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Crazy, irrational fears?
I have a thing about being locked in a store. I've never actually been locked in a store before, but it freaks.me.out when I'm someplace near closing time and they start shutting lights down. I have a near meltdown and become a paralyzed with fear 3 year old that can't function.
Last night I had to run to Sally's and we decided that we would all go and get ice cream at the place next door to Sally's. G was being really poky about picking up his shoes on and picking up so by the time we got to Sally's it was like 7:55. The girl greeted me and I said I had to grab a box of hair color and a bottle of nail polish really fast and I'd be out of there. She said no problem take your time and walked toward the back. I was grabbing my bottle of nail polish when she shut the lights off. Like all of them. The only lights that were on were the security lights. It took everything I had not to scream. I paid and walked outside where DH and the boys were waiting for me. He said my face was absolutely hysterical the second the lights went out. That girl is lucky I didn't completely lose it and kick my way out the door.
Am I the only one that is scared of something that makes absolutely no sense at all??
Re: Crazy, irrational fears?
Until very recently I had trouble sleeping through the night out of fear that someone would steal Maddie from her bedroom. 3+ years without many solid nights' sleep because I'd have to check on her several times throughout the night to make sure she was still there. That is irrational paranoia.
I think what makes me feel safer now is how her bedroom is set up (hard to get into her window) and the fact that our dog has started sleeping in her room or the hallway near her room. I feel better with the dog protecting her.
ETA: I'm afraid of walking over drain guards or near gutters or manholes. I'm afraid they will give way and I'll fall in the hole/sewer (and that a crazy clown with fangs and a balloon will kill me violently). Damn Stephen King.
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
Mine is not totally irrational but still strange. I am convinced spiders hide at the bottom of the bed in the sheets.....so every night I put the sheets all the way down to make sure nothing is there.
Odd, but DH humors me. Funny thing is we NEVER see bugs in the house, least of all spiders.
I'm scared of escalators/moving sidewalks. I'm afraid that they will stop while I'm on them and I'll fall. I also (stupidly) think they will suck my shoes or shoe laces in.
If we're on one, I can't be responsible for holding DS. I have to be able to grab the hand rail as I'm getting on/off.
My mom said that when I was young my stroller strap got stuck in the escalator at a Foley's and some college kids had to help her get it out. I think it scarred me for life. Also, the escalators inside the Westin Oaks have been know to stop with people on them. I'm thankful my bosses told me that because I'll never ever take them.
Pool drains
Looking in a mirror in the dark
Getting stuck in an elevator
I'm not irrationally afraid but I would never stick my hand in a disposal at all. I use tongs if something ever drops in mine. That's just safety!
As far as weird fears, it's not like an irrational everyday paranoia, but I would never live on a cul de sac or dead end. I mean, what if there was a violent storm (hello, hurricanes!) and a large tree fell at the end of the street and there was an emergency and 1st responders couldn't get there because of the tree? That is a very real fear, IMO.
My mom lives in a sort of cradle of streets, where there are steep hills on all sides to get to her house. One time when I was living at home, a huge snow storm knocked down a tree across the least steep of the streets. There was an electrical fire at a house on her block, also caused by the storm) and the fire truck couldn't get there because the other really steep hills were too icy and the tree was across the one the truck could get up easily. They eventually did get there but a lot of damage was done and I decided at that point I would never live in a house with only one way in.
Um...I turn on the light at night to pee because I'm convinced a snake could come up there and wait on me. I also think they will wait in cars (yes, there was something about this on the Today Show a few weeks ago) and come thru the a/c vent.
When I pull into the garage at night, I am always afraid someone is going to sneak in there as the door is coming down (i'm picturing some Indiana Jones-roll-under-the- door-action) and I won't see them until I get out of my car and they attack me, rob us, etc.
Thanks, V. Thanks a lot. Now I'm going to check my street to make sure none of the trees would cross the road if they fell down.
See? Not crazy or irrational! Very, very real!
I turn on the light at night when I have to have use to the restroom because I am convinced that one day I am going to find a snake in the toilet.
Birds creep me out.
I agree the fear of using it is irrational but also agree with Viula that NOT putting your hand in there is safety. BUT don't plumbers have to do that from time to time to repair them? If I were a plumber I would not only turn the home electric off but would duct tape the switch down too I'd be so afraid after watching Amityville.
Also, my aunt's father was a big rancher who processed his own meat on the ranch. When she was 1 or 2 she was with him and sitting too close to the grinder. Somehow she fell in (he caught her before she got too far) but her hand and forearm were caught in the grinder. By the time my uncle met her she was an adult in her 20s with a hook and an unsophisticated prosthetic that was pretty much useless so she only walked around with the hook. I saw Amityville after meeting her and for the longest time convinced myself THAT was how she lost her hand/forearm.
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
Family doctors - crying, sweating, blood pressure through the roof. I had an awful pedi and I am convinced she scarred me for life
I also hate going to the front of the house like into the spare room or office at night when the light is off, I am convinced there will be a robber or somebody camping out in there and will jump out when I turn the light on
That someone is hiding under the bed in a hotel room.
