What is your irrational fear?

TonyMontana1638 · Post by **TonyMontana1638** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 12:51 pm

Magrus wrote:Do republicans proud and take 'em out with a shotgun.

:laugh:
Actually they're fun little buggers to kill, they make buzz when threatened and, because they're so large, make a satisfying *crunch* when stepped on. Just don't let 'em get off the ground, they go right for the hair.

shana · Post by **shana** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 1:07 pm

As I stated in DW's thread, my irrational fear is snakes, because one almost fell on me. I grew up with a creek behind my house, my grandfather had it enlarged and made a beach, and we all swam there. I can remember moving out of the way for the occasional water moccasin to swim past and never thinking twice about it. Now, during warm months, I won't even walk back to look at the creek for fear that I will see a snake!!

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 1:44 pm

Bloodstalker wrote: Outside of that, and on a more mundane note, I have serious issues with hogs. I do not trust them due to an unfortunate encounter a few years ago on a friends farm:speech:

Really BS, I know you are in a mood to share, but you don't have to share those nostalgic and bittersweet moments from long ago, I'm sure it causes far too much pain and hurt to dredge up such angst-ridden memories...

Lasher · Post by **Lasher** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 1:53 pm

i have this dire dire fear of BS. at night i'll feel his gaze behind me, whirl around, and.... nobody. its the psychological games man, messin with me?!?! i just know him and his hogs are waitin for me in some dark gross corner, with theyre beady eyes and distinct stench. i heard eye contact drives people mad.

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:03 pm

I like snakes and spiders, but have an irrational fear of people. It's not as bad nowadays, but a few years ago it was quite limiting.

ch85us2001 · Post by **ch85us2001** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:14 pm

Fire is one of mine. Not like campfire, but like a fire in a car, or a house, that I cant get out of. Mainly a car. I can find a way out of a building, unless its brick, and I could probably still get out then.

Oh, STYROFOAM!!

@Tony: WD40 and a match might be fn with those spiders . . .

Lasher · Post by **Lasher** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:54 pm

also for spiders peanut butter and dynamite is ok.

EvilBelgian · Post by **EvilBelgian** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 5:14 pm

Fear of losing my ID-card/ having my identity stolen (couldn't think of any good reason why you would do that but...).

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Wed Aug 09, 2006 7:20 pm

I fear exploding teeth. Ya know, when you take a sip of hot coffee and bite into an ice-cream cone a second later. When it's hot, it shrinks and when it's cold it expands, I fear that I'll have shrunken my teeth too much and when I go for that coffee, BLAMMO!

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 9:08 am

I don't have any irrational fears at all. No phobias, nothing I avoid out of fear except things that are actually dangerous, like drugs, polar bears, man eating shark species or riding a bike without a helmet on.

I used to have a mild spider and beetle phobia when I was a kid, but I got rid of it after a I had performed a one-week self-exposure treatment on myself. (Although at the time, I had no idea it was exposure treatment I was doing).

Masa · Post by **Masa** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:44 am

C'mon CE, you have to fear something, everybody fears something.

Darzog · Post by **Darzog** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:57 am

Siberys wrote:When it's hot, it shrinks and when it's cold it expands...

I may not be reading this right but I think that it's the other way around. When it gets hot is expands and it contracts when it's cold. The only exception I'm aware of is water at/near freezing which will actually expand as it solidifies.

CE,
Just had to step in and lord your towering rationality over the rest of us huh?

EvilBelgian · Post by **EvilBelgian** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 12:16 pm

A towering feeling of superiority at least.

... Not that there's anything wrong with that. In my eyes it's healthy!

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 2:35 pm

Masa wrote:C'mon CE, you have to fear something, everybody fears something.

I do fear some things, like the ones I mentioned, but they are not irrational. Right now for instance I do fear that one of my best friends have lung cancer or something similar, but I won't know this until she passed the final examination tomorrow and the fear is not irrational since cancer cells were found in the fluids from her lungs. Last time I was afraid was when I was going on a motorbike without helmet in Mali, but then I thought "what the hell, this is my once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Great Mosque of Djenne at sunrise", and since this motorbike was the only possibility, I decided it was worth the risk, but the fear was not irrational since the piste was curvy and bumpy and it is not very good to ride a motorbike without helmet.
Before that I don't even remember the last time I was afraid.

Darzog] CE wrote:
I am a tower of rationality (a very small tower though of 5'2 or so), but I am a shrink for godssake and it would be really cheap if I couldn't even keep myself from irrational fears, eh?

Phreddie · Post by **Phreddie** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:08 pm

Well CE, my question to you is this: Do you fear fear itself?

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:19 pm

Phreddie wrote:Well CE, my question to you is this: Do you fear fear itself?

I fear (well, too strong word perhaps, I dislike) irrational fear, which is not irrational since irrational fear keeps you from doing things and make you avoid things and generally takes energy for no good reason at all since the fear is irrational.

I do not fear rational fear though, which is also rational, because rational fear in an important survival mechanisms that keeps us less inclined to expose ourselves for unnecessary risky situations.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:50 pm

I fear the bouncyness of CEs avatar

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 3:57 pm

@BS: Heed the words of Marie Curie: "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."

JonIrenicus · Post by **JonIrenicus** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 4:01 pm

I can't think of any irrational fears that I have anymore.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 4:14 pm

A question to all spider phobics: A friend of mine with spider phobia recently stayed in our flat. He was sleeping in our computer room but - his phobia is so strong so I had to remove my toy spider which is hanging from a lamp in the ceiling! He said he could never sleep in the same room as this spider!

Here is a photo of the plush spider in question. It's about 25 cm across, the body is maybe 8-9 cm. I think it is so cute. What do you think, would this trigger your phobia?