# Swedish woman fears fat people



## Scorsese86 (Jan 31, 2010)

http://www.vg.no/helse/artikkel.php?artid=591461

Sorry, the link is in Norwegian...

But basically the story is that this Swedish woman has a fear of fat people. In the video she says she won't go to McDonald's, because she knows there are fat people, and they are eating - and that's the worst she can imagine. She is given the chance to meet two overweight people, and has a anxiety attack when she sees them from a far... she can't stand the sight.

I found this story very, very, very strange! She claims she has "fatphobia". I mean, seriously?


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## Cors (Jan 31, 2010)

It sounds like a case of true phobia (you know it is irrational, but you can't control it anyway - there are some really unusual phobias out there so I am not surprised) compared to the usual "fat is contagious" fear some people apparently have. I feel sorry for her.


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## Edens_heel (Jan 31, 2010)

Yeah, I would say I feel sorry for her as well - this sounds entirely legit, and considering that there are phobias for damn near anything and everything, I'm not surprised. I highly doubt this is a fat-hate thing.

For me? Coulrophobia and hemophobia - Clowns and blood. Show me a bloody clown (in real life) and I might pass out... and I'm only kinda joking.


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## Candy_Coated_Clown (Jan 31, 2010)

Edens_heel said:


> Yeah, I would say I feel sorry for her as well - this sounds entirely legit, and considering that there are phobias for damn near anything and everything, I'm not surprised. I highly doubt this is a fat-hate thing.
> 
> For me? Coulrophobia and hemophobia - Clowns and blood. Show me a bloody clown (in real life) and I might pass out... and I'm only kinda joking.



Come now, surely you don't hate or fear all clowns?


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## Weirdo890 (Jan 31, 2010)

Scorsese86 said:


> http://www.vg.no/helse/artikkel.php?artid=591461
> 
> Sorry, the link is in Norwegian...
> 
> ...



Wow, that's some serious stuff. I didn't know it was actually possible for that to happen. Then again, the human mind is a very powerful thing and can cause incredible phobias and the like. Poor woman.  I wonder if there is anything that could be done to cure her of her phobia?


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## bigjayne66 (Jan 31, 2010)

I am the opposite,I have a fear of fat haters,can someone invent a name for that one ?


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## Weirdo890 (Feb 1, 2010)

bigjayne66 said:


> I am the opposite,I have a fear of fat haters,can someone invent a name for that one ?



Haterphobia? 

That's all I got.


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## superodalisque (Feb 1, 2010)

i feel sorry for her. fat phobia isnt all that rare. i had heard that quite a few people who are anorexic exhibit symptoms as well. its torturous for them when they are out. they kno its wrong but can't help themselves. i'm evil though. it still makes me want to jump out at them and say boo!


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## Edens_heel (Feb 1, 2010)

Candy_Coated_Clown said:


> Come now, surely you don't hate or fear all clowns?



All clowns who are not just clowns by name, lol.


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## Weirdo890 (Feb 1, 2010)

superodalisque said:


> i feel sorry for her. fat phobia isnt all that rare. i had heard that quite a few people who are anorexic exhibit symptoms as well. its torturous for them when they are out. they kno its wrong but can't help themselves. i'm evil though. it still makes me want to jump out at them and say boo!



You know I was thinking the same thing. I would be afraid though that the poor girl would have a stroke and I would be blamed for her death.


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## exile in thighville (Feb 1, 2010)

of course this is real. and fat people are rarer in that part of the world so it's abstract enough for her to have glimpsed enough to fear but not have ingrained as a part of her life. irrational fears are much sadder than irrational fetishes in my opinion.


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## Weirdo890 (Feb 1, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> of course this is real. and fat people are rarer in that part of the world so it's abstract enough for her to have glimpsed enough to fear but not have ingrained as a part of her life. irrational fears are much sadder than irrational fetishes in my opinion.



I've never been to Sweden, so I wouldn't know how they would react to a fat person such as myself. It is sad that there are such irrational fears out there, but the human mind is capable of many things.


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## liz (di-va) (Feb 1, 2010)

superodalisque said:


> fat phobia isnt all that rare. i had heard that quite a few people who are anorexic exhibit symptoms as well. its torturous for them when they are out. they kno its wrong but can't help themselves.


Yeah, I've experienced that/talked to people with anorexia about it. And you can feel it sometimes too! At least, I think so. That strong a fear is pretty palpable.


