It would be great if everyone can get through life being rational and fearless, but alas, this is not so…
Whenever I am carrying a tray of anything hot, I always fear that I might just spill whatever I am holding over someone.
When watching a movie, unless the movie has started, I always have the fear that I am either in the wrong seat, or in the wrong theatre.
So what’s yours?
I’m scared of careening off a bridge and not being able to escape my car with both children. As I’m driving over a bridge I’m almost always imagining our escape scenario.
Roller coasters. Almost all amusement park rides, for that matter. I’ll go with my family and pay the huge entrance fee, then sit and read a book while they’re going on a ride.
I’ll do the water rides, but that’s about it.
Natural water. Not little water (ponds) or swimming pools, but I am terrified of drowning. Now, I do have some real-life experience with near-drowning, so I guess it’s not that irrational.
But I did recently spend from 3-6am in my tent counting to pass the time, because I was camping near the beach (backpacked in, couldn’t leave) and it sounded like the lake was going to come up and wash me away. Well, it was a Great Lake. But I think the shore line rose up about, maybe six inches at the most ::need a wimp smiley here::
I guess in most cases, the threat of water doesn’t stop me from doing something, like flying over water, or taking a dip in the lake, but I am pretty fearful when I do these things.
I don’t know if these are irrational, but they are constantly bugging me.
That I’m not doing something right. Screwing in a light bulb, pouring milk in a bowl of cereal, dancing, riding a bike, signing my name, filing papers in alphabetical order. I can do these things just fine when I don’t have an audience, but the moment I feel like someone is watching me, I start feeling embarrassed–like I’m making all kinds of mistakes or doing something “kooky”. I know it sounds like an anxiety-ridden irrational fear, but it does seem like I always do things the “wrong” way. I think it’s because I’m very clumsy and have adapted to the physical world in an unusual way. I also lack a standard sense of organization, so I tend to come up with ad-hoc organizational schemes that only make sense to me. I don’t mind being different, but I don’t like doing things the “wrong” way, even my style works.
Whenever I have to step over a grate or a hole (like the space between the floor and the elevator), I get this crazy fear that I will drop my keys.
That I don’t have enough money when I’m at the cashier register. I could be buying a pack of gum and have a crisp ten dollar bill in my hand, and I’ll still worry that I’m going to come up short.
The moon, when it’s low in the sky so it’s big and orange. It just creeps me out. I don’t know exactly what I’m afraid it’s going to do, but I know it’s going to do something.
–Cliffy
I have an irrational fear of flying over water. I’m fine with flying over land, but if I see that the plane is over water, I get really nervous.
Gerrrrrms. I’m becoming more and more germophobic. 
Well, I’ve concluded that this isn’t really irrational. My reasoning is that I really could die this way and often the other person is doing something dumb that they shouldn’t. That said, everyone else thinks this is irrational.
Ever since I was in my bad car accident (where I was the driver) I freak out when I am the passenger in a car. I am fine when the driver is going the speed limit, following at a safe distance, signaling, etc,; but once they do one of those things, my heart will race. Then everything just adds up and I start noticing every minor thing they do wrong. I get dizzy, shakey, I cry- basically, I have a panic attack*. The worst part is: I know it’s silly, but I just cannot stop it. I figure they are gunna do something dumb, we are going to slam into that car in front of us, and it is going to hurt just as bad as my car accident did.
Funny thing is: I don’t freak out when people in other cars do something stupid (cut us off, for example), it is just when my driver isn’t doing the right thing.
Anyway, all of my friends know to be extra careful if they are driving me. So all is well. And that is my irrational fear.
*This isn’t all the time, I’ve actually gotten much better.
I’m afraid my toenails will be bent back. Just the thought… :eek: Or my little toes will catch on something and snap.
So as I’m barefoot 99% of my leisure time, I am very attentive to my feet.
That I’m going to leave my flat iron on (for my hair) and plugged in, coming home from work to a burned, shell of a house.
I’ve actually left work before to go home and check, and made my husband run home at lunch. About 99.9% of the time, I have turned it off and unplugged it.
E.
Ants. Ants creep me out to an incredible level. All other bugs, insects, spiders and snakes I am fine with. They’re just creatures who get hungry and scared, I can relate to that. But ants … they’re so … collective. Whenever I see ants in my apartment I entertain the notion that hundreds and thousands of them will suddenly turn on me.
Falling. I broke my two front teeth twice, and now I can’t get out of a car during winter without being terrified of tripping and falling and smashing my teeth right out of my face.
Although it’s not really an irrational fear, the way I am letting it run my life has become irrational.
I am deathly afraid of lightning. It’s something everyone should have a healthy respect for, yes, but they way I react to that fear has become irrational. I have been afraid of it for as long as I can remember, but my phobia is getting progressively worse.
I have been known to call in to work saying I’ll be late because I can’t muster the nerve to run to the car during a storm.
The other day, there was distant thunder just as my son and I were leaving to run an errand, and I made him pull up as far into the yard,as he could get without hitting the mailbox with the passenger door unlocked and facing the front door where I was waiting before I would leave with him.
It was worse in our apartment because there was a 40’ cottonwood tree between my parking space and my door. I sat in the car once for an hour waiting for the storm to pass. Another time I missed a doctor’s appointment because I was too afraid to run under that tree in a storm.
If I’m driving and I see a cloud-to-ground bolt in the distance my heart starts pouding. Even when I’m indoors, a bright flash of lightning will make me flinch. That is, if you can call dropping to your knees with your arms hugging your head flinching. 
Good Og, monstro, I’ve met my irrational fear twin. I came here to post these exact things.
I’ll add one, but I’ll bet you, as my irrational fear twin, have it, too
When using a pubic restroom, well, first, I avoid those as much as possible anyway, since there are any number of irrational (and a few rational) fears that come with using them, anyway, but the worst is my issue with those automatic toilets. The regular toilets bug me a little bit in this way, too, but the automatic toilets freak me out a little bit. I always think that something is going to fall out of my pockets and get sucked into the violent vortex of the automatic flush. Sometimes, I even get the feeling it is spinning so fast, it’s going to actually* suck * things out of my pockets. :eek:
I fear losing a body part. I’m extra careful when near knives, machines capable of cutting off bits, etc.
Getting in a horrible car accident that mangles both my arms.
I’m afraid of slicing my hand on cheesegraters or mandolins. I only have to see them on TV and I cringe and ball my fists up.
I’m afraid to walk up or down stairs while carrying things. I’m terribly afraid that if I can’t see the stairs, I’ll trip and fall. it doesn’t seem all that irrational to me, but I can’t remember this ever actually happening to me, so there’s no real basis for the fear.
Another irrational-fear twin! Only with me, it’s specific to drinking glasses. I’m always picturing myself falling in such a way that my heart gets impaled on a shard of glass. To compensate, I usually hold the glass out to the side, so it won’t be right underneath me if I do fall. And hopefully I could toss it if need be.