Thursday 13 August 2015

Fears, normal and phobic. Quest 2, p. 176, x.C., 1 - 3.

Rather than do Hartmann's discussion questions on page 176 (2007) of Quest, we are going to do them as response writing activities.

First, questions 1 - 3, which we are treating as one response writing prompt:

  • In your opinion, how is a phobia different from a normal fear. What might be some "healthy fears"? 
  • What are you afraid of? (High places? Crowds? Snakes? etc.) Can you think of when you first had this fear? How do you deal with this fear? 
  • Do you know anyone who is phobic? How does this phobia affect her or his life? 
Respond to these prompts in one comment below. 

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Reference
Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

31 comments:

  1. The Greek comic author Aristophanes wrote a play usually called The Frogs in English. It's a very funny play, although I like The Clouds more. The Greek name is to batrachae, and I suffer from batrachophobia. Yes, I'm terrified of frogs.

    I've had this phobia for as long as I can remember. Today, it isn't a problem because I don't meet many frogs on Silom Road. But it was a real problem when I was growing up in the country in Australia. My parents' property was perfect for frogs, and they were everywhere. Whenever I came across one, my heart beat fast, I broke out in a sweat, and really was terrified. I knew perfectly well that they were harmless, they I was a threat to them, but phobias are not rational. If I encountered a frog on the path, I would walk off onto the grass to avoid it. Sometimes I would use a long stick to push it away.

    The worst thing though was my terror that my school mates would find out about this embarrassing and silly fear. I tried very hard to suppress my phobic reactions when confronted with frogs in the presence of classmates, but I didn't do a very good job.

    Today, my phobia is slightly less intense, but the sweating and quickened heart beat still happen, even from seeing frogs on TV! Oddly, I can eat them - if they don't look too much like frogs, the cooked up meat is OK.

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    1. I wanted to tell you about Matthew as well, but ran out of time.

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    3. The word “batrachophobia” is the new word for me today. I’ve never knew that we have the word for people who suffer from fearing a frog before. Your story made me surprised that you really fear them when seeing them in everywhere or even in TV, but you can also eat them (if you don’t feel this looks like frogs). Although I’m terrified of frogs like you, I do not want to touch them and eat it. I think I am a person who does not like to eat amphibian at all. In fact, you may not meet frogs in Bangkok. But, if you live in countryside of Thailand, you will be definitely nervous because of many frogs that you can usually see.

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    4. But snakes are fine for me. We had lots of snakes at home as well, and I was happy to play with the ones I knew were not poisonous. I also like the beautiful Burmese pythons in Thailand - some of them are enormous.

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  2. Personally, a phobia means a person who are afraid of something that generally people don't be fear; while a normal fear is a fear that most people fear.

    I'm afraid of high places but not too much, I can't imagine the first time that I've experienced with but when I have to deal with it, I want someone to walk or stand beside me, I feel safer and less nervous

    My friend has a rambutan phobia, she's not able to be near that fruit, it made her feel scared. However, I think this phobia doesn't affect her life, because it's just a type of fruit and she can avoid it.

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    1. Your post make me surprised same as what Pheem posted. What make people cannot handle their feeling with vegetable and fruit? I'm still doubt about this.

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    2. Why do not you think that, if you have someone stand beside you on a high place he/she can make you more scare, like try to push you.

      Sometimes, I afraid in something I try to safe myself than have someone to safe me because I always thinking the worst case if he/she know that I scare, they will try to prank me

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    3. I also know the other guys who afraid of fruits! One of that is my friend. He fear banana that's make me laugh, sorry for him. As I don't like banana but he afraid of it. The another is my sister's friend. She also born the same day as ours (maybe same year as you). She afraid of watermelon! My sister told me that she cannot see the fruit and runs away when faces it.

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  3. I think a phobia is an irrational fear which count as one of mental illness: for example, some people get fear when they have to stay on a high floor,some people cannot get on a plan, and some people fear to get fat, while a normal fear seems like a fear in general that most people agree that it looks terrible or most people cannot bear with it, so it is okay to fear such as a blood, a cockroach and reptile, which is not categorize as abnormality.

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    1. I'm also afraid of the cockroach that can fly. But I'm ok with the little one.

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    2. Don't forget that a little one can fly too! LOL

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  4. The phobia is different from a normal fear in various aspects. Firstly, people who face with phobia problem--sometime that sound strange-- can fear anything that people may not normally fear such as fearing cucumber. Secondly, a phobia is serious metal illness. Moreover, it makes people cannot do anything or be near with the thing they fear very much.

    Typically, I am afraid of fierce animals like a snake or crocodile. Yet, I can imagine them with a little fear. If I stand near them, that will be my serious problem. i think if I have a chance to see them in the zoo a lot, it would help me familiar with them and feel less worried about it.

    My father has acrophobia and he does not like to be in high buildings or even on flyovers. He does not like it at all.

