A new phobia

There are phobias of all sorts. Trust me, I looked today to see if I am the only one who has a fear of shopping and apparently I am. Even though I scanned through the entire list of phobias, I did not find the one that I have newly acquired. I have a FEAR OF SHOPPING!

I used to just think that I hated shopping. I didn't like the process, I didn't get excited about clothes, I didn't like to try things on and I certainly didn't want to take all of the time shopping that my friends would like to. I'm the "get in and get out" kind of person and probably not your first pick when you want a shopping partner.

There was a big part of me that thought as I shrank, I would be so excited about buying clothes and trying them on and seeing if they were cute, etc. I thought my shopping experiences were going to turn around and I would all of a sudden be very fashion savvy. Boy, was I wrong!

So, last night, I had agreed to go shopping for some gifts for work (since we have a bunch of parties coming up) and after that, we'd go look for a pair of dress pants (since I don't have any that fit). Well, the work shopping was fun, exciting, and didn't cost me a dime - but we got all sorts of fun things for the party. Then, it was time for us to go looking for pants. I seriously was scared. I had feelings of great anxiety. What size would I pick up? Would I still be in the women's section? Would I be able to really size up the situation (no pun intended) and get beyond whatever it was that was freaking me out? NO, I couldn't! My friend tried to calm me down, but I honestly didn't know why I was being so weird. I just didn't want to be in there. I didn't want to face what was ahead of me - shopping! I must have a shopping phobia! That's all that would explain it. And since there's not a true shopping phobia - I'm going to claim it/name it now. I must be suffering from - habilimentophobia (yes, I used the thesaurus to help me out). Hey, that's not all I have. I have Eisotrophbia too (fear of seeing oneself in a mirror)! What a mess I am!

The good news is, I did finally select a few options to try on (because I can't go to the dinner in my pajamas) and I was successful. I got clothes from the NON - "W" - section. Could it be true? Am I really out of the W after every number? Am I venturing away from the "fat lady" stores that I know and love? The answer is YES! I was in a 16. Not a 16W - a normal person 16. WHAT? Not only that, all of the tops/shirts I selected to try on - I grabbed in an Extra Large. Well, well, I am an EXTRA LARGE NO more! YIPEE!!!!! I guess 66 lbs can make a difference?

Now, I'm on to my next phobia - obesophobia (fear of gaining weight)! I should've acquired that one a long time ago!!! It's never too late to start, right?