# Counterphobia



## Marino (Jun 26, 2009)

*What Is Counterphobia?*

Counterphobia is defined as the preference for fearful situations. While this may be confusing, at first glance, it infers that the counterphobic person searches out those things or situations that cause them apprehension.

While most phobic individuals will take drastic and extreme measures to avoid what they fear, the person coping with Counterphobia will actively and purposefully seek out fearful situations. This preference, for that which is fearful, is assumed to be the individual's attempt to cope with some kind of internal anxiety. In other words, the counterphobic person is trying to focus their fear as a way to overcome it. The consequence of this leads the individual to exist in an almost constant state of "fight or flight."

It is of interest to note that studies have concluded that individuals with counterphobia have higher IQs, are fiercely independent, self-assured and emotionally stable. One might logically assume that counterphobic individuals are the risk takers, the daredevils or adrenalin junkies. These are the people who jump off buildings or back flip from walls without protection.

Counterphobia comes from the Latin for "opposed to" or "against" and the Greek "phobos", meaning fear.

Anyone else a counterphobic? :crazy:I love shocking, offensive, dark, sick, and "black" humor.

If you are interested, YouTube "The Aristocrats Bob Saget". I removed the video just in case this is against the forum rules.


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

Nope, I'm just phobic.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## starri (Jan 23, 2009)

Watching that video was very counterphobic for me =/

Thanks for the info.


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## εmptε (Nov 20, 2008)

Did you see The Aristocrats documentary? It was one of the most amazing things I've ever had the opportunity to watch.


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## Deagalman (Jul 3, 2009)

I grew up counterphobic and I still am. Fear is a tool if anything. The key is to realize all it is is an emotion and use it to fuel your endeavors. It's the rush you get as a kid from pushing your limits. I used to jump creeks, jump from trees, stand on my bicycle. I dented myself up pretty bad as a kid but I acomplished some neat feats. Like a crazy accidental back flip. I used to get grounded when I got stitches because it was a recurring event. That cracks me up more than anything. I'd go home and my mom would be pissed off that my arm was split open. You got to love that. Most parents would be hysterical. Repetition takes the worry out of caretakers and annoys them. :laughing:


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## TreeBob (Oct 11, 2008)

I am neither Phobic or counterphobic. This isn't to say I wouldn't do some counterphobic things now and then. Just not a big thrill seeker. I have done the typical cliff jumping thing when i was young, stolen lots and lots of stuff etc.. but that was in my youth. I guess I just grew up and had children.


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## Marino (Jun 26, 2009)

alizée said:


> Watching that video was very counterphobic for me =/
> 
> Thanks for the info.


Hahaha, in order to explain this to my mom I had her watch the video. :crazy:

Damn, I'm too fucking open sometimes. :tongue:


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Marino said:


> *What Is Counterphobia?*
> 
> Counterphobia is defined as the preference for fearful situations. While this may be confusing, at first glance, it infers that the counterphobic person searches out those things or situations that cause them apprehension.
> 
> ...


Yeah, on that last one... I would rather stare something in the face that terrifies me, rather than running away. I love dark humor, and my favorite movies and books are ones with deep intensity, bittersweetness, push/pull mix. The commitment involved in intimacy terrifies me, but instead of running away, I force myself into the middle of it. Eternity terrifies me, so what do I do? Explore death and spiritual beliefs of all sorts, because it also fascinates me to consider. I can't NOT look into the abyss, it's how I cope.

For the more banal fears, I'm still terrified of spiders. When I was a kid, I would specifically get out science books with large zoom pictures of spiders (the double-page spreads magnifying their faces), flip the pages open with a ruler, and stare at them. My skin would crawl, yet I couldn't stop looking. I would watch spiders in my yard and drop bugs into their webs to see what they'd do, even though it just made me ill. nowadays there is an awesome pedestrain bridge running across the Susquehanna, with lots of bars and a large metal fame, and big bulbous spiders spin their webs there in mid-summer, covering all the empty spaces. Although it creeps me out, I'll just stand there and observe them. They fascinate me as much as horrifying me.

Anyway, I face my fears. Knowledge helps me deal with the anxiety. I want to understand this irrational vertigo I might experience from things that scare me.

I don't think my fear of heights is counterphobic, I enjoy heights even if I'm scared because I know what can happen if I fall off at some point. But I'll go pretty much right to the edge of everything; it looks crazy to others, but I have a decent sense of where the line actually is and go right up to it.


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## SuperunknownVortex (Dec 4, 2009)

Oh, dear, I'm quite couterphobic.


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## lylyness (Jul 31, 2010)

I'm afraid of counters.


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## Nymma (Apr 24, 2010)

I am definetly counterphobic, and have been all my life. I once had a phobia of insects of all kind, and ended up actually stroking spiders for fun. I have a severe phobia of drowning(and to some extent, always feel some anxiety getting into water now). However, I took plenty of swimming lessons and even lifeguard lessons. I have a phobia of dying, but craves to become one day a police officer. I am afraid of failing, yet skipped lessons from time to time. I just love the thrill of danger... I watch many horrors movies, and take great pleasure in going into haunted houses, anything that can make me afraid. i just love it!

Nevertheless, there are exeptions. I cannot face my phobias of humiliation and incompetence, and do anything to avoid putting myself in situations in which there are only tiny risks of failing and humiliating myself(crying in public, to be more specific.). Still, on the whole, I am very counterphobic.


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## Jr. (Dec 11, 2010)

Marino said:


> *What Is Counterphobia?*
> 
> Counterphobia is defined as the preference for fearful situations. While this may be confusing, at first glance, it infers that the counterphobic person searches out those things or situations that cause them apprehension.


I had to, I just had to be a grammar nazi.

Infer is done by the person hearing a statement, thus a statement cannot infer, but it can imply. This should read "...at first glance it implies..."


Okay I feel better.


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## UncertainSomething (Feb 17, 2010)

I definitely have a propensity to fighting fears, apparently ironically unsuccessfully it seems. I guess I have certain counterphobic tendencies, I'm trying to give up this fighting.


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