Your Irrational Fears/Phobias

[Cachoo]

What are or were your irrational fears?

In second grade religion class the nun tried explain infinity in Heaven. For some reason the idea of no end and simply going on and on and on freaked me out. Later that night, when I was supposed to be asleep, I ran out to my father crying. I explained my fear to him and he hugged me and told me not to worry about it. I'm sure he also thought he had the weirdest kid in the world.

So what are your fears/phobias?

 

[ballettmaus]

Spiders! I'm okay with the really tiny ones, pinkie fingernail size and smaller. But everything else, I can't even watch on TV. Makes me shiver. Also, I'm not a fan of cockroaches and scorpions. The idea of the former two crawling possibly crawling all over me freaks me out, the latter ones I just find scary! When I was in Arizona a few years ago, I checked the bedroom and bed each night before I went to bed

 

[Lilia A]

Bees. When I see one I get terrified because I know that when bees sting you they release pheromones that make other bees go to you (and if you kill a bee, the pheromones are multiplied so then all the bees supposedly attack you mercilessly because they consider you a threat). I was stung by a bee once when I was little, so I've been afraid of getting stung again ever since.
I'll go skydiving any day and severe airplane turbulence doesn't scare me even a bit, but let a bee come near me and I'll scream like a child watching The Exorcist.
Yes, I know most bees are friendly and all that, but still, I don't want them near me.

 

[Kasey]

Heights. I had a mild panic attack the other day when my sister talked me into going up a higher ski run than I usually do and I had to manage to get down the hill. I challenge it sometimes (by skiing, I've done a bungee jump, a roller coaster once, and zip lining once), but have never conquered it.

 

[Spareoom]

Snails and slugs send shivers down my spine. I've had nightmares about giant ones crawling up to me, and when I was in Oregon and saw some huge banana slugs on a trail I was on, I could not get out of that place fast enough. *shudder* I think it's part because they're disgusting, and part because I once went on a snail-killing spree and I salted and smashed my fair share, haha. The ghosts are out to haunt me!

 

[Finnice]

Chewing gum bubbles. When somebody does bubbles with his gum near me, I run away. It is horrible to sit in front og somebody doing that in figure skating competitions, movies, buses etc.
I guess I am afraid that the disgusting stuff ends up into my hair.

 

[Japanfan]

Snails and slugs send shivers down my spine. I've had nightmares about giant ones crawling up to me, and when I was in Oregon and saw some huge banana slugs on a trail I was on, I could not get out of that place fast enough. *shudder* I think it's part because they're disgusting, and part because I once went on a snail-killing spree and I salted and smashed my fair share, haha. The ghosts are out to haunt me!

I probably shouldn't say this, but years ago I saw part of a movie about killer slugs that didn't die when they were cut into pieces, and could end up hiding in your salad. . .I won't say what happened when they entered a person's stomach.

Though personally I am not really bothered by slugs. The one's around here are largely invisible, and being slugs they are. . well, very sluggish.

It's worms and snakes that I've got, in part because when I was growing up there was a phenomenon of army worms that occurred once every seven years. The roads were black with the armies of worms, and you just could not get away from them. You could climb up to the roof, and there would be a worm on your shoe.

Should not have opened this thread. Now I'm totally creeped out.

 

[Susan1]

I'm replying in the morning, and I'll have to put this out of my mind before bedtime. Can't even look at a S_ _ _ _ _ (or type the word) on t.v. And worms? Thinking about them makes me want to throw up right now. My exes daughter, who was 5'9" and 130 lbs. when she was 12, not scared of anything, said she used to cry walking to the bus stop when there were worms on the sidewalk. (going to go look at pictures of puppies and rainbows now..............)

 

[clairecloutier]

Cockroaches and heights.

 

[quartz]

None of my fears are irrational. Donald Trump scares the crap out of me. I'm creeped out by every single thing about him.

 

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Like Steven Wright, I don't have a fear of heights. I do however, have a fear of widths.

 

[FiveRinger]

Public bathrooms. Everything from the sights, smells, and sounds. I have developed excellent bladder control over the years. I have been known to drive home at lunch time or even during shopping trips to avoid them.

 

[Cachoo]

Bees. When I see one I get terrified because I know that when bees sting you they release pheromones that make other bees go to you (and if you kill a bee, the pheromones are multiplied so then all the bees supposedly attack you mercilessly because they consider you a threat). I was stung by a bee once when I was little, so I've been afraid of getting stung again ever since.
I'll go skydiving any day and severe airplane turbulence doesn't scare me even a bit, but let a bee come near me and I'll scream like a child watching The Exorcist.
Yes, I know most bees are friendly and all that, but still, I don't want them near me.

I know wasps are more aggressive and my uncle's neighbor was determined to save money and remove a wasps nest from his back patio by himself. He was stung to death. Sometimes we when we have opened windows one will fly in and it doesn't matter what I am doing at the time---I must get the thing out.

 

[Rob]

Dentists

 

[BlueRidge]

People

 

[Andrushka]

I'm afraid of heights,specifically long, high bridges and fly over roads.Interesting enough,I found out that my paternal grandmother was also afraid of the same things.Makes me wonder if it can be attributed to genetic memory.She died when my dad was 5 (cancer).

 

[MR-FAN]

Balloons popping

 

[gkelly]

I'm afraid of heights,specifically long, high bridges and fly over roads.

Me too, to an extent.

My sister has a more severe bridge phobia.

She has had to make use of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge driver service for work sometimes.

I have only had to cross that bridge a few times in my life and I wasn't driving. I'm not sure whether I could do it myself. I don't like the Delaware Memorial Bridge, but as long as I stay in a center lane I'm fine.

