Scared of brain eating amoeba.... [Archive]

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Gambit1

21-01-18, 04:46

axolotl

21-01-18, 11:02

With respect, that's a ludicrous thought your anxiety's popped in there.

Carys

21-01-18, 11:31

Sorry, a brain eating amoeba? I'm not even going to look that one up. Just NO, no no no. I have no idea what strange thing you've read, but you do know right that there isn't a hole directly from your nose into your brain? Just no, on so many levels. This is TAP water you are referring to...TAP water...not water from a filthy Amazon puddle. Cast this thought aside for what it is, random and extreme anxiety.

wilky44

21-01-18, 11:35

You realise we drink tap water don't you?

What relevance is the water being cold too? Do brain eating ameobas only like it hot?

Carys

21-01-18, 11:40

Good point LOL ! I mean that water that went up your nose, already goes to the back of your nose when you drink.

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 17:10

I am sorry, very sorry, please forgive me....I know it is wrong to laugh about things posting here but...well, I can help it. I just had to laugh of what you wrote. Brain eating bug; no amoba it was, attacking you because you got TAP WATER IN YOUR NOSE?
Come on, i mean.....COME ON:lac::lac::lac::lac:

Save your worries to you really need them. There are no such things as "brain eating amobas". I must say that health anxiety really makes some people quite creative and thinking up crazy scenarios. Sounds like an idea for a horror movie.

---------- Post added at 18:10 ---------- Previous post was at 18:08 ----------

You realise we drink tap water don't you?

What relevance is the water being cold too? Do brain eating ameobas only like it hot?

:roflmao:

Fishmanpa

22-01-18, 17:41

I am sorry, very sorry, please forgive me....I know it is wrong to laugh about things posting here but...well, I can help it. I just had to laugh of what you wrote. Brain eating bug; no amoba it was, attacking you because you got TAP WATER IN YOUR NOSE?
Come on, i mean.....COME ON:lac::lac::lac::lac:

Save your worries to you really need them. There are no such things as "brain eating amobas". I must say that health anxiety really makes some people quite creative and thinking up crazy scenarios. Sounds like an idea for a horror movie.

Is it any less ridiculous than a rabies thread? How about a pancreatic cancer fear in light of scientic medical evidence to the contrary? :shades: There actually is an amoeba that exists in warm waters that can infect humans. There have been several threads here about it. There have been less than 150 cases since 1962 (CDC). So while it's fantastical in nature, it's all relative.

Positive thoughts

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 17:44

Is it any less ridiculous than a rabies thread? How about a pancreatic cancer fear in light of scientic medical evidence to the contrary? :shades: There actually is an amoeba that exists in warm waters that can infect humans. There have been several threads here about it. There have been less than 150 cases since 1962 (CDC). So while it's fantastical in nature, it's all relative.

Positive thoughts

150 cases among.....uhm....7 billion people. Or more if you count people who have lieved in this earth and passed away since 1962.

I can ufortunately not compare it with cancer fear because cancer is real. Yes, relatively rare my age the cancer that I fear, but far from non-existing. It killed Bill Hicks that was younger than me and Steve Jobs and numerous others. How many famous people died of the brain eating amoeba?

Carys

22-01-18, 17:51

yeah...but statistics have little to do with HA do they. I mean, years and years ago I put some Christmas lights outside and stuck tape to the lead roofing material. Following that I was convinced of lead poisoning for a day or so. People don't die of lead poisoning, well, you can by swallowing and breathing....but then I thought maybe I had breathed it in...and so it goes on....

It s not rational is it, and frequency of these things occuring for many people isn't something they are processing, thats the point thats why it is out of control HA.

Fishmanpa

22-01-18, 17:57

150 cases among.....uhm....7 billion people. Or more if you count people who have lieved in this earth and passed away since 1962.

I can ufortunately not compare it with cancer fear because cancer is real. Yes, relatively rare my age the cancer that I fear, but far from non-existing. It killed Bill Hicks that was younger than me and Steve Jobs and numerous others. How many famous people died of the brain eating amoeba?

You actually 100% affirmed my point.To YOU, your fear is more valid. To the OP, regardless of odds, it's valid as are the rabies threads and every other thread here. That's HA. To me, who reads all this, 99% of it is totally irrational!

Positive thoughts

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 18:09

I am more realistic in my fear, although I know I should be more positive. But it is a fact that it is far from unlikely to get cancer, every family has someone who have/had cancer. No one has a family member with BEA. The chances of getting cancer and even the worst of cancer is very real. That is why much more people fear that than so,me sub-obscure virtually no existing amoba.

