Phobias

I have had hypnotherapy as suggested, distressing but worth it, I doubt the fear will go , seems PTS is the cause , and it has started to snow this morning , here I go again

Annie - I wonder if you've still got your snow problem? If so have you seen a clinical psychologist?
There's a therapy called systematic desensitisation which might help - gradually being exposed to the feared thing, in small steps eg talking about it, photos , film etc then working up to the actual thing. Accompanied by relaxation exercises.
I have a fear of heights. In my youth I went rock climbing with no fear, it started after I had the children. And it goes with a compulsion to jump off the height. We used to live near the Humber Bridge and I refused to go near it for years in case I drove off the side. Perhaps I was a bird in a former life! Even going up a ladder my knees turn to jelly.
Evidently it's a very common phobia. I never had treatment for it.

Yuk overthehill . I run a mile

A friend of mine was telling me today she has a phobia about buttons and cannot touch them. This stems from when she was a child and her family were very hard up and they got given old clothes and mum made her cut the buttons off if the clothes were really disgusting and kept them in a tin.

This I must say made the mind boggle, she thought of buttons that came off men's flies which were common in those days and what had been near them....eek!!

She is OK with new buttons but she pulls blouses over her head rather than undo the buttons.

My phobia is vomiting, despite bringing up two children it puts the fear of God in me and if someone is sick near me I have to leave the area, I cannot help them. I hate being sick myself although seeing or hearing others is worse.

Yes anything white makes me thinking of snow. So 1962 to 1968 , interesting Bellanonna, only four years , thank you x

That was a severe winter. I skated with friends on the Serpentine at the time. You were ok then, so the phobia had a later onset and now includes most white things (presumably because of the snow connection rather than white itself being the phobia). I'm still sure a good hypnotherapist could help you with this even though your previous session wasn't helpful. I've never used hypnosis but I know people who have benefited greatly from it. Maybe do some research and go with an open mind? Life must be really miserable for you in the winter, and at any other time you are surrounded by whiteness. Do try again !

Remember the 1962/63 winter ? months of the stuff, I spent so much time on the mountains looking for air holes and digging sheep out , no buses for weeks to our village , no problem for me , phobias are suppose to be learned behaviour , if true I have no idea where I could have learned it, all my family love the stuff

Bad luck Annie - that sounds grim. Is it worth trying some therapy again? - it must be so difficult for you.

I am phobic about flying - a psychologist once told me that it was a sign of sanity! I understand how planes stay up - so it is not that. But the only times I have flown I have felt so very grim - I suspect it relates to my balance problems. I cannot even watch the taking off on TV.

I also detest (almost to the point of phobia) motorways - I avoid them whenever possible. They just do not seem human scale to me. I used to work in a trauma service, which did not help in encouraging me to enjoy travel!

Luckily we are not particularly interested in travel - we love where we are. And travel programmes on TV are just great!

I don't like spiders at all, they have to be got rid of but it's not a phobia fortunately.
My friend can't see a picture of a snake without turning into a gibbering wreck.
As I said in previous post to Annie I sympathise with anyone who has a phobia especially if it is life limiting.

Thank you, glad I am not the only one who can smell the stuff , think perhaps give hypnotherapy another go , I think after all these years I have reached - I want to have help to stop the terror and also find out what has caused this misery for so many years

Me too Falconbird,can't even look at a picture.

How awful for you Anniebach. Have you considered Acupuncture? Perhaps another Hypnotherapist even. The lady next door was frightened of flying, her daughter lived in the States and she tried everything she could, but nothing worked. Then she heard about a course run by the Airport and she decided on one last attempt and the good news is that it worked, she has been several times to America since, it is not her favourite way to travel but at least she can. So do not give up just yet.

My dad had snow phobia. Although it wasn't discussed much in those days it stemmed from him being lost in the African desert during WW2.

He wandered about in the sheer expanse of whiteness for days I think.

When it snowed the curtains had to be drawn against the glare, and once my mother put up some pale wallpaper and he couldn't stand it. Mum had to take the wallpaper back and get something darker.

When my mother had a really frightening dementia I became phobic about visiting but I was her only support so I had to keep going or heaven knows what would have happened.

I was extremely lucky to find an excellent hynotherapist and went at least ten times (expensive but worth it.)

It's finding the right hynotherapist that's the trick. I managed to help mum and eventually find good residential care for her.

My main phobia is spiders I can hardly type the word or even look at it.

I hope it doesn't snow this year Anniebach. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Try a hypnotherapist again?? My DD had a strong fear of pigeons - of course she could avoid them most of the time, but she would get quite distressed if one came or worse flew near her. A couple of sessions with the hypnotherapist and she was able to walk through Trafalgar Square, and while the dislike has never gone away, she is no longer fearful of them.

Sorry have no idea what could help- it is so strange, that it should suddenly happen out of the blue. All I can say is it's a good job you don't live around here

Yes saw a hypnotherapist , couldn't get past me getting very distressed and saying I wasn't going there again - no idea where it was I wasn't going .

Anyone worked in medicine ? I was given Pentothal by my physciatrist, how embarrassing was that ! Yapped on about my sex life , childhood, but still that block , as soon as snow was mentioned i got distressed . I made such a fool of myself that day , played hopscotch on the hospital corridor tiles what is so odd is I have no problem with being open about anything in my life or my emotions . I have wondered about that tapping therapy , think it's called eft , not sure , has anyone tried it? If so and you don't want to say publicly please send me a PM x

Anniebach this sounds really troublesom in so many ways. So sorry.

Can you associate anything that happened when it first started? I'm sure you've been asked that time and time again. Have you tried hypnosis? I know many people who have learnt to deal with phobias in this way. Really feel for you annie as it's not like fear of lifts - which I have - and avoid. It's sure to snow where you live so must be an anxious time for you in the winter. I really would consider hypnosis if you can find a good practitioner. Thinking of you because any kind of fear is horrible.

I can add living in the middle of a range of mountains and half way up one where one sees the valley below and the mountains above is beautiful but not when snow is around , one therapist suggested keeping all curtains close ! I feel stupid, when we got married I had such trouble finding a deep cream gown - but I did . I didn't have the fear as a child , it just started one winter in the sixties and stuck with me since

Thank you for being so kind, x

crikey... I'm now feeling lucky that I'm ONLY afraid of spiders :-)

I'm the same as Elegran and Ana. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you Annieb, you must constantly be caught unawares by white things when you're out and about

And you can hear it. It must be a horrible phobia to have, I can (almost) imagine it...

I can smell snow too in the cold sharp air, and see it in the strange way the light goes when it is imminent, but it doesn't bother me. Having a phobia about it must be very inconvenient (Scary too, but the inconvenience annoys.)

My dad was in Iceland during the war. He could predict snow from the smell of the air.
My sympathies Annie it sounds quite debilitating.

Not fear of slipping, hate the colour white , will not even wear it, but I think because it links with snow , I really can smell the stuff . Feel so stupid, so remember seeing Dr Zhivago in the cinema , good grief it was torture , had to leave the cinema . In the eighties had to have a gall bladder op, no worries about the op but shook so much at the white sheets on the bed , I was so embarrassed , I was shaking, the staff reassured me the op was safe , so I just managed to squeak not the op those white sheets , they found green sheets for me . It really is grim , honestly , who can smell and hear snow ? I can