I always have this fear in hotel rooms, even though the beds are mostly on platforms and no one can even fit under the bed. I don't care-I launch myself on/off the bed so I take off/land at least 4 feet from the bed lest the lurker underneath it grab my ankles.
Being stuck in a small space (like the trunk of a car). I have never liked small spaces, but the claustrophobia has gotten much, much worse as I get older.
I am TERRIFIED of parking garages! The lighting, the sloping perspectives, the low ceilings and all the creepy noises are enough to send me into panic attacks! Every time I am forced into parking in one I break out into cold sweats and make DH be the one to drive in.
I am also scared of the giant texas roaches we have! I can't stand those nasty buggers and if I have to kill one my self I can get a little homicidal and crazy! Good thing DH doesn't like them either, so exterminators were called after the first one was spotted!!!
I also fear: aliens (too much x-files as a kid) demons (catholic upbringing) ghosts (Italian grand-parents=lots of stories) OH! and being abandoned!!!
same for me, as I have gotten older it has gotten much worse
I have a couple of crazy mom irrational fears:
- I've always had a fear of going inside a bank and being held hostage by robbers with guns. Due to this fear, I have never taken my child inside a bank.
- I never fill gas when Rena is with me since I worry that we'll be carjacked and they'll take off with her inside. I heard a story similar to this on the news when Rena was a baby and it freaked me out. DH usually fills my car on the weekend or I will fill up before getting her from school.
Mental note - Don't watch Amityville Horror! (I don't have a problem with my hand in the garbarge disposal. I try to make it as quick as possible, though!)
When I am driving, i am paranoid about changing lanes and a car appearing out of no where. Usually, I get in the lane I need to be in and stay there. Otherwise, I check my mirrors and turn my head about 5 times to check before I actually change lanes.
Kidnappers. I am convinced that my kids will be nabbed.
I am also afraid that DH will die in a car accident when he goes out. I have lost 2 people who meant a whole lot to me to car accidents and it has made me into a freak about them. I imagine it will be much worse by the time my kids are driving.
My Blog
eh I hate to say this but not living on a ct doesn't keep you from this. After Katrina our main roads were blocked. I saw firetrucks try to get down the street, then try to get hoses down the street, then give up and leave. My BILs job for weeks after the storm was to answer 911 calls that came in on the day or day after the storm.
My strange fear is bridges collapsing. Like I'll be driving over the bridge and I'll just drive off into the water. I have to keep reminding myself that people are driving on the other side of the bridge so obviously there is a middle there. For some reason I don't have this fear on the 28 mile causeway between our home and NOLA, only on high bridges.
This reminds me. I'm totally freaked out by the flyover ramps on the freeways. I have recurring nightmares that I'll be driving on one only find that it's not finished, has no sides and just ends.
ya'll are all making me feel super sane. thanks, ya bunch o' freaks ;p
i can't think of any irrational fears i have
I HATE windows, every square inch must be covered by blinds/curtains. I have this weird fear that someone will peak in on that small part when it's just curtains coming away from the window.
When I am in that half dream/half awake stage my brain also has the weirdest scenarios play out. Like if the house behind us fell on ours, it would smash the headboard down and we would be trapped. If a tree fell on our roof the tree is positioned where our legs are and it would pin us down.
I have lots more weird fears! I only worry they will get worse when/if we decide to have children.
I have to turn on a light whenever I enter a room, because someone might be hiding in the dark, and kill me.
When I'm alone at night I'm scared someone will break in, so I think ahead of time where I will hide, and try to control my hyperventalating breathings so I'm not found.
Cannot pee in the dark, a) because it is weird, b) because there might be a snake in the toilet c) I may be sleep peeing & didnt get out of bed.
I panic whever someone does not answer their cellphone and fear they have drove into a secluded ditch, lost cell service and is being hunted by a leatherface maniac.
I may have a problem with overreacting..
I've always hated taking showers when I'm home alone out of fear that there will have been someone lurking in the house (most likely living in the attic lol) and they will creep out while I'm in the shower and attack me (most likely while I have my eyes closed, washing my face) - so I'll be nude, soap in my eyes, unarmed, alone and completely helpless trying to fend off this phantom shower killer. It's not as bad since we had an alarm system installed in our house (noone's sneaking in or out without our knowledge lol) - but I still lock the bathroom door if I'm home alone.
I'm also in the camp with the fear of windows at night. The house I grew up in was the worst. The entire back of the house was floor to ceiling windows with no blinds or curtains - the back yard was pitch black so that, with the lights on inside, you couldn't see into the backyard at all so someone could be standing out there watching you and you'd have no idea. It made me SO uncomfortable.
We have 2" blinds on every window in our house that stay closed at night - EXCEPT in the master bathroom shower - so combine the two fears above and, clearly, I don't take showers at night - definitely a morning shower person.
This but for me it is all doctors.