What Are Some Unusual Phobias of Everyday Objects?

[honestrosewater]

Okay, I realize that I'm talking a lot, so I'll just make this quick. It's great to talk about this too.

Yes, sometimes when I manage to face some of these things, they can be surprisingly easy to get over. It's just that my initial reaction isn't to suffer through them - it's to prevent, avoid, argue, try to control, whatever to just get the pain to stop - and that just makes things worse. I felt so silly when I read someone else explain this. I was just making it worse the whole time! Oh, and my first successful exposure was exhilarating! It was hell to go through, but when it was over and I had reached my goal, I felt so empowered and hopeful. :!)

My 'subconscious' seems to be very smart too. The things that my OCD chooses to latch onto are all things that meet very specific requirements. And when it found the "God can do anything - and I can't know whether God exists" argument, it beat all of my attempts to argue about improbability or impossibility. It's also sometimes led me to wonder if God is actually doing this to me, to try to prove something to me (I don't want to start an argument about God with anyone!) - that's just how deep it goes and how upsetting it is. It just invades everything. Well, I say 'it', but it's part of me, just not me. Eh. Whatever.

 

[hypnagogue]

How long does the thought or image last or how easily can you dismiss it? I have thoughts that aren't a part of my OCD and can dismiss them easily - and they don't cause anxiety either. For instance, I can think now that the roof might collapse on me, but this doesn't bother me, and I can just say, 'Sure, but I'll just have to live with that possibility'.

It depends. When I'm by myself the images tend to be more frequent and last longer, I suppose because I'm not being distracted from them by talking or otherwise being absorbed in other thoughts. I can dismiss them fairly easily, I suppose, but when they tend to happen is when I'm somewhat absent-minded so it might not occur to me to take any action one way or the other, but rather I just let my mind drift. I guess there's not a lot of metacognition going on when this happens.

My emotional feeling towards the images tends to be more like a kind of detached curiosity than anything else. This is particularly true for the train track images, I suppose in part because I always spontaneously imagine myself climbing back onto the platform in time to be safe, so there's no real sense of danger. The detached curiosity attitude occurs when the images are relatively fringey, sort of muted and in the background kind of things.

Since I don't take well to heights, it sometimes occurs that the mental images of falling over the railing take on a heightened sense of danger, vividness, and ultimately reality. The images become more vivid both perceptually and emotionally, and it's those instances where I get pangs of apprehension. However, they're usually relatively brief and not terribly disturbing in the grand scheme of things. I do however get a feeling as if I have to restrain myself from actually carrying out the image and climbing over the railing-- subjectively, it's very much like (say) the urge you feel to walk over to your fridge to get a snack before you actually do so. Since there is evidence that mental images can prime motor responses (the ideomotor effect, e.g. as demonstrated in the Chevreul pendulum), I suppose this is not too surprising-- a more vivid mental image might actually be activating some pre-potent motor activity in the brain, which would account for the subjective feeling as if one was about to carry out the act and needed to actively inhibit it.

I also get the thought that other people might fall or be pushed onto the tracks when I see people standing by them (on TV or such), as happens more often now after the attacks in London. Same thing happens when I see people using sharp knives or other dangerous things. And this causes anxiety too - like I want to and should try to save them from danger. Do you guys worry about trying to save other people from danger too? This thread is really surprising me so far.

I do get that feeling sometimes as well, but only for my particular fear, heights. When someone stands near the railing of a tall building, I get the compulsive feeling that I need to stand very close by just in case some situation arises where I would have to prevent them from climbing over or otherwise falling off. Standing a far distance away is simply unbearable, so I'm compelled to follow people around very closely (this has happened a number of times in my experience since I live in an apartment building with a pretty nice view, so the roof is a nice place to visit and hang out).

Actually, I recall going on the roof one time with my father when I was very young, probably around 7. I think we were up there to watch fireworks on the 4th of July. In any case, at that time I had a reverse kind of compulsion-- I refused to go anywhere near the railing, especially if my father was near me, because I feared he'd push me off! Of course this was a totally irrational fear-- my parents are not abusive or anything-- but it persisted nonetheless. I wound up telling my dad about this fear but consoled him by saying something like, "it's OK, I wouldn't trust mom either!"

If you want to be able to fly or live with other fears, you can try some imaginal Exposure and Response Prevention. I'll try to find a good link about it. It's not like kooky, crackpot stuff, or at least, I don't think so - it makes sense to me and has a successful record.

Sounds like something I could use. I might be going on a plane flight some time in the relatively near future.

