What's Your Phobia?

[toofrugalformycat]

Question..... have you guys used one of those bear proof food containers? They look like a small beer keg. Instead of hanging your canvas food pack in a tree, which can be a real pita to get done, you just tie this food container to a tree and sit it on the ground. The bear supposedly can't get into it and can't carry it away.

We haven't, but friends have. They do work by all reports. Last time I checked they weren't cheap, and we are, so we don't have one. The alternative is to leave your food a long ways away from camp, if there are no trees around.
They make a handy camp stool if your knees bend well.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I am too freaked out to think straight, so usually I just intentionally wake up when I realize what is going on.

since falling can't hurt you in your dream then perhaps that fear is not there to protect you but serves some other function.

"let yourself fall and a net will appear."

 

[youbet]

The alternative is to leave your food a long ways away from camp, if there are no trees around.
.

We've done that a few times when we got to a campsite late and were too tired to spend time hanging it up. Worked so far. When we do do that, I'm more concerned about rodents, etc., finding it and chewing their way in than about a bear finding it.

Speaking of bears....... Why yes, yes they do!

 

[W2R]

since falling can't hurt you in your dream then perhaps that fear is not there to protect you but serves some other function.

"let yourself fall and a net will appear."

That's an idea I could try - - a net. If it breaks, I could make another.

I don't know why the fear is there, actually. You're right - - if I let myself continue until I hit the ground, nothing would actually happen to me. I could just get up and walk away (in the dream). I always awaken in sheer terror before I get even halfway to the earth.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

well, if the fear isn't there for protection, but yet the fear is there nonetheless, why is it there? for no reason at all? what other purpose does fear serve?

 

[twaddle]

what other purpose does fear serve?

I find it helpful when I want an excuse to invade resource-rich countries.

BTW, nobody has mentioned a germ phobia yet, have they? Tiny. Invisible. And deadly!

 

[W2R]

well, if the fear isn't there for protection, but yet the fear is there nonetheless, why is it there? for no reason at all? what other purpose does fear serve?

I suppose any intensity could be a relief after a tedious day chained to a cubicle.

Or, the dreams could be a way of trying to come to terms with death, without actually dying. I really want to be immortal, but that doesn't seem to be an option. If I interfere with the emotions and fear, I am not dealing with the central issue.

Other than these, I have no idea.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

as they are your emotions, your fear, how could you interfere with them? often the central issue is not what we are experiencing as it might seem life leads us to believe, but rather, as in "life is beautiful", the central issue is how we handle what we think we might be experiencing.

a college roommate of mine was the son of holocaust survivors. i met the parents. the father screams every night in his sleep and the mother, imprisoned as a very young child, never grew up.

here is a good example from that movie where the father does what he must to make his child comfortable & even happy in a fear-based nightmare so that instead of being stunted by what you might think he should be experiencing, the child might maintain the opportunity to continue to grow.
YouTube - Life is Beautiful Part 8 Movie (English)

 

[W2R]

Whew - - what a film segment that was.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Speaking of bears....... Why yes, yes they do!

Dangnabit, I've been saving that picture for about a year for "just the right moment". That'll teach me to sit on something for too long

 

[Twinkle Toes]

A pounding surf in stormy weather terrifies me. I'm completely overtaken by fear...sweaty palms, difficulty breathing, inablility to stand...illogical.

 

[MikeD]

As Bobby said to Pam, "It's just a dream."

Mike D.

 

[podey]

Cockroaches. I live in NYC. 'Nuff said.

 

[Walt34]

Cockroaches. I live in NYC. 'Nuff said.

In my early 20's I was sent to a regional training school for heating & refrigeration repair in NJ. One of the guys in the class was from NYC and we were discussing how gross some of the houses were that we had to go into. His comment was "You know it's a bad neighborhood when you pull the refrigerator out from the wall and the roaches pull it back".

 

[happy2bretired]

With more press about bed bugs in hotels lately, I think I will add them to my list.

 

[travelover]

Vicious dogs. I love gentle dogs, but I got bit too many times on my paper route.

 

[freebird5825]

i don't like spiders and snakes...la la la la la la la la la

i have to say it's BEES, wasps, hornets, etc

i'm not allergic, but as a very young kid, i was afraid to enter my front door cuz they always made nests underneath the porch. i used the basement door for years til i figured out what bee killer spray was. it was always there, but never within reach.

and let's not forget the lion that lived at the top of the steps on the way to bed...

 

[Goonie]

i have to say it's BEES, wasps, hornets, etc

As long as I know there around, wasps and hornets don't bother me.....but if they and I meet each other unexpectedly, it freaks me out for a few seconds!

As for bees......I love 'em! They are one of the most fascinating little creatures to watch. I purposely have containers of flowering plants sitting on our patio table from spring thru fall, just so I can watch the bees 'up close & personal'......especially the big ol' bumble bees!!! They buzz around, moving from bloom to bloom, and occasionally land on my arm or hand.....just to say "Howdy!". The bumble bees are VERY docile little fellas.......you really have to go out of your way p*ss them off enough to get them to sting.

