For as long as I can remember i have had a phobia of hot things. For instance I won't stand within 15 feet of a camping fire, I won't go near a cooking stove or oven. I most certainly will not put anything in or out of the oven. I don't like toasters. I put ice in my coffee, I'm afraid of stoves even when they're clearly off because I'm afriad someone will bump into them and turn them on. I don't like taking hot dishes out of the dishwasher.

I've only been burned once on a pizza pan and it only blistered a little.

I found out last year that my mom says my fear comes from when I was a little kid at daycare and my babysitter would throw water onto a teakettle for the sound it would make and it would scare the living daylights out of me. I have no memory of this. I must have blocked it out.

Can anyone else relate to a fear of hot things? It's quite disruptive as it means no cooking other than the microwave. i've adapted to the microwave because I can keep things cool to a certain degree. It's also embarrassing at work as I work in a house caring for the elderly and i do a lot of the kitchen work (at least I'm supposed to).