TMI thread. Discussion of sensitive ADULT issues/triggers. Enter with awareness!

[Meowi]

^^
Just last week, my friends crawled over a 15 meter log over some rapids on a heavy flowing river. The scary thing was, was that the log was about 5 meters of from the river.

I was the only one that did not do it.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Silver Springs

Ah. That's understandable then, and I'm sorry you're missing out. But it's great that you don't let your phobias run your life as people tend to. For years I was afraid to strike up conversations with people and actually be myself around them. But after a lot of self programming I pushed through the wall and forced myself to put myself in social situations. I may never be a social butterfly or go clubbing like my friends, but I can talk to people openly where I couldn't before. So I'm proud of that. Heights were never something that bothered me really. I always figured that if I ever fell, I'd go into shock before I hit the ground and thus wouldn't feel it (how high does the drop have to be before the impact causes liquidation?). It's funny what you think of to talk yourself out of your fears lol. I was always the person who would go further towards the cliff's edge than anybody else, just to see what it felt like. I've always been far too curious for my own good.

Really, heights and snakes, are my only fears.
I never let heights stop me from being "normal". I hung over the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Only if you saw my white knuckles, would you know what I hid, very well. Same with flying. I usually choose not to, but DO, when I need to. Again, the white knuckles are the giveaway!!!

Edit - oh yeah, the snakes. Terrified. My solution? I mow with a 9mm between my legs, and blow them into little bitty snake pieces(sorry snake lovers). I tackle my fears, or shoot them!

[Silver Springs]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

Really, heights and snakes, are my only fears.
I never let heights stop me from being "normal". I hung over the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Only if you saw my white knuckles, would you know what I hid, very well. Same with flying. I usually choose not to, but DO, when I need to. Again, the white knuckles are the giveaway!!!

I adore Snakes! My friend used to have two cute Corn Snakes named Jeremy and Edward before she bought her Chinchillas and they were so sweet. Jeremy used to love suckling on my nose, of all things. But I can see where you would be afraid of them. Some species hardly endear themselves with their whole bitey, hissey, venom thing going on lol. Having said that, I've known people with more venom than your average Taipan. I missed out on a visit to the Eiffell Tower when I went to France years ago, but I'm sure it was spectacular even if you were white knuckle-ing it. I hope you enjoyed it. And I havn't flown often. My first flight was around three years ago when I went to Graceland with my Dad (we had four flights in all because there were two connected there from Manchester to Atlanta to Memphis, and backtracked back to Manchester after two weeks) and I thought I would be petrified as I had been having nightmares before hand about the whole "Nothing underneath you" business. But I absolutely laughed my ass off with adrenaline when we were taking off and landing. And during the connector to Memphis, while everybody else aboard was terrified as we were flying through a lightning storm that occasionally struck the plane itself, I was casually catching a few Zeds.

Edit: Whereas I'm not into the whole Snake death thing (very pro animal life and veggie), you saw a challenge and you came up with a solution so kudos

[HomerMcvie]

My Mom always said my snake phobia was her fault, because she had it, too. IDK why, just watching them move, scares the bejesus out of me. ~shudder~

I've been on Elvis' 3 planes at Graceland! I've only been to Memphis once. I much prefer Nashville to Memphis. I spent 7 weeks in Nashville in 2009, and 4 weeks, this year.

[Silver Springs]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

My Mom always said my snake phobia was her fault, because she had it, too. IDK why, just watching them move, scares the bejesus out of me. ~shudder~

I've been on Elvis' 3 planes at Graceland! I've only been to Memphis once. I much prefer Nashville to Memphis. I spent 7 weeks in Nashville in 2009, and 4 weeks, this year.

My Mum's got a severe fear of Dogs, and after years of having to walk her everywhere because she's too afraid to go anywhere alone, I've noticed that I tense up when walking past unattended Dogs too. I guess we pick up on these behaviours when we're exposed to them for so long.

