What are you afraid of?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Fire, particularly forest/wild/outside fires. I get panic symptoms even driving by an old fire area or when I smell forest fire smoke. I really don’t like matches or lighters and about the only fire I feel comfortable around is a campfire or woodstove.

Climbing up tall things (trees, rocks (half dome in Yosemite, for instance), roofs). I don’t mind being at the top, and I don’t mind climbing down. It’s the climbing up part I have a hard time with. This has only been in the last couple of years, and it runs in my family (my mom gets nearly paralyzed with fear when she’s anywhere high, but she didn’t have that fear when she was young).

42

I’m not afraid of much. Heights, bugs, snakes, the dark, blood, needles, etc. – none of that bothers me. But I do have two…um…‘issues:’

– If it’s dark outside and I’m inside, and the room is lit and there’s a window in it, I’ll want the window to be covered. I don’t like that effect, where the interior of the room is reflected back at you and you can’t see what’s outside. I seem to think that a face (or something) might appear at the window suddenly, especially if I’m not on the ground floor. :eek: (I think I read too many ‘vampires/ghosts outside the 3rd-floor window’ stories as a kid.) I’m not very tolerant of phobias in myself, but this is one I can’t seem to shake. The other one is:

– SIDS. If I am babysitting a friend or relative’s infant, I am obsessed with checking on them whenever they’re sleeping. I will keep them in my arms if they fell asleep that way, or will make sure I’m in the same room with their crib. Babies that age have that ability to be very, very still while they are sleeping, and I am forever putting my hand on them to make sure they’re still breathing. It just freaks me out. Luckily, no one I know has an infant right now. :slight_smile:

43

And you’re what I’d call a meanie.

44

Dogs. Specifically, lately, barking dogs. Used to be any kind of dog, but now they have to be mad.

I’ve been attacked by dogs a few times, and I used to be completely irrational about them (I was once riding my bike down a hill past a driveway; a dog came running out of the driveway and I jumped off my bike to run away, rather than, you know, pedaling faster… ever jump off your bike when it was going near full speed? Not a lot of fun).

So these days I’m better with dogs; so long as they stay calm and keep the hell away from me I’m okay, but if they get close to me I just remember what it’s gonna feel like if they attack and suddenly I’m not so okay.

45

Heights over around ten feet. I’m reasonably all right if I’m well-enclosed (full enclosure, railings don’t count), but if it’s open, absolutely not. Lay-flat-on-the-ground-as-far-from-the-edge-as-possible not.

Confined spaces. If it’s too small to extend my arms and legs in, I’m not getting in it.

Blood. Anything to do with it, even just typing the word gives me the willies. Having any drawn is the most horrific ordeal I can imagine, and the few times its been necessary, I more often than not faint.

Large groups of people. I’m not really afraid of them, but I’m always on edge whenever I’m in a big group. There’s too much to watch out for, you don’t know what’s coming. This is why I could never live in a city, or even a large town for that matter.

Bugs used to terrify me when I was younger, but that’s one fear I seem to have grown out of. Now I don’t have any problem catching them (I don’t like killing. If I can’t catch them and take them outside, they’ve proven themselves a worthy adversary and are welcome guests in my home. :wink: )

46

When I was a kid, I was a total sissie - afraid of anything that moved and lots of things that didn’t. Heights. Water. The dark. Escalators. Revolving doors. Fire. Loud noises. Baseballs coming toward me. Roller coasters. Going too fast. Flying. Suffocating. Bugs. Dogs. The list goes on and on.

But sometime during my teen years, most of these fears just sort of evaporated. I have no idea why or how, I just stopped being so phobic.

But as an adult, I’ve developed strange animal-related phobias.

Like fish that have just been caught, and are flopping around, dying. I’m ok with them once they’re dead (and preferably scaled and filleted and cooked).

Or coming too close to a dead animal. Last year I had to dispose of a dead bird in the yard, and I think I suffered more than the bird.

And then there are deformed animals, especially ones with extra body parts - couldn’t even watch a 2-headed pig or turtle on tv recently.

47

I don’t mind enclosed spaces, but I can’t stand crowded spaces. Especially small crowded spaces, like elevators. Many times I’ve had to get off elevators when too many people have gotten on. Fortunately, taking the stairs is good for me.

I have no desire to ride rollercoasters, but I can’t say I fear them. Of course, I’ve never been on one to fear it. I just can’t see voluntarily becoming nauseous. I’ve always wanted to try skydiving.

I don’t like bugs, but I’m not afraid of them. I do like spiders, though. They eat bugs and they’re companionable animals. I like snakes, but I couldn’t have one for a pet because I couldn’t feed them mice.

I used to be terribly phobic about doctors, prefering to be sick or in pain rather than see them. I went more than 25 years between doctor visits, but I have found one doctor I can trust, but I still don’t like it.

I guess crowded places are really the only thing I can’t tolerate at all.

StG

48

I’m not really afraid of a car wreck per se but one of my worst fears would be to be hit head on by some huge ass SUV and having it just go over the bumper of my car and kill me instantly. My car is kind of old and I don’t know how safe it would be in a real wreck so one day when I have a real job I will prob buy a huge ass SUV. :wink:

49

Ditto clowns! Those things are terrifying!

