My Dear Irrational Fears

[hereyago]

I acknowledge your fear and respect it, but just picturing this maneuver!!

It is hilarious especially when it doesn't work and I have to do it again. It's the popping house , it makes me want to duck and cover.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

large bodies of water at night. A lit swimming pool is fine, but the beach, lake, walking out on a pier I will never take a cruise and I have no reason for my fear. Years back in a similar thread I posted ....

I blame Jaws


(the Tag Fairy even gifted me with the MOST awesome tag from it too but lost it when the Boards did the big change ..that thread was great)

not a fan of the dentist either but like the OP, I had painful experiences as a child so I can at least rationalize that fear

For years after watching Jaws as a kid I had this fear except I had the fear in a swimming pool too..talk about irrational there.

I still get anxious when I've been near the ocean though. When we went to Hawaii this past September there was a shark attack within a few mins of where we were staying at a week before we were going to be there that put my fear back into the radar.

1) biscuit tubes : I have to have dd do it or I do a run and throw at the counter.

OMG I am the same way when it comes to opening the tubes. I have my husband open it, put on headphones to lessen the noise or try to do this weird closing of one ear by tilting my head to my shoulder or I try to do some fancy body maneuvering to lessen the noise impact..mine seems to be more related to the pop noise in relation to my ears.

 

[Canooknic]

I definitely share the dentist fear, I can't even take my children to their appointments!

Eyes!! Horrid things. I can't look at them. My poor children have had to learn to look after each other when they get lashes/sand etc in their eyes because I can't be of any assistance!

My other is caterpillars. In the early 80s our town was swarmed with them; literally every square inch was covered, the street looked like a brown river because it was constantly moving (my palms are sweaty just typing this!!). Last summer there were at most 10 in my tree, I couldn't walk past it to get to my car! Luckily my Dad was visiting my sister a couple of streets away so he came and rescued me! Lol

 

[elaine amj]

1) biscuit tubes : I have to have dd do it or I do a run and throw at the counter.

LOL - I think this one wins the thread!

I must admit, I still jump and often shriek a little when I pop the tube. Its silly when I know to expect it - but the pop still scares me. Unfortunately DD15 has managed to avoid learning how to do it

 

[dotfurio]

Flying. I need to be medicated, and even at that it only takes the edge off.

Heights/elevators. I suppose I've seen one too many shows about elevators dropping. I've been on TOT twice and I bawled both times. SO embarassing.

Lakes. I don't go in water if I can't see the bottom. The idea of old junk there that people have tossed in creeps me out. Oddly, I'm fine with the ocean.

 

[luvsJack]

Spiders, heights and tall bridges.

With bridges it's the ones that are really tall and there isn't really a shoulder so no where to go in an emergency. I love. NOLA but am a nervous wreck getting in and out of the city.

Oh and flying. Well, I have never actually flown so it is more a fear of having a fear.

 

[nicolita3]

Water that i can't see the bottom of. I get scared that something will grab me. I will go to the beach up to my knees. I even get scared when I let something soak in the sink and have to take the plug out.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

Roller Coasters that go upside down. I was a kid and a harness lifted up, I thought for sure I was going to die!

Spiders/bugs/creepy crawlers..... I just don't do them. If at home I will put a glass over it. I once was in the car and spider came across the window. Having couple people in the car with me I flipped out, nearly tears! I had to pull over and be saved from one of my passengers. The crunch of bugs nope can't do it!

 

[hellokitty86]

Werewolf - you hairy ugly monster, I know your real, your making gurgling sounds in my dark back yard now, just waiting to tear me limb from limb

You make me laugh every time I see one of your posts! ❤

 

[Wendy31]

I'm a worrier & have all kinds of things that make me anxious & worried & fearful. My poor DH is a saint.

Here are a few...

1. Snakes -

I have a snake phobia, yet, oddly, I'm also fascinated by them.

I'm okay as long as I can see the snake & know where it is. I have a phobia of one sneaking up on me or being curled up in the corner of my closet or dropping off a tree onto my head or falling onto me while I'm showering.

I have nightmares about snakes & having to run through a yard or something while trying to avoid all the snakes.

About 5 or so years ago, we were vacationing in Florida, &, one morning, in the local paper, there was a story about a man finding a snake in his toilet. And, ever since then, I have to look in the toilet before I use the bathroom. Prior to this, I could get up in the night & go the bathroom w/o turning on the light. Not any more!