I did too! Did you ever make it into Graceland Mansion? I went on the tour (Don't even get me started on the fact that they have mini vans taking you from the entrance to the mansion. Talk about lazy) and my Buddha it was gaudy. Carpeted walls, lime green colour scheme, excessive use of animal print. You can really tell he came from nothing because he spent his new money on all manner of strange things. And I always thought I was strange for preferring Nashville. There just seems to be so much more life there than in Memphis. I loved the bars, the nightlife. The people were so friendly. I remember being stopped on the street by this huge Bear of a man who I was convinced was about to mug me. He told me he liked my dress I've never hugged a stranger in the street before, but goddangit it was the sweetest thing. The funniest thing that happened there though was when we were walking from our hotel to the gas station at the top of the street for drinks. We were halfway up and kept having to take breaks because my Dad needed to rest his hands (he has Fibrous Dysplacia and uses Crutches to walk). A homeless man walked past us with one of those heavy load trolleys loaded high with his belongings, and he actually offered us a lift up on the thing. I had to ask my Dad if I'd heard correctly. Nashville has some of the best people lol.

[RickRobert]

I have an enormous toad phobia, and a slight camera phobia. Toad one seems to come from my mum... much obliged.

[kak125]

I have a major fear of heights. I will only ride certain roller coasters that dont go too high off the ground and I dont like to fly. I hate being on airplanes and only go places that my hubby and I can drive to. Last time I was on a plane was a trip to Vegas and it was awful. There were soo many delays and then our plane had a problem with the wing and after that trip I swore I would never fly again. I wish I could get back on a plane again but I just cant book the trip. Everytime I think about it I have nightmares of dying in a plane crash. Blah!

[CreepingDeath]

I don't like alcohol at all. Just the smell alone is vomit inducing. I much prefer opiates. Percocet is my true love in life. It's one of the few things that actually makes me feel good.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by Silver Springs

My Mum's got a severe fear of Dogs......I guess we pick up on these behaviours when we're exposed to them for so long.


I did too! Did you ever make it into Graceland Mansion? I went on the tour (Don't even get me started on the fact that they have mini vans taking you from the entrance to the mansion. Talk about lazy)

and my Buddha it was gaudy. Carpeted walls, lime green colour scheme, excessive use of animal print. You can really tell he came from nothing because he spent his new money on all manner of strange things. And I always thought I was strange for preferring Nashville. There just seems to be so much more life there than in Memphis. I loved the bars, the nightlife. The people were so friendly. I remember being stopped on the street by this huge Bear of a man who I was convinced was about to mug me. He told me he liked my dress I've never hugged a stranger in the street before, but goddangit it was the sweetest thing. The funniest thing that happened there though was when we were walking from our hotel to the gas station at the top of the street for drinks. We were halfway up and kept having to take breaks because my Dad needed to rest his hands (he has Fibrous Dysplacia and uses Crutches to walk). A homeless man walked past us with one of those heavy load trolleys loaded high with his belongings, and he actually offered us a lift up on the thing. I had to ask my Dad if I'd heard correctly. Nashville has some of the best people lol.

Buy her a handgun! But yes, we are our parent's children. Always. Traits run deep.

On FB, I spoke about this, on ************'s FB rant about "lazy American't's", who are too terrified of walking an extra 50 FEET(god forbid us nation of FATASSES, should burn an extra calorie or 50 )

I loved, and loathed, that ELVIS' appliances didn't match! Harvest Gold refrigerator, and Avocado Green stove(I quite possibly, have those colors backwards). You're the f*cking KING, and can't afford matching appliances????

Nashville freaking RAWKS! The BEST, most down to Earth, loving, caring, genuine people, I've ever met in my life. Even though I'm only a "very regular" visitor, I've made a few friendships, that will last a lifetime! One of my favorites, a bartender from a honkytonk on Broadway....she and her boyfriend....have opened a new BBQ restaurant, in Springfield, TN, and I now drive out of my way, to eat, and visit(for hours, sometimes), on my way home.

