Does anyone know anyone whos been cured of thunder phobia

[D&K]

hi im not sure if this has been posted before i could not see a topic on it.
im scared of thunder and i was if anyone knows or if there is anyone out there who has been cured of having this phobia so i know where to get help and im getting tired of it. ive tryed psychologist who plays tapes to you and stuff but i like watching storms on tv so that does not help.

so if uve got a story let us know thanks.

[Vixxy]

Hi, Ive not met anyone with that fear or gotten over it. However CBT is usually pretty successful at getting people past their phobias. Ask for GP for a referral.

[sb001f8994]

Hi,
As a child I had a terrible fear of thunder and lightening. Once it was so bad we were out shopping and I had to keep my mum in the chemists till it passed, we were there for hours! They managed to coax me out of the shop and into the car which was right outside when the thunder was only rumbling...it was horrendous! It didnt ease till I got older and was affraid to show my fear to my friends so pretended to be brave when all along I was a quivering wreck inside. When I had my kids I couldnt let them see I was scared as I didnt want to put my fears on them and now, although Im still frightened I try my best not to show it. When we have a storm in the night my hubby holds my hand and the poor dog who is as scared as me jumps on the bed and hides his head. Im still scared but not like I was as a child and I dont think it will ever go away, I just deal with it the best I can.
Take care,

[D&K]

ill try not to show my daughter that im scared of it. i remember when i was little i was not scared of it but my mum was. i used to see her scared in the kitchen and i guess this kind of made me scared too. also there was a bad storm when i was primary 6 and i was pritty scared and then from then on i think i got worse. its a bit of a pain as it stops me from going out or going on holiday.

[loveletter]

Have had this fear since I was little.

It is the lightening that I am scared of as I am convinced I am the one that will get struck.

As it has been hot of late I am really getting worried that soon we will have a storm.
Last year I panicked real bad at home in a storm and had to sit on the stairs crying and praying till it was over.

My eldest son who is 28 loves it and he studies the weather and had radar over our house and he makes me worse as he tells me when it will be over the house.
I sit glued to weather forecasts if there is talk of a storm and no way would I dare go out if there was talk of a storm.

It is much worse for me now my husband had died and I feel I have to some how deal with this alone as no one really understands just how bad my fear is with this.

I have told my cb therapist he said it is just another of my fears as I have been diagnosed as fearing normal things and turning them into life threatening situations in my mind

[D&K]

you can watch the radar on the meto.gov.uk site instead of watching weather forcasts but yeah i do the same i watch them on the internet. u can also listen to headphones like i do put on a cd and that should calm you down or an mp3 player so you can walk about and not hear it i take mine everywhere with me just in case.
i know how you feel when no one understands its only my mum who does everything thinks theres nothing to be scared of its only thunder. they dont have to live everyday watching weather forcasts and being depressed because you cant do what you wanna do.

[butterfly00]

I had a huge fear of thunder lightening, and heavy rain. i became so obsessed with watching the weather channel and the actual sky that I would not go out if I saw a dark looking cloud. I was terrified of being stuck at home in a storm and the power would do out so there would be no distration from the thunder and lightening.
BUt I have gotten over it completely, I still dont like the light flash of lightening but it doesn't fill me with dread or panic, and I actually like the rain now.
I used exposure techniques, CBT to move past it. It took one winter of listening to the storm, then opening the window a little , then standing in the open door way, then standing outside for a while, etc etc untill I could handle a good storm in any situation. I went from being so upset when there was weather update on the news to watching tornado chasers on tv, and now I think I would quite like to go do that in America.
So it is totally something you can get over, It was a huge part ofmy life for awhile and now its insignificant.
Get a Behaviour therapist or buy a really good bahviour therapy book and starting working on it

good luck

[D&K]

to loveletter i forgot to say if u get a mp3 player u can get the inear headphones for if ure out of the home you can get good ones that cancel out any outside noise but they are around £30 for a good pair sony make them. i prefer to use the over ear one that go over your ears for in the house as they can go louder! remember to get energizer rechargeable batteries as these have more power and can last up to 8 hours. i usally have 4 of these in my pocket lol incase the power goes out or if one dies.
but also remember if u have the headphones on try and do something with ure hands like play the playstation or do some cleaning and that will take your mind of things.

it thundered last night i seen the lightning so i knew it was coming i waited for it. i sat it out without the headphones its kind of a rush but i tryed to calm myself. ive been trying like you said butterfly to watch it at the window and have the window open to hear it im gettin better slowly but i still would not go out yet.

