# Irrational Fears



## EstrellaandJericho (Aug 12, 2017)

Ants.

Also leaving the paddock gate open... Even though I make sure the gate is secure when I come in/out ALWAYS.

To my horror I would be at work and no one would be able to wrangle Jericho into his pasture.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I don't have any. All my fears are rational. . . . Just kidding. I constantly look for things that will fall on my head, whether driving, or riding in the woods. It's nor irrational, but it is unlikely, as such sudden falls are very rare.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Leaving the stall door/pasture gate unlatched
Fish - living, dead, doesn't matter
Anything with more than 4 legs
Anything with less than 2 legs
Falling off my horse then my horse runs away and gets hurt (not afraid of falling, afraid of the horse getting hurt because I fell off)
My horse falling through the trailer floor while I'm hauling and me not noticing
Improperly latching the trailer doors and my horse falls out
Improperly hitching the trailer and watching the trailer roll down the highway on its own

Off the top of my head


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## Mewlie (Apr 14, 2017)

That there will be a (usually Megalodon) shark in the water. I'm not safe, even in pools.
Walking into a spider web and having a big ol' spider land on me, and I won't notice til it's crawling down my face.
A face popping up when I stare out a window at nighttime.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Mewlie, sounds like my list. I became phobic of water you can't see the bottom(yep, even some pools) after getting caught in a rip years ago & having people swim out to save me & tell me sharks wait in the rip to catch fish that get caught... but they assured me, only hammerheads, so they could only take off my foot! Last year though, we went to Ningaloo Reef(off WA) & I'm OK snorkelling, so long as I'm looking straight down. But my family wanted to go on a whale shark expedition & my kids did it, so I had no choice - I actually jumped off a boat into OPEN OCEAN!! It was awesome! Until the whale shark dived & I nearly threw up in my snorkel!

And spiders. Narrow trails thru the bush often have orb webs across them & I hate riding first in a group - I have had spiders on my face & in my hair before! One day, out of my peripheral vision I caught sight of something on my hand & automatically started making those stupid 'uh-uh' noises & brushing at my hand... before I realised a bandaid had come off & I was panicking about a scab on my hand!


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

EstrellaandJericho said:


> Ants.
> 
> Also leaving the paddock gate open... Even though I make sure the gate is secure when I come in/out ALWAYS.
> 
> To my horror I would be at work and no one would be able to wrangle Jericho into his pasture.


Rational. I've done it twice. Nothing like flying out of bed just as you are getting comfortable because you suddenly remember you didn't close the gate. Good thing I was living on site at the time and the horses were all sleeping and hadn't noticed the gate.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

Hauling gets me. Constantly checking the mirrors to see if the trailer is still attached. Play out all the scenarios that can go wrong. 
Back door opens and horse falls out. 
Floor breaks. 
Horse slips and is hanging themselves.
A vehicle hits us. 
Constantly reminding myself that my trainer has hauled horses all across the continent for years with a stellar track record.


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## GMA100 (Apr 8, 2016)

Training and animal wrong. That is the only one I can think of. I get totally terrified if someone tells me I'm training and animal wrong, or even just not doing it right in their opinion. I guess I'm afraid I'll ruin it....


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## ChieTheRider (May 3, 2017)

EstrellaandJericho said:


> Ants.
> 
> Also leaving the paddock gate open... Even though I make sure the gate is secure when I come in/out ALWAYS.
> 
> To my horror I would be at work and no one would be able to wrangle Jericho into his pasture.


My hatred of ants is beyond that of which you would ever want to imagine. I once had them kill a little chick and get in to nest of a mama hen...and then they get in the tack room somehow and get in the dog food. And the fire ants hurt like you know what.

And I used to have panic attacks and wake up in the middle of the night not remembering if I closed the chicken gate/rabbit gate/dog gate/horse gate or not. Or I'd wake up to the horses tearing around the yard and the dogs barking at them. (we don't have the rabbits anymore though, but when we did, if they got out of the cage, the dogs would get them)


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## Cynical25 (Mar 7, 2013)

When I'm driving and see a wobbly hub cap I get out of there - my mind sees that thing flying through my window to decapitate me.


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

I don't really have any serious fears, but I do have a lot of stupid little ones that I KNOW are stupid.

I often picture doors of hauling trucks flying open and all the contents flying out at me. Same goes for car haulers and logging trucks...