 

[honestrosewater]

Okay, I didn't read all of it, but this looks like a good site: http://www.mindbodyconsult.com/ocd/art_comptreatment.html
You may want to skip through the first part, as it just describes some aspects of OCD, but it might be helpful to read it. Since the therapies described are tailored specifically to OCD, if your situation is different, it may be necessary to adapt some parts to your situation. For instance, when Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is used to treat cases where a person doesn't realize that they are overreacting to a feared event, ERP may focus on the actual probability and consequences of the feared event. This would actually be counterproductive in treating someone with OCD, as it is just neutralizing. So comparing your situation to the one presented may help you to identify where and what adaptations you should make, if any.
You may also just want to take bits and pieces of it. For instance, I haven't used a tape recorder yet and have still had some success without it. I think you're smart enough to figure out what works for you, but I'll try to find something for specific phobias, if you think that that may be more appropriate. I suppose doing anything incorrectly could possibly do some harm, but I've never heard of this happening with ERP. [Edit: Oops, it can make things worse in some situations. And of course, the normal self-directed therapy precautions should be taken.] I've only heard of its failure to work making people frustrated or hopeless.
The actual instructions are hard to find on the internet. I've only seen them explained in books. But I have read that ERP is effective in treating specific phobias, so I'll keep looking. I have to go right now.

 

[Moonbear]

If anyone around here thinks I'm a pretty rational, stable person, you might be surprised to see the list that I'm working on of my obsessions and compulsions. It's nowhere near finished, but gives you an idea of how different a person can be from their disorder. Looking at the list myself, I'm rather amazed that I manage to function at all. The list has a specific purpose and isn't meant to be shown to just anyone, so if you do read it and don't understand what I'm talking about, you can see this.

I've been kind of bouncing around this thread and not reading every reply thoroughly, so please forgive me if I say something redundant. I just read through your list and what struck me is not so much what's on the list, but how you organized it. I now understand your appreciation of formal logic. I see it as a desire to keep everything organized and clearly explained, with all the terms perfectly defined, perhaps in an effort to gain some control over things you feel are out of your control?

 

[Math Is Hard]

One way that the intrusive thoughts of OCD are frequently described is ego-dystonic, meaning they seem alien and not part of you or your nature. I know what these thoughts are, and I have had them from time to time in my life, but not so significantly that I would call them a disorder in my case. It was comforting when I took abnormal psych - I understood that these thoughts aren't part of me, that they are more like a little brain malfunction. If one pops up in my head now, I just say, "I know exactly what you are" and I don't worry too much about it.

My teacher, a cognitive-behavioral therapist at UCLA, said he had seen remarkable results in many patients who took medication, especially the ones suffering from very severe symptoms who seemed to get no relief from anything else. I think it might be worthwhile to give it a try if the symptoms are severely affecting your quality of life. If they are mild, maybe cognitive therapy could help keep them in check.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I know what these thoughts are, and I have had them from time to time in my life, but not so significantly that I would call them a disorder in my case.

Yes, I've had thoughts like this bother me from time to time, but they never "took", as it were, and became a disorder.

I regarded them, not as problems in and of themselves, but indications that something else was "off", like I'd been drinking too much lately, or staying up too late worrying about my life, or worrying too much about something. Some general physical/psychological wrongness seemed to set the stage for these kinds of intrusive, weird thoughts. The thoughts, themselves, just seemed like symptoms of the greater malaise, which I was usually able to pinpoint and do something about.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Some general physical/psychological wrongness seemed to set the stage for these kinds of intrusive, weird thoughts. The thoughts, themselves, just seemed like symptoms of the greater malaise, which I was usually able to pinpoint and do something about.

Sounds logical. And it's certainly in keeping with the diathesis-stress model. Of course, the first time I noticed this "quirkiness" about myself, I was around 10 years old, and I don't know what I would have been stressed about. I went through these "symmetry" compulsions. If I scratched the right side of my face I had to scratch the left. If I tapped on something with my left foot, I had to tap with my right. Everything had to balance. And I don't know what I thought would happen if I didn't follow through on the side for side matching, nothing specific, just that I felt so uneasy and miserable if I didn't follow through on the action on the opposite side. Weird, huh? It didn't persist into adolescence, though.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I went through these "symmetry" compulsions. If I scratched the right side of my face I had to scratch the left. If I tapped on something with my left foot, I had to tap with my right. Everything had to balance.

I don't think I ever had anything quite like that.

The kind of stuff that bothered me was more like Hypnagogue's strange fear he was going to jump onto the train tracks. Also, some instances where if I didn't do something right, it might cause a big disaster somewhere else, a la The Butterfly Effect: a small change here can cause a big change somewhere else, or Magical Thinking, where you think that something you do or think might have an effect on something you actually have no control over.
In my case, I'm sure I learned that habit of thought from saying my prayers at night as a kid. Even when I stopped going to church, that ingrained notion that you can magically control things by wishing can rear it's strange head in different forms.