[PanchoGoz]

I'm just interested, are you not scared of lightening at all then? Just thunder?

[D&K]

no i like lightening. i used to be scared of fireworks when i was younger too.

[PanchoGoz]

How strange..
It must be a bit like fearing the terrible barking and growling of a dog, but enjoying stroking and petting it. Thats a normal fear, so this must be normal too.
I don't know if you could try turning the sound of thunder into something comforting or amusing like "angels bowling" or "God farting" rather than death/fear/end of world stuff...

[D&K]

lol i usally get more scared of the storm aproching than when it happens its just waiting for it to happen that scares me more.

[sedalia]

I too have a lightning phobia (one of my many increasing numbers of phobias!). I am terrified of being struck by lightning, or my house being struck. I am intrigued as to how you get over this phoba because, unlike other phobias, nobody can tell you that lightning can't hurt you. It's the sense of helplessness, having no control over the storm and just having to sit there and wait to see if the lightning hits you or not. And from the first rumble of thunder, or flash of lightning, you know that for the next hour or so you're going to be experiencing absolute terror. Nothing reassures me, no matter how many people tell me how low the odds of being struck are. I can't relax for the whole of the summer months (apart from hating the heat anyway). It's an awful way to live.

[loveletter]

I am now worried sick. We are due to have very bad storms here on Sunday trying not to watch weather channels but can not help it.

Dreading Sunday now hope to God it is not in the night as will be even worse.

My 22 year old son is real worried as well after a few years ago in our house we see a lightening bolt hit the garden.

Thunder does not worry me as it can not hurt you it is the lightening I worry about and we live in the country side now so will be even worse.

Unsure how I will cope with Sunday dreading it.

The last storm I sat on the stairs reading the bible and praying for peace over this fear.

I would say roll on winter but last winter for the first time I had real bad panics over the snow thinking I was going to suffocate

[sassy]

half of me's kinda relieved im not alone so thank you for this thread..i could hug you.
Im a single mum of 5 which i think makes me feel worse when a storms coming as if anything happened-would i get us all out? I do the weather watch all the time-hate the heat-cant breathe during a storm and sadly and wrongly my kids know how i am as its so severe. Terrified is an understatement :( so yes..storm due tomorrow night and im petrified already..

[loveletter]

My son has looked on the radar and just told me that there is a bad storm 10 miles away.

Was so looking forward to watching the final of Britains got talent now I am shaking and fell real bad think they could be on and off all night

[D&K]

yeah i hate the summer months i cant relax we had some torrential downpours here in scotland this sat night and yeah theres some bad ones down south ive had the mp3 player on all day and feel drained roll on monday i say lol.

to loveletter - did u get ureself an mp3 player yet or some headphones then u can plug em into ure tv.

to sedalia - unless u go outside theres not much chance of getting hit some homes get hit sometimes but not often they should have lightning conductors on them.
remember it usallly goes for the highest thing on the ground usallly a tree.

to loveletter - check this site out. http://www.meteox.com/h.aspx?r=&jaar=-3&soort=satradar

it might help a bit to track the storm. roll on winter and the snow.

[loveletter]

Hi nothing too bad happened here last night. There was a lot of lightening but my son said it was a good 10 miles away.

Have not tried the head phones as I am not really scared of the thunder it is the lightening.

My eldest son studies the weather so I have links to every radar map ect ect but think it makes things a bit worse to look at things like this so try not too.

Last winter for the first time I had very bad panic attacks about the snow.
We did have a lot of snow and a total white out here and I got really worried and a silly idea in my head that the snow would be on all the windows and doors and suffocate us.

[VicCharlie]

How have you all coped today? I've been dreading today since friday lol. Im so pleased I came across this thread and site! I'm really sick of my fear of thunderstorms.. i've tried CBT and Fearfighters, got stacks of self help books. I know im nearly there getting over it but i just cant get over that last little bit of fear.. guess its just a case of keep on trying ?

How do you cope with work and having this fear? ive missed a few shifts because of it now.. convinced im going to get sacked..

Vic

[Caz 47]

Hi everyone im so glad im not alone on this one i have been frightened of thunderstorms since i was seven years old when i saw a house struck and living with this fear has been horrible i track storms coming our way i keep going to the weather on the computer to see what is going to happen then i live in total fear till it arrives .. nightime is the worst when you cant see the clouds and if it is moving away ... it rumbled last night which put me on high alert i had no sleep just waiting for it to happen it didnt ...i listen to very loud music on my headphones when it arrives but im so scared its like a huge panic attack taking place my heart thumps i sweat i panic and i feel like a trapped rat in a hole that cant get out ....