I too am afraid of my horses falling through the floor of the trailer. I often have a dream a night or two before I haul that this happens and I get to my destination and my horses legs are gone, he just looks like a sausage with a head.

I've mentioned this before, but I ALWAYS check behind a shower curtain if it's drawn. There will be someone or something behind there one day I just know it haha. 

I'm terrified that I'll get out of the shower and wrap my towel around me, only to find spiders or earwigs in it. So I shake my towels before I use them.

I often have dreams that my jaw locks shut and I can't open it. I try so hard to get it dislodged that I shatter all my teeth in the process. That's when I wake up and often find I've been clenching my teeth in my sleep. I had a bad bout lock jaw a few years back, and I think that's where this comes from.

It's not really a fear, but I HATE Styrofoam and cotton balls... they make my skin crawl.

I have more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

KLJcowgirl said:


> It's not really a fear, but I HATE Styrofoam and cotton balls... they make my skin crawl.


Umm yes, I hate styrofoam! Especially coolers. I don't know if it's the nails on chalkboard affect when the squeak or what, but I hate them. 

Also.. this is REALLY weird. I hate wooden Popsicle sticks. Do not know why. Never met anyone else who hated them. But the thought of sliding a wooden stick through my lips (to get juice or the remaining Popsicle off or whatever) gives me the shivers.

I do too worry about not locking stuff. Even when I have checked it twice.


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

^^^ I don't hate popsicle sticks... but I can't get all the left overs off of them, it makes me gag.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I am OCD about checking gates and water hydrants.... I'll go back and check that all of the gates and stall doors are closed, then go check again. Same with making sure water is turned off. It's so automatic to do it, that I don't think of it when I do, then can't remember if I did it, so have to go check...

Same with making sure the stove is off and the toaster is unplugged and my flat iron is off before I leave the house.

(a friend died in a house fire caused by a plugged-in toaster that burst into flames in the middle of the night and only one person in the family got out).


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

@KLJcowgirl I guess I should say that's more what I don't like.. as far as using popsicle sticks in DIY projects or whatever I don't mind, but licking them to get the juice off does make my skin crawl.
@SilverMaple OMG that is so, so sad  Something you read about in books or horror movies.. not something that happens to a friend. How heartbreaking.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

@*horseylover1_1* I feel the same. In my town people have the habit of absentmindedly walking out between parked cars to cross the road and they seem to expect that you will always see them. At the moment we have a huge amount of tourists walking around the streets and they seem to forget that cars will be coming on the opposite side of the road. Even today we had to crawl along a road as people walked out into it, crossed without looking, or stood in the middle of the road for a good photo. 

@*KLJcowgirl* Cotton wool/buds I hate them; they make me shudder. Especially the sound and feeling when you pull the wool apart.

Stable doors or gates being opened or forgetting to close them; despite clipping a lead rein to the bolt and chaining and padlocking the gate. One of my horses was very good at opening things so it didn’t help. 

Fences getting damaged and them getting out onto the main road as other horses close by have done in the past.

Spiders at home which is extremely irrational because none of ours are dangerous. The thought of sleeping with one in the room is horrible. I have to get someone else to remove them but, in my workplace, I’m the one the cleaner asks for help to remove them while she stands outside of the room. I take them downstairs and chuck them out. Completely irrational.


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## seabiscuit91 (Mar 30, 2017)

I heard that people eat 12 spiders while sleeping in their lifetime. 
That is terrifying, anything that crawls, I always think something is on me, and for some reason I think it will kill me. 

If I get home late at night, thinking someone is waiting to kill me in my house. 

Gosh I sound a bit morbid.


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## Caledonian (Nov 27, 2016)

seabiscuit91 said:


> I heard that people eat 12 spiders while sleeping in their lifetime.
> That is terrifying, anything that crawls, I always think something is on me, and for some reason I think it will kill me.
> 
> If I get home late at night, thinking someone is waiting to kill me in my house.
> ...


 Yuck! Well, I was about to switch off the light to go to sleep but I think I’ll wait up a bit longer now! :grin:
As it’s Autumn, we’ve had a lot of large spiders on the move around the house so I’m ready for them.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

Speaking of bugs and getting them on you.. I get totally paranoid that a bug will crawl on me (specifically a horse fly or wasp or roach) will get on me while driving and I will panic and crash the car.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Vomiting. Me, or other people. Nope. Just cannot handle the thought.

