Taking rational fears off the table, I have 2 that I would consider irrational:
Someone pouring salt down my throat. Obviously it sounds miserable - but I have no idea why I even think about it, let alone fear that it could happen.
Floating in water next to something big that’s also floating. For example, if I fell off a cruise ship. Being in deep water is fine, and floating next to something small-ish like a sailboat is fine. But the idea of floating in the water next to a giant ship exending way up over my head gives me the total heebee jeebees.
For myself: Alzheimer’s (fortunately no family history)
For my family: my daughter’s fibromyalgia is getting progressively worse
For the world: climate change catastrophes
That’s one of mine. If I have to use stairs like that (which are usually metal grates you can see through, making it worse) I hold the railing and go very slowly and deliberately and watch my feet to make sure I put them squarely on the steps and don’t shoot through.
Spiders are probably my worst phobia.
I also have an irrational fear of things getting into my ears. I blame Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I always, always sleep with a blanket over my head. I tell myself it’s to drown out the night noises, but that’s a lie.
Seconded. Happened to too many members of my family multiple times. Sometimes, no, often, I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens to me. Also, the fact that it could happen to me and I won’t realize it.
Being woken up by a loud noise while sleeping. For a moment it is even more terrifying than certain death because I can feel the terror bouncing around up and down my spine for a few seconds after I wake up, even building for a second or so once I realize what has happened.
Or occasionally it happens the other way around: I awake with a primordial dread fear only to realize less than a second later that there is a huge sudden sound. (Of course that is due to the timing mechanism of the brain under which the instinctual reaction part of the brain got the message before my conscious data processing part, but it is still horrifying.)
This. Sleep and its twilight put me in an absolutely unguarded emotional state. My ex-girlfriend once kissed me awake, and it was an astoundingly passionate thing on my end - not sexual, just emotional in a way I’ve never experienced before or since. Likewise, the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard was an Enya song that was so-so-when I was fully awake, but was absolutely stunning as I was drifting off to sleep.
The flip side of that coin is that thunderstorms at night are absolutely, insanely terrifying. Close-range thunderclaps that have me exclaiming “wow, that was fucking cool” during the day will have me clawing at the sheets in fear for my life if they wake me from a sleep state.
A big hairy bug will cause my adrenaline level to go off the charts. My heart pounds, I sweat and I have trouble breathing. Totally irrational fear but there you have it.
I have had a few bouts of sleep paralysis. It is absolutely terrifying when it happens. I wake up with a feeling of dread, that there is something wrong, and I try to call to my husband and realize that I cannot move at all. In fact, the only part of my body that works is my eyes and I can turn my head slightly. The first few times it happened to me was horrifying and I was convinced that there was something wrong with me. I was afraid to sleep at night for weeks after each episode.
My mother was a nurse when this first started happening to me and was able to tell me what it was and why it happens (REM sleep interrupted and muscles are still locked). Now when it happens I know what it is and can ride it out. At most, it lasts for about half a minute. It happens only when I am exhausted and having insomnia episodes.
What does still terrify me is knowing that it is common to have auditory and visual hallucinations while in this state: the most common is the demonic presence or the feeling of something sitting on your chest. Some people even “see” demons, dead people, etc. I am afraid that I would die of fright if this happened to me. During the episodes that I do have, without the hallucinations and even knowing what is going on, I still have a hard time knowing if I am really awake or still dreaming. I have had to wake up my husband a few times and ask him to orient me to reality.
Thinking that there is someone inside my house. That I will wake up in the night and there will be an evil man standing beside my bed, ready to inflict pain, terror and death upon me. Or when I am at my computer, I will hear a noise behind me and turn around to see someone there. (I think this even knowing that I have a security system-they know how to get around the system and get in without setting it off)
Having “Frozen Man Syndrome” or something like it.
Being handcuffed with my hands behind my back.
If I can’t scratch where it itches, I’m freaking out, I guess.
Me too. But it’s because I’m afraid that I’ll drop my keys or cel phone down it. I hate parking near them for that same reason. One fumble and I’d be screwed.
