Fears - I Have Them [Archive]

fitbabits

10-13-2008, 01:50 PM

Given that All Hallow's Eve is just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to talk about fears you may have.

Without question, my biggest fear is of wasps/bees/hornets. I freak out when I see them, and I know why...

When I was younger and in primary school, I used to wear glasses (the ones with a patch because my left eye was really weak). Anyway, one break time all the kids were messing about on the playground and I decided to take a walk. On my way back I saw a wasp/bee in my peripheral vision. I have no idea why I did this, but I froze. The little fucker, perhaps sensing my fear, decided to make its way to the space between my eye and the lens of my glasses. It kept bouncing off the lens, no doubt confused about why it couldn't go forward. The whole time I could hear and feel the buzzing of its wings increasing as it got angrier and angrier. I must have stood there for ages absolutely terrified as this bee/wasp got more and more frustrated. Then the inevitable happened - one sting on my eyebrow...another under my eye...another on my eyebrow...one on my eyelid...one in the corner of my eye...

The whole time I stood there screaming my lungs out and absolutely frozen to the spot. Nobody came to assist me. Not even the janitor.

In the end, the little bastard flew away and I walked home in agony and complete distress.

So yeah, not a fan!

Sandman

10-13-2008, 01:52 PM

Not a single thing about clowns?

astranoir

10-13-2008, 01:52 PM

I am still afraid of the dark.

King3567

10-13-2008, 01:54 PM

Spiders and praying Mantises.

fitbabits

10-13-2008, 01:54 PM

Not a single thing about clowns?
No, and I'll thank you not to mention them ever again!

Bad Buddha

10-13-2008, 02:05 PM

rinichanraar

10-13-2008, 02:11 PM

I am still afraid of the dark.

Me, too, kind of. I'm not afraid of the dark if I'm with other people, but I am if I'm not. It's one of the reasons I can't sleep alone.

I also dislike spiders and clowns. Low-flying pigeons scare me.

Alkanos

10-13-2008, 02:18 PM

Any bug that flies and stings absolutely terrifies me. Just reading that story up top made me shudder... I had an experience similar to that but not quite.

When I was younger, we had an old tractor in the back yard that I would play around on. One spring, I went out to play only to find that a nest of Yellow Jackets had decided to make it their home, and they did NOT want company. So I ended up with nearly my entire body covered in stings.

So while I managed to avoid any stings to the eye, I had to deal with quite a few more bugs. I hate stinging bugs!

Matthias

10-13-2008, 02:19 PM

I'm slowly overcoming a fear of needles. For some reason I really just don't like the idea of having something that thin and sharp forced through my skin. This is one reason I don't like to give blood, the other being that I don't like the thought of the sharp thing I already hate draining fluid from my body... I feel horrible about not donating, but for some reason i go a bit weak at the knees even typing about giving blood.

Sl1pstream

10-13-2008, 02:28 PM

Bees, wasps and these fuckers:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Daasklein.jpg/270px-Daasklein.jpg

Especially those.

At least you can run away from both bees and wasps. These fuckers are smart enough to attack you when you're wet, preferably when you're swimming outside and have no way to run from them at all.

ADDGirl

10-13-2008, 02:39 PM

I am still afraid of the dark.

Me too, and closets I can't sleep if a closet door is open because I'm afraid something is in it. These two fears are that much worse when I am alone in the house I imagine I hear people in the house etc...

Spacetronaut

10-13-2008, 02:43 PM

Spiders for me, though it's not as bad as it used to be. Also sharks. They're so large and terrifying. I will never go diving.

hunterx280

10-13-2008, 03:10 PM

I have two fears. Spiders and the fear of falling. I have never been able to get over the spiders thing, no matter how hard I try but I have been able to develop a meditative calm while flying. It's actually gotten to the point where I can enjoy indoor roller coasters (screw the outdoor ones, I've heard too many horror stories).

Shadowstorm

10-13-2008, 03:15 PM

A fear?

To die alone.

Drayven

10-13-2008, 03:15 PM

I'm not "afraid" of spiders but I hate the little buggers. Usually I make the GF deal with them but that's mostly because she likes to save them. If it's up to me that little sucker is dead. Assuming I can get up the nerve to approach it. When I smoked I hated going out on the balcony of the apartment at night, there were some huge ass spiders out there. Like spawn of Shelob or something

I also have really bizarre fears about slitting my wrists or poking myself in the eye. For some reason I'm just terrified of sticking my hand into things like a garbage disposal or anything slightly small, not because I'm afraid of getting my fingers mangled but because I'm afraid some metal scrap will slit my wrist. The same sort of logic applies to walking around trees and such where I might poke myself in the eye.

And the last thing that really scares me is the thought of getting old and being one of those people that develops Alzheimer's or becomes otherwise unable to care for themselves. We as humans live way longer than we were supposed to.

Zero

10-13-2008, 03:19 PM

Spiders.
Harm coming to my little brother.
Unrestrained heights, I've got no beef with coasters or planes, in fact I love them. But put me on a three-foot high stool, and I freak the fuck out.

Everyone vs Dinosaurs

10-13-2008, 03:22 PM

I dislike spiders.

