I have always been a bit tactilely defensive, socks have to
feel just right and seams on clothing absolutely cannot be itchy… A good
majority of fits I pitched in my youth were related to things just not “feeling
right”. This leads me to my irrational but overwhelmingly strong fear… of foam.
Yes, foam. I can’t tell you with certainty what the root cause of this
“foamphobia” (as named by my family) is, but I can assure you this fear is
immensely real.
My foamphobia is the one major reason I no longer choose compete
in the sport of gymnastics. Even entering the same room as that giant looming pit
of disgustingly hellish foam is much too intimidating for me, let alone
practicing proper tumbling form into it. The foam pit drove me away from the
sport after six years of high-level competition, and needless to say it was a
bit of an embarrassing talk with some of my relatives who were wondering why I
was no longer participating. My coach had definitely seen it coming. The very
last tumbling practice I ever attended, he had been warned that I was in no way
willing to tumble into the foam pit, but he forced me to participate with the rest
of my team. Anxiety started building the very second I realized my fate was to
end up flipping into the disgusting pit, and the moment I hit that foam was
definitely the rock bottom point of no return for my ever-strengthening
foamphobia and I. Upon my landing, I felt my body become engulfed by those
hellish spongy blocks and was paralyzed by the feeling that I would never
escape the clutches of the horrid material. I promptly responded by throwing up
a good portion of my lunch.
I’m not even sure of exactly what about the material
frightens me, but do not bring even a miniscule piece of that spongy material
around me. The foam will set off an embarrassing fit of hysteria, and if I am
forced to touch it with a bare hand I am guaranteed to feel nauseous, uneasy,
and on the verge of tears (on a particularly good day).
I sincerely hope that one day I may be able to conquer my
irrational fear of foam, but until that day arrives, I would appreciate it if
you would refrain from bringing me near to any piece of it.
Zoe,
ReplyDeleteI must say I have never met another person who is afraid of foam, but it certainly seems real. I understand why you don't like those foam pits: I don't either. They are houses for germs just to live in, and its guarenteed that they use the foam from year to year, not ever changing it. This is kind of like the ball pits they used to have at McDonalds. I can see where you would feel like you were drowning in those pits. Hopefully one day you can conquer this fear.
Zoe,
ReplyDeleteYour story is very interesting and I have to say that this is the first time I have ever heard of something like this. I did gymnastics for a whole two years and quit because I was terrible, but I do remember the itchiness of the foam pit. It was always one of my least favorite things to encounter. I was always afraid that I wasn't going to be able to hoist myself out of the pit and that it would engulf me but I always managed to climb out. I avoided that pit at all costs and I am glad that you made it through this traumatic experience in one piece.