Welcome to Gaia! ::

How many of you have a phobia? Do you have fears that affect your life without being phobias? What methods have you tried to cope or lessen the anxiety, and have any of them worked? Has anyone given you trouble for it? How does it affect you in relation to any other disorders you have?

I don't think I'm hydrophobic, but I definitely have a bit of a fear of water. I can't get in standing water, especially if it's in any way murky, or if there's shadows on the water (like from trees or something).

Running water, though? Doesn't bother me a bit. Hell even if I know there's leeches, I can still play in a river. x_X And I have, many times. <- Cannot go in the ocean at all, though. Not even a few feet.


Video-game wise, I get panic attacks from playing Endless Ocean. More specifically, anywhere I go where the water is remotely murky or if I can't see the ocean floor.

Separately but sort-of related, I became (because of.. reasons) quite terrified of the shower/bathtub drain. I can't take baths anymore at all, where I used to take them once a week with bubbles and salts and colour gel thingies..

IRL and in the game, I try to do the same things - to force myself into (very safe, clearly) situations that cause me to panic, and try to breathe through it. I've made some progress.. I used to have to stare at the drain the entire time I was in the shower (which makes it kind of difficult to shower, honestly), but now I'm alright if I just look every couple minutes or so. Which is good because I live in the shower when I am sick. ;A; nothing makes me feel better like running water.


That was a jumbled mess. But basically, I do what my behavioral specialist tries to tell me to do - force myself into a panic attack situation and try not to have a panic attack. Oddly, this (the game & showers) is the only situation where it's worked even a little..

Sadly, I still can't touch lakes, ponds, swimming pools(unless they are absolutely spotless & shadow-free) or the ocean. .. which really sucks because I actually love the hell out of water, and I would love to learn to scuba dive...

Yeah... beyond that, I've got your basic fear of heights. Can't even get up on a stepladder unless my OCD kicks in and I need to organize something on a top shelf.

Well, it's a good thing that phobias are defined as irrational fears! 3nodding

Don't worry about it. They may seem stupid, but therapists are trained with this stuff. What I worry about is the rare case where I would have to tell someone who's not a therapist about my hydrophobia.

My therapists have told me I'm a liar, in kinder words. Not very productive.

I don't plan on telling people about my fear. Spiders, yeah, common enough fear. Water is what people refuse to believe. But I'd rather have someone know about it than have to put my hand in a filled sink or something along those lines. Unfortunately, some people, such as my parents, would rather make it worse than believe me. People understand "normal" fears, but not these ones.

"You don't look depressed. You need to just deal with your fear of water and closing cupboards. Nothing's working, you're obviously not trying anything." It sucked.

I kind of had to. Crying on the ground and trying to avoid washing dishes kind of made it obvious, and it's not something I like repeating.

I'm really good at faking happiness and calmness. She kept telling me to fake it until I got happier. I even faked it in therapy, because if I didn't, I would have felt much more insecure, but I only faked it in appearance, not words. And... well, faking it didn't help me, so she said I wasn't trying, but she said I didn't look depressed, because I was faking it in her presence... Oh boy, that was fun.

I can't wait to get a good therapist. It's going to take a LOT of effort to tell a new therapist about these things, but I'll need it.