Am I Normal: Women's Health Questions Answered

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I clutch my boyfriend's hand in a death grip every time I fly. Am I normal? Your rational mind knows you're less (56 times less!) likely to die in an airplane than you are to die in a car. But your lizard brain doesn't buy it. All it knows is that you're way higher than any sane person should be and are potentially out of control. No wonder your sympathetic nervous system--the one that commands your body's flight-or-fight response-is shrieking, "Get! Out! Now!" You're hardly alone: An estimated 25 million people in North America are afraid to fly.

Trite as it sounds, research shows that in this instance, facing your fears really does work. In 2002 researchers studied the effect of "exposure therapy" on 75 nervous fliers. Subjects were offered eight 45-minute therapy sessions in which virtual reality was used to simulate the experience of being airborne. Those who completed the treatment had much lower levels of flying anxiety afterwards, says study co-author Page Anderson, an assistant professor of psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta. It probably took you longer than that to learn how to drive a stick shift. Check out virtuallybetter.com for exposure therapy programs in your area.

When I walk around in the morning, my joints sound like popcorn popping. Am I normal? Many people have some degree of crepitus, a crackling or grinding sound made when uneven cartilage surfaces rub against each other. It usually occurs in large joints, like the knee or shoulder. Crepitus is different from the loud snap you hear when you crack a knuckle: That's caused by nitrogen bubbles inside the joints popping under pressure, says Raymond Rocco Monto, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. If you feel pain along with the popping (especially while climbing stairs, squatting or kneeling), see an orthopedist. It could be a sign of injury or arthritis. Yes, you heard us right: Arthritis has become more common in young athletic women who got hurt playing sports as adolescents, Dr. Monto says.

While getting a head massage at a spa, I orgasmed. Am I normal? You could just thank the goddess of Oh! and book a return trip. But since you're wondering, it is possible for women to have what's known as "extragenital orgasms"--orgasms without genital contact, says Beverly Whipple, Ph.D., professor emerita at Rutgers University and co-author of The Science of Orgasm. Arousing sensitive areas like the neck or breasts or even just imagining sex can get you there. "Physiologically, orgasm is a reflex, so the genital nerve pathways don't need to be stimulated in order for it to occur," she says. Studies have found that even women with spinal cord injuries are able to experience orgasm.

You are not alone:
It's not that you need to stop blabbering to your puppy like she's a toddler. All we're saying is: You're not the only dog whisperer.

1 in 4 women brush their teeth after every meal.
71% of young adult women feel like their bra is never the perfect fit.
99% of women talk to their pets--a lot.
25% of women have shagged only one person in their lives.
More than 50% of women would prefer an hour to themselves than 60 minutes of bliss in the bedroom.
12% of women never snack.
21% of women would forget any and all promises of faithfulness for one night with (big surprise) Matthew "No Shirt" McConaughey.
45% of women think their pets are cuter than their partners.
Based on survey results.

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