Gwinny

10-13-2008, 03:40 PM

Hornets, bees, and wasps. I'm not so afraid of friendly little bumblebees, but I'd like to incinerate the rest of their kind. My fear has gotten to the point where I'm also angry whenever I see one and want to smash it with a rock, over and over. Seeing one while walking around is unpleasant because I get nauseous and sweaty. Makes the rest of the day uncomfortable, being in clammy clothes.

Dorkandproudofit

10-13-2008, 03:57 PM

Whenever I see bees, I whimper, scream, and cry. I just cannot keep my cool if I see one.

Dorkandproudofit

10-13-2008, 03:58 PM

A fear?

To die alone.

*Malcom Reynolds*

Everyone dies alone.

*/reynolds*

Vandabo

10-13-2008, 03:58 PM

I hate nearly all bugs, mostly ants.

The biggest thing that really paralyzes me with fear though is heights, or edges. Standing at the edge of a cliff or rooftop totally freaks me out. I don't mind flying or roller coasters, and I think I'd like to go skydiving, but something like being on a tall ladder scares the hell out of me.

Wasson_

10-13-2008, 04:01 PM

praying Mantises.

what the fuck? They're totally harmless as well as like the coolest insect of all time. Nay, probably my favorite of all animals.

IIntrude

10-13-2008, 04:05 PM

Wasps myself, bees don't bother me, I appreciate their function and they look kinda cool. Wasps however look evil...they freak me out something awful.

Xerxes

10-13-2008, 04:10 PM

I don't even know. I'm afraid at night, when cars pull up behind me, that they are going to blow my brains out. Oh, and my legs snapping.

JayK47

10-13-2008, 04:10 PM

Being buried alive, with spiders and centipedes. Ha ha.

pomeroy

10-13-2008, 04:11 PM

I'm scared of my 46 year old gay neighbor who groped me.

True story.

Wasson_

10-13-2008, 04:17 PM

wow, did you like fucking punch him or something?

pomeroy

10-13-2008, 04:21 PM

wow, did you like fucking punch him or something?

No, I didn't. Don't think I wasn't tempted, but I figured only one of us should be charged with assault if the police were to be involved, and I didn't want it to be me. I let him know in no uncertain terms that what he had done was not acceptable and that I didn't want anything to do with him.

I now know how girls feel when dudes get all grope-y, though. It doesn't feel nice.:(

crazyD

10-13-2008, 04:24 PM

I don't really have any big fears. Backtracking on records used to freak me out when I was younger. Just the idea of there being something there that I cannot hear. The whole "I buried Paul" thing used to give me nightmares.

I used to also have nightmares about computers that would blue screen, and the blue screen was still there when I pulled the plug. No matter what I would do, it wouldn't go away. Seriously. That used to terrify me.

OrangePulp

10-13-2008, 04:35 PM

No, I didn't. Don't think I wasn't tempted, but I figured only one of us should be charged with assault if the police were to be involved, and I didn't want it to be me. I let him know in no uncertain terms that what he had done was not acceptable and that I didn't want anything to do with him.

I now know how girls feel when dudes get all grope-y, though. It doesn't feel nice.:(

You, sir, are a better man than me. If some dude groped me, I don't know exactly what I'd do, but it wouldn't be anything good.

I'm afraid of spiders; it's not a completely paralyzing fear, and if I'm with other people, I can usually man up and deal with it (pride can be useful sometimes). But damn, man... those things creep me out. Irritates me when games use spiders as enemies.

Camel

10-13-2008, 04:45 PM

I am not really afraid of heights, but I am afraid of RAILINGS. I always think I am going to fall over them (even though center of gravity makes it impossible) or they will break or something.

Being on top of the Empire State Building was almost unbearable, and that railing was huge.

fitbabits

10-13-2008, 04:47 PM

No, I didn't. Don't think I wasn't tempted, but I figured only one of us should be charged with assault if the police were to be involved, and I didn't want it to be me. I let him know in no uncertain terms that what he had done was not acceptable and that I didn't want anything to do with him.

I now know how girls feel when dudes get all grope-y, though. It doesn't feel nice.:(
IF the cops were involved? Dude, the cops should absolutely have been involved. If he's done it to you (and got away with it), think about who else he may have done it to and gotten away with it.

Johan

10-13-2008, 04:47 PM

Heights...that's a big one for me. I visited the WTC a number of times prior to their destruction, and sitting on the bench, leaning your head against the glass, and looking down...let's just say that even thinking about it right now has my palms sweaty and I can feel a mild case of vertigo. Scary. Very scary.

I also freak from horse flies. They love me, and they hurt, so when they're buzzing me, I flail like an idiot.

I also get nervous when I'm a passenger in a car. I prefer to drive.

pomeroy

10-13-2008, 04:49 PM

IF the cops were involved? Dude, the cops should absolutely have been involved. If he's done it to you (and got away with it), think about who else he may have done it to and gotten away with it.

You're probably right. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, and so far (two months and counting) I haven't had to.

fitbabits

10-13-2008, 04:51 PM

You're probably right. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, and so far (two months and counting) I haven't had to.
Again, YOU haven't had to... It's never to late to file a report, if for no reason other than to get this prick's name on file with the legal system.

quidmonkey

10-13-2008, 05:35 PM

of failure...
of rejection...

