48 replies to this topic

[Annarchy]

I can handle most everything. Just do not let me see a cockroach, not even a picture.

I cleaned houses as a teenager. One house had bunches, everywhere, including the bedrooms. In my endeavor to get rid of them, I started in the kitchen cabinets. Raid in one hand, open the cabinet door, spray, close the door. Continued on all the lower cabinets, then, started on the cupboards. I began on one side and worked my way to the center above the sink. Took a break and came back in and started on the other side of the room, making my way to the center.

That's when it happened. I opened the center cupboard doors, prepared to spray them dead, instead a swarm flew out at me, covering me. In my hair, down my shirt, in my pants, in my shoes and socks, crawling, creeping.... BITING!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran screaming, tearing my clothes off, screaming, flailing, naked, for the bathroom. Every bite ended up infected.

We get date palm roaches occasionally that come up the drains here. I have boric acid power in all cracks and crevices in my house, behind drawers, even removed the medicine cabinets and poured it in the walls. When one gets into the house, I panic, get the biggest, longest item I can find and beat it to death gagging.




Writing this made my skin crawl and gave me a stomach ache..... ewwwwwwwww!!!!!!!

[Mt_Rider]

Definitely a trauma-initiated FEAR! Join our club, Annarchy.


So here's a scenario in which some of our fears might hurt us in


Tho I've made great progress with the needle phobia, I still have one regarding snakes. Those used to be about equal in potency.



*********** IF YOU HAVE SNAKE PHOBIA, think twice before reading this next paragraph*********


I have heard stories [and it doesn't matter if it's just a 'war story' or true] from veterans in the SE Asia wars (Phillipeans, Vietnam, etc) There might be situations in when they were laying on the ground and could not safely move a muscle to scratch an itch. A snake would slither towards them. In those countries, so many are poisonous...making it a deadly vs deadly choice. Move and be a sniper target or not move and let the snake possibly slither right over top of you. Poison bite or not, *I* feel like that would be the death of me. I'd probably opt for leaping in the air screaming. And I'm not sure I'd have enough control to even make the choice.


OK...post-Hooey survival situation. Raiders are after your survival group. Your group is in hiding. And along comes a ____fill___in___the___blank_____. Your worst phobic nightmare.


This scenario is for Annarchy, me, and Daylily's bears. Regarding something that can approach us. As long as Jeepers stays out of pet stores and bodies of water, a fish is not going to approach her. Tho honestly, I thot that dead fish jumped right at you.....like my needle was trying to tear it's way outta the paper bag.


Anyway....I'm just trying to show how these Super-fears can be a danger to ourselves and our group/family. As motivation to make attempts to reduce them. What WOULD I do if I COULDN'T, for my safety and the safety of my family,.....leap, run, and scream.

I don't know. Anyone else have ideas? Visualize I'm somewhere else? First I'd have to catch myself, drag myself back into hiding and lock myself to the ground with a gag. Cuz it takes only an instant for the reflexes to trigger.


MtRider [....projecting some hope but don't have answers for a lot of this... ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 30 May 2012 - 02:35 PM.

[Jeepers]

Annarchy...I feel your shame.
I once slew a watermelon seed with a bottle of hairspray and a flyswatter. But it was dark in the kitchen and I thought it was a roach. I was either gonna gum up his 'works' or beat him to death. It was an easy target though.

In Mt. Riders situation I think the best solution for me would be to go ahead and pass out. Isn't it funny how the mind works. Yes, at the time of panic those needles and fish do come after you. Sort of like vertigo or being afraid of heights. You know you aren't falling off a (fill in the blank) but you know you'd better sit down or you will.

Daylily, several ears??? The better to hear you with my Dear.
I saw it but for once, kept my mouth/fingers still.

[Daylily]

lol..about slaying a watermelon seed

Mt Rider, you've brought up a good point about our phobias being a danger. Something to ponder for sure.

I also used to pass out when I had to have blood drawn but don't anymore. Mom did too but doesn't now.

Gotta run and get to work!

[CrabGrassAcres]

Mt Rider, hon, first you gotta convince me to run and lay flat on the ground, hiding from bad dudes. LOL

[Mt_Rider]

Well, you could go hide in the closet.....


I know, I know. Any 'Raiders' scenario has a lot of us stumped. Like: the next thing you do is ....WRONG! No matter what it is. I've never put that in a Without Warning. So many of us aren't military trained and ...well we can't even visualize with any accuracy, the scene.


At least CGA has done the Warrior Woman scene with rattle snakes in-real-life many times. She's got that one handled.


MtRider [ .....let me know when it's DEAD, CGA! Yiiiiiick! ]

[Annarchy]

Watermelon seed.... I'm not telling how many pieces of lint I have slaughtered.


Raiders are coming? "Git a gun." as DH says.

OK, I'm hiding from the raiders and it crawls up to me!! I would have to move, even if it is to erratically flick the creature at the raider. Hope it is a really big one so it scares the bee jeebers out of 'em, giving me a chance to 'git my gun'.