Needles. NOPE. I can give them to my animals (especially horses... when you have a horse as accident prone as mine you're constantly giving antibiotic injections and you make SURE they're utd on shots) but the moment you come anywhere near me with one that's intended for me I am screaming, crying, and trying to strangle you.

Illness in general. I don't go to the doctor for anything, ever, because I refuse to sit in a room full of sick people. I go through quite a bit of hand sanitiser if you force me to leave my house when something is going around (and something is always going around), and if someone I know is sick I AVOID them. Actively. I also actively avoid small children for this reason. They're the plague rats of the human world.

I can be incredibly paranoid when I'm walking alone. I hear footsteps behind me regularly and there's rarely anyone there. And it's TERRIFYING, not for no one being there, but for the thought that someone MIGHT be.

EDIT; OH AND I FORGOT ONE. Losing my dog. She's only 9 and still relatively healthy (aside from her bad hip and her epilepsy, which are genetic issues from being a backyard bred mess, but neither of those is life threatening) so I know I'm being ridiculous but if I don't know where she is and she doesn't respond INSTANTLY when I call her (which is fairly normal, she's quite a stubborn dog) I panic.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Despite the fact that I live in a Province that only has ground living garter snakes, I am scared to drive the ride on mower under overhanging trees, in case snakes drop on me. That one got nasty in the spring when we had plagues of caterpillars and the things were falling on you as you went under trees...*shudders*

Sponges...I'm the one tack cleaning with one rubber glove on, so I don't have to touch a sponge.

Phones, you have to be a special person for me to answer a call from you, and very special for me to call you.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

Golden Horse said:


> Phones, you have to be a special person for me to answer a call from you, and very special for me to call you.


YES. So many times yes. Everyone who knows me knows they should text me  the only person on the planet I ever willingly call is my significant other and even then it's not that often


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

So many things in your post made me want to comment KLJ...



KLJcowgirl said:


> I often picture doors of hauling trucks flying open and all the contents flying out at me. Same goes for car haulers and logging trucks...


Not so sure how 'stupid' that fear is, having seen log trucks around here lose their load, or suspension fails & they roll! I HATE driving beside big trucks for that reason, esp on outside corners, but driving in between 2 trucks on a 3 lane rd, that's the worst! I HAVE to floor it & get out of there ASAP!



> I too am afraid of my horses falling through the floor of the trailer.


I'm obviously not the only one in that boat either! I'm always imagining that when I pull up I'll open the trailer, blood everywhere & one horse with 3 feet & one bloody stump! Tho with how pedantic I am with all the 'pre-flight checks' of car & trailer, it's not likely!

Another fear, that I've had multiple nightmares about, is that my brakes fail when I'm driving down a steep hill!



> he just looks like a sausage with a head.


Bahahaha! Sorry, but my nightmares haven't gone that far & that's a pretty funny sounding image!



> I've mentioned this before, but I ALWAYS check behind a shower curtain if it's drawn. There will be someone or something behind there one day I just know it haha.


Don't spose you've ever seen a show with a man called Norman Bates have you??


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## Kaiit (Mar 28, 2017)

SilverMaple said:


> Same with making sure the stove is off and the toaster is unplugged and my flat iron is off before I leave the house.
> 
> (a friend died in a house fire caused by a plugged-in toaster that burst into flames in the middle of the night and only one person in the family got out).


That's terrible  I'm also strict about plugs being out in the kitchen and turned off elsewhere. Especially phone chargers as they're on the bed headboard. I will flip if I realise a phone/iPad/whatever has been left charging on the bed because it's MY animals that would die in a house fire. I couldn't live with that. 



Golden Horse said:


> Phones, you have to be a special person for me to answer a call from you, and very special for me to call you.


Ditto this. If I don't know the number, I don't answer! Makes for a very difficult time when applying for jobs etc lol. People who know me know they need to text me to tell me they want to call. I have my phone on silent permanently, not least because ringing phones send me into an anxiety attack. 

I also have an irrational fear of medical professionals (except vets). Dentists, GPs, nurses, they all scare me when in a medical environment like Drs office or hospital. I avoid going to see them if I can help it.