Dorkandproudofit

10-13-2008, 05:36 PM

of failure...
of rejection...

Shit, you're STILL upset? I tried to let you off easy... :(

Khrymsyn

10-13-2008, 05:50 PM

Unfortunately I've got 3.

fortunately, I'm somewhat able to control 2 of them.

Heights and enclosed spaces. The combination of both known as elevators are absolutely terrifying to me. I can control my fears enough that on a smaller building (like 3-4 floors), I can take an elevator with little problem. Anything over 10 and I am an absolute wreck (internally at least). Those glass elevators you can look out? Yeah, F them. Somehow I'm mostly ok with plane flights though... go figure.

The one i can't control though is spiders. I don't care how damn tiny it is, I'm HORRIFIED by them. Even listening to stories about spiders drive me insane. I actually shredded the front leather of my previous car's drivers seat because a spider dropped in front of me, I freaked and batted at it, saw it land on the front of my seat, and I spent the next 10 minutes kicking at the front of the drivers seat.
I was driving at the time mind you. My passenger had to shout to get my attention to stop for the light.

Widgetcraft

10-13-2008, 06:03 PM

I've got lots.

======
Spiders
======

I hate spiders, and I'm not sure why. I know that only a small fraction of them are poisonous, but the way they just creep about without being seen fucks with me. I'm always afraid that a brown recluse is going to make a home under my desk.

======
Ledges
======

I don't like heights, but I hate ledges. I'm paranoid that I'll suddenly go a little nuts and throw myself over. I also don't like seeing other people close to the edge of a ledge.

==========
Murky Water
==========

I don't like water I can't see into, for obvious reasons.

=======================
Sleep/Nightmare Related Stuff
=======================

When it comes to sleeping, I have whole other sets of phobias. I can't sleep in a large open room. I can't sleep with any doors open, whether they be closet doors, or doors leading to other rooms. I hate sleeping in rooms connected to long corridors.

The nightmares I have typically involve me being chased by something, or someone. It's a lot like a combination of Terminator and Friday the 13th, in that people are being killed all around me, and I'm trying to outrun whatever is doing it. Fortunately, I usually do outrun it (because, for whatever reason, my jumping ability in my dreams would make Mario cry from envy). I almost never attempt a direct confrontation with whatever it is. If I do wind up getting caught, the dream usually resets itself, and I attempt to run again.

In the past I had nightmares where I was stuck on a steep slope; maybe eighty-five degrees. It would be just enough to cling to, but too steep to climb. Frequently, there was a clean drop off at the bottom of the slope.

Spiders and stinging insects also frequently show up in my nightmares. Normally they swarm my room, though occasionally it will just be a lone spider that lowers itself from the ceiling. These dreams, in particular, leave me freaked out after waking up, and I usually can't get back to sleep. Often I will literally jump out of bed with surprising agility when I wake from one of these.

astranoir

10-13-2008, 06:10 PM

In addition to my fear of the dark that I mentioned earlier, I also have this fear that I will somehow lose control of my mind and/or become a terrible person and murder my loved ones. Movies like Vanilla Sky and Memento freak me out because of this.

Xerxes

10-13-2008, 06:17 PM

Conversations with people.

rvieira

10-13-2008, 06:21 PM

Naked old people scares the shit of me!!!

Generation ABXY

10-13-2008, 07:16 PM

I am still afraid of the dark.
Me, too, kind of. I'm not afraid of the dark if I'm with other people, but I am if I'm not. It's one of the reasons I can't sleep alone.
Me too, and closets I can't sleep if a closet door is open because I'm afraid something is in it. These two fears are that much worse when I am alone in the house I imagine I hear people in the house etc...

Why, you heartless bastards – three women tell you they’re afraid of the dark, and not one of you offers comfort? For shame, Colonizers. For shame!

Ladies, if you’re looking for a place where you’ll never have to brave the dark alone (and the closet door stays closed), know there’s a place for each and every one of you in my bed. Just remember, it’s long and wide. ;)

...the bed, that is.

iHap

10-13-2008, 07:26 PM

I don't have a lot of fears. Maybe heights but that's it. Bug's don't bug me at all. I've been stung by a wasp on my ear when I was younger and a bump is still there. I've held a few black widow's, played around with poison snakes, but I still love to do it. Maybe my idiocy will get me seriously injured someday but oh well.

KingGorilla

10-13-2008, 07:44 PM

Naked old people scares the shit of me!!!

Then I suppose a community center gym is your sense of the 9th circle.

rinichanraar

10-13-2008, 08:10 PM

I don't really have any big fears. Backtracking on records used to freak me out when I was younger. Just the idea of there being something there that I cannot hear. The whole "I buried Paul" thing used to give me nightmares.

Wow, actually, I'm kind of afraid of that, too. Even now. I guess I just get scared easily or something. I remember watching something on TV about Tupac where, when one of his songs was played backwards, it sounded like he was saying, "Shug shot me." To this day, it creeps me out. I don't even want to do research on it to find out if it's a hoax because it scares me too much.

I used to also have nightmares about computers that would blue screen, and the blue screen was still there when I pulled the plug. No matter what I would do, it wouldn't go away. Seriously. That used to terrify me.

