Irrational Fears... do you have any?

[mommylawyer]

Now, I'm talking strictly IRRATIONAL...

 

Mine: I'm petrified of bees, wasps, biting flies - anything that buzzes and can hurt me. I completely freak out when I see them near me.

 

And I'm warping my children because of it. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!

 

I've only been stung once... I was stung for the first time seconds before my oldest child was stung for the first time. A wasp - it barely got me, then flew off and zapped her good in the forehead.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Unfortunately I have many. I'm hoping medication eventually helps. <sigh>

[Michelle T]

to help deal with my anxiety and overwhelming phobias. I'm basically terrified of most things that move. A brief list would be:

airplanes

boats

trains

horseback riding

hot air balloons

skiing

rollercoasters

ski jets

 

The list could go on, but you get the idea.

 

For me, the many phobias have caused tremendous limiting of my life, thus the therapy.

Michelle T, who comes from a long line of people with anxiety disorders

[Just Me]

Snakes - I can't even stand seeing them on television! :svengo: I also can't stand to touch food that has been on someone's plate. I cannot stand to be "smothered" by someone - I feel as if I can't breath!

[King Alfred Academy]

Yep...Bears and Cougars...completely irrational and the first to admit it. I have never ever seen one in the wild, but I *know* that if I did, *I* would get attacked. Stupid, I know. How in the world am I going to make it in N. CA with a dh who is very outdoorsy? Ugh! In fact, I have even read a book called "Living with Bears". It was helpful, but still didn't release me.

[angela in ohio]

I used to have many - having a heart attack or dying somehow, that I had cancer, bees/wasps/spiders, heights, drowning, car accidents, bridges falling, that someone woud break into our house at night, that we would have a fire in the house while we were sleeping, that dc would be kidnapped, that we would go to war (our country invaded) and suffer...

[Kelli in TN]

Snakes. Interstate 40. Heights. Escalators. Crowds. Parking Garages. Bridges. Airplanes.

[Jenny in Atl]

Living... but I have learned to make the most of it and just go with the flow. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I've tried meds (made me gain a ton of weight and feel numb), exercise does work somewhat. Never been good at meditation, but due use yoga to help.

 

It's really frustrating to know I should not be worried or anxious, yet I am much of the time. Stupid re-uptakers are taking to much happy juice from my brain. I'm in a constant state of fight vs. flight and it's very tiring. ((Hugs)) to Pamela, I know what you are going through. What really frustrates me, is that I have handed this down to one of my kids. Like she didn't already have enough defective genes. :tongue_smilie:

[mysticamethyst]

Shark attack. I am terrified of them. I will not go in the water, use to be just the ocean, but now it's all water. I freak out when my kids go in the lake or ocean with friends or family but I let them because I know they are having fun and my fears are irrational. I hope that I don't scar them for life but for the most part they laugh at me.

[Doran]

..I am repulsed by anyone sticking their finger in my belly button. Fortunately, there is only a very small number of people who might be inclined to want to do this, and he's supposed to know better. Sadly, there are times when he forgets or just can't help himself. :glare: Makes me feel like losing my lunch. So, I've got the irrational bit down, right!?

 

OTOH, I know a number of people who are afraid of flying and of crossing bridges. Tricky stuff. (ETA: Kelli in TN, I swear this comment was not a reflection of your list at all...but now you'll know you're far from alone in your fears.)

[elegantlion]

High Bridges and this is from my blog.

 

"Fear is generally tied to an irrational thought. Like my fear of spiders and my fear of flying. Luckily I've never encountered a spider on a plane. "

 

 

I used to be afraid of Bigfoot and Ghosts. I can now watch "Ghost Hunter" and not freak out. Bigfoot however could live in my overgrown side yard and we'd never know. It resembles that forest from "The Hobbit".

[Alphabetika]

When I was a kid, I couldn't stand to look at fruit pits - I would beg my family members to cover up the pit when they were finished with their peach,plum, whatever, because looking at them made me gag. I have gotten better about this, but I still have to cut up any stone fruit to eat it - can't just pick it up and eat it whole.

 

I am scared of helium balloons because I'm afraid they'll pop near me, and I can't open those biscuit cans that explode. I have to leave the room while my kids do it.

