Sunday, December 7, 2008

Jen

Sunflowers. I am horrified by sunflowers. And by "horrified", I mean that I damn near shit my pants in the presence of a full-blown sunflower. Hell, my sphincter seizes up within fifty yards of the things. They're creepy to me on a number of levels.First, the flowers are as big as my head. Bigger, even. I'm freaked out by any fruit or flower that size. Also, something about that inner dark part of them is just awful. It wants to be fuzzy and inviting but ... it's not. Maybe it's like Velcro that would grab my hair, leaving me trapped. And then! If you look at the seeds in one, the number and closeness of them is unnerving. All those little pods in a pattern. Ugh! They turn my guts to jelly. I searched the internet a few times to see if anyone shared my discomfort with sunflowers and came up empty. Interestingly, though, there seem to be others with a "tube" or "opening" hangup, and as I read their explanations of why, precisely, they were freaked out, I realized that it kind of matched up with the sunflower-seed part of my phobia. It's the pattern. I'm tempted to mention my issues with both cotton swabs and wooden spoons but ... nah. It's more a texture thing than a phobia. And, besides, I'd seem like a fruitcake. Since, you know, a blatant fear of sunflowers is completely unremarkable. Heh.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not afraid of sunflowers, but I totally see where you're coming from, about the tight pattern of the seeds and the dark centre of the flower. And the fact that the flower is bigger than your head. Those are very creepy characteristics.

Rebecca said...

Your fear makes me sad. I've always thought of sunflowers as the happiest of all the flowers.

DawnieJoy said...

I am also afraid of Sunflowers. I have no idea when or how the fear came about, but the really do give me the creeps! My friends all think I'm goofy! Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone!

jojo10 said...

Hi, i feel exactly the same. I had a dream once about sunflowers and ever since ive been petrofied by them. Their height is intimidating and i hate how they turn to face the sun, thats even creepier. There's something about the black bit in the middle aswell, in contrast with the yellow petals it makes me think of death for some reason!? Anyway is nice to know im not the only one with a "weird" phobia :)

Unknown said...

I too am extremely afraid of sunflowers. Everytime I see a picture of a sunflower in a magazine (like in those stupid allergy ads, or for some movie posters), I nearly drop the magazine. I tell people it has the same effect on me as seeing a huge photo of a hairy tarantula. The recoil reflex is that strong. I also have a fear (not as strong) to all other flowers that have the same shape - densely packed circular center and petals extending outward. The larger and more darker the center, the more ominous. Just typing about it is giving me the heebie jeebies right now. I have even had nightmares where I am working on a field covered with sunflowers and I cannot walk without stepping on sunflowers. It is a most terrorizing nightmare... Thanks for sharing. Good to know someone else has the same odd phobia.

Unknown said...
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Tim said...

I'm afraid of them, too. 6' flowers are NOT natural. The damned things are unholy!

Shelley Spann Glenney said...

OMG I have never found anyone that feels the way I do about big sunflowers! It started when I was little and our babysitter's neighbor had a huge Sunflower garden and I wouldn't go near them. Everything you said was the exact reason why they frighten me. Sunflower Haters Unite! lol

Unknown said...

I just told my husband about my dislike of sunflowers. I cant call it a phobia bc I could be near one and not scream or pass out or something. But i DO NOT like them. They're SUPER creepy. Entirely too big to be a flower, not natural/unholy sums it up perfectly. And yes the dark inner part is very ominous. And the fact that they all face the same direction (following the sun) makes my skin crawl. They just unnerve me. I do like sunflower seeds tho

Nige111 said...

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one creeped out by these things, I'm not explicitly afraid of them but god they unnerve me.

Unknown said...

I’m so happy to have found people who feel the same. My fear started when my family was driving past a field of sunflowers. They were only in my field of view for a few seconds but it felt like hours. I can still see it in my head. I think what creeped me out the most was that they seemed to be drooping. Like are you dying? Are you sad? Why is your head too heavy for your body? Why are you so big? Are you a flower or a tree? And don’t get me started on the center. Omg. A video came up on the explorer page of my instagram one day of someone opening up the center of the sunflower, essentially breaking it in half to reveal the white fibers inside. Like ew. I’m sorry to be so descriptive. I really hope not to trigger people but sharing with people that understand is surprisingly therapeutic. Up until today I thought it was just me. I think I might generally have a fear of different sized holes clustered together, but that only explains why I hate the center part of the flower. It doesn’t explain why the drooping part makes me scream, cry and cringe. I also have a fear of large leaves. But nothing like my actual phobia for sunflowers.