That's hilarious (but terrible). That is a scary thought, I guess.

GunnyMo

10-13-2008, 08:19 PM

Wow, actually, I'm kind of afraid of that, too. Even now. I guess I just get scared easily or something. I remember watching something on TV about Tupac where, when one of his songs was played backwards, it sounded like he was saying, "Shug shot me." To this day, it creeps me out. I don't even want to do research on it to find out if it's a hoax because it scares me too much.

All of the backmasking was a hoax. It's been proven conclusively that you can run any record backwards and it will sound like what you want it to, or have been told, what it sounds like. :D

And don't feel bad about being afraid of the dark. I am too when I don't take sleeping pills. It's an almost infantile fear, too. Even big, bad, tattooed Marines worry about what goes bump in the night. ;)

I'm not normally afraid of bugs...except in my shower. I literally check every corner in there before showering. *shiver*

Everyone vs Dinosaurs

10-13-2008, 08:20 PM

All of the backmasking was a hoax. It's been proven conclusively that you can run any record backwards and it will sound like what you want it to, or have been told, what it sounds like. :D

And don't feel bad about being afraid of the dark. I am too when I don't take sleeping pills. It's an almost infantile fear, too.

How would that work?

GunnyMo

10-13-2008, 08:33 PM

How would that work?

I don't remember the name of the documentary so I'm going from memory here. Basically, the researcher took a number of records that nutjobs were claiming had satanic backmasking on them. He first ran them and let an audience decide for themselves what the backmasking "said" and everyone had a different opinion. Then he told them what the nutjobs said was on there and asked everyone if they heard it. Everyone raised their hands. Then he told them it said something about how great God is and that Jesus loves everyone (paraphrasing) and ran the records again. Once again, he asked everyone if they heard that phrase. Everyone raised their hands.

Granted, there was a lot more to the documentary but that was a great bit.

When he was younger, my brother SWORE that Michael Jackson's song "Dirty Diana" had the phrase "Her teeth are yellow" in the chorus. Go listen to that song and put "Her teeth are yellow" in place of "Dirty Diana" in the chorus. It's spot on. Backmasking is like that.

Everyone vs Dinosaurs

10-13-2008, 08:35 PM

*ploop*

I see.

If you can find that documentary, that would be interesting to see. :)

GunnyMo

10-13-2008, 08:40 PM

I see.

If you can find that documentary, that would be interesting to see. :)

I'm not sure what "ploop" is but it sounds cool so you may use it for my quote.

I'll see what I can dig up on the backmasking.

diablopath

10-13-2008, 08:43 PM

Wasps.
I got stung really bad as a kid, and to make it worse I couldn't find my parents for shit.
I was like six, and I think I ran like ten laps around my house, on the outside, just screaming my fucking head off. If I couldn't find then, god dammit, they were going to find me.

Also, a more recent fear, is my father.
He's not healthy at all, his diet is shit, and my grandpa died of a stroke, and my uncle has had them as well, so I think it's pretty obvious what he's getting himself into.
It just scares the shit out of me that one day I'll get a phone call like that :/

cppcrusader

10-13-2008, 08:48 PM

I don't know why, but at some point in the last four or five years I started becoming slightly unnerved while driving over major bridges but only while I'm driving. The oddity there being the fact that during my MTSU days I would frequently cross the Ohio River on the drive between school and home without a problem.

I also only fear one specific spider, one that Fitty is all too familiar with, the Brown Recluse.

GunnyMo

10-13-2008, 08:56 PM

Also crowds, having my back to a door or people I don't know walking behind me, fearing I'm always targeted by snipers when I'm walking in a city, fireworks (that one just kicked in this year for some reason), the stuff I see out of the corners of my eyes, being startled, the smell of the dirty, poor sections of town...

I don't know why I typed all that but after reading it...damn...I'm seriously fucked up. lol

AyeEmBored

10-13-2008, 08:58 PM

Typical Michael

10-13-2008, 09:00 PM

Palmetto bugs. Fuck palmettos bugs, seriously. As if cockroaches werent bad enough, these are giant ones that fly.

http://www.championpestcontrol.com/images/americancockroach.jpg

rinichanraar

10-13-2008, 09:01 PM

I've got one major fear... actually to the point I'm sure it could be clinically called a phobia. It's needles/syringes/any thin pointy thingie.

To the point that I passed out the first time I watched Pulp Fiction during "That" scene. And now if I watch the film, I know when to hit the chapter skip button.

*shudders* Just TYPING that makes me lightheaded. Stupid phobia.

Oh! I'm afraid of needles, too. Mostly syringes because they go in really deep. I'm not so much afraid of tattoo needles though.

That scene only creeps me out when its just sticking in her. Same with in Kill Bill at the end of volume 2. I also couldn't watch the part where John Travolta shoots up (or any other scene in any other movie that involves heroin [I'm lookin' at you, Trainspotting]).

Purple Santa

10-13-2008, 09:26 PM

I dislike spiders.

You fear Spider-man? :)

of failure...
of rejection...

Damn...really great answer...I think i'm with you on this...those are my biggest fears...