On Memphis, I didn't like playing hopscotch, at 2 in the afternoon, over 1 passed out BUM, every 3 feet.

[louielouie2000]

I'm grateful I don't have any phobias to speak of. I've always credited my upbringing for that; whether or not that's a correct assumption, I don't know. My parents made it a point to expose me to absolutely everything in life- I was sheltered from nothing, and was made to try almost everything conceivable multiple times. Because of that, there are no foods I'm diametrically opposed to, no activities I'm averse to, no animals I'm afraid of, etc.

For example, my parents were always very open about nudity in daily life, and even regularly took me to a nude beach across the lake from our house growing up. Because of that, I have no body issues to speak of, and the human body and sex are guilt-free and beautiful to me. My parents always encouraged me to try alcohol and pot so that they wouldn't be something mysterious to me that I'd feel the need to sneak around and do because they were forbidden. Because of that, I've never had substance issues. I actually didn't even drink until the age of 22. My parents exposed me to all sorts of cultures and their foods and activities as well, so I'm not one of those people who is terrified/untrusting/derogatory of other cultures or unusual foods. I wasn't one of those kids who were allowed cop outs with foods I didn't care for, either. For instance, I never cared for asparagus growing up, so my Mom would try all sorts of different ways to cook it so I could give that veggie a fair shake and not say I disliked it after my initial encounter with it.

When I was a kid, I had a scary experience the first time my parents took me snow skiing, and had a strong averse reaction to the sport. So my parents took me back multiple times and made me ski so that I wouldn't have that as a fear. I was taken to camps that made me handle snakes and spiders. I was tossed in every sort of body of water as a kid so I wouldn't be afraid of swimming in rivers, lakes, or oceans. Growing up, I found all of this tiring and grating, but I'm so grateful as an adult. I'm blessedly well-adjusted overall, though I do have my quirks and faults, as all people do. And I'm fully aware of them, and am very honest with myself about that.

On a related note, something I've come to understand as an adult is that children of addicts are also very good at compartmentalizing negative stimulus, too. My Mother, Father, and Stepfather were all cocaine addicts and alcoholics. Because of that I'm very good at turning off emotion and fear and just use intellect to guide me when things get hairy. I guess the negative side effect of all that is I can pretty detached when it comes to dealing with people who bring negative stimulus to the table. Be they my friends, family, etc. My Mom has often accused me of being cold and heartless because I don't cry when I "should" and tackle what should be issues of the heart with surgical straightforwardness and little emotion.

How's all this crap for TMI?!

[daniellaaarisen]

I do a lot of drinking, but since I've had a fake ID since I was 15, I've acquired relatively mature alcohol preferences. I really hate "college drinking" now-- you know, crappy beer, crappy shots chased with Sunkist. That's what the majority of people my age are doing and I'm just like, "uh, guys? Can we grab a bottle of vino and sit around and chat?" Or if I'm drinking hard alcohol, I prefer to be in bars where I can actually get quality drinks. Don't get me wrong-- I have my drunken moments (for example: this entire weekend). But instead of taking Captain Morgan shots in frat houses and the like, I'm usually taking expensive tequila shots with my favorite bartenders in San Francisco (usually between pitchers of sangria ).

Sangria!:



And for good measure, a picture of the amazing food:

[ButterCookie]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

For me, beer and liquor are completely different buzzes. Honestly, I like the beer buzz better. It makes me fuzzier, and more confused!
All of my friends drink, and yeah, it's one of my favorite pastimes. BUT, I don't get mean, I don't cry, I have a GOOD time.

I have a good time, too! It takes very little booze for me to get up and dance for 6/7 hours straight but when I'm up, I don't stop and everyone in the room knows how much I love them.