I have known the time i have raced down to my local supermarket when i was on my own to be near other people and feel safe in a huge building with no windows ..

I know how everyone feels i even downloaded a real thunderstorm on itunes so i could listen to it i wondered if that would help but im afraid it didnt ..

Its not as if you can get on the computer when it is here cause everything electrical goes off ...so it is a case of feeling very very alone ... Caz..:scared15:

[D&K]

How have you all coped today? I've been dreading today since friday lol. Im so pleased I came across this thread and site! I'm really sick of my fear of thunderstorms.. i've tried CBT and Fearfighters, got stacks of self help books. I know im nearly there getting over it but i just cant get over that last little bit of fear.. guess its just a case of keep on trying ?

How do you cope with work and having this fear? ive missed a few shifts because of it now.. convinced im going to get sacked..

Vic

i know how u feel m8 its hard for me to get a job far away as i dont drive and have to get public transport and my phobia stops me from doing this and ive missed appointments this week because of the weather, when u tell someone whats wrong i dont know if they think im talkin bull or what.

[D&K]

Hi everyone im so glad im not alone on this one i have been frightened of thunderstorms since i was seven years old when i saw a house struck and living with this fear has been horrible i track storms coming our way i keep going to the weather on the computer to see what is going to happen then i live in total fear till it arrives .. nightime is the worst when you cant see the clouds and if it is moving away ... it rumbled last night which put me on high alert i had no sleep just waiting for it to happen it didnt ...i listen to very loud music on my headphones when it arrives but im so scared its like a huge panic attack taking place my heart thumps i sweat i panic and i feel like a trapped rat in a hole that cant get out ....

I have known the time i have raced down to my local supermarket when i was on my own to be near other people and feel safe in a huge building with no windows ..

I know how everyone feels i even downloaded a real thunderstorm on itunes so i could listen to it i wondered if that would help but im afraid it didnt ..

Its not as if you can get on the computer when it is here cause everything electrical goes off ...so it is a case of feeling very very alone ... Caz..:scared15:

thats why i have mp3 player in case the electric goes out and it makes my music moblie so i can try and do other things to take my mind of it. you say u cant get to sleep but try and relax on the bed with some soothing music on ure mp3 player instead of something really thumping . it might calm you down a bit more if u listen to something more relaxing and close your eyes and pretend your else where. i was doing this the other night and trying to control my breathing i had a couple of vodkas which helped lol. i have lots of samples of storms and rain if anyone needs them as i have them for producing music. but yeah they dont help your phobia much as there not real but it could get u used to hearing the noise.

do u have a partner caz? if u do he could lye on the bed with you and hug you while u have ure headphones on and maybe he could open the blinds and maybe window and maybe if u want try and watch it. i used to sit in my room with a blanket up at the window many years ago but now im with my partner i try to watch it at the window im not as bad as i was then but getting better slowly.

[loveletter]

Had a horrible afternoon and early evening yesterday.

From about half 4 to half 7 it lightened on and off.

Sat in the front room with 2 of my boys with the telly off and of course too scared to put lap top on as I am unsure how safe it is to go on a lap top in a storm.

Ended up feeling real sick and did not really eat much as felt my throat was closing up a bit.


Now I am sitting here all day worried out of my mind, have bible study at some ones house tonight but have seen on the weather forecast could be storms here early evening so think I will be too scared to go out even though it is only up the road and someone is picking me up in a car.
Even if it did not look to bad when it was time to go out what would I do if it got bad while I was out as would not be able to leave the persons house and come home.


My biggest worry is tomorrow. I am not normally on my own in the house very often but Tuesday is the day I some times have to do a few hours on my own and now I am reading storms for this area for tomorrow.
Fell like crying to my sons begging them not to go out but I can not do this.

I am out of mind with worry about how I will cope tomorrow.

I keep begging God to please not let the storm come here while I am alone as I really see my self ending up dyeing all on my own

[D&K]

ive missed appointments now with my phobia and now this a4e agency dont want me to go on a work training course they want me to go to see my doctor again and try and get signed off jobseekers so i dont have to go on these training courses in case it thunders and also get signed off from looking for work. great stuff.