What is your irrational fear?

[Darzog]

So rather than pollute DW's thread, let's bring this discussion to it's own area. What fear do you have that you feel is partly or wholly irrational?

Personally I have a dibilitating fear of snakes. If I see a snake in real life while I'm alone I freeze until I can't see it anymore. And not just stand still; I can't move until it is no longer in sight. If I see a snake on TV I will have nightmares for several days. My neighbors have a little wooden snake toy for their son and everytime I see it lying on the ground I freeze up and have to stare at it for a few seconds before I can relax, and even then I'll be apprehensive about it as long as I'm at their house. If I am with other people I can retain control of myself but my heart races, I'm extremely aggitated and while I don't freeze up I still have to keep as much distance as possible between me and the snake.

This has only been going on for 8-10 years. When I was a kid I used to walk through desert areas to get to the bus stop and there were snake trails all over the place (rattlesnakes, sidewinders, copperheads) and it never fazed me. In my (college) sophmore year we did 2 weeks of surveying in waist-high grass; there were several snake sightings (not by me) and the instructor had a 6-foot snake skin band for his cowboy hat. Other than being careful where I walked, no big deal.

I do not remember any traumatic episodes with a snake except one when I was in high school: We were going up to a friend's cabin in the mountains, his dad saw a rattler near the road so he got out of the jeep picked up a handful of rocks and started tossing them at the snake. After a few rocks the snake got pissed and struck at the side of the jeep several times. I don't know if this was the trigger or not, but my absolute fear did not manifest until several years after this incident. In fact at the time my girlfriend owned a snake and even though I was uneasy around it, I never had the fear I do now. She could have it out, holding it, passing it between friends and I could sit on the other side of the table and only have a little unease. Now I would be totally freaked out.

Now I know that a healthy respect for snakes is a good idea since they can be dangerous (based on species and how you come into contact with them). But I once saw a little garter that was smaller than a pencil and it still froze me up until I couldn't see it anymore. And I can't watch the Animal Planet because they might put a snake in a show or a commercial; I have to change the channel when the 'Snakes on Planes' commercials come on... my fear is way outside of the reasonable level.

So what about everyone else?

[Lasher]

hmmm i'm so deathly afraid of losing my car keys i had them surgically grafted to my hand. yes i'm just kidding

[dragon wench]

I don't have a fear of any one thing, as such. For example, snakes, spiders and the like do not really bother me.

But, I am claustrophobic. I will begin to freak out when confined in a small, dark space. I will be affected even more if I'm stuck in a crowd and can't move, that just terrifies me, and it is all I can do to maintain some measure of control.

[Phreddie]

The Dark, I know there is nothing there, but that what if scares the crap out of me.

Also heights, Ive been suspended two hundred feet in the air by ropes that could lift a mack truck to that height and not break, and still be scared of the rope breaking and hitting the ground. I am not scared of falling, indeed I think free fall would be rather enjoyable, its the landing part that bothers me.

[Juniper]

Any bug that stings......holy jeeezum.....i do the freak out dance if a wasp or hornet flies around me....with a complemeting little scream. It really is a reaction of mine that i love to share with everyone

And, my newest one is elevators..i have NO idea why, in the past 6 months or so, i get a bit freaked in elevators...im not at the point of not taking them...yet.

[JonIrenicus]

Little green aliens that try to take me when I am sleeping! They are always trying to bug me when I need sleep the most!

[Chimaera182]

I have a fear of falling off the earth (no, really, bear with me). It wasn't a manifested fear in and of itself, but over the last 6-7 years, I've discovered that if I look up at the sky and see just sky and clouds, usually I'm fine. But if I see a building in my view while looking up, I find myself becoming extremely dizzy, and then I get this light feeling in my body and I feel as though I'm starting to "slip" and fall... yes, upwards. I know I won't fall off the earth, but for some reason, looking up still does that bizarre nauseous thing for me, and I still get plagued with the same worry of clinging to the earth. In contrast, I do not have a fear of heights; naturally, it's the falling from them that concerns me. But I've been in tall buildings, I've been on rooftops, I've even been on top of a ladder with no walls for nearby support, balancing on the topmost step trying to change a lightbulb right in the middle of a store, with nothing but hard tables and breakable plastic and chocolate to break my fall.

