Possumblog

Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

REDIRECT ALERT! (Scroll down past this mess if you're trying to read an archived post. Thanks. No, really, thanks.)

Due to my inability to control my temper and complacently accept continued silliness with not-quite-as-reliable-as-it-ought-to-be Blogger/Blogspot, your beloved Possumblog will now waddle across the Information Dirt Road and park its prehensile tail at http://possumblog.mu.nu.

This site will remain in place as a backup in case Munuvia gets hit by a bus or something, but I don't think they have as much trouble with this as some places do. ::cough::blogspot::cough:: So click here and adjust your links. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it's one of those things.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

Speaking of Phobias...

Here is a nice, concise site about them from the American Psychiatric Association.

[...] People can develop phobic reactions to animals (e.g., spiders), activities (e.g., getting on an airplane), or social situations (e.g., eating in public or simply being out in public at all).

Phobias affect people of all ages, from all walks of life, and in every part of the country. The National Institute of Mental Health has reported that 5.1%–12.5% of Americans have phobias. They are the most common psychiatric illness among women of all ages and are the second most common illness among men older than 25. [...]

For some reason, it seems the one that has come up the most today is about driving over bridges, which as Sarah notes, is called gephyrphobia. As I noted over in the comments at Jim's place, Miss Reba has this, too, and absolutely hates it when we have to cross into Mobile over the Mobile-Tensaw River bridges and the bridge over to Dauphin Island.

Anyway, it just seems odd that, at least for the folks answering the T-3, that bridges are the most common phobia, instead of the more common phobias, like, maybe, badgers or something.

posted by Terry at 2:51:00 PM

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