Welcome to the Blog :)

Hello and a warm welcome! This blog is all about pendulaphobia, a phobia about things that hang and swing (as well as a little kinetophobia, a phobia about moving things/people). Why the blog you might ask? Well, along with the struggles that come with this phobia, there are practically no resources available. So it's time to start making them. 

Apologies in advance as well, I am no writer but I feel this could help a lot of people, myself included.

And a warning: this blog mentions triggers to pendulaphobia. I will talk about what triggers me or things that could trigger me frequently.

Pendulaphobia: An internet created term for a rare phobia relating to the fear of things that hang and swing.  [ pendula = pendulum]

Kinetophobia: A fear of movement or motion, relating either to things or people.

I include kinetophobia because I'm uncertain if I have a mixture of both (lucky me), but this blog is centered around pendulaphobia.

A Little Background:

Back in 2020, during quarantine, I posted on a the r/phobia subreddit about my struggles with pendulaphobia and it reached people far and wide. The fact that my obscure post shows up as one of the top search results when you attempt to find any information on this phobia is insane. C'mon it doesn't even exist in the phobia fandom wiki, and that wiki has some crazy shit. But for the people struggling, the lack of information and resources is a curse. I'm happy people found me and that there are others who suffer from this just as I do, but at the same time, why is the post a top result? 
From the stories shared in the comments of that post, I know many have been living with this phobia longer than I have, and I'm sure they know better than anyone that there's nothing to find. I have done my research, and by that I mean I've scoured the internet desperately for any advice or community. Those searches left me with pieces of a puzzle that doesn't even exist. 
It's always a slap in the face whenever something does surface though. The internet callously shoves some dated documentary that doesn't have an conclusion or a blog that hasn't been updated in 7 years in my face. And to top it off, a subreddit full of cobwebs and ghosts. "Well if that's all you can find, then it must not be a phobia a lot of people are affected by." Of course not, but there's enough people affected to where they scramble to create reddit accounts to connect with a post in the hopes of finding a community and help. Everyone hopes for more but no one knows where to start. Personally, I just wait for the day a professional study appears so I can finally understand this on some scientific or logical level. And how cruel to be given a phobia of something so unavoidable, and by no means am I saying this is the worst phobia, but if I had to pick, I would rather pick a phobia where I wouldn't encounter triggers in my daily life.

About Me:

Keeping in time with my reddit post, I've had pendulaphobia for 15 years (aside from that, I also suffer from emetophobia: fear of vomit, but that will barely be brought up if at all). When I was younger, I thought it would be something I'd eventually grow out of, but this blog exists sooo...
I find that when I already have pre-existing anxiety, it amplifies my phobia and awakens nonconsequential fears from the catacombs of my mind. What I have realized, through self reflection and therapy, is that this phobia (at least for me) is about control. Control over the movement of objects. One's first instinct might be to stop their trigger(s) from swinging or moving at all, to appease their anxieties. If it doesn't move then it can't bother you.
But why control? What will happen if the object continues to move? I'm not worried it will hurt me, but then why does fear claw at my lungs. Why does my stomach drop and why do I start to sweat. My heart is beating out of my chest and it's over some menial thing like the wind.  
In addition, I don't think other people realize that pendulaphobes (or people with phobias in general) are aware that what they are scared of isn't going to hurt them, but that doesn't stop the waves of anxiety. It's difficult to explain this phobia to family members, friends or partners as no one understands how crippling this fear can be. I've seen people discuss how those around them have made fun of or teased them, and that is so incredibly devastating. It is hard to navigate this phobia in general but without a support system or anyone to help, this phobia possesses a crushing difficulty . I have talked with my family and friends about it, all so far have been supportive but I don't think any of them really understand the extent of this phobia. But that's what this blog and this community is for, to create a loving place for people struggling and to exchange advice and experiences.

I hope this blog brings you peace of mind and we can all be one step closer to finding those who struggle with us. I hope you all are having a wonderful day so far, I'm proud of you for all you've had to endure, and I send you my love. 
-Frogsonspoons