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## GMA100 (Apr 8, 2016)

Oh yes! Throw up. I will lose it. Literally lose it if I see or hear something puking. I don't know why, but I've always been like that.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

@blue eyed pony Regarding sick people... WHY for the love of all that is good do people insist on taking their kids (or themselves) out in public when they are OBVIOUSLY sick. There are exceptions. I mean, you gotta get medicine and stuff but illnesses would all but disappear if people would just stay at home when they have a contagious illness. Rant over.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

GMA100 said:


> Oh yes! Throw up. I will lose it. Literally lose it if I see or hear something puking. I don't know why, but I've always been like that.


Well I'm not like that... much. But one memorable, horrible day... here's a yucky story for you!

I had mouse bait blocks behind some of my furniture. We were moving so had moved furniture... I was sure my dogs wouldn't touch them - due to being worried about that kind of thing, I (pretended to) force alcohol, mouse bait, etc on them, as 'aversion training'. So I thought little of the mouse blocks at the time.

Then my parents in law asked me to babysit their dogs. One of which was a lab. Thankfully it had only been a few minutes we were in the house, the phone rang & while I was talking, lab girl comes & gives me a big GREEN grin!! I had a bag of washing salts in the cupboard for the purpose, so I forced some into her. Couldn't be certain the other dog didn't eat any, so she got some too. Outside with all 4 dogs. Mistake. Because the other dogs started chucking... & then my dogs ATE it!! So then I had to dose them with washing salts too, then be quick off the mark to clean it up before any of the others got in. That made me chuck - there we were, 5 of us all chucking up on the patio!

Oh... & remember NEVER to breastfeed your baby & then lie down & play 'aeroplanes' with them above you, especially not with your mouth open!

Are you feeling sick yet??:twisted: I am, remembering it!


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

@loosie - I hate you


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## Kaiit (Mar 28, 2017)

horseylover1_1 said:


> @blue eyed pony Regarding sick people... WHY for the love of all that is good do people insist on taking their kids (or themselves) out in public when they are OBVIOUSLY sick. There are exceptions. I mean, you gotta get medicine and stuff but illnesses would all but disappear if people would just stay at home when they have a contagious illness. Rant over.


The asymptomatic incubation period for a lot of contagious illnesses is often when the illness is passed on, so people don't necessarily know they're spreading it. 

I used to go to work when I was ill simply because I couldn't afford to take the time off. My work didn't pay me sick leave and because I worked in a public service, I caught illnesses fairly often.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

^    Blue, being Australian, guessing you've seen Tomorrow When The War Began? Don't suppose you remember the bit where they're on the way to Hell & the blonde city girl is feeling car sick, & Homer's in the back 'sympathising'... in great detail??


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

@loosie - nah I haven't actually! I constantly feel like I should though. And I feel like I should read the book too.


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## GMA100 (Apr 8, 2016)

loosie said:


> Well I'm not like that... much. But one memorable, horrible day... here's a yucky story for you!
> 
> I had mouse bait blocks behind some of my furniture. We were moving so had moved furniture... I was sure my dogs wouldn't touch them - due to being worried about that kind of thing, I (pretended to) force alcohol, mouse bait, etc on them, as 'aversion training'. So I thought little of the mouse blocks at the time.
> 
> ...


I was fixing to eat breakfast. :-x


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I took part in a psychology test for research , questioned annually over ten years. (I think I totally messed up their theories!) 

One of the questions was 'What are you afraid of?' 

I had to think about that one for quite some time amd the woman made some suggestions, spiders, rats and mice, snakes? 

With the latter I pointed out Cuddles, a six foot long python in her case at the end of the room. Poor woman nearly needed a laundry change! 

With her reaction I realised that what I was frightened of was fear itself. I would never allow fear to take over control of my mind or body. I do not like unsecure heights, a ladder fully extended and not tied at the top but I would rather climb it than allow my fear to stop me. 

I think this stems from when I was about 4 years old. My mother suddenly realised that she needed something from the shop just around the corner, less than 500 yards away. She asked if I would be all right of she ran all the way there and back, leaving me with my sleeping baby sister. I said I'd be fine. Mum ran out the house and she had been gone for an eternity when there was someone trying to get in the back door. This garden was completely blocked off so no way anyone could get in that way. 
I was in a panic, grabbed my sister, wrapped her in a blanket and set off running. I bumped into Mum as she rushed out the shop.,she had kept her word and hadn't been gone more than a few minutes.

