Irrational Fears

2

Replies

  • FitSid
    FitSid Posts: 117 Member
    I'm scared of ants.

    And I also believe if I go to America I'll get murdered or stabbed or something over there, cause you know, all good crime shows are based over there. (I'm from Australia ::drinker: )
  • BriskaPacojame
    BriskaPacojame Posts: 195 Member
    I was overwhelmingly afraid of the dark as a child, but worked diligently to overcome it. Once I had kids of my own, I made sure to keep any sign of fear or nervousness carefully hidden.

    But...even now, if I'm outdoors and have to turn my back to the dark, I have to use all my willpower to keep from breaking out into a run. As long as I'm headed into the dark, with the light at my back, no problem. As soon as I turn around, when the light in my eyes makes the dark impenetrable by contrast, I think that something/someone will pounce.

    My rational mind knows this is false, and that there is nothing whatever to fear. But tell that to the rest of me, when my stomach clenches, my skin breaks out in gooseflesh, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up!

    THIS. Especially at the top of my basement steps when I turn the light off. That feeling like as soon as I flip the switch something horrible will crawl crazy fast up the steps and get me haha. I run.

    Oh yeah, and I keep all my beds (mine & kids) on the floor, no frames, because I don't want whatever is under it to grab/touch my feet. It's only ok if a light is on. :)
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    I was overwhelmingly afraid of the dark as a child, but worked diligently to overcome it. Once I had kids of my own, I made sure to keep any sign of fear or nervousness carefully hidden.

    But...even now, if I'm outdoors and have to turn my back to the dark, I have to use all my willpower to keep from breaking out into a run. As long as I'm headed into the dark, with the light at my back, no problem. As soon as I turn around, when the light in my eyes makes the dark impenetrable by contrast, I think that something/someone will pounce.

    My rational mind knows this is false, and that there is nothing whatever to fear. But tell that to the rest of me, when my stomach clenches, my skin breaks out in gooseflesh, and the hair on the back of my neck stands up!

    I am the same way! When I was dating my husband, I ran from the car to our apartment and was nervously waiting at the front steps..and was like, "What is wrong with you?" And I was thinking, "What is wrong with you, hurry up and let me in, it's dark out!!!"
  • howekaren
    howekaren Posts: 159 Member
    Just for the record, the definition of phobia is "irrational fear". Degree of said irrational fear is arbitrary and varied. You can be irked all you like, but I can have a completely rational discourse on the topic of spiders, all the while I am shuddering inside. I avoid thinking of them because it tends to lead towards anxiety. This, however, does not lessen my phobia which strictly limits my enjoyment of the outdoors. And Spring, for that matter. Please do not discount my phobia just because it is not as great as your own, according to your own personal opinion.
  • cyclerjenn
    cyclerjenn Posts: 833 Member
    My fear is of falling. It is not heights because I can go up and I'm fine hanging off the side of a cliff and looking down, I just can't go down. I go hiking with my boy friend every weekend and I can make it to the top of the mountian, but I neeed him to hold my hand to come back down the mountain.
  • loseiteli
    loseiteli Posts: 242 Member
    If my husband doesn't call when he says he will or if he goes to the store and takes longer than expected I automatically assume he is dead or dying and no one can help him. He never answers the phone because he always has it on silent for work or leaves it in the car so that just adds to my fear of him being dead. He always gets a laugh out of my crazy detailed death scenarios while he is gone lol.

