Panic attacks/hysterics/screaming heeby jeebies

How did they get in? Did you leave your kitchen window open?

It's because pigeons are bloody sinister, that's why. Bleeeeerugh, I hate them.

Have you tried spikes outside to deter roosting. Worked for us in Brighton, though they did perch right at the very top of the building and drop twigs and small stones on us. I kid you not. Bastards.

I was similar, when I came downstairs early one morning to see a horrible, beady eyed bird flapping about the kitchen above the window ledge. It hadn't crapped everywhere but a vase was broken. The more I tried to "shoo" it, it dive bombed me, and I started hyper ventilating and crying. H had to intervene.

You poor thing! I would have had an absolute breakdown as well. I have always had to have a medicinal glass of wine if I've ever encountered a mouse in our kitchen ?

What is it with nature's creatures shitting around your flat?

Oh you poor thing, I hate birds, had a one legged sea gull attack me on my own doorstep the other summer.

think I peed my pants at that.

I understand exactly where you are coming from.?

Shaky laugh at "intervene". Did he get the peelers in? ?

The kitchen window was open about 4 inches at the top. ie enough for the bastards to get in but not enough for them to get out ? I HATE closed windows.

Oh my gosh.

Maybe you do have a phobia. I mean, its obviously a massive shock to find a couple of yuky dirty birds have decided to make themselves at home(sounds just horrible!)but its obviously done more than shake you up.

I don't blame you for hiding. Glad LOML sorted out out, not surprised you need a GnT.

quote:Originally posted by SophieM
with much "Oh, poor little scared bird, there there" and then I was able to emerge from the bathroom and collapse on his shoulder in tears.

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was that to get the bird out of the house...or you out of the bathroom? ?

i'd've freaked too. i haaaaaaate birds (in fact anything that flaps around including moths and butterflies. [:I] pigeons are especially scary as they have those sinister little eyes. and are minging filty flying rats. ?

i'm ok with 'piders though ?

Oh no, poor Sophie!?

I blame Daphne De Maurier.[V]

But really, pigeons are like rats on legs, worse in fact, I quite like rats, and pigeons are just ick.

When I was wee, we had an invasion of baby bluetits as they flew the nest - one got stuck in my mum's petticoat on the washing line and got taken in by accident and another flew through behind the fridge.

But they were cute. Not at all pigeonish.☹️!]

quote:Originally posted by SophieM
Shaky laugh at "intervene". Did he get the peelers in? ?

The kitchen window was open about 4 inches at the top. ie enough for the bastards to get in but not enough for them to get out ? I HATE closed windows.

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ahhh.. I've had that before. Birds get incredibly paniky when they reslise they can't get out- i bet they were really riled up by the time you got home. <shudder>

Eek. How horrid. Bad enough that they had to poo in your house but was it really necessary for them to break glasses? Vandals.

quote:Originally posted by SophieM
Shaky laugh at "intervene". Did he get the peelers in? ?

The kitchen window was open about 4 inches at the top. ie enough for the bastards to get in but not enough for them to get out ? I HATE closed windows.

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No, he was all manly and practical and opened the window and kinda "swatted" it out! Even he reeled when he first came down to see what the commotion was-'twas like Hitchcock's "The Birds" ?

God sophie, that made me feel sick too. Brought back gorrible memories of the bat in our living room when I was pregnant and hormonal.


Glad you're ok now. Have another G&T.

quote:Originally posted by Rache
Brought back gorrible memories of the bat in our living room when I was pregnant and hormonal.

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<shudders at the very thought>

(of the bat not you being pregnant ?)

quote:Originally posted by lauraloo

What is it with nature's creatures shitting around your flat?

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waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh ?

How scary and horrible, phobia or not. ? I too have had the 'death grip' panic of a phobia that just came out of the blue (very embarrassingly, it came out of nowhere and culminated in me lying down on the ground in the middle of a crowded carpark in front of lots of people, including my sister's new-ish boyfriend at that time. The shame.) As well as scared, you feel silly and bewildered by it- although at least the circumstances of your fright is something that's actually spooky, as opposed to something totally stupid.

Glad you're feeling a little better- are you under an unusual amount of stress or experiencing any anxiety just now? <come recline on my sofa> ?

SophieM - YHM

Lauraloo, that's an excellent point ?

