D.C. Area Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: QOTD - Friday
as i said earlier this week, i don't like being touched by strangers.
additionally, i'm not fond of any bug, but crickets & grasshoppers are particularly terrifying b/c you never know where they are going to hop next!
My other big fear is heights, but I actually think this one is pretty rational. I'm fine with enclosed spaces, but I don't like being up high in unenclosed spaces where I could accidentally fall down.
Same here. Being at the top of a 20 ft. ladder is far scarier than being much higher up in a building protected by walls.
I'm also terrified of drowning. (I'm sure this came in part from not being a good swimmer as a kid and being thrown into the deep end of the pool then chastised by the camp counselors after they had to fish me out.) I still only rarely go into water more than 5 feet deep unless I'm in a boat or something else that floats.
I don't people to touch my feet - unless I'm getting a pedicure.
Raccoons. I once listened to this episode of This American Life that talked about a rabid raccoon and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever heard. Ever since then, I pretty much freak out whenever I see one. And I live half a block from Rock Creek Park, so I see them fairly frequently.
Also, other people's hair. I don't like when it touches me, like on the Metro. I swim, and seeing hairballs in the pool and the locker room really, really grosses me out.
Finally, and this is the weirdest one of all, cereal milk. I'm talking about the milk leftover in the bowl after all cereal is consumed. I cannot watch someone eat/drink it without gagging.
i have a completely irrational fear of spiders.
i once moved because there was a gigantic spider in my bathroom. to be honest, i was considering moving anyway. my lease was up at the end of the month and i hadn't decided whether to stay or go. the spider did it. since i lived alone at the time, i had a can of bug spray in every room. i was cleaning the bathroom and had moved everything out into the hall. while scrubbing the sink, i looked up and found a half dollar sized black, hairy, menacing spider staring me in the face. i froze and by the time i managed to get to the hall to get the spray, he was gone.
so i did what any sane, rational person would do. i stuffed newspaper around the door frame and caulked any gaps.
i showered at the gym and went to my neighbor's apartment to use the bathroom. i moved out within the week. i didn't get my security deposit back (uh, caulk on the door frame), but that was cool.
i also get a little weak in the knees when i'm in enclosed heights (ladders are fine, overlooks with glass floor to ceiling windows are not), long tunnels and high narrow bridges.
omg, that episode was crazy!! it made me skeptical of all woodland creatures! evil buggers...
i am vomit-phobic. if a person has had a stomach bug recently, i want them NOWHERE near me. i think this phobia stems from hating being sick as a kid and also trips with my carsick/sunstroke-prone cousin who always seemed to be projectile vomiting for at least part of every vacation. it's one of the things that would have terrified me about motherhood. i know i'd be the one who ends up with a pukey kid. my bff is also vomit-phobic and though her husband would disagree, her kid is kinda pukey :P
kastle: i hate strangers touching me too! i wouldn't say i'm phobic but as a new englander and a new yorker i'm a wee bit uptight about such things
when i first moved here last year, some woman in an elevator was like "ooooh, i love your bag!" and started touching it. i thanked her but was thinking WTF, lady?!
Same here, just add in the whimpering/crying when I have to kill a bug.
Also, one of my biggest fears is being in a fire. I often think about what I'd grab as I run out. I know that sounds materialistic, but I'd grab photos, jewelry, things that are sentimental. I think this fear is even worse now because once when I was home by myself the fire alarm went off while I was in the shower. I was terrified, and tried to dry off and put clothes on as quickly as possible. It was the middle of winter, so I was standing outside freezing as my hair dripped. Turned out to be a false alarm, but I think that experience scarred me for life.
Planning Bio
Birds. I think they can smell my fear, so the mock me. One time I was at the beach and one kept coming closer, so I started throwing sand its way and it just started flapping its wings and squaking at me. I ended up crying. I was 26.
Spiders gross me out, but if i'm the only one around to kill it, I do what I need to do, otherwise i'll be up all night looking out for it.
We make the rockin' world go 'round.
how could i have forgotten this! i am totally creeped out by birds!! especially seagulls and pigeons because IMO, they are essentially winged rats. in RI, a seagull swooped down and took my sandwich. its beak nicked my finger pretty good. i should also say that at this particular beach there are seagulls that were bigger than our mini schnauzer.
anti-stranger touchers unite! i guess you're right in that it's not a phobia--i'm not *afraid* of it. I just hate it. Once I had just met a girl & apparently she was a hugger b/c she came up and gave me the most ginormous hug. Apparently my attempts to hide my cringing weren't so good...
Oddly I'm OK at the dentists b/c they don't actually touch you much, it's mostly the metal instruments. But getting my haircut sucks b/c they always want to shampoo my hair & massage my head & I'm so tense the whole time & they are all "Relax! This is supposed to be relaxing!!" I really need a haircut. Do you think I could just tell them to wet my head & promise that I practice good personal hygiene so my hair does not need to be washed beforehand?
In all seriousness, if you wash your hair at home that morning, I'm sure you could tell your stylist that you have a "thing" about other people washing your hair, and ask if you could just quickly wet your hair in the sink instead of going through the whole shampoo process. I can't imagine they'd have a problem with it. And hairstylists are like amateur therapists, so I'm sure they've heard far weirder things from their clients.
How in the world did you deal with OB appointments when you were pregnant? There's a lot of touching involved with that.
They could probably just spray your hair with a spray bottle of water.
Stand up for something you believe in.
I'm not okay with strangers touching me either. People like to touch me, particularly my hair, for no good reason. I avoid stranger touching at all costs. Also, the dentist freaks me out, because although they don't touch your teeth that much, they touch gums/ insides of cheeks, and that is way worse than hugging to me.
Stand up for something you believe in.
if it's their profession, then i am ok with it. i love having massages, pedicures, getting my hair done, etc... it's really the "if i don't know you, don't be overly touchy/huggy!"
the very first time i met my MIL (who is from brazil so a very different culture from ours), she was like "oh, i love your glasses!", took them off me, and tried them on! i love my MIL and am now used to her complete lack of boundaries but it still drives me nuts sometimes.
Me too. I also don't like being in the ocean when the waves are huge. I once got draggged under as a kid and I've been hesitant about it ever since.
Other than that, I can't think of much else that I would consider a phobia. I don't like bugs, birds, spiders or squirrels, but I wouldn't call my issue with them a phobia per se.
Interesting point.
I think that I have an easier time with gloved hands (feels like plastic, not like human!) and I think I have an easier time dealing with medical touches b/c I know my health relies upon it. Plus, my OB does this pre-treatment interview where you go into their office first, discuss stuff, and then go into an exam room. I felt like I got to know her before we got all personal, I guess?
I can't say I've ever *liked* going to the OB, but if I had to choose an OB exam over a massage, I'd choose the OB exam. Especially b/c OB exam is way faster.
Weird, right?
I'm also OK with hand shakes. Probably b/c they are quick and people don't spontaneous grab your hand & shake it. I have control over whether I take their hand or not, ya know?
i say we blame it on the pilgrims & puritans who settled our state
I'm pyrophobic and hate lightbulbs. I am afraid if I have to change one it will explode.
lol, this just does not compute! my favorite part of getting a haircut is a nice, long scalp massage...*sigh*
I'm a New Englander too and feel the same way about being hugged. I hate that moment when people go in for the hug and you have to find a way to avoid it. I never knew people hugged so much until I moved to the DC area.
new englander solidarity! i love it!