Pickle Phobia
Status: Undetermined
Some of the things I post about aren't the most intelligence-enhancing things in the world. I know that. But what follows is really scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. It's a woman who appeared on the Maury Povich Show who claims to be Pickle-Phobic. The mere sight of pickles sends her into a state of screaming panic. Her fear of pickles is ruining her life. Here's what she has to say: "My name is Mariah, and I hate pickles. I hate everything about... Pickles are destroying my life. People make fun of me. I feel ashamed. I'm actually afraid of them. I think about pickles I just want to throw up and run away. What I hate most about pickles is the shape, the texture of it, the color. Ewww!"
I realize that people can have irrational phobias about things, but a phobia of pickles? She must be joking. No way can this be real. My vote is that she's either making this up completely, or exaggerating it a lot in order to get on TV. And even if she were terrified of pickles, surely it would be easier for her to simply avoid pickles, rather than to try to cure her of the problem.Posted By: Alex | Date: Sun Jul 09, 2006 | Permalink |
Total Comments: 44
Category: Photos/Videos, Psychology
Category: Photos/Videos, Psychology
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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I used to be deathly afraid of rhododendrons when I was a little kid...totally irrational I know--I thought they had lead or something--but I think that kind of an irrational fear could very well last to adulthood.
Posted by Somebody in Somewhere on Sun Jul 09, 2006 at 05:36 PM
I have always had a fear of listening to repeated sounds. If I listen to the sound of dripping water, or repetitive beeping for more than a minute or so, I just get terribly nervous and have this horrible feeling of anxiety. I always run out of the room in horror before this happens.
Posted by Cheese on Sun Jul 09, 2006 at 06:09 PM
I'm more than willing to believe this is real
I have a phobia just as irrational (though admittedly I don't run screaming at the mere sight of them)
Very few people even know what my phobia is, I'm only too conscious of the fact that when people know what you're scared of they will use it against you (even your friends who no doubt think it's funny to tease you)
Posted by Sharruma in capable of finishing a coherent on Sun Jul 09, 2006 at 07:38 PM
I have a phobia just as irrational (though admittedly I don't run screaming at the mere sight of them)
Very few people even know what my phobia is, I'm only too conscious of the fact that when people know what you're scared of they will use it against you (even your friends who no doubt think it's funny to tease you)
I sent my secret fear on a postcard to http://www.postsecret.com but he didn't post it, durnit. And I fully agree with you Sharruma!!!
Posted by thephrog on Sun Jul 09, 2006 at 09:54 PM
Why, Alex, it's almost as if you're saying that a fine, upstanding TV program like Maury Povich's would make something up! I'm shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 12:41 AM
Get that damn pickle out of your nose!
Posted by outeast on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 12:42 AM
I can completly believe this. I have had a phobia of wet tissue (pls dont ask!) for years which i am sure is completly irrational!!
Posted by Lucy on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 01:04 AM
I've seen bits & pieces of a few of those shows...and they seem really over the top. The people freaking out look as if they're faking it. I've seen people freak out FOR REAL over something they fear. (Sometimes rational, sometimes not.)
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 02:57 AM
Could very well be made up given that it is in a TV Show. But: there are more weird phobia out there than you can imagine, Alex...
One of the main hallmarks of a phobia by the way that it is irrational.
Posted by LaMa in Europe on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 04:29 AM
One of the main hallmarks of a phobia by the way that it is irrational.
There was a show on TV years ago (I can't remember the name) where people had to "face their fears". They went into a transparent cage thing which was then filled with whatever they were afraid of. Spiders I can understand, but oranges and insulation foam were a little stranger...
Anyway, I think this is possible, although it may just be a plea for attention. Only she knows...
Posted by Owen on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 04:49 AM
Anyway, I think this is possible, although it may just be a plea for attention. Only she knows...
Insects, deep water, and large objects (like standing near a huge ship) for me.
Posted by Mickyfinn on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 07:22 AM
It was either one of the "Jackass" shows or the movie that one of the guys, I think his name is Rake, was terrified of mustard. So of course what do they do is buy big jars of mustard and dump them on him when he wasn't looking. He started yelling and snarling like it was killing him. In retaliation, he walked over to Bams' (the guy who threw the mustard on him) new BMW and started kicking and beating it putting dents in it.