Rache - I had a bat in my flat in Johannesburg once. The bf and I both freaked out totally, but not as much as the cat ? Fortinately they're quite good as getting out of trouble, unlike thick bloody pigeons.

I think they mush have been in here most of the day <shudder>. I'm now feeling horrid about possible baby pigeons left starving all day without mum and dad ?

quote:Originally posted by LouM
How scary and horrible, phobia or not. ? I too have had the 'death grip' panic of a phobia that just came out of the blue (very embarrassingly, it came out of nowhere and culminated in me lying down on the ground in the middle of a crowded carpark in front of lots of people, including my sister's new-ish boyfriend at that time. The shame.) As well as scared, you feel silly and bewildered by it- although at least the circumstances of your fright is something that's actually spooky, as opposed to something totally stupid.

Glad you're feeling a little better- are you under an unusual amount of stress or experiencing any anxiety just now? <come recline on my sofa> ?

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Oh god, poor Lou, what was that or don't you want to say?

I've had a pretty tense and crap day at work and have also been off the sauce (in fact I think loml may have thought, when he couldn't find the pigeon as it was hiding behind the monitor) that I was hallucinating from the DTs ?

It's so ludicrous you WILL laugh. It was the forth rail bridge. i'd always thought it looked a bit spooky, but one day we went on a day trip to deep sea world in queensferry, which is RIGHT NEXT TO IT ( as in you could reach out and touch it, practically). I froze and couldn't get out the car. Then when I did, I had to put the road map over my head. Then I had a caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and did the carpark lie down protest. ?? Oh God, i feel sick just thinking about it still. I turned down a wedding invitation last year because the venue was closeby and had views of the bridge, any time we go to fife now (which is quite often, with the dogs) we take the kincardine bridge, and I have to be really careful if I'm driving in an area of edinburgh that I'm not too familiar with. ?

I hadn't been off teh sauce, but I was under some terrible work pressure at the time and dealing with a difficult family situation. The DTs. ? Oh God, what a mercy you're back on the gin now darling. ?

quote:Originally posted by Shortie
SophieM - YHM

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I've replied ?

I watched The Birds on Saturday afternoon

I wish I hadn't now ?

Didn't help when the cat brought in a goldfinch half way through and it started flapping round the living room until I managed to catch it and release it back in to the wild

I was waiting for it to return with its mates and take a bloody and horrible revenge

quote:Originally posted by LouM
It's so ludicrous you WILL laugh. It was the forth rail bridge. i'd always thought it looked a bit spooky, but one day we went on a day trip to deep sea world in queensferry, which is RIGHT NEXT TO IT ( as in you could reach out and touch it, practically). I froze and couldn't get out the car. Then when I did, I had to put the road map over my head. Then I had a caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and did the carpark lie down protest. ?? Oh God, i feel sick just thinking about it still. I turned down a wedding invitation last year because the venue was closeby and had views of the bridge, any time we go to fife now (which is quite often, with the dogs) we take the kincardine bridge, and I have to be really careful if I'm driving in an area of edinburgh that I'm not too familiar with. ?

I hadn't been off teh sauce, but I was under some terrible work pressure at the time and dealing with a difficult family situation. The DTs. ? Oh God, what a mercy you're back on the gin now darling. ?

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Oh my god, you poor love. Is it the height? Or the idea of interminably painting? See, you should move to London. ?

quote:Originally posted by LouM
It's so ludicrous you WILL laugh. It was the forth rail bridge. i'd always thought it looked a bit spooky, but one day we went on a day trip to deep sea world in queensferry, which is RIGHT NEXT TO IT ( as in you could reach out and touch it, practically). I froze and couldn't get out the car. Then when I did, I had to put the road map over my head. Then I had a caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and did the carpark lie down protest. ?? Oh God, i feel sick just thinking about it still. I turned down a wedding invitation last year because the venue was closeby and had views of the bridge, any time we go to fife now (which is quite often, with the dogs) we take the kincardine bridge, and I have to be really careful if I'm driving in an area of edinburgh that I'm not too familiar with. ?

I hadn't been off teh sauce, but I was under some terrible work pressure at the time and dealing with a difficult family situation. The DTs. ? Oh God, what a mercy you're back on the gin now darling. ?

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How horrid, and isn't it odd how stress manifests.?