And real issues happens to people in here. I remember a poster here who feared something and it turned out he had a malign liver disease.

Carys

22-01-18, 18:21

I repeat, Just because it is something that is more likely, statistically, doesn't mean it is more (or less) valid to have a HA issue about it. Neither cancer or rabies or water borne amoebas are likely and are irrational based on the symptoms people have. I also don't think its very kind to laugh at someone either, about something which they have said 'I know this sounds daft'.

All the strange and wondrous fears need the same psychological treatment in HA terms.

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 18:40

And I maintain that it is a difference from fearing something that kills millions(cancer)that fearing some bug that apparently kills....what? One? Or two people among billions?

Fishmanpa

22-01-18, 18:48

And I maintain that it is a difference from fearing something that kills millions(cancer)that fearing some bug that apparently kills....what? One? Or two people among billions?

It's that reasoning that your dragon is alive and doing rather well :lac: Cancer is a leading cause of death but why pancreatic cancer when it's not even in the top ten cancers? Why not heart disease (#1) or accidents or ?????

Ok... I'm out!

Positive thoughts

Carys

22-01-18, 19:02

So, basically, you are saying your HA is less amusing than that of the OP. The OP is being ridiculous, whereas you aren't because more people get cancer. OKaaayyyyyyyy Ultimately, both are the same, irrational. Period. I don't know why you would argue your HA is more logical ?

axolotl

22-01-18, 19:15

I did call this fear ludicrous, which was a poor and lazy choice of words, but I was careful to blame the anxiety for the ludicrousness, not the OP, in an attempt to jolt some logic.

Fearing anything you have no reason to is, essentially, ludicrous. My own fears have certainly been. I've always maintained if I posted without filter like some posters here my posts would be just as silly and irrational to those outside the spiral.

Getting obsessed over something you will probably never have doesn't matter if it's 100/1, 1000/1 or 1000000/1 odds. Try not to play "my irrational fear is greater than your irrational fear".

Carys

22-01-18, 19:17

:yesyes::yesyes::yesyes:

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 19:25

It's that reasoning that your dragon is alive and doing rather well :lac: Cancer is a leading cause of death but why pancreatic cancer when it's not even in the top ten cancers? Why not heart disease (#1) or accidents or ?????

Ok... I'm out!

Positive thoughts

Well, it is the fourth leading when it comes to cancer deaths. Because medical progress are saving more lifes of all other cancer types, while PC treamtment has hardly made any progress the last 40 years.

axolotl

22-01-18, 19:48

Well, it is the fourth leading when it comes to cancer deaths. Because medical progress are saving more lifes of all other cancer types, while PC treamtment has hardly made any progress the last 40 years.

Viking, stop trying to persuade us (and yourself) your irrational pancreatic cancer obsession is in any way rational. It's not.

If I wandered around concerned I was going to get something super-common like (say) eczema it would be just as totally irrational if I didn't have a single symptom of eczema.

---------- Post added at 19:48 ---------- Previous post was at 19:29 ----------

Or put it another way, if I was scared to leave the house because I was convinced I'd be instantly mauled to death by a dog, would I be in a place to mock some one who was scared to leave the house because they were convinced they'd be instantly mauled to death by a bear?

paranoid-viking

22-01-18, 20:03

Carys

22-01-18, 21:25

I would like to point out that this OP is from the states, where this 'brain eating amoeba' thing originates, therefore maybe just maybe hearing frightening stories (albeit a rare condition and certainly not related to tap water) has resulted in their fear. Yeah....sorry....but I HAD to look it up :winks: Its not a scientific impossibility like some other examples you mention.

glassgirlw

23-01-18, 01:14

I know this might sound stupid, but I am super scared
I was washing my face with tap water, and some of it got in my nose, I read somewhere that you can also get the amoeba from tap water so I dont know.
The water looked clean to me. Also I should add that the water was cold

So back to the OP’s original topic - what part of the states do you live in, Gambit? Quite honestly it’s been so cold lately across such a broad portion of the states, I highly doubt any amoeba are still living. If they are, it won’t be in your tap water, which is typically treated many times over to be safe for human consumption. Take a deep breath and relax. You’re safe :)

MyNameIsTerry

23-01-18, 02:37

OK, I give up as it has become off topic. I end by saying I am not fearing something science believe is impossible, like getting HIV from doorknoobs and such; a fear which I still see is still alive and well on some posters here even though it was proven in the 1980s to be impossible.