Mum was upset and pointed out to me that I could have fallen and hurt the baby but really she was angry at herself knowing she shouldn't have left us.

When we got back it was the cat rattling the door handle wanting in. Mum pointed out that the dog would have barked had someone been there. 
Even at that tender age I realised I had been foolish and vowed to investigate before running - which was just as well because I never could run far or fast!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Founder.

When my daughter was young and would ride Bandit the old roping horse, he had a pasture buddy - a gorgeous paint named Lucky. Lucky had laminitis and the lady that bought him didn't know it until she'd already paid for him and had brought him home. She did her best to make him comfortable and I don't know much about his condition, just that his feet were literally rotting off his body.

Lucky had about three more years of life in him, and they had to put him down - at the end, every single moment of every single day was nothing but pain for that horse.

Now that we have our own, yes I was concerned that one of ours would founder, get sick, need medical care, the usual concerns, but then one night we were at a friend's house... and he has a paint gelding named Dollar. Dollar is like the paint from Shanghai Noon - he is 'trained' to do a LOT of things on cue, like get in the trailer on his own, go to his stall on verbal request, etc. Dollar was over at the feed buggy and kept opening the feed door, stealing some grain and sneaking off. One of the other guys made a joking remark about 'founder'.

EVER SINCE THEN - I have a recurring nightmare that one of horses, usually Gina (She has very tender feet, but she's only four or five) is limping, I pick her foot up to check the hoof out, and it slides right off her leg into my hand, leaving behind a horribly gruesome stump, or its just barely hanging by a thread.


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

Burned out lights in swimming pools. I have no idea why but looking at a light in a pool that is burned out terrifies me. I've essentially quit swimming due to this fear.

Fear that my house will burn down with my dogs in it. It's not really an irrational fear but I'm constantly worried about it. 

Elevators coming unattached and falling to the ground. I wouldn't get in one until I was 12 due to this fear.

Falling off an escalator. I've had this nightmare several times and it's become a real fear. I stand at the top and wait for almost a minute before getting on because I'm so scared.

Wow, I've got a lot of these!


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

This first one I wouldn't call a "fear" so much as a "fleeting thought" but when I'm somewhere crowded (sporting event, movie premier, festival, etc) I always think how screwed I'd be if someone went AWOL or there was some sort of terrorist attack. For example, I had the fleeting concern of someone shooting up (wow, that sounds insensitive... ugh) a movie theater long before James Holmes. Again, not really a fear, but something I'll think about.

As for actual irrational fears? Commercial planes--I learned to fly when I was in middle/high school, and it proved to only deepen the fear, because the cockpits of commercial airliners are so intricate. I know the likelihood of any sort of problem is incredibly small, but something about being so high in the air and knowing if something went wrong you'd be totally screwed gets to me.

And, absolutely, what Mewlie said. I am terrified of sharks. In the ocean? Check. In the river? Check. In the swimming pool? ...still check </3


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## mckenzies (May 26, 2017)

Zexious said:


> This first one I wouldn't call a "fear" so much as a "fleeting thought" but when I'm somewhere crowded (sporting event, movie premier, festival, etc) I always think how screwed I'd be if someone went AWOL or there was some sort of terrorist attack. For example, I had the fleeting concern of someone shooting up (wow, that sounds insensitive... ugh) a movie theater long before James Holmes. Again, not really a fear, but something I'll think about.


This!! And I always feel so bad about feeling that way because I have never been given any reason to feel this way other than the media. I will NOT go to the movie theaters anymore.. I plot my escape anytime I go into a store, restaurant, ect.

One thing I think I'll always be afraid of is the dark.. I have my hubs watch me go to my car if I have to grab something out of it at night.. I think he is starting to get annoyed by it. If he's not home and I have to get something in the dark I RUN. I feel like a child afraid of the dark but I can't help it!


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## Kriva (Dec 11, 2015)

mckenzies said:


> One thing I think I'll always be afraid of is the dark.. I have my hubs watch me go to my car if I have to grab something out of it at night.. I think he is starting to get annoyed by it. If he's not home and I have to get something in the dark I RUN. I feel like a child afraid of the dark but I can't help it!