I confess I've always quite liked that architectural monstrosity.[:I]

Oh poor you Soph - that sounds hideous ?

(and Lou too ?)

Oh Lou, that just sounds horrific.?

I remember years and years ago, when mrH and I first started living together, we lived on the top floor of a victorian house divided into flats. I was coming home and, from the street, noticed the sitting room light was on- unusual as mrH got home after me, but being newly living in sin I was very excited to see him.

When I got into the house I have to go up two flights of stairs (you know the ones you get in flats, where you can't see the floor above you until you are actually on it?)

well, I realised, as I got onto our floor (I was already inside the flat and had closed the door) that there were no lights on in the house, and the sitting room light was no longer on. I stood in the dark (the flat was so new I was unfamiliar with the layout, particularly in the dark, whcih I am a little scared of)

So, i had two choices- there was clearly someone in the flat. i could run back down the stairs, out the door and get help, or run up the final few steps and put on the landing light, the switch for which I knew wasn't far.

I decided to run for the light. Unbeknown to me MrH had decided to play a trick on me, and was laying on the landing floor, having turned off all the lights himself. As I ran past him for the switch, He grabbed me by both my ankles.

He was quite surprised when I had a comlete meltdown and he couldn't stop me crying for three hours. he thought it would be funny <rolls eyes>

The not being able to breathe is utterly, utterly terrifying. i don't know how people who have regular attacks or ashmatics get used to it.

I'm sure I'd find something random to obbsessively avoid in London too Sophie. ? (actually, I'm in London later this week for a deal closing, but doubt I'll get a spare second in amongst work nightmare. ☹️)

Zeb, I've never been so in awe of the power of the mind as I was that day. To be fine one minute and reverting to dribbling toddler the next is just... mindblowing. ?

Sophie- take care and be good to yourself. It sounds like anyone would have been freaked out, but if you really felt that cold knot of uncontrollable panic, then just make sure that you're not trying to do too much just now. (ha! says the pot to the kettle.) ?

FFS, Hyacinth, is he a moron or what?!

He's lucky he didn't try that game on me, he'd not have any teeth left. How unfunny?![V]

?

quote:Originally posted by Zebra
FFS, Hyacinth, is he a moron or what?!

He's lucky he didn't try that game on me, he'd not have any teeth left. How unfunny?![V]

?

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It was so incredibly out of character- hes not a pranster type at all- but so cruel. I don't think it hit him until afterwards how terrible it was (and, to give him a tiny excuse, he wasn't aware that i knew someone was in the flat as he didn't know I'd seen the light on) still, I even ask him now what the hell he was playing at. Its only when I pointed out you can actually give someone a heart attack with that sort of behaviour it hit him.

This is going to sound horrible to the peeps with bird phobias, but the kindest way of catching them is to throw a sheet over them, it sort of parachutes over them and contains them very gently so they don't flap too much and panic.

I have a canary so I'm used to handling birds. It also means you can usually get away without touching them which can freak both them and you out.

Poor Soaps. I've seen a house after a crow got into it (student house - fell down the chimney!) It looked like they had been burgled.

Hope the gin is calming you. ?

Hyacinth, that's awful and totally understandable! ? I'd have stabbed him in the eye with one of our corporate pencils (that's my latest violent fantasy, as I think you've prob guessed by now. ?)

quote:Originally posted by HaloHoney
This is going to sound horrible to the peeps with bird phobias, but the kindest way of catching them is to throw a sheet over them, it sort of parachutes over them and contains them very gently so they don't flap too much and panic.

I have a canary so I'm used to handling birds. It also means you can usually get away without touching them which can freak both them and you out.

Poor Soaps. I've seen a house after a crow got into it (student house - fell down the chimney!) It looked like they had been burgled.

Hope the gin is calming you. ?

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That did occur to me actually, but a. they were all over the shop, and b. so was I ? Oh god, I'd be terrified of a crow.

Hyacinth - that is absolutely awful. Words fail me.

I would never have thought I'd be scared of a bird, but last spring a baby thrush fell down our chimney and started flying about the room.
I screamed, ducked and had to get H to get rid of it, as it seemed intent on dive bombing me and it's demonic eyes were focused on me alone*



*Obviously it wasn't really after me, but it seemed like it at the time, so I know how scary it must have been to have two of them after you.