Why, you heartless bastards – three women tell you’re afraid of the dark, and not one of you offers comfort? For shame, Colonizers. For shame!

Ladies, if you’re looking for a place where you’ll never have to brave the dark alone (and the closet door stays closed), know there’s a place for each and every one of you in my bed. Just remember, it’s long and wide. ;)

...the bed, that is.

Smooth. Very very smooth...thanks for the lulz with that answer...

Church42

10-13-2008, 10:05 PM

Maybe I didn't read well enough, but am I the first one to admit a deep, deep fear of snakes? I won't touch them or get close to them...not even the harmless garden snakes...I think it goes back to when I was a child and saw at least a 6 foot snake in the water (not sure the type of snake it was, but it was one that apparently can survive in water)...scared the daylights out of me.

Secondly, cats...its relatively minor, but they scare me. I guess being a dog person all my life may be partially to blame and having been swatted by a cat for no reason...they're too unpredictable for me and hence that causes the fear of them.

Last, crowds or being in the middle of a group of people...I can't sit in the middle of a church pew with people on all sides of me, I can't handle big crowds of people, and I just can't handle the claustrophobia of a bunch of people all up in my personal space.

Matthias

10-13-2008, 10:22 PM

I'll ditto Church's fear of crowds. It's not as bad as it used to be, but I still really don't like being in large crowds- I would never be able to handle moshing for instance.

Xerxes

10-13-2008, 10:42 PM

Cooties!!
http://graphics.boston.com/images/bostondirtdogs//Headline_Archives/BDD_panic_button.jpg

rinichanraar

10-13-2008, 10:49 PM

I'm afraid of paranormal stuff, too, now that I think about it. I started reading Dork's thread about mysterious happenings, and I started getting all creeped out.

I'm so glad I don't live alone.

iHap

10-13-2008, 11:15 PM

I'm afraid of paranormal stuff, too, now that I think about it. I started reading Dork's thread about mysterious happenings, and I started getting all creeped out.

I'm so glad I don't live alone.

I'm not as afraid of that stuff. I give a big FU and a middle finger to evil spirits.

I guess being a Christian has put my fears away of "ghosts" and the like.

ShivaX

10-14-2008, 12:28 AM

I've got one major fear... actually to the point I'm sure it could be clinically called a phobia. It's needles/syringes/any thin pointy thingie.

To the point that I passed out the first time I watched Pulp Fiction during "That" scene. And now if I watch the film, I know when to hit the chapter skip button.

*shudders* Just TYPING that makes me lightheaded. Stupid phobia.

I have this as well. It extends to anything medical really. I can go in hospitals but anything beyond getting my pulse checked can send me into shock. Good times... oh wait it sucks terribly.

boratika

10-14-2008, 02:23 AM

A fear?

To die alone.

*Malcom Reynolds*

Everyone dies alone.

*/reynolds*

Damn you! I was going to reply with:

"Every living creature on earth dies alone."

/Roberta Sparrow

The nightmares I have typically involve me being chased by something, or someone. It's a lot like a combination of Terminator and Friday the 13th, in that people are being killed all around me, and I'm trying to outrun whatever is doing it. Fortunately, I usually do outrun it (because, for whatever reason, my jumping ability in my dreams would make Mario cry from envy). I almost never attempt a direct confrontation with whatever it is. If I do wind up getting caught, the dream usually resets itself, and I attempt to run again.

In the past I had nightmares where I was stuck on a steep slope; maybe eighty-five degrees. It would be just enough to cling to, but too steep to climb. Frequently, there was a clean drop off at the bottom of the slope.

Spiders and stinging insects also frequently show up in my nightmares. Normally they swarm my room, though occasionally it will just be a lone spider that lowers itself from the ceiling. These dreams, in particular, leave me freaked out after waking up, and I usually can't get back to sleep. Often I will literally jump out of bed with surprising agility when I wake from one of these.Sounds like you have some issues there. Are you at all familiar with dream symbol interpenetration?

And don't feel bad about being afraid of the dark. I am too when I don't take sleeping pills. It's an almost infantile fear, too. Even big, bad, tattooed Marines worry about what goes bump in the night. ;)
Because marines totally tend to have have less issues than civilian types. Oh wait...
Also crowds, having my back to a door or people I don't know walking behind me, fearing I'm always targeted by snipers when I'm walking in a city, fireworks (that one just kicked in this year for some reason), the stuff I see out of the corners of my eyes, being startled, the smell of the dirty, poor sections of town...

I don't know why I typed all that but after reading it...damn...I'm seriously fucked up. lol
^that ;)
Maybe I didn't read well enough, but am I the first one to admit a deep, deep fear of snakes? I won't touch them or get close to them...not even the harmless garden snakes...I think it goes back to when I was a child and saw at least a 6 foot snake in the water (not sure the type of snake it was, but it was one that apparently can survive in water)...scared the daylights out of me..
There's these signs up at uni talking informing people of the commonness of brown snakes and tiger snakes on campus during summer. It is now hot enough for snakes to be out. I'm feeling a tad unsettled.

The World Health Organisation ranks the brown snake and tiger snake as 2nd and 3rd most deadly to humans resectively (can't remember #1, though. Probably taipans...) Fortunately these are the less venomous western variety, ranked at 4th for western brown and 5th for western tiger. So that's uh...reassuring...