This was especially true when I was still acting: an upcoming performance put me so on edge I would start having these sorts of psychological reactions depending on how well I thought rehearsals were going.
Outside of acting, the stress was always tied to some future event which I "needed" to go perfectly, despite having no real control over the ultimate outcome. Job interviews, and stuff like that. In other words; most of the stress was self-inflicted. To the extent I could pinpoint that, and relax about things, the intrusive thoughts also faded away. They were spinoffs of being overwrought about something else.

 

[Chronos]

All stress is self-inflicted. It's the guilt over what fell from your arms while running running for your life.

 

[honestrosewater]

I've been kind of bouncing around this thread and not reading every reply thoroughly, so please forgive me if I say something redundant. I just read through your list and what struck me is not so much what's on the list, but how you organized it. I now understand your appreciation of formal logic. I see it as a desire to keep everything organized and clearly explained, with all the terms perfectly defined, perhaps in an effort to gain some control over things you feel are out of your control?

The certainty that's possible with logic is definitely comforting and attractive to me. I'm interested in logic for reasons unrelated to my problems, but I think that my general 'personality traits' are what prompted me to start studying it. I actually didn't start studying logic until I had been at PF for a while and was disturbed by some of the chaotic arguments in the philosophy forums.

I do have what I guess you could call perfectionist tendencies (did anyone else notice that I misspelled 'creak'?). Maybe it's more than that, maybe Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, but I'm not sure - and I'm wary of the self-diagnosis thing anyway.

This list is my, I don't know, sixth attempt. It was originally part of my self-directed therapy, but as I worked on the lists, I realized that I probably can't handle this on my own anymore. This newest list is just to give to my therapist when I finally go to one, because I don't want to go unprepared and waste time or forget something and get a wrong diagnosis, etc. I'm having a lot of trouble making the list come out right, but how many problems can I deal with at once? I may just give up on the list-making.

 

[hypnagogue]

Sounds logical. And it's certainly in keeping with the diathesis-stress model. Of course, the first time I noticed this "quirkiness" about myself, I was around 10 years old, and I don't know what I would have been stressed about. I went through these "symmetry" compulsions. If I scratched the right side of my face I had to scratch the left. If I tapped on something with my left foot, I had to tap with my right. Everything had to balance. And I don't know what I thought would happen if I didn't follow through on the side for side matching, nothing specific, just that I felt so uneasy and miserable if I didn't follow through on the action on the opposite side. Weird, huh? It didn't persist into adolescence, though.

That's incredible-- I experienced the same kind of 'symmetry compulsions,' also at about the same age. I wonder if it's somewhat common. The only difference I can discern from your description is that for me, balancing things out felt more like a kind of game I played than something I did to avoid bad feelings (although if I left something unbalanced, I did have a slight tinge of uneasiness or incompleteness which I would usually address). I'm also not aware what connection this has with stress in your case (or the general case), or if my own symmetry compulsions had anything to do stress (I don't recall experiencing such a connection, though perhaps one might have existed subconsciously).

 

[zoobyshoe]

I do have what I guess you could call perfectionist tendencies (did anyone else notice that I misspelled 'creak'?). Maybe it's more than that, maybe Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, but I'm not sure - and I'm wary of the self-diagnosis thing anyway.

This list is my, I don't know, sixth attempt. It was originally part of my self-directed therapy, but as I worked on the lists, I realized that I probably can't handle this on my own anymore. This newest list is just to give to my therapist when I finally go to one, because I don't want to go unprepared and waste time or forget something and get a wrong diagnosis, etc. I'm having a lot of trouble making the list come out right, but how many problems can I deal with at once? I may just give up on the list-making.

Sixth attempt? Don't want to go unprepared and waste time or forget something and get a wrong diagnosis? Lot of trouble making the list come out right? It's like I'm reading straight out of the DSM-IV section on OCPD.

 

[honestrosewater]

Yeah, ego-dystonic, that's it.
I will remain open to medication.

Sixth attempt? Don't want to go unprepared and waste time or forget something and get a wrong diagnosis? Lot of trouble making the list come out right? It's like I'm reading straight out of the DSM-IV section on OCPD.

Well, on the bright side, I do realize that it's excessive and counterproductive at times. But this stuff is ego-syntonic - it's just like too much of a good thing. And I did put my cap out of alignment after I wrote that post. It's out of alignment right now and I'm okay with it!11
The CT you mentioned - is that mostly identifying cognitive distortions?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Well, on the bright side, I do realize that it's excessive and counterproductive at times. But this stuff is ego-syntonic - it's just like too much of a good thing.

I don't really know what this means: ego-syntonic.

And I did put my cap out of alignment after I wrote that post. It's out of alignment right now and I'm okay with it!

That's a start. Tomorrow put another cap out of alignment, and build up from there.

The CT you mentioned - is that mostly identifying cognitive distortions?

