Overcoming fear of being hit with static shocks.

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BrainPower101
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05 Feb 2016, 5:50 pm

Is anyone else scared of even changing into clothes hearing the ticking noise then touching something and being shocked? This is one of my biggest fears and I always try to avoid it even while shopping and trying new clothing at the mall.. When was younger, I'd be scared to go down a slide that's made of a certain plastic material that conducts electricity.. Man, I hate it but hate being so worried about it that I thought of buying a shock collar and trying it on myself..

The reason it scares me so much is b/c it's so unpredictable when it hits, some don't hurt and others are freaking brutal. I remember seeing light when touching a poll in school once, it haunts me till this day. :|



AuroraBorealisGazer
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05 Feb 2016, 6:10 pm

Not much anymore....but the slide shocks as a kid were anxiety inducing. So I would go down in the not-so-fun way, where I'd very cautiously scoot, trying not to touch anything to my skin. I'm pretty sure there were complaints and criticisms about this, but I didn't give a crap :) .



Ettina
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06 Feb 2016, 8:54 am

Are you hypersensitive to pain? Maybe the pain affects you more than most people. For me, I've never had a static shock be more than mildly painful - even though I'm hypersensitive to other kinds of pain like needles, and even had trouble tolerating a stronger shock in a muscle study I tried to participate in.

As for your shock collar idea, I think that would just make it worse. When I've tried to do something painful to get myself used to it, with each exposure to the pain my fear got worse. Exposure desensitization only works if nothing bad happens except for the fear reaction. If it causes pain or something else bad, then it'll only increase your fear.



BrainPower101
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06 Feb 2016, 8:34 pm

Ettina wrote:
Are you hypersensitive to pain? Maybe the pain affects you more than most people. For me, I've never had a static shock be more than mildly painful - even though I'm hypersensitive to other kinds of pain like needles, and even had trouble tolerating a stronger shock in a muscle study I tried to participate in.

As for your shock collar idea, I think that would just make it worse. When I've tried to do something painful to get myself used to it, with each exposure to the pain my fear got worse. Exposure desensitization only works if nothing bad happens except for the fear reaction. If it causes pain or something else bad, then it'll only increase your fear.


I'm not exactly sure if I'm hypersensitive to pain.. I'd normally say no but I'm considering re-questioning it.. I can endure body waxing, tattoos, needles don't scare me at all and intense workouts but hate being shocked.. 1 second never felt so long, it feels like being bit by a scorpion when I get electrocuted..

I'm also considering doing the polar plunge challenge as a sport since I can endure extreme cold.. I don't like heat that much it bothers me more..



Fraljmir
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07 Feb 2016, 12:39 pm

That's really interesting, I'm sorry that you have a fear of static shocks. I can't say I've ever experienced a painful static shock, and even mild ones I've had no more than 10-15 times in my life. Are these common for you?

I've never thought about some people being more susceptible to static shocks.