Side note: "brown snakes" have such a bad name. A tiger snake sounds like it'll fuck you up. A taipan sounds like it'll fuck you up. A death adder, well, you won't get confused about its deal.

A brown snake sounds like the cut price, generic brand when you can't afford the real thing.
Cooties!!
Lice are definitely unnerving. As are most parasites.

violent

10-14-2008, 02:34 AM

I've come to grips with death. I don't fear it and I respect it. What scares me is that I may be in a life threatening situation with someone I love. I couldn't live losing them.

That and spiders. I'm enthralled by them in their grotesquely ways.

President Fred

10-14-2008, 02:37 AM

I am afraid of crowds. I panic when I'm crowded around by other people like on buses and trains and stuff, I have no problem with small groups of people it's when there's a crowd. I have no problem with open spaces or anything or even social stuff but I feel really violated when people come to close to me or touch me, even close friends and family members. Good times. It's getting better.

The Iron Weasel

10-14-2008, 02:43 AM

Spiders, failure at school, not living up to what my father has accomplished. Things of this nature.

BLeeP

10-14-2008, 03:18 AM

My biggest thing is death. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew there was an afterlife or not, but I don't, and I don't really think there is one. The big problem is it scares the shit out of me (especially at night when I'm trying to sleep and my thoughts drift off to it) to think about no longer being able to think. I know that sounds silly, but ceasing to be in every possible way, including cognizance, just drives me crazy.

People scare the fuck out of me, too. I suppose I'm kind of paranoid, but the silly little actions that people do and those guys that walk around like they are tough and what not (you know the type) bother the fuck out of me. I work in retail and I hate it when some young punk looking type comes up to the counter and buys one little thing, pulls out money from every single crack and crevice on his person, and then pays me. The whole time he will be looking around and making all sorts of unnecessary movements. It makes me think he is going to pull something crazy >_<.

My big irrational fear: Theaters. I love going to the movies, but I prefer to know every single person who is sitting in it. I always think about someone going apeshit and pulling a gun, and I think it would be very easy to do in a darkened theater.

I guess that's it for now 8-(.

Raen

10-14-2008, 04:15 AM

I was bought up in a 500 year old pub that was supposedly haunted by a witch. That'll put a fear of the dark into you pretty fast. The witch actually did live there once, they found mummified cats up the chimney. They were pretty prominently displayed in the pub actually and they never bothered me. I also agree with Katslover about being scared of certain people. I know you shouldn't judge based on appearance, but some people do just look like they wanna stab you (the pub I grew up in was in a nice part of a rough town so I guess that explains that fear).

Lithium Flower

10-14-2008, 04:34 AM

Wow, lots of people afraid of spiders here. I didn't realise they were such a popular thing to be afraid of, and heights.

I get a bit creeped out by cockroaches but I can deal with them if they show up.

I guess I get really nervous by any type of flame.

That and as someone mentioned earlier, being disabled in any way. I always pray for death over disability. I'd hate to languish for extended periods, would much prefer a quick, painless death but then there's the whole 'surprise' death thing. I don't want that either, to be living happily and then suddenly realise its over. I guess I can just hope whenever it comes, it's in a way that I can deal with.

What scares me most is life itself. There are just so many possibilities and there are so many ways that these few short years/decades can turn out for us. I just want to live happily and contentedly and not have to suffer through life.

In short I guess I'm terrified of having to suffer, emotionally, financially, physically, etc.

boratika

10-14-2008, 05:07 AM

Common style fears I have:

Heights

Confined spaces/constricted movement

Clowns - do you know what a clown is? It's someone who dresses up in a really fucked up outfit and then lives out some sociopath psychopath/fantasy. John Wayne Gacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy) was a clown. need I say more? He also painted them. If you never want to sleep again, look the paintings up.

Needles/ingrown toenails - this one I'll explain a bit: I was the type of kid who watched when he got his shots. But when I was about 14 I got this massively infected ingrown toenail. Now I put off getting it fixed for far longer than was sensible, but poor judgement comes with the age range. By the time I went to get it fixed, my toe was twice the sized it should be, bright red, and engorged with puss. Suffice to say it was pretty sensitive. It's a pretty common procedure, they give you a local, cut out the extra bit of nail, bandage you and set you on your way.

But the anaesthetic, oh god, do you remember how I described my toe. If all the pain I'd ever felt before or since fitted on a scale of 1-10, the needles would have measured about 38. And it needed a jab in three places. I've gone white just thinking about it.

Of course once it kicked in, I felt nothing of the scalpel. It's a fairly common thing for a doctor to do; he'd done it hundreds of times before. Upon cutting the offending article, the doctor commented that it was the largest he'd seen, though I didn't have the stomach to look.

But it didn't take. The only time in his career that the doctor had to redo it. Can you imagine how I felt knowing I'd have to do it all again.

That's why needles make me anxious. I've worked hard on getting over it though. I give blood almost regularly, but I have to focus hard to not freak out or get my heart rate up (not good when you have a tap on your blood.) Reminds me, I need to book an appointment for a donation.