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## Cors (Feb 1, 2010)

Hmm, I am surprised by what some of you are saying about anorexics. I know many from inpatient programs and to be honest, most of them really couldn't care less about how much you weigh unless you look like you are thinner than them. In fact, many of the ones I know have a strange fascination with people who are much bigger and it is not uncommon for them to get jealous when they see a curvy, healthy, happy woman when they are trying to recover. Their phobia of fat and weight gain is only directed at themselves. Then again, the anorexics I know didn't start starving because they wanted to emulate some skinny celeb or needed to drop a couple of dress sizes for prom. I have met the occasional aspiring gymnast or ballerina, but most of the girls/women I know have far more complex issues that could have triggered their condition (eg. childhood abuse, sexual assaults) - nothing to do with "fat hate" at all. 

I won't be surprised if the whole "fat is contagious" and "I hate fat people because they can eat everything they want boohoo" thing is far more common among casual dieters or wannarexics.


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## BeaBea (Feb 1, 2010)

Weirdo890 said:


> I've never been to Sweden, so I wouldn't know how they would react to a fat person such as myself.



My experience of Sweden and Swedish people is that they were charming and incredibly polite. Obviously this can only be a personal experience and a mass generalisation, but I've worked there several times recently and I loved it.

Tracey xx


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## superodalisque (Feb 1, 2010)

liz (di-va) said:


> Yeah, I've experienced that/talked to people with anorexia about it. And you can feel it sometimes too! At least, I think so. That strong a fear is pretty palpable.



i had a student who used to practically break out in a sweat when i was around. i felt so bad for her. maybe it was my imagination but she always seemed to smell of vomit when i talked to her. sorry if that grosses anyone out. she looked anorexic to me and later admitted as much. she had such a hard time concentrating. i remember what really clued me in was that she had to do a self portrait and made herself look fat in it. so one day i called her aside and asked if she wanted to change classes since i felt she was uncomfortable. what i thought was really sweet was how she was suffering through just because she didn't want to insult me. she absolutely knew she was sick and the way she thought was wrong. eventually she made the change because it was just too hard for her. its much more difficult to avoid your instructor than another student.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 1, 2010)

I'd have to mess with her.......I can't help it........


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## MaryElizabethAntoinette (Feb 8, 2010)

Sillily enough... as a little child, I totally had a fear of fat people. 


... Luckily, my fear did a total 180, and now fat is much sexier than a lack thereof.


But that doesn't surprise me, because I hear that sometimes childhood fears turn into adult obsessions.


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## CurvaceousBBWLover (Feb 8, 2010)

The lady from Norway is a real clown! She needs help. LOL


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## The Orange Mage (Feb 8, 2010)

exile in thighville said:


> of course this is real. and fat people are rarer in that part of the world so it's abstract enough for her to have glimpsed enough to fear but not have ingrained as a part of her life. irrational fears are much sadder than irrational fetishes in my opinion.



oh god what happens if the fear and the fetish are one in the same


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## Melian (Feb 9, 2010)

Weirdo890 said:


> I wonder if there is anything that could be done to cure her of her phobia?



A lot of phobias (minus blood and medical-related ones) can often be cured in a small number of "flooding" sessions. I used to work with a psychiatrist who specialized in phobia treatment, and he used this constantly with amazing results. Basically, you force exposure to the feared item/person until the patient simply becomes conditioned not to fear it. It doesn't work with medical phobias because, unlike other fear responses, blood pressure tends to drop in those cases (and your subject passes out).


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## BeautifulPoeticDisaster (Feb 9, 2010)

BeaBea said:


> My experience of Sweden and Swedish people is that they were charming and incredibly polite. Obviously this can only be a personal experience and a mass generalisation, but I've worked there several times recently and I loved it.
> 
> Tracey xx



Tracy, it's you! I can't imagine anyone not liking you!!!


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## mergirl (Feb 9, 2010)

My swedish friend is the only female fa i know in real life. I don't think this has got much to do with sweden.They have their share of fat people, though not as many as the uk and usa, and it is more common in people when they are middle aged. I know a couple of fat swedish people too. Most phobias can be cured, usually by gradual exposure to the thing you fear... hmm.. i am wondering if they will hire a fat person to gradually walk closer and closer to them?! Though maby they should start with the Alfred hitchcock silluette (sp) and then move on to real fat people! lol. gah actually, phobias are no laughing matter, i'm sure this person feels like shit.