2. Doctors/Dentists/Hospitals -

I have to be basically dying to go see a doctor or dentist. I can't even handle taking my kids to the doctor & will have panic attacks even thinking about it. During cold/flu season, we basically hibernate, because I'm scared to death the kids will get sick. When DH's dad was in the hospital for a little over a week, I was an absolute wreck.

When there's a thread here on the DIS & everyone is urging the poster to "Go to the ER!" I'm like, "N.O."

A couple of months ago, I thought either I was having a heart attack or a gall bladder attack, and I decided to "wait it out". It was in the middle of the night, and I told myself, "If you're still alive in the morning, you'll be fine."

3. Busy Interstate Highways (like in Atlanta) -

If there's a back road, I'll take it - even if it means going out of my way & will take longer.

4. Absolute Dark -

I need to have some kind of light on so I can see. For example, at night, I need to be able to see into the hallway outside of our bedroom.

I have nightmares where I'm in a dark room & try to turn on the light but it won't come on.

I'm an INFJ on the MBTI scale, &, just the other day, I read a post on the top 10 fears of the INFJ. Interestingly, the dark was the #1 fear of the INFJ.

5. Being Burned while Roasting Marshmallows -

When I was a kid, we were roasting marshmallows around a campfire, & my dad's marshmallow caught on fire. When he shook it to put the fire out, the marshmallow slung off his stick & fell onto his knee where it lay burning for a few seconds before he was able to get it off his leg.

And, ever since then, I've been always been anxious around campfires if we're roasting marshmallows.

 

[lorimay]

Although I can try to therapize them I do know my top 4 are indeed irrational:

1.Flying - I fear other people's fear and reactions in the event of a "mishap". If the plane were empty I'd be ok I think. In general I love everything about planes and airports

2. The Dentist - I'd rather have another screw put in my foot or more spinal taps than have another cavity filled, I just don't like it. When I was a kid they didn't give me enough novocaine and I felt it all...bleck, I can't.

3. Bungee Chords - The cook at my summer camp had a glass eye. He took it out to show us and all this gunk spilled out. He lost his eye when he was tying down stuff on his car w/...a bungee chord and it slipped and hooked his eye...enter my fear!

4. Spiders - No story, completely irrational and by FAR the biggest of all 4. ALL other bugs are fine, not them.

What are your irrational fears, and any stories of their inception?

I broke my foot in November and had 4 screws put in, so now I fear doormats because my foot turned off the doormat and caused this nightmare. Literally when I walk out the back or front door I will not step on the doormat. The mat I broke my foot with was thick and I replaced it with the thinnest
one I could find. PTSD of doormats go figure.

 

[indimom]

Mine are fairly typical.
Spiders. I can deal if they are small and NOT above me. But I'm in trouble if they are anywhere they could fall/jump on me OR if they are big. Cleaning the garage for yard sales or family parties is ... difficult, you find them anywhere/everywhere. I really need to make husband spray more often.

Tight/enclosed spaces. Most elevators are okay, but the small (fit about 4 people) type get me. And I can't stand movies with scenes of people crawling through tunnels/caves. I would have to stay trapped. There is no way I could ever do that. Just leave me behind... the thought of all that weight pressing down from above. SHUDDER

Unrestrained heights. I can fly, I can ride roller coasters, I can enjoy a panoramic view from a fair distance. I even zip-lined in Tennessee...
BUT, ladders, roofs, old buildings with "low" railings on stairs/balconies, coming anywhere near a dropoff/cliff.... NO.
My fear seems primarily related to what I might do to cause my own demise (tripping, losing my grip/step, slipping). Those are the sort of things that are flying through my mind any time I have to experience heights without proper restraint.
When DH needed help on the porch roof (about 10 feet off the ground and a very low pitch), I was able to get up there (from a ladder, yikes) with some assistance. I was able to stand on the side of the roof near the house and help him with the gutter on the main house, but once I turned around to go back..... it took at least 10 or 15 minutes for dh to coach and assist me back to the edge the roof and onto the ladder to get down.

I'm pretty sure he won't be asking me for help again.