Ancalagon

10-14-2008, 05:54 AM

I have a fear of hospitals and surgery, probably because of when my Dad died of cancer. I mean, I've had surgery once before, and I was uneasy but okay. I was asking the anaesthetist about how much pain I'd be in (had my wisdom teeth removed, all 5 of them) and he was like "I dunno dude, I'm not the surgeon".

It isnt bad enough to keep me from having surgery, but I can get uneasy in hospitals sometimes.

Also have a slight fear of bees and wasps but not of spiders.

I also usually fear letting girls know I'm interested in them, because I'm afraid of being seen as "that creepy guy who doesnt get the message". I think its because I had a crush on a girl for 5 years in high school, and I think I really was that guy. So it might be residual guilt or something.

Khrymsyn

10-14-2008, 08:54 AM

Sounds like you have some issues there. Are you at all familiar with dream symbol interpenetration?

That's odd... has my name, links to my post, but a completely different post is contained in the quote. What did you do Boratika? WHAT DID YOU DO!??!

hehe

boratika

10-14-2008, 09:00 AM

That's odd... has my name, links to my post, but a completely different post is contained in the quote. What did you do Boratika? WHAT DID YOU DO!??!

hehe

Hmmmmm that's pretty weird. Not sure how that occurred. Don't remember quoting you. Don't remember you saying anything worth commenting on.:p

LongStepMantis

10-14-2008, 09:05 AM

I am still afraid of the dark.

I'm afraid to open closets at night. Thanks to this movie.

Oy8AViFLq1I

For those who don't know what's coming already, skip to about 6:00 and don't stop watching until well...you'll know when.

Sometimes I still hear the creepy music in my head and get instantly freaked the fuck out if I'm in a dark room. Fun movie overall, but it wrecked me as a child. I recall one time I was about to open a closet right when the clock struck midnight...and I couldn't do it. I was sure it was in there.

boratika

10-14-2008, 09:18 AM

They kept coming up in the thread, but I forgot to mention wasps. Well only ruropean wasps. And bees, because they look the same.

Reason: A couple years back, I walked past a nest (not particularly near to it) and I guess they didn't like my stupid face because they decided to attack me in a swarm, chasing me for what seemed about a kilometre, stinging me any chance they could. It was reasonably traumatic.

Typical Michael

10-14-2008, 09:20 AM

I cant even remember the last time I saw a honeybee.

GrenMag

10-14-2008, 09:23 AM

An oldy but a goody - swimming in deep, open water. Unless I've got my scuba gear on. Then I'm fine, no idea why. The whole phobia started when I watched part of Jaws when I was seven. For a while I was afraid a shark would come up through the bathtub drain.

Then it faded to a mild anxiety until I started learning to water ski when it resurfaced, so to speak. I had a really hard time with that, but when I forced myself to get my scuba certification I had no problem whatsoever.

Kind of pedestrian but I'm glad to know I'm in good phobia company here. Makes me feel better.

quidmonkey

10-14-2008, 09:24 AM

Cooties!!
http://graphics.boston.com/images/bostondirtdogs//Headline_Archives/BDD_panic_button.jpg

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/04/bullshit.jpg

LongStepMantis

10-14-2008, 09:28 AM

An oldy but a goody - swimming in deep, open water. Unless I've got my scuba gear on. Then I'm fine, no idea why. The whole phobia started when I watched part of Jaws when I was seven. For a while I was afraid a shark would come up through the bathtub drain.

You know what's worse? The drain in a swimming pool. I knew someone who was afraid that going too close to it would either net them a shark, piranhas, or a tentacle shoots out and drags them in.

MalReynolds

10-14-2008, 09:51 AM

Closets ... you'd understand if i explained lol

rvieira

10-14-2008, 10:49 AM

Then I suppose a community center gym is your sense of the 9th circle.

Well.. when I was really young I use to go with my grandpa to the community gym.
Jesus!!!
Try to watch a 70 year old nude male try to pick up his denture of the floor, it’s scarier than any of Clive Backer's creatures.

LongStepMantis

10-14-2008, 10:56 AM

Closets ... you'd understand if i explained lol

I said the same thing in my last post. I'm not sure if yours is related to being horrified by "closet monsters from hell" like my childhood was. ;)

Oh, and I used to think there were Zombies in my closet, that built on it.
As a child, I had to sleep in the room that had the furnace in the closet. It had those slatted doors, so when I was lying down in bed, the angle up I had a view from looked right between some of the slats. The reflection of the moonlight from the window off the metal furnace at that angle made it look like sets of eyes staring back at me, always unblinking. Then the air pressure sometimes popped the closet door open in the middle of the night. I still have zombie-related nightmares.

BlackPete

10-14-2008, 11:11 AM

Old age. I saw my father waste away due to cancer a couple of years ago, and now I find that my body is starting to "take more time to recover" from things that I used to do without thinking.

I think the main aspect of getting older that scares me is not being able to do the things that I love; The things that have made me the person that I am today.

Arthritis in my hands really aches when I'm riding my motorcycle in cold weather (Thank heaven for heated handgrips!), and I've already given up on skiing due to the abuse that it imposes on my knees and back. What's next?

At first I was like, "Haha, I don't have any fears!"

Then I read your post.