Posted by Dae Dae in Charleston, SC on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 08:46 AM
In the same show as the pickle fearing lady, on stage with her, was a lady scared of mustard. She worked at Burger King and never put mustard on anyone's burgers. She said, "I know it is 'get it your way' but you want mustard? Too bad, you ain't gettin' it!"
I saw this clip at http://www.I-am-bored.com.
I also saw on the Tyra Banks Show not too long ago (flipping channels, I don't watch daytime talk shows) a lady scared of pennies. It was so weird I stopped to watch for a few minutes. Tyra put an UGLY $600.00 watch in a fish tank (55 gallons or so) about 8-10 inches high full of pennies and told her to go get it.
It took her a while, but she did get it. Her fingernails were almost 3 inches long it looked like! I think it was more fear of ruining her new nail job than fear of pennies, myself.
Posted by thephrog on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 09:48 AM
I saw this clip at http://www.I-am-bored.com.
I also saw on the Tyra Banks Show not too long ago (flipping channels, I don't watch daytime talk shows) a lady scared of pennies. It was so weird I stopped to watch for a few minutes. Tyra put an UGLY $600.00 watch in a fish tank (55 gallons or so) about 8-10 inches high full of pennies and told her to go get it.
It took her a while, but she did get it. Her fingernails were almost 3 inches long it looked like! I think it was more fear of ruining her new nail job than fear of pennies, myself.
Here is another Maurey show item which was posted on glumbert.com which I find be even more unbelievable. White husband, white wife, baby of colour. Husband always thought the baby was his.
http://www.glumbert.com/media/blackbaby.html
Posted by Don Sucha in Canada on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 10:40 AM
http://www.glumbert.com/media/blackbaby.html
Wait... That's not a pickle...
Posted by Wally on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 02:13 PM
I am deathly afraid of chihuahuas. I was attacked by a pack of them (23 to be exact) when I was a teenager and I have not been able to stand them since. Everyone else sees a little dog about 8" high that shakes, yips and has bug eyes. I see a zombie dog out of "Resident Evil" that wants to eat my eyeballs. Nothing rational about it, but that is what the do to me. Now I should mention that pictures or a tv commercial do not send me into fits, it has to be the real live thing.
When I worked at a book store many years ago, one of my fellow employees brought hers in and stuck it in my face. I screamed and climbed over a shelf that was behind the cash registers. Not a fun joke, but they figured out that I was serious.
I have seen some pretty strange phobias in my day too, (My Mother is terrified of butterflies and Moths) but a pickle paralyzing paranoid phobia is I think a little over the top, or bottom of the barrel, even for Maury Povich. I am just curious if she has the same reaction to cucumbers and vinegar, it is the essentially the same thing.
Posted by Lounge Lizard in El Paso, Tx on Mon Jul 10, 2006 at 03:17 PM
When I worked at a book store many years ago, one of my fellow employees brought hers in and stuck it in my face. I screamed and climbed over a shelf that was behind the cash registers. Not a fun joke, but they figured out that I was serious.
I have seen some pretty strange phobias in my day too, (My Mother is terrified of butterflies and Moths) but a pickle paralyzing paranoid phobia is I think a little over the top, or bottom of the barrel, even for Maury Povich. I am just curious if she has the same reaction to cucumbers and vinegar, it is the essentially the same thing.
@ WallyI have an irrational fear of mushrooms and fungus in general. I don't mind mushrooms when they're on pizza or in salads or cooked and I even like eating them, but when I see one growing in the wild it makes me shiver for some reason. I don't scream and go running in the other direction, they just give me goosebumps.
Posted by Sakano in Ohio on Tue Jul 11, 2006 at 04:30 AM
I remember an episode of Maury where chick was catatonic over green olives. When asked why, she said at her father's funeral her dad sat up in his coffin and his eyes were green.
Posted by Egret Narcosa in Newport on Tue Jul 11, 2006 at 06:05 AM
...that's pretty horrible...I'm not sure why I laughed so much.
Posted by Owen on Tue Jul 11, 2006 at 06:57 AM
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