One of the stranger of human emotions, and yet one shared with much of the life present on this planet (though who knows if bacteria share it), is fear. I would have quite the trouble defining this thing, so I'll let m' li'l dictionary help out. " a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid." (basically, it doesn't know either) And there you have it, fellow earthlings (or are you?).

Now, to the point of the entry: some of the more stranger aspects of the particular group of people collectively called Nukora (singular being Nukorum). As some of you may have known from an earlier entry in this blog, I have Aichmophobia. Phobias are such less embarrassing when you can attack a long word to them. Basically, your local two-year-old is scared of needles.

As I said, phobias are much less embarrassing when people don't know what you're talking about. So I looked a few things up and I can now say "I have Aichmophobia, Belonephobia, Spheksophobia, Apiphobia Melissophobia and Scelerophobia" instead of "I'm scared of needles, wasps, bees, and burglars/being harmed by wicked persons."

Naturally, in order to cure these quite silly phobias (though nothing like balloons or birds as have been recorded), I've been researching. Basically, as suspected, they are caused by something the brain programmed into itself (man, that subconscious sure is capable of lots; I keep telling it shots are for its own good). I'm trying to think what might have caused this.

I've only been stung by wasps/bees twice, and one was questionable (also suspected of being a biting ant, but not an aunt). I suppose there could be that time (one of the four things I remember from before nine years ago) when my best friend disturbed a nest on purpose. But I think the phobia may have even existed then, when I was four.

Needles...they're just plain painful, and I often find myself pondering why shots need to be intermuscular. What goes on in the muscle that doesn't happen elsewhere in the bloodstream? Or is it not even tied to the bloodstream, but rather to the lymph system? That would make more sense, as lymph is not pumped by a central muscle as the blood is, but it just flows through as other muscles move. This is one of the stronger phobias of mine, as I even cringe at the word "shot" and find myself in tears when people I know get vaccines.

I have no idea where the Scelerophobia (burglars) comes from. When walking by windows in the dark, I find myself imagining bullets shattering them in their course towards my head, or people breaking them to get to me with their knives. For a while I thought it was umbraphobia (dark) or possibly a fear of windows. But I discover that it also occurs when I'm in a place where people could easily be hiding.

I'll get them out of that darned brain someday.