Rank the following...

I am in too fragile a state to answer this survey today.

I wasn't reckless...just careless :P

twister..this was not inspired by your wreck yesterday....actually, we were having some storms...and my lil brother always gets nervous...and i just went from there...

I hate being with bad drivers. My dad is one and I've become a very nervous back seat driver. I can't even watch the road whenever anyone is driving anymore.

These are two very different questions- what makes me nervous and what I enjoy. There is a correlation, but it's neither direct, nor directly inverse.

I love thunderstorms. Having blood drawn doesn't really bother me (usually a nurse does it rather than a doctor). The reckless driver is the only immediate threat to my safety and in fact is what would bother me most, followed by the crowd.

topper...the second part of the question only applies if you are not made nervous by any of the above...so if it doesn't make you nervous, which would you least enjoy...make sense?

i'm not wearing any pants.

romkey - blood takers aren't nurses, they are phlebotomists.
Stalin is back! Wow, it's been a long long time... How's Twanger?

funky, magbast, I've never seen the <tt> </tt> tag used before- it comes out looking very strange.

Thunderstorms don't make me nervous at all, they are relaxing. My sister is a reckless driver and I've gotten used to riding with people like her although the car accident did make me a bit paranoid. Most people say I am a reckless driver anyway. Oddly enough, I'd rather have someone take my blood than be in a large crowd.

no matter which reading i use, most of them have the same 'eh...' reaction.

Looking out a window of a tall building really only bothers me if I do something like go to the top of the World Trade Center and lean against the window to look down. :-} Truthfully, the only of of these that really makes me actively nervous is riding with a reckless driver. That has the power to put butterflies in my stomach. All the others I don't care about. Giving blood doesn't bother me, being in a crowd doesn't bother me, and I like the sound of thunderstorms. :)

thunderstorms kick a$$ man

Back in March, I was in a taxi with a very reckless driver. It was an extremely unpleasant experience. All three of the passengers (me included) were very upset.

i love thunderstorms, but my dog doesn't

Our cats were really psyched to go out onto the screen-porch during the last T-storm. I was more scared than they were.

I like this survey. I don't normally give out complements but this was good.

i love thunderstorms, the bigger the better

I hear there's a really big one on Jupiter...

Being in a large crowd is the worst of these for me. Thunderstorms make me nervous, but it's high winds that really bother me the most. They usually go hand in hand around here. Having blood taken doesn't bother me a bit. I regularly gave plasma twice a week many years ago. They'd draw out a pint of blood, remove the plasma with a centrifuge, and then put the somewhat colder blood back into your arm. Brrr!

so now how do i get to Jupiter

...although if I have to be walking around outside during one of those thunderstorms, I'd change the rank...

This is a strange and I suppose revealing survey.
None of these things should bother a person who has control over their cicumstances, Im sorry I didn't get to this survey earlier.
I thrive on most of these things, esp storms /\/ and high buidings.
The crowd depends on what state im in; often i dont have the energy to connect with that many people; but when im in a heaven state then it's the best.
I used to teach new drivers. If you can get them to clutch smooth from zero in third, youve done something. When I was a teen, i was teaching a house mate in my first car, a top heavy Volvo 544. She had clutch, gas, & brake down so i suggested we were ready for a turn down a small sidestreet with an island center. I presumed she chickened out because we were going 40 as we neared it. In the blink of an eye, as the car was traversing the island on two wheels, i was at the controls with her in my lap, getting the thing back on the ground. FUN
Ive been in situations where i had to imagine some freeze-time gravity to keep a car on the road too.
Its situations that are the most demanding in which i am at my calmest, afterwards thankful for the rush.

ps M, cant send your reading, Ill try again without the .jpg attachment.

im curious as to why other people fear large crowds, having quite a few reasons to fear and enjoy them myself.

KR - I don't know why. I guess that's why a phobia is defined as an irrational fear. I can tell you that I grew up in a small town and never had to deal with crowds until adulthood. Maybe it was too late for me to learn how to cope properly.

Toss your hair back and beam just one stranger in the eye. If you can do that, you can do them all.

It's not the idea of strangers that I have trouble with. It's being squashed in the middle of many strangers with no escape route. Maybe I was trampled by a panicking crowd in a past life.

I starved to death! It won't happen this time around

Take it back. (youre up to your own interpretation here)

It depends.. I'm really bad with indoor crowds. But I'm *alright* when I'm outside in one.

My crowd phobia has gotten out-of-control over the past couple of years. It's starting convincing me to stay home rather than go to large events that I once enjoyed.

SueBee: Trampling is why I'm so scared of crowds, too. Do you know the name of this phobia.

Seeing that so many other people also fear crowds has made me feel better. Thanks, guys!! :)

Mariah - After much searching, I found the term OCHLOPHOBIA: Fear of crowds. Sometimes I can control it, but I often get panic attacks in the middle of a crowd. Maybe partly because I'm short and can't see past other people. Sometimes I don't feel afraid, just annoyed. Like in a crowded grocery store. But the feeling that I MUST get out of the middle of the crowd is overwhelming, even at times when I'm not in a panic.

This is a phobia that was very difficult for me to understand until an episode in a mosh pit at a concert when I looked deeply into my SO's eyes and realized she was floundering. It was an extreme crowd, violent, we were being squeezed, pummeled and smashed from every direction. She looked physically ill, pale, shaken and just plain terrified. I grabbed her hand ad led her out of the pit. We spent the remainder of the concert up in the stands off of the floor.
Even though I do regret that I was not able to stay down front and watch from up close(I had been kicked violently in the head by a crowd surfer and found this to be a highlight *go figure*) I totally understand her fear and was happy to be there with her...feeling better..feeling safe.


I actually enjoy the feeling of strange bodies pressed closely all around me...the movement of like minded beings undulating as a sea of one. Joined in the love of some thing..worshiping and celebrating. I find it almost comforting.

*swoons* My hero!

SueBee, I know what you mean about being annoyed at grocery stores.. a few days ago, I caught myself before I ran over this old lady with my cart because she kept getting in my way.

Some people are so inconsiderate in the grocery store. I like to shop late at night when there's hardly anybody there.

Crazed pregnant woman smashes old lady with a shopping cart...Film at 11!

She should have known better ;)

"The time I like is the rush hour, cos I like the rush
The pushing of the people - I like it all so much
Such a mass of motion - do not know where it goes
I move with the movement and ... I have the touch"
"I have the Touch" by Peter Gabriel.

*smiles* Kewl...

*frowns* Nauseating. (sorry, I can't help it)

SueBee: Thanks!!! Ochlophobic, huh? Wow, I feel so cool, my first real disorder. I know what you mean about the panic attacks, they kind of catch you by surprise. It's great that mandy is so cool about it. My boyfriend gets kind of upset when we have to miss out on stuff, too. But he's starting to understand now. Thanks for helping me out!!!

Mariah, why not collect the whole set? :)

supplicant: don't worry. I'm working on it! :)

Mariah - mandy is the greatest! Glad I could help you out. It's always nice to know there are others who feel the same way.

supplicant - You can have the rest...one's enough for me!!
You're such a rebel with your noseless smileys!