So glad I'm not the only adult like this. I turn all the porch lights on when I go outside in the dark. DH gets mad because I'm "letting bugs in the house" since they come to the light. We hunt and so you're supposed to go either to/from the deer blind in the dark - depending on what time you're hunting. I always have a headlight and a flashlight. I really get picked on for that one, but tell all the guys that when they get attacked by BigFoot then they'll be sorry they didn't see it coming. At least I'll know ahead of time. 

Also, falling from a high place. I don't like heights at all. Even when there's a railing that would keep anyone from falling. I still feel like I'll be the one person that will be standing there and everything will collapse out from under me.

And I don't cut across parking lots. I've always thought you're supposed to go up and down the lanes even if there aren't cars parked in the spots. If everyone just drove across them then it'd be mass chaos. Which has now turned into me knowing that if I ever do it I will surely get hit by someone else driving across. Just not a chance I'm willing to take!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

@loosie, I laughed so hard at your vomit post. I could just imagine that. Thanks for the great story.

My big fear is bears. When I was 7, we took a trip to Yellowstone National Park and that was a long time ago. People were just starting to travel and feeding the bears was a big kick. It didn't take long for the bears to start attacking people, and every forest ranger we talked to and every place we went, there was information about how dangerous bears are.

We ride for 6 days twice a year in Ocala National Forest and usually see some bears. I truly hope we don't when we go riding. And I really really REALLY hope they don't come into camp, which they do sometimes, attracted by the garbage. I'd be happy NEVER to meet another bear!


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## cbar (Nov 27, 2015)

I thought I was so unusual with my fears but am glad I am not alone! I also have the hauling fears - horse dropping through trailer floor or falling out. Or trailer coming detached...


I had a fear of house fires as a child. I would have nightmares that our house was on fire, and to this day I'm always plotting my escape and how'd I'd get my animals out and what I'd take with me. I also check, double & triple check that the toaster is unplugged. When I used to use a hair straightener all the time, there were days when I'd drive back home after I'd already left for work to make sure I unplugged it.


I HATE flying. And although I have flown it is absolutely terrifying for me to be on a plane. I hate that I have no control and there is no escape if things go wrong. When I was contemplating booking a Europe trip, I felt nauseous just thinking of flying there. And almost had a sense of relief when the plans fell through.


I am also terrified that one of my horses will break a leg. I've seen the videos too many times of the race horses who break their legs right in half (ruffian as an example), and it absolutely petrifies me.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Zexious said:


> This first one I wouldn't call a "fear" so much as a "fleeting thought" but when I'm somewhere crowded (sporting event, movie premier, festival, etc) I always think how screwed I'd be if someone went AWOL or there was some sort of terrorist attack. For example, I had the fleeting concern of someone shooting up (wow, that sounds insensitive... ugh) a movie theater long before James Holmes. Again, not really a fear, but something I'll think about.


I worry about this every time I go to a movie anymore. I'm always super aware of people coming in and out during the movie playing, and I try to sit near the back (so no one is behind me and I can see what's going on). It's hard for me to even relax and have a good time! Sporting events are the same.

As for a true irrational fear, mine is taxidermy mounts. Large animals with antlers or horns are the worst, like things you would see in a museum diorama, but pretty much any will startle me and send me into flight mode. I can handle small things (like small mammals, fish) and I'm usually ok with deer heads as long as there aren't many on the wall. A few years ago while visiting Chicago my boyfriend and I went to the Field Museum. I had been through parts of the mammal hall before and thought I could handle it since it wouldn't be a surprise (plus I had my boyfriend there to calm me). I was wrong, and about halfway through I had a mini panic attack, complete with crying and hyperventilating, and my boyfriend had to lead me out so I wouldn't have to see anymore. Because mounts like that are often in museums, I always get a bit uneasy going into any museum, or similar building (something with high ceilings, dimly lit, etc.)

It's so unusual and I have no idea where or why this phobia/irrational fear showed up for me. I don't think it has anything to do with being sad about the animals being dead - honestly I wish I didn't have the fear so that I could go to places like that and use those animals as reference for drawing! And I know they can't come to life or hurt me in anyway - guess that's what makes it irrational!


