GTKY - Irrational Fears (again)

MollyandD

I started one of these back in October, but it might be fun to revisit the dumb, irrational, or totally rational stuff we are scared of. 

I have trouble blowing my hair dry when I'm home alone. My fear is that Chuckie, the evil doll, will sneak up on me when I can't hear him. I'm 99.9% sure this will never happen, but childhood fears still get to me. 

I still worry that Pumpkin Head is at the bottom of my mom's stairs at night when the lights are off. 

I'm afraid a stranger will try to kill me and cut my baby out in a horrific effort to become a parent. 

If I'm at a friend's house using the bathroom, I always check behind the shower curtain, because I worry that the scary bathtub lady from the Shining is back there.

I know I'm not alone in having irrational fears. What are yours?

nda_roxybabe

I too ALWAYS check behind the shower curtain.

I hate showering home alone because I get scared. Especially if the dog starts acting weird.

If H and I drive separately I often worry that something will happen to him. Along those same lines, I immediately jump to the conclusion that something is wrong if him or my Mom don't respond to calls and texts.

I can't stand having the blinds open at night, it's creepy. I also get scared of the dark hall beyond our bedroom door. Now you can see the light coming from the bottom of the stairs, but the nursery is a dark abyss and I hate it.

thistlenweeds

MollyandD said:

I started one of these back in October, but it might be fun to revisit the dumb, irrational, or totally rational stuff we are scared of. 

I have trouble blowing my hair dry when I'm home alone. My fear is that Chuckie, the evil doll, will sneak up on me when I can't hear him. I'm 99.9% sure this will never happen, but childhood fears still get to me. 

I still worry that Pumpkin Head is at the bottom of my mom's stairs at night when the lights are off. 

I'm afraid a stranger will try to kill me and cut my baby out in a horrific effort to become a parent. 

If I'm at a friend's house using the bathroom, I always check behind the shower curtain, because I worry that the scary bathtub lady from the Shining is back there.

I know I'm not alone in having irrational fears. What are yours?

While i have some fears of my own some of those are irrational to the extent that would make me personally consider therapy. I feel it could really improve one's quality of life if one didn't have to worry about Chuckie at least.

BeachMommy2B

I have a total irrational fear of pool drains. I'm not sure if I think I'll get sucked in, or somethings going to come out of it and get me. Maybe both...

+1 for the dark, if I get up at night to get water or something I end up running back to my bedroom because outside our glass sliding doors I assume there's a psycho killer waiting to attack...

Also dead bodies, I use to work for a hospital and as I was leaving one day there was a body on a cart that the funeral home was picking up. The guy was standing there talking to the hospital staff and as I had to walk past it my legs got so heavy i wasn't sure I'd be able to keep moving them... Passing the morgue itself didn't bother me too bad, but that body on the cart did me in.

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

@BeachMommy2B  Growing up I always heard a story about a kid in my state who had sat on a pool drain and had some of his bowels removed.  I always thought it was an urban legend.  Then I went to law school and the kid was in my law school class.  Truly terrifying.

BeachMommy2B

@NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

llenadevida900

When I lived in a two-story house (growing up and then also before H and I moved to CA) I could not go downstairs after I turned off the lights for the night. If I forgot something too bad - it was dead to me till the morning. I get the creeps just thinking about the dark emptiness right now...

jayandaplus

@BeachMommy2B and @NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot I'm loving the interaction, and completely terrified.

My irrational fears are escalators and the dark. I used to be afraid of toasters (they are so loud when they suddenly pop up) but I've gotten much better about that. I watched a dateline episode as a child about this escalator that basically ate a person alive. I have a very hard time with them to this day.

Yiggle09

@MollyandD I second the chuckie but for me its all dolls. I was forced to watch chuckie at a real young age held by my uncle and ever since I don't trust them. I know they are inanimate objects and the word trust isn't correct but for me i honestly believe they are just waiting for me to fall asleep or let my guard down and they will attack. I also used to have nightmares where the dolls would tickle me or be hiding under my bed to attack me and I would have to force myself to wake up at night. Now that I am having a girl I have thrown the gauntlet down to my mother. I said dolls stay at grammas house unless they are stuffed. I said any dolls that come home from a party or grammas are getting thrown out, you've been warned.
@BeachMommy2B for me its not pool grates but shower drains/bath drains or the grates in new york city where the subway goes under etc. For the shower drains again I was young and had a nightmare about something sticking its arm up and grabbing my leg and bringing me down into the drain. I will not step on it ever- which was hard when I would have someone shower with me. Grates in new york city or even water drain grates on the regular roads because I think they might drop me. This one gets my husband as he grew up in the bronx. 
My husband's fear is that if he is having blood drawn or an iv or something with a needle that the needle will break off in his arm and then they will have to go in to get it.

