Phobias

I've always been very interested in psychology, so things like phobias I find quite fascinating. Many people have at least one, and I'm quite sure most of you will have one or more of the top ten you can see on the picture. Do you? Do take in mind that a phobia isn't just being slightly scared. I mean, I'm not very fond of spiders and won't go touching them, and if there's a ginormous one in the tub I may get my dad to get it awaaay but I'm not going to have a total freak-out because I'm scared to death of that spider. A phobia is having an irrational terror, so in a nutshell nearly peeing your pants.

My dad has a snake phobia, so he's pretty lucky to live in Belgium. It's pretty funny though, I still remember being a kid and on holiday walking in the forest in Austria, and taking a branch and sneakishly going over my dad's foot with it, he cried out and nearly ran a mile in fear. Now that's a phobia :D But you're not supposed to mock, tempting though it may be. I have lots of friends with acrophobia, fear of heights, they can't even stand on a short ladder without having a total freak-out, I could not understand that at all when I was young. How can you be so afraid, if you're barely a meter off the ground. I love heights, I used to climb in trees with my neighbour, and I once walked a stepladder with huge gaps between over a giant ravine. Pretty creepy, but so exciting!

There's also phobias you grow out of, like fear of the dentist or fear of thunder. I used to be terrified of thunder when I was a child, I hid behind the couch with the dog, and wouldn't come out. My mom used to help count with me to show how far away it was. Helped a lot. I got over it though, although I still wouldn't go stand in the middle of it. The phobia I've always had though is necrophobia, one of the top ten. I'm absolutely terrified of dying, and if I see a dead animal on the street I feel really really uncomfortable. Luckily I'm young and don't really have to think about death, but I've had moment where I reflected on the whole idea of dying and what would happen, and I go all hyperventilaty in fear, so I think you can call that a phobia.

There's actually hundreds and hundreds of phobias out there, some freakier than the other. Here's some that I find pretty strange and hilarious:

Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic. Nooo my breath!
Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions. Are those the people who think they're always right?
Ambulophobia- Fear of walking. These boots were NOT made for walking!
Chirophobia- Fear of hands. A talk to the hand joke comes to mind
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch. Lots of Belgians have this one :p
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news. Happiness is overrated.
Geniophobia- Fear of chins. This person must be terrified of Jay Leno
Macrophobia- Fear of long waits. Your new excuse in the supermarket!
Pogonophobia- Fear of beards. Probably not a fan of Santa
Teutophobia- Fear of German or German things. I can relate, lol

And the list goes on! Can you imagine having any of those? How can you live?
Oh found an unusual one I have! Bufonophobia- Fear of toads. Yup, totally terrified of toads, but really can you blame me? Look at it!

I can barely look at it, bah, gives me the shivers! Hideous creatures. But I know where I got it. On a schooltrip in the woods we found a gigantic dead toad, and the others were poking it with a stick. Still remember it, it was absolutely disgusting. Since then, toads give me the heebie jeebies. Only toads though, other reptiles are fine, so apparently a fear can really stem from one single unsettling experience.

So what's your phobia? And how did you get it? Does it have a big effect on your life?

Face your fear

Not long ago, Sparrow from A Sparrow's flight introduced me to a woman's blog post about the now pretty famous Slut Walk. The blog is called Becoming Supermommy, you can find her post here: It wasn't my fault
I really enjoyed reading it, and found it very moving. This great lady talked about a subject that is very near to my heart, and I thought it was incredibly brave of her to share her feelings with the world. I was amazed to read the comments and to see how many women and girls have gone through such devastating experiences. It is scary to think how many men are out there are willing to hurt people in such a way. I thought I'd share this post with all of you as well, in the hopes that any of you who have gone through something like that will feel strengthened by reading it.

For those who don't know what the Slutwalk is.. here's a little background. It was started first this year in April, and has been repeated throughout the world. Recently even in Amsterdam. It's womens' response to a police officer's remark that women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized. Women gathered together and made a protest in the street, dressed very slutty, to prove a point, that no matter what you're wearing, it is no excuse. I heartily approve of this protest and if it would ever happen in Belgium, I'd gather my girlfriends and drag them along to walk.

It's a scary world if you can't even wear a short skirt and show cleavage without men thinking it is an open invitation to get all over you. It doesn't always have to be an attack. I'm sure many of you have experienced going out and dancing, dressed sexy, and being groped and getting verbal filt thrown at you by some drunken weirdo. I absolutely hate that, and all I want at that moment is for someone to come and rescue me and to get that freaking guy away from me.
If you've been through the worst, it's moments like that when it all comes back to you. But you can't let it bring you down, face your fear, and tell that man to leave you the hell alone. I'm always grateful for some of my girlfriends who are tough as nails in moments like that. I try to be like them and not let them get away with treating me like I'm an object just because I'm out dancing and drinking.

To all those girls out there, who've been through the worst, I send you my love. People don't always understand how much it messes you up, in so many ways, but don't let it kill the amazing woman you are. He doesn't deserve it. One day someone will put their arms around you and you'll know you're safe. Don't let it make you feel less beautiful and don't let it make you fear intimacy. Because when it is with someone great, it will be amazing. The fear will go away eventually, tucked away in a boxed, sealed tight. And you'll be happy and not scared.

Be brave. Life can be hard, and so very painful, and sometimes you'll feel so hurt nothing will seem to matter anymore. But keep hoping, no matter what, there is always hope.