    I do this with almost everyone that is close to me...start freaking out and calling/texting them every second. :)

    I also have the fear of a semi rolling over and causing me to crash into it and die. (This one stems from a BAD accident that I witnessed when I was 6, where this actually happened...ever since then I think that its going to happen to me)
  • ArenM1
    ArenM1 Posts: 20 Member
    i hate clowns so much that i cant take my kids to the circus. oh and worms....freaking gross!
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
    Since I live alone and I am young yet and quite self-sufficient, I have a fear of something happening in my home that will make me unable to get to a phone, or worse yet, dead. Like slipping at the top of the stairwell and breaking my neck. Slipping in the bathtub and hurting myself or breaking something (like my face), or even when I'm exercising in my living room, the carpet seems to jump up and trip me. I have fallen and almost hit my head on a huge dresser I have in the corner. Then no one would know anything was wrong. My neighbors don't check on me just because they don't see my car move because we all have lives. My friends don't check on me every day. It is irrational because there's nothing I can do to change a possibility...but more than likely I think about it way too often.

    Oh yeah, and the whole driving next to an 18-wheeler. Especially a big truck that has another truck attached to it, a double. Oh NO! It is hard even for me to pass them because I'm afraid I won't be able to get past them... this causes me to sit behind them and go whatever speed limit they are, even if that's too slow for me.
  • MrDude_1
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
    I dont really know of any for me....

    to be honest, with all the dumb stuff I do, im amazed im still alive.
  • LastMinuteMama
    LastMinuteMama Posts: 590 Member
    If my husband doesn't call when he says he will or if he goes to the store and takes longer than expected I automatically assume he is dead or dying and no one can help him. He never answers the phone because he always has it on silent for work or leaves it in the car so that just adds to my fear of him being dead. He always gets a laugh out of my crazy detailed death scenarios while he is gone lol.

    ^^^ This too! My sister and I couldn't get a hold of my mother once and we actually called the police for a well-ness check....I don't remember where we were that we couldn't check in on her ourselves, but it's still a running joke that she needs to check in or else we'll call in the troops to find her. I am just super paranoid that something awful will happen to her since she got divorced.

    I pretty much always go from zero to worst case scenario....you should see me when my sons' school calls!
  • LittleMissNerdy
    LittleMissNerdy Posts: 792 Member
    Yes. Half sunken ships. Like, when you can see some of it sticking out of the water. They freak me out and I hate being near them or seeing them.
  • Sl1ghtly
    Sl1ghtly Posts: 855 Member
    I was almost afraid one time. Then I stopped being almost afraid and started being awesome. It was awesome.
  • leynak
    leynak Posts: 963 Member
    I'm afraid of dying by suffocation/drowning-(any way that I'm not able to breathe.) But mainly I am terrified that I will be buried alive.


    Oh yeah & thanks to Mythbusters- I am now afraid that when I drive next to an 18 wheeler a tire will fly off, go through my window & decapitate me. :ohwell:
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    One of mine is driving into parking ramps.......I am a relatively new driver (didn't get my license until I was 45), and parking ramps scare the hell out of me. I have to really steel myself to attempt it, and if I can find a place OUTSIDE of the ramp, I'll take that first.

    I hate heights, too. Even watching people on TV shows or in pictures, if they're high up (like on a ledge or cliff), I get all queasy and sick to my stomach.
  • rammsteinsoldier
    rammsteinsoldier Posts: 1,552 Member
    Grasshoppers
  • stacymay13
    stacymay13 Posts: 95 Member
    Sharks.. And its only irrational because I live in Indiana and hate the ocean so my chances of ever seeing a shark are pretty slim lol
  • LisamarieBond14
    LisamarieBond14 Posts: 133 Member
    Who do you think you are telling people they don't have a true phobia because they can say the word? There are varying degrees of phobias.

    "Who do you think you are"?? - That's a bit narky. I never said they don't have a phobia, I said that even the thought of the object would cause them panic and anxiety. A phobia is completely different from a fear and I say that as someone who has studied them extensively and has qualifications in psychology, not to mention a lifetime of personal experience and having t listen complain of a phobia of spiders (for example) but they're OK as long as they're in a cage or on TV... That is not a phobia. That is a fear. They're not the same!
  • LisamarieBond14
    LisamarieBond14 Posts: 133 Member
    If my husband doesn't call when he says he will or if he goes to the store and takes longer than expected I automatically assume he is dead or dying and no one can help him. He never answers the phone because he always has it on silent for work or leaves it in the car so that just adds to my fear of him being dead. He always gets a laugh out of my crazy detailed death scenarios while he is gone lol.