[shalom22]

Mine would be fires. When I was a teenie bopper, a burning trash barrel blew up on me and burned my face. Thankfully no lasting physical scars. And about two years ago, we were clearing some land and burning all the tree stuff. It was early spring and all the grass was still brown. I knew better than to light the fire, but my wonderful dh said 'It will be fine'. Duh, as soon as I lit it, I knew I was in big trouble. I can still remember that sound of fire rushing through the dried grass. Needless to say, the fire department has to help us get it under control. To this day, it is all I can do to control the panic I feel any time a fire is lit.

[Kathleen in VA]

I'm reading these and thinking most of these I would not categorize as irrational. I mean sharks, snakes, bees, spiders, fire - these things can hurt you and I don't think it is irrational to be afraid of things that can hurt you. I suppose it *would* be irrational if you were afraid of these all the time even when they were not actually threatening you.:)

 

Looking at fruit pits - well - that might be a bit on the irrational side. Not sure about the finger in the belly button thing. That would just tickle.:D

 

Ok, mine are tailgaters - especially at night when they turn their brights on to try to intimidate me into driving 75 mph in a 45 mph on a windy country road I've never been on before where deer are likely to jump across the road at any moment,

 

getting my $400 grocery order all loaded and checked and then discovering my debit card and checkbook are in another purse at home (even though I double checked just before I left the house),

 

and being someplace like the mall or church or Walmart when some nutcase decides this is the day to pull out a gun and start mowing perfect strangers down. Of course, this could be hurtful, but since the likelihood of it ever happening is pretty low, I put this in the irrational category.

[LauraGB]

Unfortunately I have many. I'm hoping medication eventually helps. <sigh>

 

Mine's the medication. Horribly, detrimentally terrified of reacting to medication. I would have to be force-fed any kind of medication if it were life or death, and then monitored so I wouldn't have the panic attack of all and end up w/heart failure. I can, however, take an ibuprofen. :blushing:

 

Another rather odd, and completely irrational fear I have is of someone (namely one of my kids) tripping in the kitchen when I've got the oven door open. No one is allowed in the kitchen when I'm going to open the oven door for fear they may fall on the screaming hot metal of the door.

 

And floating on dark, open water; middle of the lake, the ocean, etc. I can do this if I need to, but its really no fun at all. No, ma'am. Not at all.

 

I think thats it.

 

Editing to add I'm afraid of my teeth crumbling. Mostly its just the front ones. Can't bite into an apple or anything of the sort. Its not rational because my teeth are quite secure and hard like they are supposed to be ;-)

 

Now, I think that's it.

[cathmom]

Down escalators. It is my firm belief that everyone can have one fear that they do not have to explain or apologize for, and mine is down escalators. When I was a child, my oldest sister decided I shouldn't be afraid of them and made me ride one over and over about 10 times - that really cemented the fear.

[Sue G in PA]

Well, ya'll are makin' me afraid now! I *thought* I just had a few...now I have several more. I am terrified of fires. We live in a town where folks burn their trash in burn barrels and I can barely drive past a house if there is a burn barrel all aflame. I'm terrified my home will catch fire someday.

 

My bigtime irrational fear is that somehow, someway, one of my kids will fall over the balcony like in a mall on the second floor or hotel or wherever. Staying at a hotel once for a family reunion, we were on like the 20th floor of something ridiculous like that. The hotel was in a "round" and opened to a mall on the 1st floor down below. Crazy, I know. Well, my then 4yo go out of our room and was climbing the railing outside. He was halfway over the railing when I opened the door and grabbed him. Talk about heart attack. My kids had their championship swim meet Saturday and parents had to watch the kids swim from the upper bleachers. I had the baby with me and could barely make it into a seat b/c I was terrified that somehow the baby would fall over the balcony. I had visions of him falling and everything...I'll spare you details.

[abbeyej]

I'm basically terrified of most things that move.

Michelle, I hope you don't mind, but your list made me curious... Not cars? Any thought on why they don't make the list?

[abbeyej]

I don't think I have any that are really serious, but for a few weeks after each of my kids were born, I had a pretty serious fear of heights. We lived at the time on the 4th floor of a SoCal apartment building where all the hallways were open to the courtyard. I would come up the elevator and walk as close as I could to the wall opposite the railing. I didn't even like going to the local B&N (walking distance, so we were there all the time) because it was 3 stories and had a big open central atrium where the escalators were. I would walk to the back of the store and take the elevator, and I wouldn't go near the middle of the store.

 

I *knew* it was irrational, and I don't normally have any problem with heights... But I had this problem with *both* of my babies. It was very weird to have this *physical* reaction to something that I knew was irrational and that didn't normally frighten me.