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    1. I am wondering when I heard that people fear vegetable, I don't understand what vegetable did to those person, it's not like animals that can harm humans. I used to read news and noticed thar one actor get nervous when she have to touch corn. This is very surprising!

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    2. Regarding to the celebrity news from Ling, I remind one of my experience. I went to a silk factory that showed me a producing worms. There are also colorful cocoons which we can touch. I picked up the purple one and shook it for the inside worm! Then my hair stood up without reasons. For me, my fear is because of touching that may same as that actor.

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  5. In my opinion phobia is more scary than normal fear. Normal fear we still can live with them, but phobia you will try to do every thing that will avoid the fear for example injure people who will make you scare. Then, for me the healthy fears is a normal fear.

    When I was young I afraid of cats because the first time that I saw cats was at night. In the night cats' eyes are bright with the yellow color and I was scared it. Not much that I saw the cats at night and cats did not hurt me, so when the time was gone and I did not see the cat at night much, I did see on the day and cats is not ugly or scared me any more.

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    1. Once I have ever been scared of the cats' eyes too, because someone told me that cats have 9 lives, and it means that they are immortal. I tried to avoid their eyes, but now I am interested in those eyes, they look naïve like a doll.

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    2. That is why today you publish your blog with an orange cat. LOL

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  6. From my point of view, I think a phobia is different from normal fear in many aspect. First, I believe that a normal fear come from the instinct of all human being, to alive and survive. So, people tend to afraid of something that familiar to each other and it is usually the things that can affect our life or health. For example we are all afraid of biting by poisonous snake because it may kill us. However, Phobia may come from the past experience that cause a tremendous effect in the mind. As a result, people who have phobia are afraid of something that unexplained such as balloon or water. Next, I think a normal fear don't affect people life but phobia can affect a daily basis routine.

    I'm afraid of being hungry. I had this fear after I almost passed out because I haven't eaten enough when I 'm at secondary school. Since that incident, I will make sure I eat enough.

    I have my senior who have phobia about a dot that are not organized. When she see something that's irritable, she can hardly breath.

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    1. Being hungry for a long time may make me out of control haha.

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  7. Phobia is an afraid of general things which is majority of people don't afraid such as cotton balls, water or holes which might effect to live while a normal fear is afraid of some dangerous things for examples, living alone, death, ghost that is not general faces. By the way, fear is helpful to remind you to avoid some dangerous situation such as when you are standing on the high glass floor and looking to the lower view, you will fear to fall down. I also, in addition, afraid of lizards since I was about 6-7 years old, I saw its tail shivered after splitting off for long time, then it stopped and moved again that really make me shock.

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    1. I agree with you Poy and a way for solving your fear is facing it!
      Just try once, if it's okay, run away!!

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    2. It is hard to imagine that people can fear something you said—like cotton balls—despite being common things we can see in daily life. Yet, it is highly possible for everything of which people may be terrified without any clear reasons. I remembered that I have tried to test myself to check whether I fear holes or things that have many holes by seeing the pictures about those things on the internet. I found that they are disgusting, and I could not see them for a long time. Maybe, I may suffer from phobia about fearing of holes too.

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    3. Ling, I did try once and it wasn't work for me. I'm better as well; however, not at all. I can see it from a distance, but if I know that it is around my seat or standing, I must move immediately!

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    4. Feem, I also think that too many holes are disgusting. One of my friend told me that he will get angry and punch those holes if he sees. He is one of my classmate at AUA. If you observe, there are many holes in the room; for examples, on the roof and our chairs! Haha.

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    5. Cotton balls are what my friend is afraid of. This sounded strange to me when I first heard it, but he really does have this irrational fear. But it doesn't seem any less rational than being afraid of rambutan or of harmless little green frogs. If it was a rational fear, like worrying about getting on a motorcycle in Bangkok, it wouldn't be a phobia.

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  8. In my opinion, the biggest different between phobia and healthy fear that it might be phobia is a long period for fear anything, it seems to a kind of anxiety.However, healthy fear is happening on everyone, because most people have commonly fear such as darkness, high, ghost and so on. I personally afraid of noisy and crowed that it is make me annoying. Finally, I know some one that she is really afraid of blood, so she cannot watching injuring.

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    1. Sometimes, I afraid of noisy and crowd people too. I can't imagine how I feel when I have to stay in a pub. I prefer to live with natural places than that one.

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    2. Hi Punn,

      Me too. I really like going to parks or campus, which have a lot of trees, and having a cup of coffee on the bench when I was living in Taiwan. I think that it is a peaceful and relaxed time for me.

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  9. I think, a phobia is quit responding rather than a normal fear. It might be healthy fears in some kinds of fear such as fear of eating meat, fear extreme activity, etc. For me, I'm quit afraid of high place although I know it be safe but I always thing of the worst case will happen to me.
    My first experience was when I went to a cliff.

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    1. I'm also afraid of high places. Some people say that if we are afraid of something, try to bear and stay with it! Maybe we try to play bungee jumping together?

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