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

I do a lot of drinking, but since I've had a fake ID since I was 15, I've acquired relatively mature alcohol preferences. I really hate "college drinking" now-- you know, crappy beer, crappy shots chased with Sunkist. That's what the majority of people my age are doing and I'm just like, "uh, guys? Can we grab a bottle of vino and sit around and chat?" Or if I'm drinking hard alcohol, I prefer to be in bars where I can actually get quality drinks. Don't get me wrong-- I have my drunken moments (for example: this entire weekend). But instead of taking Captain Morgan shots in frat houses and the like, I'm usually taking expensive tequila shots with my favorite bartenders in San Francisco (usually between pitchers of sangria ).

A lot of my friends have had fake ID that long but it's just something I personally don't condone. However, like Louie, my mum has exposed me to alcohol all my life so it's not a ~~~~bIg ThInG~~ like it is for a lot of my friends (and was especially when we were younger) and I've aquired quite mature tastes, too. Malibu and coke is my absolute favourite drink alcoholic or not, I just love coconut! I love Captain Morgan, too, but again that's because my auntie is a big rum drinker so the taste is familiar and soothing to me.

Sangria is the drink of the GODS! My granny gets waaaaasted off Sangria when we go to Spain or the islands

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by kak125

I have a major fear of heights. I will only ride certain roller coasters that dont go too high off the ground and I dont like to fly. I hate being on airplanes and only go places that my hubby and I can drive to. Last time I was on a plane was a trip to Vegas and it was awful. There were soo many delays and then our plane had a problem with the wing and after that trip I swore I would never fly again. I wish I could get back on a plane again but I just cant book the trip. Everytime I think about it I have nightmares of dying in a plane crash. Blah!

^^This is me. However, I CAN force myself to do them, if necessary.
My rule of thumb? 1000 miles = 16 hours of driving. IF IF IF it's 1000 miles or less, I will just drive it. I'd rather give up 32 hours of my vacation, than have to deal with the stress of flying.
I hope to go back to Europe at some point, so flight is in my future(wonder how long it takes to take a boat?). My 1000 mile rule, is probably the reason I've never been west of Colorado, though.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by ButterCookie

I have a good time, too! It takes very little booze for me to get up and dance for 6/7 hours straight but when I'm up, I don't stop and everyone in the room knows how much I love them.



A lot of my friends have had fake ID that long but it's just something I personally don't condone. However, like Louie, my mum has exposed me to alcohol all my life so it's not a ~~~~bIg ThInG~~ like it is for a lot of my friends (and was especially when we were younger) and I've aquired quite mature tastes, too. Malibu and coke is my absolute favourite drink alcoholic or not, I just love coconut! I love Captain Morgan, too, but again that's because my auntie is a big rum drinker so the taste is familiar and soothing to me.

Sangria is the drink of the GODS! My granny gets waaaaasted off Sangria when we go to Spain or the islands

Okay, call me a prude. Go ahead. But I find it a bit distressing to read about underage drinking, especially if it veers into the territory of binge drinking. And that's especially the case with young, talented, smart, beautiful girls who (potentially) have the world in the palm of their hands. I guess I've seen too many real-life examples of alcohol destroying people's lives or, their looks, or otherwise blunting ones potential in life. Chronic alcohol abuse never has a happy ending, even if one gets sober. Sure, it could be just a phase or just a temporary means of killing boredom. But what if it's more than that? Are the potential long-term health and/or emotional consequences worth the short-term gratification? Again, I'll totally admit that I'm sounding like a prude, but as someone who has passed the stage of life where drinking is a novelty, I can assure you that it's really not worth it.

[kak125]

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

^^This is me. However, I CAN force myself to do them, if necessary.
My rule of thumb? 1000 miles = 16 hours of driving. IF IF IF it's 1000 miles or less, I will just drive it. I'd rather give up 32 hours of my vacation, than have to deal with the stress of flying.
I hope to go back to Europe at some point, so flight is in my future(wonder how long it takes to take a boat?). My 1000 mile rule, is probably the reason I've never been west of Colorado, though.

So to be able to get on a plane do you take valium or anything?