Lately, I’ve become phobic about senility. Phobic to the point if I have a momentary memory lapse (like forgetting where I put my car keys), I fly into a panic and start doing all kinds of mental tests (like memorizing a series of random words or numbers) to prove that my brain is still working.

50

im afraid of psychological pain. Perhaps thats not creative but thats mainly it. Depression, mental illness, discontentment, fear, unfulfillment, etc scare me. Physical pain i can handle because it tops out after a while and since most fear is either about physical or psychological pain i choose this one.

51

Let’s see…

Heights? Hell no! Worked for several summers as a roofer. Waling around on a 50’ roof with no safety device of any kind desensitizes you. I plan one day to skydive and/or bungee jump, too. Also, Flying is cool.

Needles? Nope, given blood several times, plan to give some more. I really do have too much, and I was just gonna toss it in the trash, so if you want it, come pick it up and it’s yours!

Bugs? Well…not insects, but a little bit spiders. Now it’s less of a fear and more of a hatred. If it’s not too big a spider, I’ll kill it. If it’s big…well…I’ll still kill it, but it has to be with chemicals (not squishing) and it takes me a while to build up the nerve to get close enough to spray it.

Enclosed spaces? Nope. I don’t go seeking them out, but they don’t bother me.

The dark? Not in the least. I like the dark more than the light! Light is bright and hurts my eyes! I’m like a freakin’ gremlin over here.

Snakes, rodents, other random animals? Nah, I love all of Earth’s creatures, with exception to aforementioned spiders.

Storms? They’re cool.

Clowns? They’re not scary…they’re stupid, but not scary.
However, my only real fear right now is, essentially, people.

I prefer not to deal with people in person. I’m the kind who prefers to do everything with a minimum of human contact. If I can call or email, I’ll always email. If I can do something online not in person, I will. At a party I’m the guy who usually stands in the corner not talking to anyone I don’t know. I’m not scared of crowds, so I’ll go to the party, I’ll have a few drinks, I just won’t talk to anyone who’s not already a friend cause I am scared of talking to people I don’t know.

Hell, recently I was able to get a girls phone number (clearly, she initiated the entire conversation. My replies were mostly “yup” “ok” and “huh”, yet she still gave me her number, must be my amazingly hot looks.) It took me an hour (well, an hour after waiting four days before deciding that yes, I should call her) and a couple beers to work up the nerve to actually call her.

52

Hive insects in general and their nests in particular. Wasps disgust me but if I see their nests, I must destroy them or I will be sick every time I have to pass them. Similarly, those huge termite nests that you sometimes see pictures of from Africa nauseate me to the point where I almost puke.

Really bad zits, measles, chicken pox, etc. Anything small red bumps that show up on the skin in numbers of over a hundred freak me out. I’m getting nauseous right now just thinking about it, not to mention itchy.

Heights. Impenetrable darkness. Cops (scared of being arrested… a flashing light seen out of the corner of my eye while driving will send my heart racing).

NoClueBoy.

53

Wasp nests make me nervous, and if I see one, I’ll walk past it as quickly as possible, but I woldn’t say I’m scared of them.

Apparently, I have a phobia of needles. Which is to say, I’m not outwardly terrified of them, but no matter how calm and composed I am, I will always pass out as soon as they break the skin. It never fails. I tell all my doctors and dentists about it, but no one ever believes me until they’ve seen it happen.

The thing that genuinely freaks me out is being alone in the woods at night, a la Blair Witch Project. Man oh man, am I glad I live in the city.

54

Frogs and lizards totally freak me out (but oddly enough, not snakes).

I once slept on the couch because a little green tree frog (with it’s icky, sticky little toe-jammy feet) got in to my bedroom. I stuffed towels under the door so it couldn’t hunt me down in the middle of the night and slime me to death. My brother had to come over the next day and rescue me from Frog-zilla.

As for needles, I could stand as many shots as you wanted to give me. Just don’t try to draw blood or inject something into a vein. Don’t know what it is about that, but it definitely scares me. I usually just tell medical personnel how I feel about that, and we all act accordingly to get what needs to be done, done. The nurses have always been great with me…and grateful that I forewarn them.

55

First of all, ledges. Heights? No. But ledges? YESSS!
Secondly, things that “pop”. Jack-in-the-box things, that “sit on the balloon” game when I was five years old, and a can of biscuits. Yeah, biscuits! 'Cause I never know when that sucker is gonna “POP!”

56

-Hives or any other skin condition that manifests itself in countless bumps on skin. I find those sort of bumps more disgusting than any grotesque scene i can think of. Acne (on other people) i can deal with but I wouldn’t want to touch their skin.
In fact i was thoroughly traumatized by that photoshopped picture of the diseased nipple on snopes.com. I couldn’t sleep because of that picture.