 

[aprilchem]

I also have a fear of the dentist but I wouldn't say it is irrational - I've had two very bad experiences with dentists (well, one very, very bad experience that nearly caused me to die, one just sort of bad experience) that caused me to dislike going. I will not go unless I have a dental emergency that I can't handle in another way.

I think I do have an irrational fear of one of my children dying. I understand that the chances of that happening are statistically very low, yet sometimes I get myself worked up about the possibility. I would say that's irrational.

 

[Tattylou]

I definitely share the dentist fear, I can't even take my children to their appointments!

Eyes!! Horrid things. I can't look at them. My poor children have had to learn to look after each other when they get lashes/sand etc in their eyes because I can't be of any assistance!

My other is caterpillars. In the early 80s our town was swarmed with them; literally every square inch was covered, the street looked like a brown river because it was constantly moving (my palms are sweaty just typing this!!). Last summer there were at most 10 in my tree, I couldn't walk past it to get to my car! Luckily my Dad was visiting my sister a couple of streets away so he came and rescued me! Lol

Where do you live? I remember that infestation too. I lived (still do actually) about 15 min south of Boston. I was probably 5. They were everywhere- all over my house, the yard, ugh! The car would make a crunching noise driving over them out of the driveway bc there were so many! I'm terrified of them too!! Gypsy moth ones, the furry grey ones.... even typing this I feel gross!!!

I'm also freaked about the dentist. It was a minor fear most of my life until I had to get an emergency root canal on a front tooth while pregnant and since then it has been a source of anxiety. My novacaine options were limited due to pregnancy. It was painful and nerve wracking on so many levels. I just always dread going now. I feel like I'm expecting bad news that will be painful and expensive.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I just realized one of my fears the other day while driving on an overpass...

I am afraid of crashing my car on an overpass and going over the little, tiny, barrier and plummeting to my death. I am also afraid of getting in any car crash that could cause me to die, be dismembered or maimed in any way. I am afraid of mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, anything in the rodent family scares the complete crap out of me! I get wigged out if I even think there could be the possibility of a mouse anywhere near me - like I can't move kinda freaked out. Oh well, I'm a weird one loL!!!

 

[Canooknic]

Where do you live? I remember that infestation too. I lived (still do actually) about 15 min south of Boston. I was probably 5. They were everywhere- all over my house, the yard, ugh! The car would make a crunching noise driving over them out of the driveway bc there were so many! I'm terrified of them too!! Gypsy moth ones, the furry grey ones.... even typing this I feel gross!!!

I'm up in Canada, just outside of Edmonton. I'm shocked that there is someone else suffering like me!!!!

 

[Tattylou]

I'm up in Canada, just outside of Edmonton. I'm shocked that there is someone else suffering like me!!!!

Wow, that's not even nearby me at all. Who knew the attack of the caterpillars covered so much ground. Yikes!! Yes, I share your fear!! They totally freak me out. I dread them coming back when the weather warms.

 

[ronandannette]

I have an irrational fear of ladybugs. They freak me out to no end. If one is anywhere near me I fixate on it until it's gone.

I also have a fear of being stuck in an MRI machine. I get them twice a year so it's not like an out of the blue fear.

For something so non-invasive, MRIs are the WORST experience ever. I hardly want to dwell on it long enough to reply to your post (I'm actually shaking a little bit right now). I am generally a pretty "cool cucumber" but I barely made it through my last cranio-spinal scan (the one where you're locked down into the head cage). I'll never understand why they don't offer heavy sedation for procedures like that.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

For something so non-invasive, MRIs are the WORST experience ever. I hardly want to dwell on it long enough to reply to your post (I'm actually shaking a little bit right now). I am generally a pretty "cool cucumber" but I barely made it through my last cranio-spinal scan (the one where you're locked down into the head cage). I'll never understand why they don't offer heavy sedation for procedures like that.

I refuse to ever have an MRI without sedation again. Still traumatized by my first experience. Triggered a bad long spell with claustrophobia.

 

[StitchworkSarah]

Cephalopods, specifically Octopus and Squid but the others are creepy too. After seeing two videos online of an octopus actually coming on land and chasing down a crab and eating it and then another of an octopus actually attacking a seagull I just cant stand the things. I swear they are the devils making.

https://www.theguardian.com/austral...b/25/octopus-attacks-crab-walks-on-land-video