This is a good example of stigma within the anxiety community - my fear is more credible than yours. It's not, you fear an invisible bat. You fear getting cancer not that you have it. That's more credible but not that you do have it.

None of my anxiety is about HA. But based on what you have said here you would view many of my anxiety themes as beneath yours. What message does that send?

I agree with axolotl, this is just negative thinking making your fear important to your subconscious. You look to validate it's worthiness.

So, compare the likelihood of you getting pancreatic cancer to being killed in a car crash. By that comparison shouldn't you be more terrified of a car crash yet I'm yet to see you mention it. Why is that?

Probabilities are important in challenging fears but don't lose sight of what irrationality actually is. None of my fear about work would have killed me but it's still fear and causes anxiety.

It's about the fear. Someone can be terrified of spoons to the same level as you are of cancer. Someone with cancer can be les terrified as the fear isn't as strong.

You have to also remember that this stigma within a community is experienced outside of it too and that tends to upset anxiety sufferers. "Pull yourself together, it's just a lump". So, what would someone like that say to you about your fears? We have to learn to be open minded about what fear is otherwise we aren't that far from those people. :winks:

Carys

23-01-18, 10:01

OOOOooooo, great great post above! A thought provoking and erudite reponse, which I entirely agree with (but couldn't have written myself :roflmao:)

AnxietySufferer

23-01-18, 14:31

the fact that it came from the tap makes this highly unlikely. Tap water is actually the cleanest source of water (cleaner than bottled water).

Carys

26-01-18, 07:50

Well, Gambit didn't return to read or respond anyway....so there we go...:roflmao:

paranoid-viking

26-01-18, 20:34

This is a good example of stigma within the anxiety community - my fear is more credible than yours. It's not, you fear an invisible bat. You fear getting cancer not that you have it. That's more credible but not that you do have it.
:

Disagree. I have had rabies fear myself and looking back on it I can conclude with nothing more than that such fear is beyond riddicilous and pathetic. Yes; I have been there and can not believe what stupiodity I allowed for myself to control my life and disable my life quality for a whole year. I am not angry at those who riddiculed my fear back then; to the contrary I AM GRATEFUL THEY DID! Because it helped my healing process and allowed me to look at myself seeing how utterly riddicilous and PATHETIC that fear was.

Carys

26-01-18, 21:18

Well, great that it worked for you, I genuinely mean that....but ridicule and being told you are pathetic fortunately isn't a standard therapy technique.

paranoid-viking

26-01-18, 21:23

Well, great that it worked for you, I genuinely mean that....but ridicule and being told you are pathetic fortunately isn't a standard therapy technique.

Well, it made me see what I was actually doing. It is acalled self awareness.

MyNameIsTerry

26-01-18, 22:23

Disagree. I have had rabies fear myself and looking back on it I can conclude with nothing more than that such fear is beyond riddicilous and pathetic. Yes; I have been there and can not believe what stupiodity I allowed for myself to control my life and disable my life quality for a whole year. I am not angry at those who riddiculed my fear back then; to the contrary I AM GRATEFUL THEY DID! Because it helped my healing process and allowed me to look at myself seeing how utterly riddicilous and PATHETIC that fear was.

You missed my point.

What of the rest? Why is your fear of cancer more real than my fears?

golddustgirl1000

28-01-18, 01:51

MyNameIsTerry

28-01-18, 05:17

I understand the pain.. I'm dealing with this right now...

The thing is, I use a neti-pot which does put me at risk for this.. all these people can laugh but it is a real thing, I do however use distilled water... my HA fear is... what happens if that one bottle they messed up on... or what happens if one morning I'm so tired I take the wrong water..

All that being said.. water has to be forced up your nose... so I do not recommend using tap water, as we know that yes these can be in there.. but if you use distilled your fine.. just washing your face isn't going to do anything.. it has to be forced water ( such as neti-pot) jumping in, etc...

What if that one pot they didn't purify by their own safety & quality standards? Well, you have no real proof that they did or that they didn't but you do have a safety standard in place to protect customers. They will be using the same procedures for each batch so one bottle would be more likely a batch or multiple batches and may quite possibly be picked up in quality testing they that do.

This is where you have to apply acceptance that this is where anxiety gets a foothold through doubting these tiny possibilities. It's the same as saying what if one box of a food slips through with some bacteria in resulting in food poisoning. How likely do you think that would be?