 

[freebird5825]

As long as I know there around, wasps and hornets don't bother me.....but if they and I meet each other unexpectedly, it freaks me out for a few seconds!

As for bees......I love 'em! They are one of the most fascinating little creatures to watch. I purposely have containers of flowering plants sitting on our patio table from spring thru fall, just so I can watch the bees 'up close & personal'......especially the big ol' bumble bees!!! They buzz around, moving from bloom to bloom, and occasionally land on my arm or hand.....just to say "Howdy!". The bumble bees are VERY docile little fellas.......you really have to go out of your way p*ss them off enough to get them to sting.

yes, bumblebees are very cool. very big and fuzzy too. they visit me in my garden and hang out in the zucchini flowers.

the bees i'm afraid of are those nasty agressive yellow jackets (striped yellow/black abdomen) that attend every picnic and find every soda can in the universe. here, they make ground burrows you can't see and GHY if you disturb them while mowing. they attack.

 

[Zoocat]

What an interesting thread. I remembered several phobias that I had forgotten about! I have had a phobia of elevators, going up more than three or four stories for as long as I can remember. Maybe I saw too many elevator crashes in movies when I was a kid. I used to have nightmares of falling in an elevator. But I've been avoiding them for so long I had forgotten it was a phobia. I've climbed many stairs to avoid the elevator! I would never want to go up in a skyscraper. Just the idea of it makes me cringe.

But in general I like heights. I live near the Rocky Mountains and love to hike up to a high spot and look down. I love the Grand Canyon too and looking out an airplane window to see the ground thousands of feet down.

I always thought I was phobic about large bugs but in Africa I wanted to see them up close.

Also, I used to be phobic about public speaking then I became a college teacher and overcame that fear only to have it come back in recent years. Go figure!

 

[NotSoonEnough]

We haven't, but friends have. They do work by all reports. Last time I checked they weren't cheap, and we are, so we don't have one. The alternative is to leave your food a long ways away from camp, if there are no trees around.
They make a handy camp stool if your knees bend well.

Bear vaults, or "bear resistant food canisters/containers", are required in some areas. E.g., approved containers are mandatory in Yosemite. It is interesting, the bears in the Sierras have become expert food thieves...

Yosemite National Park - Bears & Food Storage While Backpacking (U.S. National Park Service)

 

[toofrugalformycat]

Bear vaults, or "bear resistant food canisters/containers", are required in some areas. E.g., approved containers are mandatory in Yosemite. It is interesting, the bears in the Sierras have become expert food thieves...

Yosemite National Park - Bears & Food Storage While Backpacking (U.S. National Park Service)

Yes, I think they're required in Denali National Park as well.
Anyone else remember the stories about the bears in Yosemite preferring to break into certain model cars? CNN - Hungry bears prefer meals in imported cars - January 19, 1999
They learn fast.
The only time we had a bear in our cabin is when the neighbor (a couple miles away) left meat in his cabin and the window uncovered. Within a week a bear broke through our window shutter, and none had ever even tried before. Luckily our food was stored up high where he couldn't get it, and no meat - he never came back.
Both cabins had no people inside at the time.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Yes, I think they're required in Denali National Park as well.
Anyone else remember the stories about the bears in Yosemite preferring to break into certain model cars? CNN - Hungry bears prefer meals in imported cars - January 19, 1999
They learn fast.
The only time we had a bear in our cabin is when the neighbor (a couple miles away) left meat in his cabin and the window uncovered. Within a week a bear broke through our window shutter, and none had ever even tried before. Luckily our food was stored up high where he couldn't get it, and no meat - he never came back.
Both cabins had no people inside at the time.

Reminds me of the old Yellowstone bears ('60s I think - looked sort of like Disney stuff) where the bears learned they could jump on a VW bug and the doors would pop open. Ranger said the bugs were so air tight that the bear's weight caused the doors to pop open. So, even back then, the bears were targeting foreign cars!

When we camped in Alaska, I was afraid of the bears. Then the Ranger in Denali told us that the moose is just as deadly as the bear, only they don't eat you after they kill you. Soooo, I was just as afraid of the moose as the bears. BTW, didn't let the fear get the best of me...had a great time!

 

[Goonie]

...As for bees......I love 'em! ........They buzz around, moving from bloom to bloom, and occasionally land on my arm or hand.....just to say "Howdy!".

BTW, I have allergic reactions to bee stings, but not too severe....just a goodly amount of swelling near the sting area. Usually an OTC antihistamine does the trick.....if not I call Doc and get a prescription for those pills that you take like 8 today, 7 tomorrow....declining number daily.

 

[Moemg]

BTW, I have allergic reactions to bee stings, but not too severe....just a goodly amount of swelling near the sting area. Usually an OTC antihistamine does the trick.....if not I call Doc and get a prescription for those pills that you take like 8 today, 7 tomorrow....declining number daily.

Goonie , allergic reactions can worsen so be careful and maybe carry an epipen with you . Allergic Reactions | Anaphylaxis Allergy | EpiPen Auto-Injector