    My mum had thoughts like this all throughout my childhood - her psychiatrist called them "morbid fears". She was convinced that I would be abducted or would die. It wasn't until after I finished secondary school that I learned that she would call my school every single day to ask if I was there and OK!!
  • shaynemann39
    shaynemann39 Posts: 65
    I pretty much always go from zero to worst case scenario
    ahaaa that sounds exactly like me, it drives my loved ones crazy


    but seriously the worst thing in the WORLD for me is jellyfish.
    God forbid, I have no idea why, but I am terrified to be on any boat in the ocean. I can dip in from the shore but it is still terrifying for some reason! sharks, eels, rays, whatever, no problem. it's weird and silly.

    and..not needles but injections or having blood drawm. the actual USE of a seringe totally makes me squrm and thinking about it makes me nauseous.

    also, rollover accidents while 4x4ing when we have no cell service.. erp. my man is slowly helping with this because we live in the Rockeis so it's all we do in the summer...but still terrifying!
  • Ocarina
    Ocarina Posts: 1,550 Member
    I have a few ridiculous fears.

    I cannot put my mind on anything to do with cutting wrists or weird stuff like that because for some reason it freaks me out like none other. And it's only that certain place because I can think getting a shot or stepping on a sharp object but not wrists getting cut. Absolutely shuddering!... I know that's a legit phobia because I can barely type about it. >_<

    I also have a huge fear of pumping air into car tires as someone else mentioned. I CANNOT do it. I'm so afraid the thing will pop right in front of me. Thankfully hubby likes to do car stuff.

    I have had an absolutely irrational fear of tornadoes ever since I found out what they are. I used to OBSESS over the weather and sky every single time there was a dark cloud in the sky. Or if it's really windy and completely clear out I will double check the window every half hour.

    I have another fear of spiders. It went away for awhile until I woke up from a nap (THANKFULLY) and slowly but surely realized a freaking monstrous spider was coming down on it's web towards me!!!!!!!!!!!! Ever since that incident I have been checking the walls OBSESSIVELY every time I wake up. I cannot stand spiders.

    Only other fears I can think of is a fear of cat claws so I generally am very fearful of picking up a cat. And I CANNOT put my head under water for the life of me. Blech. I almost drowned as a kid.

    Ugh lol, this all makes me sound pretty damn paranoid.
  • SnakeDarling
    SnakeDarling Posts: 352 Member
    I don't want to really think about or talk about my fear...
    So I'll just give the technical name and you can google it.

    Alektorophobia.
  • bekkaL85
    bekkaL85 Posts: 133 Member
    I'm not sure if it's a phobia or just plain terrified...but I have two things.

    When I'm driving over a bridge (which happens alot more than I would like since I live in St. Louis) I'm terrified that the support will break or snap in half and I'll fall to the river below then I'll be trapped forever in my car and drown because I can't swim. That I have to force myself to do by just looking ahead and breathing slowly.

    The other in spiders. They are creepy crawly nasty little vermin and I have no use for them. It makes me uncomfortable to see them on tv and when there is one near me I slowly get up and leave the room then scream for my husband to come and kill it. If he's not home I just won't go in that room or an adjoining room until he gets home.
  • clydethecat
    clydethecat Posts: 1,087 Member
    Being next to, or behind, any 18 wheeler that is carrying pipes, logs etc. Even once a truck of tomatoes freaked me out.

    driving next to any semi truck is fearful for me. i had to drive 50 miles to my parents house in the pouring rain and i swear i was stuck next to every truck on the road... i'm always afraid i'm going to drive under them, and chop my head off...
  • bmreed0920
    bmreed0920 Posts: 139 Member
    My biggest one is being on the 11th story of a building. I am fine with the first 10 floors but get me past that and I can't handle it. I am not sure why but being higher than 10 stories is to much for me to handle.