Once I was driving past Baltimore and both tunnels had severe backups, so I detoured to take the Key Bridge. I was driving in the right lane because I expected to drive slowly, but I found myself getting so anxious that I could barely maintain 40 mph. My solution was to move into the left lane, where I didn't have to worry about falling off the bridge into the water, just about the oncoming traffic. No different from regular highway driving, so that proved the best solution for me.

That's when I realized that even if my bridge phobia wasn't as bad as my sister's, it did exist.

Often when I drive on bridges or flyover ramps with low barriers, I can't help thinking about how easy it would be to drive over the side.

About 15 years ago I also went through a period when every time I took the Metro I would obsess about how easy it would be to fall or jump off the platform onto the tracks. More recently I don't take Metro very often, but fortunately I seem to have gotten over that obsession.

I was especially obsessed when my niece was an infant and it was easy to fixate on how vulnerable she would be if whoever was holding happened to drop her off a bridge, onto train tracks, down a steep mountain, by accident or on purpose.

 

[AliasJohnDoe]

Public bathrooms. The ocean (hate it). Snakes. Eating out or having someone else prepare my food. Holding a newborn. Hospitals.

 

[MR-FAN]

Holding a newborn.

Monster!

 

[TheGirlCanSkate]

I can't be in a crowded loud place for too long. I'm good for an hour or 2 but then I can't hold it together and must leave. I have full on panic / anger mode. I used to love shopping but the local malls installed blaring televisions from the ceilings, so that plus, too many people, plus weird smells - it is really suffering for me. Maybe restaurants are also off my list. It's just too much.

The older I get, the more I appreciate camping, hiking, empty beaches.

BED BUGS! and Lice! If I read a hotel review and they mention it, I cannot stay there. If I hear a kid at school has lice, if I read the word lice, my head itches. (yes, I'm itchy now).

 

[cholla]

Wasps and hornests. But it isn't irrational since I'm highly allergical to their sting. I'm known for my self-control but I have a hard time staying calm when there is one of these buzzing bugs around...

 

[Habs]

About 15 years ago I also went through a period when every time I took the Metro I would obsess about how easy it would be to fall or jump off the platform onto the tracks. More recently I don't take Metro very often, but fortunately I seem to have gotten over that obsession.

I was especially obsessed when my niece was an infant and it was easy to fixate on how vulnerable she would be if whoever was holding happened to drop her off a bridge, onto train tracks, down a steep mountain, by accident or on purpose.

I've had the same thoughts/fears taking the subway. I have to stand far back from the tracks. It still freaks me out waiting for a train after a concert or sporting event when the platforms are crowded.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

People

People who need people
Are the luckiest people...in the world...

Or so Ms. Streisand would have had us think.

Thunderstorms at night - always worried about tornadoes (The Wizard of Oz obviously implanted that in me at an early age). Last night's storm system didn't help that fear, believe you me.

 

[Cachoo]

People who need people
Are the luckiest people...in the world...

Or so Ms. Streisand would have had us think.

Thunderstorms at night - always worried about tornadoes (The Wizard of Oz obviously implanted that in me at an early age). Last night's storm system didn't help that fear, believe you me.

This was my dad's fear. He was from New Jersey and the Air Force sent him to Kansas. On his first weekend here he had to go to a town called Ulysses that had been hit at night by a tornado and at that time there was no warning. Over 70 people died and he had to help find the bodies. I always thought he was overly prepared for night twisters and there were times we wanted to stay in bed and he would pick us up and carry us downstairs if we hesitated. He was unusually sharp..rude even during these times. I know he was terrified. I'm glad he behaved responsibly even if I thought it was over the top.

 

[smurfy]

When I was about 5 I saw the movie 'The Fly' -the original. If you don't know - a man invents a transporter machine. When he practices on himself - there is a fly in the machine - so he ends up with his body with a flies head and arms.
My memory is vague, but I remember a scene at the end. Outside scene, park bench, I think, with bushes. In a spiders web is a little fly with a human head, and a spider closing in - and the little fly is saying 'help me, help me'. And someone swats the web.
That scene gave me nightmares. Not sure if I was afraid of bugs before and that is why the movie scared me, or the movie scared me so I don't like bugs.
Everyone now and then I wonder if something similar in a movie will scare me.
Just recently on Survivor - a lady said a bug got in her ear, and they showed it crawling out of her ear.
I was really afraid I would have nightmares - fortunately I did not.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Dirt, mud, earthworms, snails, spiders, stepping on animal poop, dark farm roads. Seriously, my husband's Grandma lives in the central valley in California and we once got lost driving through at least 30 miles of unpaved and unlit farm roads surrounded by tall crops on all sides. I almost passed out from my panic attack! Worst night of my life.

 

[Lilia A]

I know wasps are more aggressive and my uncle's neighbor was determined to save money and remove a wasps nest from his back patio by himself. He was stung to death. Sometimes we when we have opened windows one will fly in and it doesn't matter what I am doing at the time---I must get the thing out.

Holy....
"Wasp nest" - just reading those two words gives me anxiety.
I can never tell the difference between a bee and a wasp, mostly because I can never look at it long enough to tell what it is (all I need to do is hear one and I turn into Usain Bolt).

 

[moebius]

I have lots of fears, but I don't consider them irrational. I don't see anything irrational about being afraid of bees, wasps, heights, snakes. Irrational fears are when you are afraid of something that makes no sense, such as stuffed animals, flowers, sofa, or anything that shouldn't trigger any fears.

 

[Rock2]

Among the truly irrational ones:

1. When I go to step out of an elevator it will drop suddenly and cut me in half (I saw it on a TV show once and I have never forgotten it)
2. duck lips, live or in pictures (seriously, creeps the begeezus out of me when I see it. I have to look or walk away)