Phobia

Last weekend I went to King's Dominion for a few hours. The weather turned out to be cold, and my husband and I weren't really up for riding roller coasters, but we did make it to a few of the attractions. The last thing we did was ride to the top of the “Eiffel Tower,” a replica of the original at one third the height of the actual monument in Paris.

Now... my greatest phobia is a fear of heights. Even completely caged at the top, I shuddered a little bit looking down. I can't help imagining something catastrophic happening to make me tumble all the way to the ground.

One of the other rides at KD is the “Xtreme SkyFlyer,” basically a bungee jump, and while I was at the top of the “Eiffel Tower” I watched as a man was pulled up more than 100 feet and then released. And as he swung down I felt my own stomach drop to my knees.

I have such a strong physical reaction even to the idea of falling. I get a little dizzy just watching other people experience an extreme height. So this video makes me sway a bit every time I see it:

Pretty insane, right? I mean, really... free climbing? How crazy is that?

And yet I keep coming back it. I keep feeding that phobia. Because I don't feel only fear—I feel fascination too.

Is there anything like that for you? A phobia that you can't stay away from? Why do you think that is?