Realistically, however, as much as I can not stand the little buggers and have taken every precaution to avoid them, I am able to deal with them, by either leaving the scene or crushing it. They are not allowed in my house and I have told them so. If I hear one, (Yes, you can hear them crawling, a very very light scratchy noise.), I will spend hours looking until I find it. I have gone as far as removing the baseboard and waiting hours for the rascal to come back out of the wall.


It would be a different story if it was on me. I might be able to 'hush' my screeeeccchhhh! But, I still might give myself away with hyperventilation or passing out from holding my breath.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Well, guns are much better for snakes than hoes. I once had a 'rat snake' in the coop and grabbed a hoe to dispatch it. VERY big snake. Well, I didn't do much with that hoe except pin the snake. As it wriggled from under the hoe, it morphed into a cotton mouth and struck the back of my hand. Thank God it only scraped the skin and I jumped back, letting go of the hoe and it took off pretty fast. BTW, rat snakes do not have fangs, cotton mouths have fangs, otherwise it can be hard to tell the difference, especially with poor vision. It didn't envenomate but left two fang scratches on the back of my tough as leather hand.

I do not willingly lay on the ground around here! Not just snakes. Scorpions, fire ants, ground bees, mesquite thorns (that stuff grows along the ground and you can't always tell till you are punctured) and a few other nasties.

[Mt_Rider]

"envenomate" ....seeeee, now that's a word I couldda gone my whole life without learning. Ish! Ick!

Take on a cotton mouth with a HOE....and it STRIKES back? You see why I call her a Warrior Woman? Yeah, gimme a gun .....and a helicopter! Dear CGA...next time, can you kinda...ah, ASSUME it might be a real UNFRIENDLY and 'load for bear'? With bad eyesight and all.

I'm squirming with toes curled up tight. Can we go back to talking about Fish or Butterflies or Bears? ...or DUCKS?


MtRider [ ... thinking you-know-who might not see this thread... ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 31 May 2012 - 04:39 PM.

[themartianchick]

I have a serious fear of driving... I do it because I have to from time to time, but I've never become comfortable with it. I've always felt that the other cars were coming right at me. I'm very tense behind the wheel and my mind tends to wander. I've always felt that I was a hazard on the road. I'm not sure what would fix this...

[Annarchy]

MtRider [ ... thinking you-know-who might not see this thread... ]

[Annarchy]

MC, scary stuff.

[CrabGrassAcres]

LOL, Mt Rider. I now have a .22 six shooter wheel gun and holster that I carry to deal with slithery monsters. I learned my lesson. No more hoes for snakes! I shot one thru the head in the coop the other day too. It was a rat snake, but it was after new chicks.

Martian, it could be you have a problem with depth perception. That makes it seem the cars are coming right at you.

[CrabGrassAcres]

I LIKE ducks. We can talk about ducks! 'She' probably isn't listening. LOL You shoulda seen my ducks the other day. I had a full, unopened bag of corn and an open bag half full of oats on the sled. I stopped to pick up the dog dish and set it on the porch so it would be handy to fill for her supper. When I turned around the ducks had climbed up on the full bag of corn so they could reach into the oats and were chowing down. Ducks are such oinkers. LOL They come begging every time I am in the milk shed with the goats. It is so funny when they swear they are starved and their crops are bulging because they just pigged out at the barn when I fed the geese.

[Mt_Rider]

....and you're SURE it was a rat snake? ? ? ? I'm glad you have graduated from the hoe!!!!! You know there is .22 snake shot ammo? Scatters like buckshot only in miniature. So you don't have to acheive such a direct hit.


MtRider [...head shot with a .22 revolver... My shakin' hands wouldn't do that. ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 31 May 2012 - 11:12 PM.

[CrabGrassAcres]

I might have to shoot something bigger than a snake when I'm out, so I'll stick with regular .22. I'm actually a pretty good shot. I close one eye and aim carefully. Usually I get the snake thru the coils. Gut shoot a snake and it dies pretty fast. This one was in a nest with two hens and I couldn't gut shoot it without hitting a hen so went for the head. Yes, it was a rat snake this time.

BTW, the cotton mouth came back a few days later and I took care of it with the .22. Put some holes in the side of the barn.

[Mt_Rider]

I WANNA TALK ABOUT DUCKS!


MtRider [Note to self: Never live in Texas.... aaiiiieeee! ]

[themartianchick]

MtRider [ ... thinking you-know-who might not see this thread... ]

I do love that particular story...

[themartianchick]

MtRider [Note to self: Never live in Texas.... aaiiiieeee! ]

Copying MtRider's notes...

[themartianchick]

Martian, it could be you have a problem with depth perception. That makes it seem the cars are coming right at you.

I'm not sure... I have exceptionally good vision in every other way. My eyes are light sensitive so I usually wear shades or have a pair on top of my head (Sometimes two pairs reside on top of my head, when I forget that they're already up there!) Night time is the worst for driving, though I do appreciate the fact that there are fewer folks on the road. My mind really wanders... I'd NEVER drive and talk on the phone and yet, I always feel distracted by everything. It probably doesn't help that I usually have a story going on in my head either. I can't have music playing and prefer that everyone in the car just be silent. If I have to be miserable behind the wheel, then everyone else in the car is going to be miserable, too!