Reader Stories

Since joining high school and thinking about what I want to do with my life, my biggest worry is what will happen if I don't succeed. I'm stressing about third-year exams already, worried about what will happen if (or when) I fail them all and how my parents/teachers would react. I have a feeling I'll spend too much time studying and not spending enough time with family … [Read more...]

When I was about 7 years old, my dad and I were spending the day together and having a great time without anything particularly interesting going on besides me getting to retrieve his golf balls with a hand-held claw device designed to pick up, you guessed it, golf balls (which was fun and fascinating for this 7 year old kid). We then decided to explore the woods behind … [Read more...]

For as long as I can remember I have avoided having to perform mathematical equations. In primary school I would get the sister or chalk thrown at me if I didn't answer a maths problem on the board correctly. If I didn't submit maths homework I would be in trouble with the teacher and my parents. I started to notice that General addition was ok, subtraction not too bad, … [Read more...]

Reading about phobias and what happens during a break down isn't something I'm extremely proud of. It's taken everything out of me to be able to live a normal life. Everyday I have new fears, new anxieties. 27 years I have lived with severe eczema. Hundreds of trips to the doctor, thousands of dollars spent on treatments. Why am I telling you this? Imagine the feeling of … [Read more...]

I'm always worrying, it's what I do best. I guess it started last year when I actually started caring about my grades and my well being. You see, a couple of years ago, my best friend moved away to another state.. I was devastated. During this time, one of my best friends I'd known since we were both three had found someone else to hang out with, and I was then introduced … [Read more...]

I'm Zee, I'm almost 17 years old, and I'm terrified of the brain. Talking about the functions of the brain triggers unpleasant symptoms. My first notice of it was when I was 6- in that instance, just saying the word "brain" and what it does caused me to get extreme dizziness where I had to sit down. A year after, when an instance of a show featuring a brain appeared in my … [Read more...]

In 2000 I was attacked by my neighbor. I knocked on his door to ask him to turn down his stereo. I lived in the apartment above him. He was having a party, mid afternoon, all guys in their 20's . He was very cocky, I was 6 months pregnant. Out of nowhere he did some sort of karate kick to my mouth. I saw my teeth fly out of my mouth. I fell to the ground and he just kept … [Read more...]

Well, I wasn't really afraid of anything until this point of my life. Well of course it started off as a beautiful spring (I didn't have allergies back then) morning. Sun was shining, birds were chirping you get the picture. It was about 20 or so minutes before our family was to go to church and my older siblings (boys of course) thought that it was a wonderful and amazing … [Read more...]

Hi, I am 18 years old and I have Nosophobia, but it wasn't always like that. When I was younger my 5th grade teacher had a small (3ft tall) skeleton she used to teach health. Every day I would see it on the shelf and I would go out of my way to avoid it until I asked her to cover it. Years pass and eventually I decide I want to work in a hospital morgue, performing … [Read more...]

I'm 16 and it has accrued to me several times in my life that i might be afraid of love. I'm scared i'm gonna love someone and that they're never gonna love me back. I've only ever been in two serious relationships. One was with this guy. But me and him were never really in an actual relationship. I was with him and i did love him. But i wasn't really with him. We were … [Read more...]

I go around every day looking at everything and mentally see hell break loose. With the chaos happening in real life and the chaos happening in my head, I always expect the worst to take place. I guess it started when I was about 10. My uncle was driving my cousin and I home, my cousin and I in the backseat doing our own things. I was watching videos of Michael Jackson and … [Read more...]

After having developed a paradigm that can reverse organizational dysfunction, we found that the same people who complained about workplace abuse wanted nothing to do with a fix. We don't know why that is the same, but it takes less than five minutes with anyone engaging organizations to trigger a manifestation of their fear of success. Having demonstrated this phobia … [Read more...]

My phobia shows up every year between November and April. I have a fear of the stomach flu and norovirus. I have had this fear since childhood. I was once sick with this virus as a pre teen and I did not know what was happening. Since then I have become paranoid that people around me are going to get sick and pass it along to me. This fear lives in my head, somewhere … [Read more...]

Needles are a common child fear except over the years it has not improved even seeing images can give me goosebumps seeing a syringe can cause me panic attacks. It all started when I was 8 years old. I did not fear shots they did not bother me at all but one day I went in for my annual checkup and that part went fine. At the end the nurse went out to get the shots I don't … [Read more...]

Hello! I live in the country. A few years ago I noticed something on the rug... only because I had to make sure there were no bugs in my room before going to sleep. Well.. this bug was on the rug and I went to smash it and it moved. I thought I was seeing things. I did it again and it jumped. No... it's not a flea, thank GOD but it was a springtail! Not sure if anyone has … [Read more...]