IRRATIONAL FEARS ALL UP IN THIS THREAD

[Yrcrazypa]

Bugs and ladders. It's not heights in general, I'm fine on top of stable platforms really high up, but ladders do not seem stable to me. Bugs are an obvious one, and I don't need to explain that.

[Corel]

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain

~Bene Gesserit

I always remember this if I'm ever put into a scary situation, seems to work for me.

Originally Posted by phil_

The fear of heights is not irrational!
Also, just to annoy people in this thread, I'll point out that I try my best to capture spiders and other "scary" bugs alive and release them outside, to the point that I'll let them crawl onto my hand to save them from the crushing death they'd face from others. This extends to stinging insects like wasps. I don't like killing things I can instead remove; I feel guilty.

I'm kinda the same, if I accidently step on an insect I feel pretty guilty for the next 5-10 minutes or so. Which is more than most people!

Saying that there might be extreme phobias I have not yet discovered; maybe Necropapaphobia - Fear of the undead Pope.

Here's a list of phobias for your viewing pleasure.

[rpgdemon]

Originally Posted by Azisien

I suppose I have a slightly irrational fear of the dark or unknown, but its never been a real obstacle and I can just will or talk myself through something dark or unknown.

I personally can't stand pitch darkness. I need at least a TINY light, or else I will freak out. Even if it's just a clock, I need to have SOMETHING that I can see, so that I know that I'm not blind or lost in the dark forever, as stupid as that sounds.

[Yrcrazypa]

I love absolute darkness. Am I weird for that?

[Corel]

Originally Posted by Yrcrazypa

I love absolute darkness. Am I weird for that?

I don't think so! Been hiking since I was a child and being inside a Wood in absolute silence and darkness so thick you can feel it has been something I've always found relaxing.

[rpgdemon]

Nah. I just remember one time, waking up in the middle of the night when I was younger, and not being able to see ANYTHING, and I was terrified that I wouldn't ever be able to see anything again, somehow.

I don't mind the NORMAL dark all too much, but since that point in time, I've never been in a pitch black area again. I always make sure there's SOMETHING I can see, even if it's just the glowing hands on my watch.


Edit:

Originally Posted by Corel

I don't think so! Been hiking since I was a child and being inside a Wood in absolute silence and darkness so thick you can feel it has been something I've always found relaxing.

It's funny, the time I was terrified of the pitch black was when I was out camping, which is funny because I really love being outside/sleeping outside. I actually think that I get a BETTER night's rest whenever I'm camping, than sleeping in my bed.

[Menarker]

Weed-whackers

Had a tiny piece of glass shot against the back of my neck by someone who was mishandling it and cause it to richochet when I was like 7 years old. Thankfully it wasn't pointed and mostly bounced off.

But I'll always flinch and cross the street to avoid anyone using one if I'm not wearing long pants. (Being 5'11, I'm comfortable with the fact that it'll probably never hit my neck again... maybe)

[Amake]

I too love to sleep outdoors. You just have to tell yourself you're the worst of all the dangers lurking in the dark. :3

[katiuska]

See, I distinguish between fear of bodily harm from disgust/anxiety at the thought of touching something disgusting. Roaches are disgusting, and I don't want to see one, but they won't hurt me. I guess this is why that's an irrational fear, but I'm always vaguely aware of this knowledge, so I spend more time fearing things that could pose a threat, even if they never will (dark/remote places, heights, other people).

Originally Posted by Overcast

Death.

At the age of four I was vaguely aware of death, but like most kids was unaware that it might affect me. At five I was, for any odd reason or another, able to reason out that in fact it did. For the next five years I couldn't get a proper night of sleep without quietly sobbing myself insane about the possibility of death grabbing me in the night. The terrible cold of nothingness and unknown after death regarding me fondly and keeping me sick with paranoia.

At age ten I began desperate binges of imagination to distract myself from it, keeping my brain as busy as I could in order to escape the troubles. From time to time that failed and I would be crying myself insane once again.

At age thirteen I began self-actualizing a personal dream that some day science was going to save me from this terrifying experience and aid me in becoming immortal, and all I had to do was live long enough. The fear of death wasn't gone, just redirected to an obsession with immortality.

I began to get reasonable sleep.

I still have a personal desire for immortality to this day. I won't stop hoping until I hit the century mark, and then the world might well start being afraid because I'm unsure what my mind will do to help me get over the fear.

I fail to see how this is irrational. As Lore puts it, "When you're dealing with something that's both undesirable and inevitable, you kind of have to wonder who's the unbalanced one, the person who treats impending mortality with the paralyzing fear it deserves, or the rest of us who manage to avoid thinking about it in favor of, say, whether our Liquid Paper has the viscosity we deserve."

[EVILNess]

I'm afraid of not being liked, being alone, etc. I have mildly uncomfortable dreams about it all the time.

Also, I am constantly afraid of forgetting something. Like I have had terrifying dreams where I somehow forgot to go to class all semester and now I am screwed and my life is ruined and I'll never be happy ever again. Yeah.

I'm also afraid of being an adult, cause I'm 24 and still don't know what the fuck I am doing. Seriously, the only adult epiphany I have ever had was that, hey I'm grown I can eat chocolate cake anytime I want.