Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with aversion

Is there a technical name for that nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling?

SilverTail — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:03:57 -0800

Nails on a chalkboard. Tearing paper. Fork tines on ceramic. Touching lycra, silk, wool.. Certain things will cause that teeth-gritting, hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck rising, Dear-God-Make-It-Stop response. What is the name for that? I've heard it referred to as an "aversion" in a broader sense by a friend in psychology, but he didn't know if there is a more specific term for things that invoke that response in people. What say you MeFi?

Learn to like liquor again?

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:10:08 -0800

Is it possible to get over my aversion to liquor? About four months ago, a few of my buddies and I went on a drinking binge of idiotic proportions (we're talking black-out, vomiting, &c). Now, I can't seem to drink liquor at all.

A little while after the unpleasantness, I tried to drink a shot of spiced rum and threw up seconds later. Just now I tried to give it (ie liquor) another shot, pulled out a bottle of whiskey, and even smelling it turns my stomach.

Is there any way to get over this aversion to liquor? I don't want to overdo it again, but I'd like to be able to have a shot or two without shuddering or throwing up.

I hate cooking. I need to love it.

WCityMike — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 21:58:02 -0800

I hate cooking. I hate cooking. I really, really, really hate cooking. I need to learn how to love it. I mean, I even get annoyed when I have to slap something frozen on a cookie sheet, and I even very often don't make toast, for God's sake, despite liking it. (No problem with shoving a frozen meal in the microwave, however.)

All that having been said, this massive aversion is a real problem that I want to complete turn around 180 degrees — both for the cachet of it (so few guys cook) and for the simple health of it (eating self-cooked food is going to be much healthier than a near-perpetual diet of delivery, frozen meals, junk food, and fast food.

As best as I can figure this out in my head, I'm essentially asking for two categories of responses here: practical and behavioral.

On one hand, I'm looking for practical tips (both any procedural tips or "kitchen hints" you might have, as well as very-quick-prep healthy recipes) as to how to make cooking (i) extremely low-impact, timewise; (ii) fast and efficient; and (iii) actually fun and not incredibly boring — keeping in mind the level of aversion described above.

On the other hand, I'm looking for behavioral tips. (I wouldn't be surprised if this angle of the question has been asked before in other Ask Mefis with other things people detest but have to do — but I wasn't sure how to frame the search in order to dig them up.) If you hate to do something, but it's necessary that you not only overcome the hate but transmute it to enthusiasm, what steps do you take?

I find cooking an extremely annoying obstacle to doing other things that I want to do, and I find that I'm incredibly bored while I do it and that something deep within me just frames the whole thing as a immensely boring, massive waste of time. How do I change that gut emotional response? I need to start to actually like this stuff.

Thanks, guys.

Aversion to Eating Noises

yalestar — Sun, 01 Aug 2004 09:53:27 -0800

I have a strong, irrational aversion to the sound of people eating. Especially people that eat really loud and smack their lips and lick their fingers. Gum chewers make me want to explode. This neurosis prevents me from doing a lot of things like eating out with friends, etc. Anyone else out there have this particular problem, and have you found any way to deal with it?