[nakitty]

I only have one....I am totally and completely terrified of vomiting. Not other people vomiting, although I find that rather unpleasant, just ME vomiting. I am sure I am going to die. I know...totally irrational. LOL

[Crissy]

Spiders.

[WTMindy]

Ticks!!!! Blech!!

 

I'm also very afraid of heights-not for myself but for my kids. I hate seeing them in a high place. I don't mind it so much for me, but I get this sick feeling in my stomach when I see them by the edge of something high up!!

[percytruffle]

I only have one....I am totally and completely terrified of vomiting. Not other people vomiting, although I find that rather unpleasant, just ME vomiting. I am sure I am going to die. I know...totally irrational. LOL

 

 

My dh would say the same thing. He becomes absolutely paranoid when we've been exposed to stomach flu! I think he's rather lose an arm or an eye!!:001_huh:

 

For me it's spiders and flying in airplanes. I have Xanax for the latter and kids to take care of the former for me. I have actually encountered spiders in upstate NY that didn't die when covered with Lysol Basin Tub and Tile and Tilex Mildew Remover. I had to splat the suckers. Huge and hairy and black. Wolf spiders are pretty bad too. Especially when you're digging in the garden and uncover one. Shivers.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

..I am repulsed by anyone sticking their finger in my belly button. Fortunately, there is only a very small number of people who might be inclined to want to do this, and he's supposed to know better. Sadly, there are times when he forgets or just can't help himself. :glare: Makes me feel like losing my lunch. So, I've got the irrational bit down, right!?

 

OMG, me too! In fact, I'm so ooogy about it that I get all shuddery even hearing the word "navel" or "belly button."

 

Bleah. Great. Now I'm sitting here squirming.

[Cricket]

Not being able to breathe.

 

The Abyss was on last night. Why did I watch that again? That scene where she drowns herself so he can take her over to the underwater oil rig and then when he started breathing that liquid oxygen stuff in the underwater suit. Ugh! I need to take deep breaths now! I absolutely can't stand turtlenecks and I won't even let any touch my neck.

 

There are times I'm convinced I'm having an allergic reaction to something and my throat is swelling closed. I've had a few panic attacks over that in the past. I'm still considering therapy since it's happening more often. It seems the older I get and the more I realize what can happen, the more I worry.

[WTMindy]

OMG, me too! In fact, I'm so ooogy about it that I get all shuddery even hearing the word "navel" or "belly button."

 

Bleah. Great. Now I'm sitting here squirming.

 

Then, you probably don't want this

[5kidsforME]

Now, I'm talking strictly IRRATIONAL...

 

Mine: I'm petrified of bees, wasps, biting flies - anything that buzzes and can hurt me. I completely freak out when I see them near me.

 

And I'm warping my children because of it. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!

 

I've only been stung once... I was stung for the first time seconds before my oldest child was stung for the first time. A wasp - it barely got me, then flew off and zapped her good in the forehead.

 

 

Spiders. My kids like all bugs except are petrified of spiders. I am almost 100% sure it is because how I react when I see one. :tongue_smilie:

[Elaine]

OK, but remember, you did say irrational. I sometimes worry that space junk will come hurling through the earth's atmosphere and kill me while I am innocently mowing my lawn or sunbathing.:001_huh:

[*anj*]

Mice.

Rats.

 

Oh, and I'm slightly afraid of heights.

[Amy in Orlando]

Birds. I'm sure if I see a bunch of them they're going to peck my eyes out. (And, no, it's not from the Alfred Hitchcock movie)

[Ananda]

I am terrified of anything to do with the mental health profession. I absolutely point blank refuse to take any psych drugs. Councilors and psychologists are quite bad but I can keep calm. Psychiatrists evoke a fight or flight response. My greatest fear is being incarcerated in a mental health institution. I have nightmares, and long discussions where my husband promises that he will make sure that never happens.

 

More minor phobias:

*Answering the door. If the door bell rings, or someone knocks my heart races.

*Using the phone, both calling and answering.

*talking to strangers

 

My husband has a phobia of driving, this fortunately for him is a phobia he can completely avoid. He takes the bus to work; I drive everywhere else. Unfortunately, he isn't keen on using the phone or talking to strangers either, so we have had some complications in our young marriage. For example, our air conditioning stopped working a month ago. Neither of us has the guts to call someone to repair it; we would rather sweat. I am contemplating doing it soon because it has been quite hot here, but I always rationalize that one day won't make a difference. One day has becomes a month and a month will likely become the summer. . . I really wish the phone would become outdated technology, and everything could be done by email.

