Damone

Getting nervous here! Tonight and tomorrow looking very active from here. Will the CAPE be downgraded at some point? It's very high, and normally I wouldn't fret it, but the predictions have remained the same over the past few days.

I would rather find a way to allow my love of storms to blossom and drown out the fear than spend the rest of my life tranquilized. Dunno quite how I'm gonna achieve that though - but I did manage to watch the last 15 minutes of a storm last year as it passed across my town (witnessed a beautiful CG lightning bolt hit the ground a mile away on a hill about a mile away, and managed to remain relatively still waiting for the thunder to arrive), so I know at some point I am gonna stop taking photos of potential storms and actually start photographing active ones. Just wish my fear would hurry up and disappear! I have almost beaten my fear of spiders, and other minor phobias, but this one is really taking some beating! Also, a part of me is almost looking forward to the activity tomorrow, and a part of me is absolutely terrified, especially as I shall be on my own. Strange that a fear and love can exist for the same thing...

I have been to the doctors with this problem many a time, and they've pretty much just fobbed me off with a second-rate counseling session. They couldn't tell me anything that I don't already know. In fact, really they didn't tell me much at all. I know it has a lot to do with my fear of taking risks, and of losing control. I hate watching horror films for the same reason - it's the suspense that bothers me. Knowing that something's just around the corner, but not knowing when it will arrive. It all ties in. It has affected almost every aspect of my life, and even relationships. I have always been terrified of embarrassing myself in front of a boyfriend, so I have tried to avoid seeing them when there's been even the remotest chance of a thunderstorm. And like most people, when you try to explain, it is often considered amusing. I get moments of despair, but like you I hope to kill it eventually, once and for all. I have noticed mild improvements - once I managed to watch the end of a thunderstorm that had just rattled through my town. To actually watch the lightning and to force myself to stay for the thunder (it was more than a mile away, so I knew it wouldn't be too loud) is something I haven't done for the past 6 years! Really thunderstorms are truly incredible things! I love reading about them, watching footage of them (with the volume down fairly low, of course! hehe), and I am always awe-struck by their immense power and beauty. If I could just let the love overcome the fear, I think I would be fine.

Yep, I dread summer coming too, and I dread waiting for the beginning of autumn when you get that inevitable big thunderstorm that makes your windows rattle. I was surprised when I first came onto this site just how many brontophobes there were. And although I am happy to know I am not alone, it is slightly disheartening to see that no one seems to have beaten it the same way I'm trying to - i.e. through learning. I have been absolutely desperate, to the point of completely breaking down, to find some way to cure it. The idea of spending the rest of my life like this is becoming increasingly unbearable.

I am fully aware that the noise cannot hurt me. It is not the fear of being hurt that is at the root of my phobia. A phobia, by its very definition, is an "irrational fear", and, therefore, I am aware that I am being irrational when I want to escape the noise, but that alone is not enough to stop it. It does not surprise me that it is hard to cure either. Most phobias are cured by exposure - and yet every time I am exposed to thunder it either makes my phobia worse, or it remains at the same level. Also, it is impossible for a therapist to recreate the conditions that trigger it.

Excuse me for rambling on even further!...but I completely sympathise Stormraider! I am exactly the same as you - I find it can prevent me from doing things I really want to do. It almost stopped me applying for a job in Japan that I really wanted, because I know they can get some pretty nasty storms there. Seems like such a petty reason, but for me the fear is very, very real. It is not something you can really explain, and people often think you can just snap out of it. It's also not like a lot of other phobias, because you can't really avoid it. It's not a case of simply leaving a room and removing yourself from something that scares you - a thunderstorm is all-embracing and kind of forces you to witness it, whether you want to or not. I am also similar in the sense that even the threat of one can make life difficult. For instance, today I am feeling highly stressed and don't really know what to do with myself. If one does come along my heart races so hard I feel like I'm having a heart-attack and I just want to bury my head and get away from it. All rationality just flies straight out the window...

Stupidly it's not being struck by lightning that i'm frightened of, I just hate the sound of it. Talk about irrational fear!