[Fiona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chimaera182 I have a fear of falling off the earth (no, really, bear with me). It wasn't a manifested fear in and of itself, but over the last 6-7 years, I've discovered that if I look up at the sky and see just sky and clouds, usually I'm fine. But if I see a building in my view while looking up, I find myself becoming extremely dizzy, and then I get this light feeling in my body and I feel as though I'm starting to "slip" and fall... yes, upwards. I know I won't fall off the earth, but for some reason, looking up still does that bizarre nauseous thing for me, and I still get plagued with the same worry of clinging to the earth.

Yes, I understand that. You want to lay off it for a while

[Denethorn]

I have an irrational fear of dehydration.

So I make sure I drink plenty

Ok that was bad

[dragon wench]

@ Chim,
in addition to Fiona's suggestion (), I'd also suggest considering the possibility you may have some form of vertigo. I have an afflicted friend who experiences some very similar sensations to those you describe.

[Chimaera182]

Lay what off?

[Magelord648]

I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm just afraid there's something in the dark.

[Fiona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chimaera182 Lay what off?

*shrugs* Whatever turns you on

[Magrus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denethorn I have an irrational fear of dehydration. So I make sure I drink plenty Ok that was bad

That's simply a logical precaution for our occupations. Nothing to worry about.

I wouldn't really say I have any "irrational" fears. Each of the relatively few fears I have left have come from a very real and logical thing in my life.

I don't like going near large bodies of water any longer when other people are around me. Why? I've nearly drowned twice, and both times were because other people were being idiots and caused me to fall under water and hit my head on something. If I am around a body of water, and there are other people around, I move away, very quickly. People say it's irrational, but...those people have never nearly drowned.

I have a fear of doctors, among other negative emotions. If I see a medical professional coming towards me, I become highly hostile immediately. I no longer let any medical professionals come near me, no matter what is wrong with me.

I have this thing with watching people that I have no evidence of them doing anything wrong being hurt. It truly, thoroughly bugs me. I wouldn't say frightens me, but I get all sorts of nervous, upset and angry. A long history of abuse would be the cause I think. Shouting however, brings back flashbacks. I become frightened for a moment, until I realize what is really going on, then anger sets in at being shouted at.

I have a fear of losing my temper. Given my past experiences, I know if someone were to push me too far, I really have no qualms in truly hurting someone if I feel they deserve it at the moment. Generally, the only things that have stopped me in the past when I was hit by someone and lost my temper was the general feeling of disgust I had for the person after beating them up. Most of the people that pick fights with me don't know how to fight, and it disgusts me more than anything. I think that would be just about the only reason some of the kids that started fights with me just ended up in ICU for a few days rather than something worse.

Last one, I have a fear of losing a person I care about. If I can't see, or hear the person, and haven't heard from them in a certain amount of time that is longer than normal I get worried. I tend to base my reaction more on the persons habits and all, so if I talk to a person daily, and they don't show up for a day or two, I would start to become worried if they dissapeared for a week. If I talk to them once a month or so, it would take a few months for me to end up worried. Yet, some really bad things have happened to people I cared about when they were out of my sight, and two of them have made comments that they know it wouldn't have been hurt if I had been near them. So, it makes me nervous quite a bit when people dissapear on me randomly.

[TonyMontana1638]

Spiders for me, I'm a certified arachnophobe. The small ones you find crawling around your house or outside of it are fine (I take a perverse joy in killing those ) but anything the size of or larger than an Eisenhower dollar is going to reduce me to a to a jittering wreck. Ones smaller than that that are noticeably hairy or just really dark and solid in build also bother me: I know that's a weird description, but for example the large, spindly Daddy Long-Legs type never bother me no matter how big they are (they look fragile) but the ones like Wolf Spiders just... Euuugh.*quakes* That's not even mentioning the fact that Wolf Spiders are very good jumpers...

Actually come to think of it I'm not very fond of any large bugs at all and the hot weather recently has brough a number of cicada's onto my porch at night...