The only thing to fear is...

By: Brian O'Malley/Opinion Page Editor

Posted: 4/4/06

No matter what some people say, even the toughest of tough guys get scared by one thing or another. Now, there is a distinct difference between being scared of something and actually having a phobia of something.

Most people think if they consider spiders gross, then they must have arachnophobia. That's not necessarily true. Having a phobia is beyond just being bothered by an insect or an animal, it's about a natural fear that is bad enough to affect your daily life.

Some of the most common fears are those of spiders; arachnophobia, heights; acrophobia and confined spaces; claustrophobia.

Those fears are so common that words like arachnophobia and claustrophobia are often used words. Besides those, it's surprising the kind of fears that exist out there.

There is a Web site called phobialist.com that lists hundreds of phobias in alphabetical order. If you suffer from cyclophobia, then that means you are afraid of bicycles. Let's say you're nephophobic. That means you're not fond of clouds. Looking through these lists I found that there is a fear of hands, tombstones, constipation and even a fear of phobias.

There are fears that are very generic and may mean a number of things; a fear of injury. And there are also fears of things as specific as a fear of the color white. Just about anything you can think of, there's probably a listed phobia, and maybe someone who actually deals with it daily.

Remember, I said "just about" anything can be included into a phobia. A fear that I'm sure I have, but can't find a name for, is a fear of whales. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous and there's no way it can affect my daily life, but it's true.

When is was in first grade, there was a photo in one of our science books that showed a group of guys in a row boat, just feet away from a blue whale's tail sticking vertically out of the water. It scared the heck out of me. I couldn't look at it anymore.

After that I only noticed it every once in a while, but in the last five years it's gotten worse. It's at the point where I'll see a whale on TV and my eyes will close and my head will jerk away from the screen without my control. It's a natural reaction. And sometimes, if I get a good look at a whale, I get these wicked shivers through my body.

I know what you're saying. "You never have to worry about whales." It's true. And for that I'm fortunate. It would be pretty hard to accidentally run into a whale.

There are people that have cathisophobia: the fear of sitting. There are also fears of sleeping, being touched, the outdoors, etc. Obviously, I don't have to worry like people with those fears have to.

But that doesn't stop it from being true. There is no name for a fear of whales, but I have it, so it exists. One site informed me that a fear of whales is a subcategory of thalassophobia: a fear of the sea.

I am pretty sure many other people have fears that just sound ridiculous like mine. I have friends who have some off-the-wall fears as well. Just about everybody has one thing out of the ordinary that freaks him or her out.

For the longest time, I didn't tell too many people about the whole whale thing, but lately everybody I know has found out one way or another. So now I hear whale references daily. One of my coworkers and I bought some fish to put into the newsroom. It didn't take long before the whale comments came rolling in.

Well my fear is out in the open and I'm not ashamed of it. Should I really be ashamed of being afraid of the largest living things on Earth? I don't think so, either.

Like I said before, I didn't chose to be afraid of whales, I just am.