit in the write up for shaming you into learning
I’m afraid of snakes and my analrapist says it’s because of the trauma I received when Jake “The Snake” Plummer defeated the Scoot Farts-led Huskers in 1996.
I probably trust doctors and dentists too much. Have zero fear with them and just think they are the experts so I'll let them do whatever they think is best.
Look at every other asshole that flies and comes back ok. Now ask yourself what are the odds that the one time something fucks up it happens to you. This was my technique for getting on roller coasters
Use similar logic with my wife. She'll come across some crazy story about someone who died in like a 1 in a trillion way that we now have to adjust our lives to make sure we don't die that way. I say you drive in a car every day. People die at a 1000x higher clip in a car than your Good Morning America story about a guy who died tying his shoes so I'm sorry but I'm not going to worry about that. Saying this never helps :)
My biggest irrational fear (which has gotten way better as the years pass) is watching my kids alone for long periods of time. When my first son was born, my wife went back to work and worked weekends. That left me alone with a very difficult baby for like 60 straight hours. I wouldn’t sleep the entire time, constant panic attacks, etc. That year left a mark. I still have legit ptsd about it.
After that kid got got at Disney I’ve been irrationally afraid my kids will get eaten by an alligator
I used to be kinda adventurous (just ask your moms!). Went skydiving in my 20s. Went on a nice hike at Yosemite about 5 years ago and started having panic attacks my wife or kids would fall to their deaths heights have fucked with me ever since
Spiders, for me. Started when I was in middle school. I was sitting on the couch and felt my leg hair moving. Looked down and this little bastard was crawling up my leg. Freaked me out. I can tolerate watching them from a distance but if one sneaks up on me, or if I happen to get close to one unknowingly (then realize it), it's game over.
Finding myself in any sort of Aron Ralston situation. Being alive and conscious of losing a limb is worse than death for me. If you're going to take one of my limbs, just take my whole body.
I've never flown. I hate heights and the idea is terrifying. I also don't love elevators but I don't try to avoid them or anything. The glass cruise ship elevators on massive boats freak my out. I start reaching for phantom railings. Not great. Have a friend whose entire family got rabies from a bat that was in their house for a weekend. Apparently you can't feel a bat bite while sleeping so best practice was entire family get full course of rabies shots. His family depleted entire supply of rabies shots in our area.
I’ve said this before in the dreams thread, but I have a recurring dream where I’m swimming underwater in some kind of narrow cave where the other side is visible, so I always assume I can make it. But after I start, I find myself running out of breath and the cave is too narrow to turn around. I usually wake up gasping.