[Maxine in WA]

I have actually encountered spiders in upstate NY that didn't die when covered with Lysol Basin Tub and Tile and Tilex Mildew Remover. I had to splat the suckers. Huge and hairy and black. Wolf spiders are pretty bad too. Especially when you're digging in the garden and uncover one. Shivers.

 

Oven spray cleaner. I've had spiders that survive all types of cleansers including the kind you mentioned (did you know spiders can hold their breath?) but I've yet to meet one that can survive oven cleaner. It's nasty stuff. Use with caution.

[Kris]

Now, I'm talking strictly IRRATIONAL...

 

Mine: I'm petrified of bees, wasps, biting flies - anything that buzzes and can hurt me. I completely freak out when I see them near me.

 

And I'm warping my children because of it. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!

 

I've only been stung once... I was stung for the first time seconds before my oldest child was stung for the first time. A wasp - it barely got me, then flew off and zapped her good in the forehead.

 

That sounds just like my Sweetie. Mr. Nerves-Of-Steel becomes a hysterical maniac if there's a wasp within 15 feet. He's hurt himself more with his antics than any damage a sting could possible cause!

 

My son is that way with spiders!

 

So -- we all have a deal. I take care of the wasps and the spiders, and they handle the snakes. It's worked so far. :D

[keptwoman]

Wet feet, well specifically touching other peoples wet feet or people touching my wet feet. Gaaaaaah! The idea of one of those spa foot treatments is like considering torture! The kids think it's a great joke and love trying to touch my feet or touch me with theirs in the swimming pool.

 

My other one is the car driving into the water, either off a bridge or around a cliff road.

[Doran]

...then two of yours are completely rational. The debit card thing?...well, we're all entitled to do something irrational. And, the belly button does. not. tickle. You have no idea! :001_huh:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm reading these and thinking most of these I would not categorize as irrational. I mean sharks, snakes, bees, spiders, fire - these things can hurt you and I don't think it is irrational to be afraid of things that can hurt you. I suppose it *would* be irrational if you were afraid of these all the time even when they were not actually threatening you.:)

 

Looking at fruit pits - well - that might be a bit on the irrational side. Not sure about the finger in the belly button thing. That would just tickle.:D

 

Ok, mine are tailgaters - especially at night when they turn their brights on to try to intimidate me into driving 75 mph in a 45 mph on a windy country road I've never been on before where deer are likely to jump across the road at any moment,

 

getting my $400 grocery order all loaded and checked and then discovering my debit card and checkbook are in another purse at home (even though I double checked just before I left the house),

 

and being someplace like the mall or church or Walmart when some nutcase decides this is the day to pull out a gun and start mowing perfect strangers down. Of course, this could be hurtful, but since the likelihood of it ever happening is pretty low, I put this in the irrational category.

[Jennifer in MI]

Unfortunately I have many. I'm hoping medication eventually helps. <sigh>

 

:grouphug:

 

I used to have many - having a heart attack or dying somehow, that I had cancer,.

 

You've hit on mine here.

 

Living... It's really frustrating to know I should not be worried or anxious, yet I am much of the time. Stupid re-uptakers are taking to much happy juice from my brain. I'm in a constant state of fight vs. flight and it's very tiring. ((Hugs)) to Pamela, I know what you are going through. What really frustrates me, is that I have handed this down to one of my kids. Like she didn't already have enough defective genes. :tongue_smilie:

 

Oh man. This is me. I HATE that fight/flight feeling. HATE, HATE, HATE it. I go through periods where I'm REALLY bad (like now). I'm convinced that I or one of my kids is going to die. Google is a VERY bad thing for me.

 

Thing is when I go to the doctor about this, usually they give me meds. Then, I read the LONG list of side effects and I just can't take it. I worry too much about that.

 

So, it's a constant struggle for me. Exercise helps emmensely.

[abbeyej]

OK, but remember, you did say irrational. I sometimes worry that space junk will come hurling through the earth's atmosphere and kill me while I am innocently mowing my lawn or sunbathing.:001_huh:

 

Did you ever watch the tv series "Dead Like Me"? ;) Quirky black-comedy, but that experience plays into it... ;)

[Michelle in OK]

I am terrified of dark waters with living creatures. I will have panic attacks driving over rivers, oceans, swamps, just about anything. I have to pray my way through the attacks and over the bridge. Same thing with flying. (edited to clarify...I am not afraid to fly. I am afraid to fly over water.)