I used to love them when I was a kid. I remember sitting through an absolute cracker when I was 14 in reading at my Gran's place, and kind of enjoying it. It was like bombs going off, and at times my mum was terrified in case the lightning hit the roof, but I just sat through it, hardly batting an eyelid. I actually developed a fear of thunder when I was 21, and a fairly severe storm hit our area. It couldn't have lasted more than 20 minutes, but it was deafening, and I actually remember placing my hands over my ears to try to drown the noise out. Since then I have been absolutely petrified of them. I have tried almost everything to get over my phobia (counselling, mild sedatives and even trawling the net for something that might look like a genuine cure). I eventually came to the conclusion that learning more about them (like you) might help me to overcome my fear, and in some ways it has led to a genuine fascination and appreciation of thunderstorms, and a desire to learn more about them and why they occur. Unfortunately the phobia is still hanging on, although it is lessening very gradually bit by bit each year. I'm hoping it will go away completely, because I would love to go on a chase at least once in my life! I imagine the thrill and the adrenaline rush of tracking down and then watching a powerful storm must be awesome!

Hmm, not sure if this should be posted? The lights are flickering every 10-20 seconds or so, and it only usually does that during a storm - but can't see anything or hear it...yet. Don't suppose anyone near the Falmouth area can report any thunder and lightning? Also saw some good convection today (lots of towers) with one hail shower and plenty of gusty wind.

Yep, we were subject to both occurences here. Didn't see the lightning, but the thunder late Sat eve was very loud and quite close. We didn't lose power though, which is odd, because we usually do.

I remember one time, about 3 years ago, when I was in Surrey living with other students, and we had thunder and lightning with snow. The snow was pretty heavy for about an hour and then stopped. It wasn't even that late in the year. The lightning was very bright and the thunder fairly loud too.

Never started one of these, but felt it necessary as we've just had a very long rumble of thunder. Saw no lightning flash and even my tv maintained a good signal through it (very rare for down here!). I think that was probably it, and it hasn't made any more noises within the last 5-10 minutes. Very unexpected though! Took me by surprise :o

Fairly distant thunderstorm out at the coast at around 10.

All I can guess at is that we were continually invaded by lazy storms all through the night. I can't tell you how many times I woke up to distant thunder, but it was a lot. Really strange! Never known anything like it.

Just had another storm that was off in the distance. I couldn't tell you about the lightning, because I didn't see any. Thunder was the same as the last couple of storms - long, deep rumbles.

We've had fairly distant thunderstorms. I think there were at least 2 of them. It's still raining and very dark, and judging by meteox we can perhaps expect a few more within the next hour or so.

Just had around 5 - 6 rumbles of thunder. Can't tell whether there was any visible lightning, as I was hding under my duvet at the time God, I hope this ends soon! My nerves are shot!

We have another storm - just started.

Can report my 4th storm (I suppose the ones over Newquay don't really count). Looking at satellite imagery it's supposed to have hit us around 2pm, but, to be honest, it's been so quiet at times I couldn't really tell. I think we had one close CG, and the thunder quickly followed, but it sounded lazy rather than energetic. Last time I heard anything was a few minutes ago, so God knows where it's headed or how strong it is now. In fact, it seemed pretty fast moving, despite the insistence on the BBC and ITV weather forecasts, that any storm would be slow moving. Oh, and so far the NW Lightning detector is the only one that's picked it up! Sun's out now!

Been told by a friend that they have thunder and lightning in Worcester.

If you want rain, my suggestion is you move to Cornwall. We never seem to get anything but rain here.

Was out at the time, so couldn't report it, but we had a storm in Newquay between 7 and 8Pm. Sounded pretty bad, but was a fair few miles away. Also had one, I think, out to sea at Newquay between 8 and 9am this morning. Again, sounded very loud, but there was long intervals between thunder. Didn't see any lightning.

I think that may be the one I've been trying to remember for a long time. I was woken by it too, and have never heard anything like it since. I thought at one point it would being the house down.

Can report first storm of the year. Began at around 2:00pm and crashed on for about an hour. Got very close at one point, and the claps were sudden and loud. You should be proud of me, because towards the end I even forced myself to go out and watch the end of it! Saw three very bright CG lightening flashes. Didn't hang around longer than that, but I'm guessing the vast majority were CG. Quite intense for my area, and hoping it's stays quiet from now on!

Not so sure about the storms leaving westcountry. We're supposed to get them round here at 12ish. Bit on the nervous side :blink: Totally unrelated, but Sue I love your avatar.