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## MisterGuy (Feb 9, 2010)

Tell her never to visit Mississippi. It would be like her own personal Nightmare on Elm Street


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## Scorsese86 (Feb 9, 2010)

CurvaceousBBWLover said:


> The lady from Norway is a real clown! She needs help. LOL



She is Swedish. It was from a Norwegian newspaper. Don't blame me, I am not Swedish - I am Norwegian.

And Norway isn't the capital city of Sweden, or whatever.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 9, 2010)

I'm now a fat woman that fears Swedish people after reading this thread.....:blush:


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## Mr.Eccentric (Feb 10, 2010)

Green Eyed Fairy said:


> I'm now a fat woman that fears Swedish people after reading this thread.....:blush:



Don't worry, us Swedes aren't that bad. Well, most of us aren't. Well, some of us aren't. Well, one or two of us aren't.


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## Ned Sonntag (Feb 10, 2010)

nor way, man


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## 99Haints (Feb 10, 2010)

I had to look it up.

Cacomorphobia-Fear of fat people

Pocrescophobia-Fear of weight gain


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## gangstadawg (Feb 10, 2010)

Cors said:


> It sounds like a case of true phobia (you know it is irrational, but you can't control it anyway - there are some really unusual phobias out there so I am not surprised) compared to the usual "fat is contagious" fear some people apparently have. I feel sorry for her.



i have heard of a few wierd ones as well. the weirdest ones are the people based fears. 2 of the weirdest ones i have heard of is a fear of children, and a fear of african americans (usually the phobia is towards black males but not in all cases) or some other race based phobia. alot of times phobias are tied to a traumatic event that happen in life. not sure how a true phobia of fat people could come about though.


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 10, 2010)

Mr.Eccentric said:


> Don't worry, us Swedes aren't that bad. Well, most of us aren't. Well, some of us aren't. Well, one or two of us aren't.



How much do you weigh?


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## Mr.Eccentric (Feb 11, 2010)

Green Eyed Fairy said:


> How much do you weigh?



About 90 kilograms, why?


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## CleverBomb (Feb 11, 2010)

I'm afraid of Swedish men in wetsuits chasing me down the street with fish spears while I am driving.

*Viking frogmen chase Street View spymobile
*
_Google enjoys a traditional Norwegian welcome_



> Last weekend saw the launch of Google's privacy-busting Street View in Norway, and it didn't take long for locals to spot a traditional Viking welcome for the Great Satan of Mountain View's spymobile on the streets of Bergen



-Rusty


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 11, 2010)

How much do those viking frogmen weigh?


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 11, 2010)

Mr.Eccentric said:


> About 90 kilograms, why?


Which part?


Post #17,000.........gawd, I need to get out more :doh:


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## CleverBomb (Feb 11, 2010)

Green Eyed Fairy said:


> How much do those viking frogmen weigh?


I don't know. I thought you'd be more interested in the size of their spears...

-Rusty
(You could google it...)


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Feb 11, 2010)

Googling is hard work.....


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## Misha (Apr 1, 2010)

Edens_heel said:


> Yeah, I would say I feel sorry for her as well - this sounds entirely legit, and considering that there are phobias for damn near anything and everything, I'm not surprised. I highly doubt this is a fat-hate thing.
> 
> For me? Coulrophobia and hemophobia - Clowns and blood. Show me a bloody clown (in real life) and I might pass out... and I'm only kinda joking.




Some people have clown fetishes and get off when their partner dresses like a clown, or better yet, has a job as a clown!!!


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## Green Eyed Fairy (Apr 2, 2010)

There are fake Swedes in our midst......


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## ChickletsBBW (Apr 3, 2010)

I certainly believe there is fat phobia. 

Sadly, my oldest brother has fat phobia to some point. He can hardly look at me.

I remember when I was younger and I guess not so big, he used to stare at my other brother that was a BHM (6'1, 559 lbs). I remember he used to look at him like he was a walking disease or something....

Well my brother had WLS and now my oldest brother looks at me like that now. It's so frustrating and he just doesn't understand and I imagine never will. I am not at all close with my oldest brother.. it's like we're not even related.. we never talk to each other and I only see him if he comes to visit our mother. 

I feel he only talks to me because he 'has' to. I remember when his gf gained probabaly about 30 lbs he had a COW and called my mom and told her he wasnt sure if he loved her and blah blah blah.. but she ended up losing the weight and now he loves her again blah blah blah... (asshole) yes, my bother is an ass and he's 45 yrs old and has a form of fat phobia.


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