 

I didn't always have this fear. I used to water ski, sail, and jetski. Now you can't get me on a boat. And, I really don't have a problem with swimming it's the creatures inside the water.

[Heather in Neverland]

Now, I'm talking strictly IRRATIONAL...

 

Mine: I'm petrified of bees, wasps, biting flies - anything that buzzes and can hurt me. I completely freak out when I see them near me.

 

And I'm warping my children because of it. BUT I CAN'T HELP IT!

 

I've only been stung once... I was stung for the first time seconds before my oldest child was stung for the first time. A wasp - it barely got me, then flew off and zapped her good in the forehead.

 

ME TOO!!!!! I am DEATHLY afraid of stinging bugs. Even more ashamed to admit that my first reaction is to run :willy_nilly:....my second reaction is to save my kids. THAT is irrational! :blushing:

[PrairieAir]

Fly swatters. They seriously freak me out. Dh insists on having one around and I can't figure out where to put a used fly swatter. I only ask that they not be used in my presence and that the little carcasses and smooshed guts are cleaned up. :ack2: My family thinks it's funny to occasionally chase me with the fly swatter, threatening to touch me with it.

[DB in NJ]

Sharks in the toilet; unhappy thought indeed!

 

Yep. That's my irrational fear. Sharks, snakes, rats, you name it, I'm afraid I'll find it in my terlet!

 

:lol:

[percytruffle]

Sharks in the toilet; unhappy thought indeed!

 

Yep. That's my irrational fear. Sharks, snakes, rats, you name it, I'm afraid I'll find it in my terlet!

 

:lol:

 

I am actually afraid of finding a black widow in my toilet. I saw a show on tv once about bw spider bites and they said they like to lurk in toilets. I have flipped on the light in the middle on the night before sitting, just to be sure. That would not be a nice place to be bitten!

[elegantlion]

Down escalators. It is my firm belief that everyone can have one fear that they do not have to explain or apologize for, and mine is down escalators. When I was a child, my oldest sister decided I shouldn't be afraid of them and made me ride one over and over about 10 times - that really cemented the fear.

 

Aren't sisters great. :glare: Mine would throw daddy long legs at me to annoy me. My fear is spiders.

[farmgirlinwv]

I have the pretty common fear of heights, which is funny considering I'm over 6' tall!

[percytruffle]

Aren't sisters great. :glare: Mine would throw daddy long legs at me to annoy me. My fear is spiders.

 

Daughters are charming too. Dd, when she was younger, thought she'd have a little fun with my arachnophobia by putting a fake big black spider from her bunch of rubber insects on my shoulder in the car. That sucker flew out the window so fast and onto the lawn, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream that it never knew what hit it. Dd was sad that she lost the toy. I thought, good for you, lesson learned! That never happened again!

[obiandelismom]

Ticks!!!! Blech!!

 

I'm also very afraid of heights-not for myself but for my kids. I hate seeing them in a high place. I don't mind it so much for me, but I get this sick feeling in my stomach when I see them by the edge of something high up!!

 

YES. This happens to me, too. I basically go through all of the feelings that I would have watching them actually fall. :eek

[Nakia]

SpIdErS!!!!! I am terrified of them. If I see one in the house, and my DH isn't home to kill it, I have to call my oldest daughter in to do it. I almost wet my pants every time I see one!

 

I am also scared of large birds. Anything from the size of a rooster and up. They scare the begeezers out of me.

[obiandelismom]

OMG, me too! In fact, I'm so ooogy about it that I get all shuddery even hearing the word "navel" or "belly button."

 

Bleah. Great. Now I'm sitting here squirming.

 

This is soooo me, too. Although weirdly, when I was pregnant my belly button turned inside out, that feeling went away. Came back as soon as the baby was out, though...

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

This is soooo me, too. Although weirdly, when I was pregnant my belly button turned inside out, that feeling went away. Came back as soon as the baby was out, though...

 

Me, too! And I thought that would be absolutely torturous -- but it wasn't. Thank goodness.

[BMW]

ONe that comes to mind is fear of being out and about and suddenly being naked!!! I know, not likely to happen, but I have had multiple dreams that I am leaving the grocery store and I suddenly don't have any clothes on and I've got to get to my car... so far, that hasn't ever really happened!

 

Jumping spiders... ugh...

 

Having bills to pay and no money in my account...

 

Snakes...