    Elevators and escalators are another one. I dont want to get trapped in an elevator or get my shoe laces or feet caught in the escalator.
  • princesspeach577
    princesspeach577 Posts: 56 Member
    I have a fear of bees. I had a bad experience of getting stung by a few all at once as a child. Ever since then I panic when I see them. Makes being outdoors in the summer a bit difficult. I know getting stung isn't really that bad, but it's still a fear of mine.
  • LisamarieBond14
    LisamarieBond14 Posts: 133 Member
    I have a fear of bees. I had a bad experience of getting stung by a few all at once as a child. Ever since then I panic when I see them. Makes being outdoors in the summer a bit difficult. I know getting stung isn't really that bad, but it's still a fear of mine.

    I'm scared of bees too but it's perfectly rational - I've never been stung and so I don't know if I'm allergic! I could go into anaphylactic shock and die within seconds!
  • princesspeach577
    princesspeach577 Posts: 56 Member
    I have a fear of bees. I had a bad experience of getting stung by a few all at once as a child. Ever since then I panic when I see them. Makes being outdoors in the summer a bit difficult. I know getting stung isn't really that bad, but it's still a fear of mine.

    I'm scared of bees too but it's perfectly rational - I've never been stung and so I don't know if I'm allergic! I could go into anaphylactic shock and die within seconds!

    Good point! I know I'm not, but I'm sure many people who are allergic don't know.
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    I passed out once during a cleaning and beat the hygienist to a pulp. It's not pretty.

    You beat them to a pulp?!!? :indifferent:
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    I have loads but here are just a few;

    1. Every time I go on the underground, I can't relax until the train is fully on the platfom. I get terrified someone will jump or fall, but I still can't stop looking.

    2. Terrified of bees, flies, spiders and bugs when they're in the house. Which is weird because I've loved animals and nature since childhood.

    3. In relation to above, flies buzzing near my ear. Any buzzing sound freaks me out. The other day, I was in the kitchen and could hear what sounded like buzzing between the window and the blind. It creeped me out and made me feel sick.

    4. I am so scared that someone will murder me or break into my house.

    5. I'm SO freaked out by irregular shaped holes. Urgh, honeycomb and the top of crumpets make me feel HORRIBLE and make me feel jelly-like. I can't even look at bread too close because of it.

    6. Scared of dying young. I just have this awful feeling that I will die young :(

    I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now.
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    I saw something really funny the other day (I guess it wasn't nice to LOL, but she couldn't see me)

    I live in So FL and was crossing our largest bridge. It is 17th Street Causway, and was recently completed. They built it high, and long, so they would have to use the small draw bridge at the top seldom, for very large mastes on sailboats.

    The entire bridge it made of poured concrete. Only a 20 ft span that is moveable, and this is quite obvious.

    Now traffic was back up (spring break, 5 pm and the friday before St Patricks Day) I watched this middle aged couple walking hand and hand all the way up to the top. I could tell the mister had to convince the Mrs to do it, as she was holding his hand tightly. He even held her purse for her.

    She had a strained smile on her face as she looked down into the water *WAY down!)

    Well they had just passed the drawbridge, and were on solid concrete when the damn bells went off! Ding DIng Ding......the arms didnt come down because all us cars were still on the bridge. For me it meant nothing, as I knew he was setting up for the huge sailboat coming down the intracoastal.

    Well to that poor lady, the bridge was coming down. She ran full throtttle down that bridge with her arms flailing at her sides (I am lmao as I write this) Screaming for him to RUN>>>>>>>>>>>>>>RUNNNNNNNN.

    He continue to mosey on down the CONCRETE bridge!! She ran back and grabbed him, pulled, then flailed her arms running again.

    In between fits of laughter I prayed God would calm that poor woman's soul and make her realize NOTHING would take down that poured concrete bridge!!!

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: that's hilarious.
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