Not hardly. Learning to identify them when they come up is just the first step. The rest is learning and practising all the strategies for weeding them out.

 

[honestrosewater]

I don't really know what this means: ego-syntonic.

Sorry, I saw it when I looked up ego-dystonic.

Ego-Syntonic -
The opposite of ego-dystonic, this term refers to behavior or mental acts, such as thoughts, feelings, and desires, which are seen as acceptable to the aims of the ego and the related psychological needs of the individual. The individual usually fails to see this behavior as a problem and simply considers it as part of their identity.
- http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/abnormal/personality/terms.html

That's a start. Tomorrow put another cap out of alignment, and build up from there.

Woot! Er, is that really better - going around putting pen caps out of alignment? They'll throw me in the loony bin for sure.
(I know what you mean.)

Not hardly. Learning to identify them when they come up is just the first step. The rest is learning and practising all the strategies for weeding them out.

Okay, I guess it won't be so easy then. Oh, well, no pain, no gain, or whatever they say...

 

[zoobyshoe]

Woot! Er, is that really better - going around putting pen caps out of alignment? They'll throw me in the loony bin for sure. (I know what you mean.)

I've been doing it to pens all over the place for years. I often grab them out of peoples shirt pockets and do it. No one bothers you.

Okay, I guess it won't be so easy then. Oh, well, no pain, no gain, or whatever they say...

I didn't find it painful at all, just hard work at times. You have to keep doggedly at it whenever you realize you feel disphoric or worse. It's worth it because you end up feeling much better. If you don't run a bad feeling through the process, it just stays bad. So, there's always incentive.

 

[honestrosewater]

I've been doing it to pens all over the place for years. I often grab them out of peoples shirt pockets and do it. No one bothers you.

You sure it isn't the ape suit that makes them back off?

I didn't find it painful at all, just hard work at times. You have to keep doggedly at it whenever you realize you feel disphoric or worse. It's worth it because you end up feeling much better. If you don't run a bad feeling through the process, it just stays bad. So, there's always incentive.

Okay, I'm already surprised. This pen thing is one of the silliest things that I do, and I noticed twice tonight that my cap was back in alignment - but I didn't even remember moving it! It isn't loose enough to have just slipped into position or for me to have bumped it accidentally - and becoming perfectly aligned twice by mere coincidence? I don't think so.
It may seem like a pretty stupid example, but it makes me wonder how many things that I thought I was doing and could easily correct have actually become habits.

 

[zoobyshoe]

You sure it isn't the ape suit that makes them back off?

I'm not wearing an ape suit. This is what zoobies look like. Large, hairy, bipedal creatures.

Okay, I'm already surprised. This pen thing is one of the silliest things that I do,...

You wouldn't apply any of the techniques to the issue of pen caps, per se. It would be a matter of working through any bad feelings that might result from the general thought of not achieving perfection and seeing how those feelings are generated by a series of unsubstantiated cognitive distortions you are taking for granted. The work entailed is the result of the fact that there are usually several layers of these to dig back through and replace with realistic thoughts.

You actually sit down and do it on paper, if you can, and it can take a minute or five minutes, depending. At first, of course, you have to be doing this all day long, because your negative feelings are so habitual. Eventually you can do it in your head very quickly.

While you may characterize perfectionism as ego-syntonic in general, it really must be true that the thought of not getting something done perfectly provokes anxiety, and that is where you'd apply the CT.

 

[honestrosewater]

While you may characterize perfectionism as ego-syntonic in general, it really must be true that the thought of not getting something done perfectly provokes anxiety, and that is where you'd apply the CT.

Sure, it provokes anxiety. Maybe this will change, but at the moment, I can't imagine accepting the idea that I shouldn't try to do my best or aim for perfection when it's possible; That goal is just so 'not me'. I do think that I need to redefine what 'my best' really is and when perfection is actually possible. Um, and figure out how those two goals are different. Eh, they seem different... somehow.

I understand the rest of what you're saying; I just hadn't thought much of the habitual aspect.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Sure, it provokes anxiety. Maybe this will change, but at the moment, I can't imagine accepting the idea that I shouldn't try to do my best or aim for perfection when it's possible; That goal is just so 'not me'. I do think that I need to redefine what 'my best' really is and when perfection is actually possible. Um, and figure out how those two goals are different. Eh, they seem different... somehow.

I've stopped thinking of things in terms of perfection or my "best". What I shoot for now is more like "success": did I successfully say what I meant?, did I successfully accomplish what I set out to do?

If something comes out better than I expected, it's "excellent", not "perfect". Alot of things aren't as successful as I'd hoped, but are still acceptable. Some things just didn't work at all, and have to be redone, or edited.

 

[honestrosewater]

Yes, that sounds like a good approach.