Phobia.
One word, enough to say everything. You shudder at it. Fear of heights, fear of waters, fear of speed and the list goes on. All of us have at least one thing that we are afraid of, and the degree of fear varies ranging from mild to phobic.
I have a lot of fears. Heights, especially, give me sweaty palms at the mere thought of standing at the edge of a tall building.
But I have one unusual phobia. I started realising I had this fear when I was three or four when the Miri Zoo still existed. I remember I entered the zoo welcomed with lots and lots of aquariums on both sides and unconsciously I grabbed my dad's hand a little tighter and was so relieved that the aquariums weren't placed in a long line. And as you can predict already, I never enjoyed entering a fish shop without holding on to someone.
Fast forward to 20 years later, one week ago.
I went to the Melbourne museum and they had a section showing the typical forest in Australia. They recreated the forest with lakes, waterfalls, tall trees and forest plants. A sign "to see behind the falls" attracted me and I followed down that dark path. Little did I know soon after treading down that path, I was surrounded by dark murky waters. It was covered with glass, like how you would find in an aquarium but that sight just sent shivers down my spine. I instantaneously shut my eyes and tried to manoeuvre my way out without bumping into the walls. (Clarification: I wasn't afraid of the dark, just the waters)
I have no idea what this phobia is called, I tried googling it but I did find one or two people who share this fear that I have, not very common.
It's interesting though to know that people have unusual fears. Just as much as I don't understand why people are afraid of clowns, it is fair to say that you don't understand my fear.
On a side note, this link gives a list of 25 unusual fears.
http://list25.com/25-ridiculously-unreasonable-fears/
Have a read and maybe you might find your fears among them