MollyandD

@thistlenweeds these fears cross my mind, but don't  interfere with my life beyond being nervous for a little bit. I know they are irrational, hence the title of the thread. I don't ACTUALLY think Chuckie is coming after me. I still blow dry my hair and function. By the way, the weird hair drying fear only affects me at night. Something about the dark is unsettling even as an adult.

I forgot to mention my biggest. This one, I probably should seek therapy for, because it actually does affect my life. I'm deathly afraid of taxidermy. I worry about accidentally touching the dead animals. Blood rushes to my face and my eyes water when I get too close or see a taxidermy animal without knowing it would be there. 

nda_roxybabe

So glad I'm not the only one with fears regarding the dark. H teases me that I'm a baby, but the dark can be scary!

starphish18

I said this one before, and I'll say it again. Stickers. I'm terrified they'll be on me and I won't know. Like, how long was it there? How'd it get there? One time, my dad was drinking a lemonade with a slice of lemon that had a sticker on it. Only time I can remember actually gagging.

rebecca517-2

I am also afraid of the dark. I need it to sleep but I definitely dont want to be up walking around in it. My parents have a lot of windows they dont have blinds on because their backyard is pretty private, and I still get terrified walking past them at night if im house sitting. I feel like someone is watching me. Thanks to all the true crime podcasts I listen to, I have a lot of irrational fears. 

pshaortao

I honestly can't think of any irrational fear at the moment. Most of my fears are more rational like choking, something being seriously wrong when someone doesn't come home without a text (happens alll the time with DH ugh), etc. BUT! reading all these so far has got me like

cmcookaln

I had and still have a fear of something getting me in the night when I'm home alone. I did not stay home alone until I was 20 years old.  I rearranged the furniture to block all of the doors and stayed up most of the night.  For some reason, now I'm not as scared with my daughter being around (like she can really protect me at two years old).

I hate storms. I think I'm going to get struck my lightening or my house is going to blow away.  When I got married, I would not let my husband even look at purchasing a house unless it had a basement.

ShadeofGreen816

I guess I'm with @pshaortao in that my fears seem more reasonable than irrational. When I lived alone, I was always a little concerned that I would choke and no one would find me. And now, I have fears of falling down or somehow injuring myself in the shower and the EMTs will have to come and get my wet, naked body out of the shower. And it will be so embarrassing. 

jayandaplus

@ShadeofGreen816 My sister is a NP and irrationally afraid of choking. Just saw a similarity. :-) I worry about EMTs finding me in a dire yet embarrassing state too. Like with my legs unshaven, not wearing a bra, etc.

Jens_Hoes

My irrational fear is not getting my letter to Hogwarts. Or maybe it's a rational fear. 

lilmisscrafty-2

Unfinished basements because someone or something could be hiding down there. 

As a kid, I was afraid of escalators and wouldn't get on. To this day I still hesitate before stepping on.

And I hesitate to admit this but...The Easter Bunny at the mall. Or anyone dressed up as the Easter Bunny. I get really uncomfortable. I don't know why but there's something about a giant bunny rabbit that puts fear in my heart.

rkstro2

@pshaortao and @ShadeofGreen816 I never used to think about choking much but I choked pretty bad on my granola in my yogurt a few weeks ago in the break room at work and I thought that was it.  I transitioned from
coughing on the granola to a legitimate stridor as it blocked my airway. Another partner of mine was in the room when it happened and he looked terrified like "omg I don't know if I can Heimlich a pregnant woman". So now my irrational fear of choking is for it to happen while I'm pregnant and nobody does anything bc they're afraid of my giant pregnant belly. 

Jens_Hoes

rkstro2 said:

@pshaortao and @ShadeofGreen816 I never used to think about choking much but I choked pretty bad on my granola in my yogurt a few weeks ago in the break room at work and I thought that was it.  I transitioned from
coughing on the granola to a legitimate stridor as it blocked my airway. Another partner of mine was in the room when it happened and he looked terrified like "omg I don't know if I can Heimlich a pregnant woman". So now my irrational fear of choking is for it to happen while I'm pregnant and nobody does anything bc they're afraid of my giant pregnant belly. 

