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Mall phobia

Ever since 9/11 and especially since the start of the war in Iraq, I have not been able to go to the mall. No shit ... fearless, spunky, stoic me ... yes, the very same one, would be reduced to shaking knees and hands, cold sweats and pounding heart after only a few minutes inside a mall. Can we say "anxiety attack" boys and girls? I knew that you could ...

I used to love to go to the mall. I would spend hours wandering around, looking at all the stuff, hunting down bargains, people watching. I don't know what happened ...

When I tell people of my aversion to malls, I am called crazy or that I have developed a weird phobia. I have even talked to my son's therapist about it (I often steal her time since my kiddo just won't participate in the therapy ... we've decided that he is just dead set against working on his issues with his father ... not that I blame him). Anyway, even the therapist agreed that my fears were a bit irrational.

When the war started in Iraq, I nearly went over the edge. First, my oldest son was in Europe at the time on a school trip. I hounded the school for reassurance that he and his classmates were OK. Then I obsessed about "sleeper cells" of terrorists ... radical Islamists that have been living here, carrying on like everyday folk, and just waiting to unleash their violent fury. I insisted that the next terrorist attacks would not be in high profile venues, like New York or Washington, but rather in the heartland of America ... small towns, college football games, parades, 4th of July celebrations, and malls ...

Those generalized fears and obsessions finally focused into my aversion to malls in particular. Just thinking about going to the mall would bring on shaky hands and a faster heart rate. Allowing my son to go would leave me nauseous until he was back home.

Crazy, right? Outta my gourd, eh? Can't happen ... won't happen.

Oh ... really?

Somalian Charged With Plotting To Blow Up Columbus(OH)-Area Mall

Wild horses couldn't drag me into a mall now ...

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