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## Kaifyre (Jun 16, 2016)

I am irrationally, hopelessly terrified of geese. Scare the bejeezus out of me and I have no clue why, since I'm not afraid of swans or any other bird and my parents assure me I've never been attacked by anything with feathers. I worked for UPS for a while and one lady down the street was always getting packages ... I usually left them just inside her chain link fence, as her two ENORMOUS white and grey geese would come out and just stand there staring at me. She complained to my boss that the packages weren't being delivered properly and when he hauled me into his office to explain he laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. 

I have plenty of rational fears though ... that my Akasha bird will fly away and won't be able to find her way back home and get eaten by some stupid cat (I really hate cats), that one day at work my train will derail in the Yellowstone River and I'll drown in the cab because the force of the water will be too strong to escape (or that the giant generator on the unit will electrocute me), that my macular degeneration will become so bad that I lose my eyesight completely and go deaf as well, with no way to communicate, that the Yellowstone caldera will erupt and I will be the last surviving member of our species, etc. I guess that last one is technically irrational since I live so close to the darn thing that I'll probably be among the first to go lol.

-- Kai


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

knightrider said:


> My big fear is bears.


I thought I was a quite well adjusted person regarding fears... until this thread keeps reminding me of my... idiosyncrasies. We don't have bears over here, only seen them live in zoos & I SO wanna cuddle... But being brought up with AA Milne, I still have a hard time walking on the lines in the street!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

NavigatorsMom said:


> As for a true irrational fear, mine is taxidermy mounts.


But then, this thread's also giving me some chuckles too - if realistic looking taxiderm...ed animals worry you, you'd really have nightmares to see the (I think off 'Sad & Useless' humour site) 'Failed Taxidermy' photos I just saw yesterday then!

& Kaifyre, I think you're far from alone with the goose fear. I've fallen on the ground laughing so hard, at seeing a grown man run screaming from a goose! I used to have pet geese & I had friends who would come for a ride but refuse to get off their horse on my property. One who wouldn't even DRIVE in, but would sit in her car outside the gate & toot & I had to escort her in, even if the geese were nowhere around. My MIL is also afraid of chickens & even feathers, so she didn't get out of the car without an escort even when I only had chooks.

Interesting no one has mentioned mice that I've seen. I think it's hilarious to be scared of such a small fluffy cute(albeit stinky) beast, but apparently still a very common phobia.


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## equitatedaily (Aug 22, 2017)

Horse related: That I will leave the gate open and all of the horses in that paddock will escape into the road and get hit! 
Non-horse related: That a burglar/murderer is hiding behind my bathroom doors... Weird, I know.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

My big irrational fear is tidal waves. I dream about them with frequency and have my whole life. I once went hiking in California's Lost Coast (an area in the far north part of the state where the coast road veers far inland and the coast is quite wild and uninhabited.) Hiking on the narrow sand beach with mostly un-scalable cliffs to the other side and the tide coming in ... it really freaked me out like few times I can remember out in the wilds.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

This thread is proving to remind me of all the little things that concern me!

Tidal waves, as Avna said, totally. At least when I'm somewhere coastal. 
I'm also with mckenzies --I don't mind the dark outside. I used to be a big runner and my favorite time to do it was at around 3:00 am. What I do hate is dark, enclosed spaces. At my last home I straight up would not go into the garage after dark. I know, what a stupid fear. 

I think what it ultimately comes down to for me is a feeling of helplessness. Like, I can't stand being in situations where I feel like I'm not in at least some control of the outcome.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

That I'll run into my ex when I go into town. Even though I KNOW he moved away. I'm terrified of him for good reason, but there's literally no reason for me to be scared I'll see him in town because he doesn't live here anymore.


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## EstrellaandJericho (Aug 12, 2017)

UHG. I KNOW I latched his gate but I still want to go back and check to be sure. And I checked twice before leaving.

Hashtaghorsegirlproblems


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## StarLover (Aug 1, 2017)

Not closing barn doors and bugs


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## aubie (Aug 24, 2013)

Brakes. I hate working on brakes as I fear they will fail. Even though they are no more than any other part, take old off put more on.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

Kriva said:


> And I don't cut across parking lots. I've always thought you're supposed to go up and down the lanes even if there aren't cars parked in the spots. If everyone just drove across them then it'd be mass chaos. Which has now turned into me knowing that if I ever do it I will surely get hit by someone else driving across. Just not a chance I'm willing to take!


Yes, that's one I forgot to mention. Along with the fear of getting caught in an escalator and being squished..


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