I neglected a health concern I had for about 6 years for really no other reason other than I avoided the doctor. I unbeknownst to me had silent reflux which caused a ring in my esophagus and made it difficult to swallow certain foods or when I ate too quickly. I finally went to the doctor after choking HARD CORE at a rest stop with my husband (then fiancée) and it was so bad it blocked my whole airway. I've had to have it popped by a balloon twice in the last few years, and will be on reflux medication for the rest of my life. 
I guess that was my long winded way to say it is a rational fear of mine to choke lol

kns1988

@starphish18, Sorry, your's made me laugh! I never heard of a fear of stickers. 
@nda_roxybabe, I have the same fears about something happening to DH when he's driving because that's my worst nightmare.

When I was a kid, I would run past windows at night because I was always afraid someone would be looking in. I still get that way sometimes depending on how anxious I'm feeling that day (my kitchen windows don't have coverings).

I have an irrational fear whenever I write a letter or thank you note that it says something that I didn't write. I'll re-read it about 3 times before sealing the envelope to make sure I got the person's name right and said what I meant to say. 

rkstro2

@Jens_Hoes that's terrible!  I'm hoping that now you're on reflux meds and have had dilations your choking is kept to nil or at least a minimum!  

pshaortao

@jens_hoes That's terrifying and totally a rational fear! I hope you haven't had any more scares since the diagnosis and starting treatment

Jens_Hoes

@rkstro2 @pshaortao
Once I finally went to the GI doctor and he did the first dilation my doctor wanted to see if the ring was a fluke or something that would require long term treatment so I went off of my reflux meds. He said if I needed another dilation within a year I'd be on meds my whole life, and within six months, I was having trouble swallowing again. So hence the second dilation and life long meds. It's slightly annoying to have to be regulated with medication forever, but I guess it's better than choking and dying lol

bacorrea

I can't park near light polls. I'm always afraid they are going to fall and crush my car.

momma2char

For the longest time (probably 10 years) I couldn't walk in front of any windows that weren't covered by blinds/curtains... I would literally crawl below the window so I wasn't seen from outside. In the good old days (middle school) I was on MSN chatting with my friend in the evening. My computer was in my bedroom on the second floor right beside a window which I always kept my blinds open. All of the sudden I had a pop up request for a conversation from someone I didn't know so I accepted it, and opened the tab. This person started describing what I was wearing, telling me they loved my blue necklace and when I questioned who they were and how they knew what I was wearing, they responded with "im right outside your window", so I got on the floor away from the window where I could still see the screen and this person was using caps lock (what seemed like they were getting angry) asking why I was hiding and to look out the damn window or they were going to come inside. I crawled on the floor to my parents room crying and they called the police who came to do an investigation- they weren't able to figure out who was online in that conversation but they discovered my creepy neighbor (some single guy in his 50s/60s) whose kitchen window overlooked my bedroom window had a fascination with my blonde hair so they said to keep my blinds closed because it could have been him, but no evidence. Could have also been the built in webcam on my computer being hacked and a friend just messing with me, but I'm still scared of being seen through windows. As soon as it starts to get somewhat dark outside/sun is setting, the blinds get shut! 

lilmisscrafty-2

@momma2char Wow, I think you're justifiable in your fear. That is freaky!

skeetied

@momma2char That's terrifying.

I always have to inspect the back seat before getting in the car when I've been out at night.  It's irrational because no one could fit back there anymore!

michelle59-2

My fear is driving behind one of those big logging trucks and having one of the logs fly off the load into my windshield. Not likely to happen, but scares the crap out of me!

Yiggle09

@momma2char that's really scary I'm sorry that happened to you!

ShadeofGreen816

@momma2char I am seriously regretting reading that in the middle of the night! That's terrifying. Eeekkk

@michelle59-2 you must have watched final destination at just the right time in your life because I have that fear sometimes too!

jayandaplus

@michelle59 I have that fear too!!

kns1988

michelle59-2 said:

My fear is driving behind one of those big logging trucks and having one of the logs fly off the load into my windshield. Not likely to happen, but scares the crap out of me!

That happened to my mom when she was in high school! She had to veer off the road, and she hit a tree. She told me that story when I was younger and I never stay behind those trucks on the road now. And yeah, it's very final destination. 

@momma2char, that's super creepy! I would have been scared shitless. I'm glad you weren't home alone. 

MollyandD

@michelle59-2 I worry about that Final Destination type stuff with logs too. 

@momma2char that's scary. It sucks that one sicko did that and it had such an effect on your life from then on.