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When I first started teaching, I taught extremely large classes and soon came to dread walking into a classroom that was filled to capacity. The students didn't distress me; it was the fact of no empty seats, hence no place to go that got to me.

At one point in my career, I taught an exceptionally large class of 40 students, and I had to bring in desks from another classroom to accommodate the extra students. So I just snagged an extra desk creating an empty place in the overcrowded classroom and that solved my problem.

Yes, it is weird.

(Today, I still do not like to walk into a room where all the seats are filled. I will go to a meeting an hour before it begins if that is what it takes to avoid this situation.)

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This is weird, but I have a slight phobia of vomiting.  It is pretty much the only thing I'm afraid of (aside from my loved ones dying abruptly, but death is impossible to avoid, so it's a little useless to fear it).  I've had this fear of throwing up for most of my life, and I don't know why but I believe it stems from my need and desire for control (of myself and my personal surroundings), and vomiting is an action that, for the most part, is uncontrollable.  Sometimes it's so bad that I actually get anxious when someone coughs a lot, out of fear that he/she might throw up.  It also makes me very sad to hear about someone having a stomach virus or any illness that includes the side effect of vomiting.  I don't know how to overcome this fear, but I suppose positive internal dialogue (on a regular basis) can prevent me from agonizing too much over this irrational paranoia.  And in regard to Heather's post, I do love fish, but the sound of "fish pie" sounds disgusting!!  Consequently Heather, your distaste for fish makes perfect sense.

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I'm with you on being scared of snakes, even though I know that most of them around here are harmless. When I lived in the mountains, I found a shed snakeskin in one of my kitchen cabinets, and I don't think I slept the rest of that week!

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This is a year of many firsts for me: first car, first job(s), first PASSIONATE smooch. I used to be timid, and to an extent, I still am. My experiences this year have redounded to my ever-increasing confidence. In spite of that, I still have an aversion to needles. How something so cold and sharp can be used to penetrate the flesh is chilling. One way I can overcome this fear is simply by reading literature on the subject written by people who had the same problem, but found ways to conquer them.

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I can definitely relate to being terrified of Michael Meyers. I used to be terrified of him also. As I grew up, I didn't fear him as much. I just remind myself that there is a person under the costume, and it makes it less scary.

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I'm terrified of snakes. Even if they aren't venomous, I am still afraid of them. You can bet that if a snake is around that means I'm not. There really isn't too much I can do to overcome my fear because there is no way I'm going anywhere near a snake.

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I caught a bit of the film Halloween on tv when I was way too young (maybe 5?) and spent many years terrified of Michael Meyers. I had nightmares about him coming for my family and me for years. I've overcome the fear now, mostly just through watching the movies again as an adult, but if I see someone dressed as Michael Meyers at a Halloween party, I'll still avoid them!

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I am deathly afraid of ticks. I am certain I am not the only one who fears these disgusting creatures. The little blood sucking vampires! After several outings in the woods, I have had to remove them from my boy children (who are blessed with an enormous amount of hair). Every time I have encountered a tick, I scream and try not to panic. I have to remind myself of the proper removal techniques, and then squash, burn, and flush them. I am always afraid that I have not done enough the end their miserable little lives. I cannot think of any way to overcome this fear unless I were to move to some arctic zone where it is too cold for them to live.

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Ha! Your sarcasm made me laugh. Nice.
A memorial service for all those poor moths will be held in the studio Friday morning. In lieu of flowers we request that you bring monetary donations to the Nash Moth Rehabilitation Fund so that we may truly assist any and all moths pejoratively impacted by your childhood irrationality.

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My biggest fear is clowns. However, age has made it so I'm not longer terrified of them. As a child, I watched the Stephen King film It, which traumatized me to a great extent. I refused to go into any bathrooms without the presence of my mother- I was convinced that blood would emerge from the sink and that no one would believe me when it did. Currently, I deal with my fear of clowns the same way I do any of my problems- pure avoidance. In order to completely avoid clowns this upcoming Halloween, I have taken to become a hermit. Seclusion to almost the point of insanity is the only solution.

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When I was younger I was afraid of moths. If they came into the house I would get my cat to eat them. Many a good moth, probably with a moth family, lost their life due to my fear. R.I.P Moths! Now I'm older my fear is less irrational, fish...I have a fear of fish. Maybe it's not a fear as much as an aversion. I hate the smell and taste of any kind of fish, and if any seafood were to touch my food I wouldn't be able to eat it. I won't use the same plate or utensils that have touched fish, without first washing them. I think I was tortured by my Nana's fish pie as a kid and that led to this behavior as an adult.
I don't really want to overcome my fear; I'm fine, thanks. Lol.

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Halloween is approaching - a holiday that's become associated with ghosts, witches, spooky nights and creepy bugs...in other words, a bunch of scary things! On this week's padlet, in honor of Halloween, let's share the following:
(1) Your biggest fear or phobia...and why you're afraid of it (or if you don't have any fears or don't feel comfortable sharing, name something that you think is just generally creepy and why);
(2) Something you could do to overcome your fear on your own (or what you could do to avoid an encounter with your "generally creepy thing"), and
(3) After reading some of your fellow staff member's posts, choose one fear that you can relate to (or agree with) and explain why - this way, we can actively respond to each other's posts (if necessary, you can post your response to #1 and #2, and come back later to read other posts for #3).  (Remember to add your name for the title/heading.) Happy Halloween!