Comment on Magic Rocks
volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz 6 days ago
Well that can be less of a wonder and more of a curse. I have a very huge phobia of earthworms, and I can see them very well. People who know me well go outside and are like “it’s all clear, I checked!” and then I go outside and I see them everywhere.
I also get “Oh just don’t look down” by people who I tell this to all the time. Like, sure, stepping on that will totally be ok as long as I don’t see it? That’s not how this works.
Same goes for these stupid tiny green caterpillars hanging from trees. You wear hats to protect yourself from the sun. I wear them as head condoms against these fuckers. But the truth is I see them from miles away. Miss me with that shit.
That sucks cuz I’ve heard earthworms are so crucial to soil health and the entire ecosystem within for plants to thrive.
Sucky phobia to live with but at least it is regional. Move to a city or desert and you won’t have to worry about those slimy snakes.
I live in Germany so they are even in cities :(
Yeah the soil thing is difficult for me. I just wish there was a healthy world without any kind of ~ thing. I love the idea of gardening, planting my own food and stuff, but it takes about 20 minutes in nature for me to realize that is a fantasy self. I like nature, I just don’t want to be around it. At all.
I’ve got to ask, what is it about earthworms that scares you? Are you genuinely afraid of being hurt by one or is it something else? Do you yourself see the fear as something perfectly rational that you don’t understand how others aren’t aren’t afraid, or do you often feel silly, but you just can’t help how you feel? No shade, feel free to tell me to shove off, I’m just genuinely interested in what that looks like from your POV.
Your comment made me think about how I haven’t even seen an earthworm in years that I didn’t go out of my way to see. I’d love to take a walk with you so you can point out all the earthworms I’m missing in my day to day.
Here’s an anecdote: When I studied abroad, I met a guy who was in his master’s program for psychology, and he wasn’t convinced that phobias were a real thing and not something else. Some day, we tried to get home to the dorm through the rain in the dark, and he eventually ended up carrying me home. Before we said good night, he told me that he now has finally seen someone with a phobia, and now believes they are a real thing.
I am actually scared of all wormy creatures, ie long, no vertebrate, no legs or more than 10. That also means I am scared of bugs and flies, not because I am scared of them - I am scared of their kids. (I haven’t taken the trash out in 8 years or so.)
And to me it makes only sense. I cannot understand how others aren’t scared to death. I cannot explain what it is, I can tell you this: it is not just disgust. It is not just their form or smth. It’s a genuine fear. I get tense just writing about this. I would never do therapy because to me the thought of being ok with it is not appealing. I don’t want to be ok with it. Fuck that. Y’all should do therapy to realize that you’re crazy for being ok with it. (I’m joking, I know that’s wrong, but this is 100% how it feels.) I would rather chop off my arm than touch it. I would, and I mean this, rather let my mother die, than touch it. I regularly reevaluate these statements and they are still true.
I am fine with snakes and spiders tho lol.
I’d frame going to CBT as “making your trips outdoors more enjoyable” rather than “compromising your stance on worms.” It could radically improve your average day.
Not OP but I have the same phobia of earthworms and hanging green caterpillars (and millipedes to a lesser extent) - I just think that lines that squiggle on their own are creepy. Now if those lines had distinguishable eyes then I’m not as creeped out (i.e. snakes)
MoonMelon@lemmy.ml 6 days ago
Learning to ID plants is a curse too because you see so many invasive monocultures everywhere.