And realized that this is all too true for me as well. With parents hitting nursing home age (yet they still live in their own home... for now), I'm all too aware of the clock ticking, and that NEVER goes away.

And like you, my reaction times are generally slower, and from time to time I'd catch my hand trembling -- which kinda freaks me out but I just shake it and put it out of my mind.

BlackPete

10-14-2008, 11:11 AM

Closets ... you'd understand if i explained lol

Have you seen "The Orphanage"?

That should put the fear of closets into anyone.

QueQueg

10-14-2008, 11:16 AM

I'm seriously terrified of needles. Giving blood for medical reasons is pretty much one of the worst things I can imagine.

A very close #2?
...
President Sarah Palin

Typical Michael

10-14-2008, 11:20 AM

johnperkins21

10-14-2008, 01:46 PM

I have extreme claustrophobia. When I first got my wedding ring, I had to get it two full sizes too big. It's been five years and I've slowly whittled that down to one full size too big. And I can't have the bed sheets tucked in when I sleep. First thing I do when I get into a hotel room is pull out the sheets.

Oh, and cockroaches. Those things scare the crap out of me.

Bad Buddha

10-14-2008, 01:55 PM

I am afraid of cutting my eyeball (dont you do it Buddha!) and the tendons or whatever they are in my neck snapping off from wherever they are connected. And having my jugular cut, cause I feel like if that ever happens you have precisely 4 seconds before bleeding to death.

I will not post any stills from Salvadore Dali's Un Chien Andalou (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/)! :rolleyes: I'm often worried about getting a paper cut on my eyeball! I got a metal sliver in my eye once from working on a project for one of my motorcycles.

I work with a guy that had some sort of surgery to remove a bunch of flesh (cancer?) from the side of his neck and throat. His jugular is sitting there right under the skin and It's all I can do not to watch it throb when he's talking to me! :o

Borthcollective

10-14-2008, 02:14 PM

How come we got no mice haters?

KingGorilla

10-14-2008, 04:26 PM

Well.. when I was really young I use to go with my grandpa to the community gym.
Jesus!!!
Try to watch a 70 year old nude male try to pick up his denture of the floor, it’s scarier than any of Clive Backer's creatures.

Were you born with a birth defect where not only your eyelids, but also neck muscles were permantly affixed in one direction?

Look away man.

Squidbot

10-14-2008, 04:37 PM

Sarah Palin.

Closets ... you'd understand if i explained lol

We would understand closets if you explained lol?

Xerxes

10-14-2008, 04:40 PM

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/04/bullshit.jpg

Don't make fun of my fears asshole! :(

Expugnare

10-14-2008, 05:01 PM

I fear suffocation. If I go to sleep with a stuffed-up nose, when I wake up, I gasp for breath in a panic thinking that I am dying. I also pseudo-waterboarded myself once. Not a good idea.

Several people mentioned crowds, but for me it is the opposite. I am comfortable in a large group of complete strangers. My problem is if it just me and another person, especially if I can't see them. Even if I know the person, I still watch them, thinking that they may stab me at any second. It is particularly horrifying if we pass each other such as walking opposite directions in a hallway.

Squidbot

10-14-2008, 05:02 PM

I also pseudo-waterboarded myself once.

You did what now?

Expugnare

10-14-2008, 05:11 PM

You did what now?

Towel/washcloth over your face and run water over it, towards your forehead. I did it just to see if it was really as scary as it is portrayed to be. Without a doubt, it is.

boratika

10-14-2008, 08:22 PM

How come we got no mice haters?

Mice are one of creations cutest creations. Being afraid of them is like being afraid of puppies or kittens.

Church42

10-14-2008, 08:55 PM

Needles/ingrown toenails - this one I'll explain a bit: I was the type of kid who watched when he got his shots. But when I was about 14 I got this massively infected ingrown toenail. Now I put off getting it fixed for far longer than was sensible, but poor judgement comes with the age range. By the time I went to get it fixed, my toe was twice the sized it should be, bright red, and engorged with puss. Suffice to say it was pretty sensitive. It's a pretty common procedure, they give you a local, cut out the extra bit of nail, bandage you and set you on your way.

But the anaesthetic, oh god, do you remember how I described my toe. If all the pain I'd ever felt before or since fitted on a scale of 1-10, the needles would have measured about 38. And it needed a jab in three places. I've gone white just thinking about it.

Oh yeah, have had ingrown toenails myself...the shot to the toe and injection of the anesthetic feels like someone just sent 10,000 volts through your toe.

VerseD

10-14-2008, 08:57 PM

After I saw Alien when I was 11 or 12 I was freaked out by the dark. I just knew I'd be chilling in some hallway and an alien would pop out from behind me with its extending maw. Then I realized that was crazy, and most people with a little sense are perfectly safe no matter what they're doing.

Compared to most people I know I'm pretty fearless. I've walked along ledges hundreds of feet in the air and spent the night alone in the woods while working for the Forestry service, sleeping soundly in the back of a truck. Whenever there's a bug in the room, be it spider, bee or moth, I take that shit outside, which makes me a big hit with the defenseless womenfolk.

I used to not like bugs or needles, but I went with the whole face your fear approach. Couple times of giving blood and grabbing spiders and you might as well call me Rambo.