-Huge insects. When i lived in Trinidad, grasshoppers and cockroaches would grow to gigantic proportions and of course those insects can fly. The grasshoppers grew so large they could be mistaken for small birds. Actually not even gigantic insects. Anything larger than half an inch.
Spiders though, if they’re of reasonable size, don’t frighten me at all.

57

While I have the standard things that willy me out a bit, I only have one thing I’m truly terrified of: Giant spiders. Not like tarantulas and such, I mean spiders the size of Buicks.

I guess I’m pretty safe in that respect. :slight_smile:

And although I wouldn’t classify it as a “fear”, I’m still not happy to be reminded of this:

That pic messed me up badly for about a week. I threw up at least once a day because I couldn’t get that image out of my head (and this is coming from a guy who cal stare at Tubgirl without batting an eyelash).

Even now, I’m getting pretty damn queezy thinking about it. <shudder>

58

The thing I find oddest, is that I know EXACTLY what caused all my phobias. Knowing what caused them hasn’t helped me a bit in overcoming them.

Needles: Became phobic of them when I had to have a cortisone shot when I was 5 years old, due to severe ezcema. Cortisone shots use a BIG needle and are pretty painful. I was terrified of needles most of my life, but I have actually overcome it for the most part. I was made to have weekly allergy shots when I was a teenager. Just the number of times I had it done helped me overcome little small subcutaneoud needles when injected by someone else. Then, when I was 26, I was diagnosed diabetic. This involved getting my hA1C checked at least every three months, and frequently I’d have to have blood draws even more often. I forced myself to do it because the thought of kidney failure was even more terrifying than the needles. My mother had kidney failure (although not from diabetes, as it happens) and she was on dialysis for many many years-- much longer than most people. They install a thing called a shunt in your arm or leg, and stab it with HUGE needles. They looked like freaking LOGS to me. I forced myself to do it enough times that I can deal with it pretty well now. I don’t LIKE it, but I can deal with it. A few years ago I was pregnant, and I learned to inject myself with insulin, which I would have never thought I would have been able to do in a million years. I still have a hard time with IV’s… especially since they tend to have a very hard time starting them on me. They usually have to try 3 or 4 times. I think I’d still be very afraid of a cortisone injection, but I hope I never have to put it to the test.

Driving: I am afraid of driving. I’ve never had a licence, although I failed the test once. My mother was also phobic and had frequent panic attacks just being a passenger. Compounded with my father’s reckless driving in deathtrap vehicles, where I got my phobia is no mystery. I’m not as bad a passenger as my mother, but I do get quite fearful at times. But I trust the ability of even fairly reckless drivers more than my own. I’m not totally convinced this is an unreasonable fear. There are HUGE numbers of people killed and injured by car accidents every year. I don’t understand why people are afraid of flying. If I could afford it, I’d buy myself a helicopter and fly everywhere-- it’s much safer.

**Flying, stinging insects: ** I have a severe allergy to walnuts, so I know what anaphylaxis is like. I am afraid of having an anaphylactic reaction to an insect sting. Spiders don’t bug me generally, because they don’t fly, so they are easier to kill or get away from. Non-stinging flying bugs are annoying, but don’t give me a fear reaction. I’m afraid of scorpions, but isn’t everyone? I should be more afraid of eating than I am of flying, stinging insects. I’ve been stung once without going into anaphylaxis. But somehow, I’m far more afraid of getting stung than of accidentally eating walnuts, even thought I actually HAVE accidentally eaten walnuts.

Phobias are not logical by their very nature. Don’t you just hate those people who try to use logic to talk you out of your phobia? “Yes, I know my fear is unreasonable and illogical because of X, Y and Z. IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY FRICKIN’ DIFFERENCE! I’m still afraid of it!”

59

Masked men kidnap me & force me to attend “The Defranco Family Reunion Tour with guest artists Sandy Posey and Leif Garrett”.

60

I’m afraid of:

  1. Heights. I don’t know if this is because I fell off a jungle gym as a child and knocked the wind out of myself, or because I’m only 4’10". :wink: At any rate, I hate heights so much that I have trouble with stairs, especially see-through ones, glass elevators, escalators, etc. Forget it about climbing ladders, etc. I had to clean the gutters on the roof a couple of years ago and sweated rivers the whole time. I try not to make it completely obvious to the kids, but I think I’ve failed, because they seem somewhat afraid of heights too.

  2. Flying. The mechanics of flying make absolutely no sense to me. It is crystal clear the entire time I’m in the air that if the plane crashes or malfunctions in any way, I’m toast. I white-knuckle and shake through any flight.

  3. Anaesthesia. When I can feel myself start to go under, I panic. This is probably due at least in part to a semi-bad anaesthesia experience I had that short-circuited my short-term memory for about a week. I couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t watch TV or read because I’d forget the plot, etc. in less than a minute. Closest I’ve come to hell in this lifetime, except for labor.

  4. Labor. Done it twice, gotten two kids from it, remember every horrible second. The first time lasted so long (65 1/4 hrs) and was so physically and psychologically horrendous that I developed post-traumatic stress disorder from it. Even now, the idea of doing that again raises a cold sweat.

Mrs. Furthur