[coldwut]

I have a fear of lightning, but I was not sure if it's considered a phobia or not because lightning is dangerous. However, I've noticed that I freak out a bit when I see a flash because it might be lighting and I remember having to walk to school in a thunderstorm where lightning actually touched the ground and it was terrifying. I was already scared of lightning before that.

I kind of like watching storms but I don't like staying near the window for fear of lightning hitting me and I can't take showers when a storm is going on. I also feel uneasy when I see a gif or video of lightning, especially if I wasn't expecting it. Also some of my nightmares consist of being caught in a storm.

Is this a phobia, or a reasonable fear?

[Skeezyks]

Hello coldwut: The Skeezyks isn't any kind of expert with regard to this. But my perspective would be that this depends on whether or not the fear is impeding your day-to-day life. If you fear lightening & storms but you take reasonable precautions & manage to get through them, then I would suggest it would probably not be considered a phobia. On the other hand, if you were to go hide in a closet at the first sign of a storm & not come out until it's over with... even if it means you miss work or school for example... then it seems to me it rises to the level of a phobia. Does that make sense?

I personally don't like spiders. If I find one in the house, I'm careful about how I dispatch the little bugger... it could bite... But if whenever I saw a spider I went & stood on a chair until someone else got rid of it, then I'd say I had a phobia.