I'm afraid of 7 out of 72 common fears

[altivo]

Haven't done one of these for a while. Nabbed from quickcasey:

I am afraid of....

[ ] the dark
[ ] staying single forever
[ ] being a parent
[ ] giving birth
[ ] being myself in front of others
[ ] open spaces
[X] closed spaces
[X] heights
[ ] dogs
[ ] birds
[ ] fish
[ ] spiders
[ ] flowers or other plants

Total so far: 2

[ ] being touched
[ ] fire
[ ] deep water
[ ] snakes
[ ] silk
[ ] the ocean
[ ] failure
[ ] success
[ ] thunder/lightning
[ ] frogs/toads
[ ] my boyfriends/girlfriends dad
[ ] boyfriends/girlfriends mom
[ ] rats
[X] jumping from high places
[ ] snow

Total so far: 3

[ ] rain
[ ] wind
[ ] crossing hanging bridges
[ ] death
[ ] heaven
[ ] being robbed
[ ] falling
[ ] clowns
[ ] dolls
[X] large crowds of people
[ ] men
[ ] women
[ ] having great responsibilities
[ ] doctors, including dentists
[ ] tornadoes

Total so far: 4


[ ] hurricanes
[ ] incurable diseases
[ ] sharks
[ ] Friday the 13th
[ ] ghosts
[ ] poverty
[ ] Halloween
[ ] school
[ ] trains
[ ] odd numbers
[ ] even numbers
[ ] being alone
[X] becoming blind
[X] becoming deaf
[ ] growing up

Total so far: 6

[ ] creepy noises in the night
[ ] bee stings
[ ] not accomplishing my dreams/goals
[ ] needles
[ ] blood
[ ] dinosaurs
[ ] the welcome mat
[X] high speed
[ ] throwing up
[ ] falling in love
[ ] super secrets

Final Total: 7

[Not that I would deliberately choose some of the others, but the unmarked stuff doesn't make me quiver... ;p]

... if you wish to post this in your journal, it's been requested that you title it "I'm afraid of _ out of 72 common fears"

Comments

[drelonek.livejournal.com]

I'd probably check a good number more. I'm naturally fearful. Meh.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

There are things I'm afraid of that aren't on here. Other than claustrophobia, which I definitely have, most of these seem pretty small stuff to me.

[drelonek.livejournal.com]

Going through it, I marked 22 of them. So, yeah. Meh.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I'd get at least 13, myself, I think.

Kinda funny that - for instance - "the future" is not on the list even though things like "the welcome mat" are, though.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I suspect the list is generated from some kind of statistical information about phobias reported to mental health specialists. Certainly some of these are quite common, including the fear of clowns, which always makes me laugh. I can't figure out where that one comes from.

I am not afraid of dying, but the thought of being buried alive, whether in a coffin, a cave-in, or a building collapse, absolutely petrifies me. The closest I can get to that on this list is "closed spaces". Any kind of entrapment or restriction of movement or breathing is intolerable to me, so people who enjoy bondage are quite a puzzle from my viewpoint.

I checked off "heights" though it's not really high places that frighten me so much as the process of getting up to or down from them. I'm really afraid of climbing, not the height itself.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* I'm not sure why some people are afraid of clowns, either, but then, the same can actually be said about many things. When you think about it, there's no logical reason to be afraid of, say, spiders, either; in fact, it'd make more sense to be afraid of insects (which might transmit diseases, at least if they're the blood-sucking kind), but spiders may very well be entirely harmless, depending on where you live - yet many people are still afraid of them.

As for dying and being buried alive, it's similar for me - I'm not outright afraid of being buried alive, but it'd concern me more than death as such. (Put more generally, I'm not afraid of or worried about death, but I'm not keen on dying, at least if it's a drawn-out, painful, fearful or otherwise uncomfortable process.)

Heights are something I can't stand myself, though. Well, depending - if there's a railing or so that's high enough, I won't mind them at all, but if it's not high enough or if there isn't one in the first place, I'm really afraid of them, at least as long as they are above a certain limit.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

I'm not afraid of real clowns but they can be very creepy in certain contexts. Perhaps you are not familiar with Stephen King's "It." There have been many horror movies, shows, and stories involving and depicting evil clowns which in turn have probably aided the phobia. And I don't particular care for how clowns look or the hideous circus music that is usually associated with them.

There is a difference between death and the process of dying. I am not afraid of being dead or what happens after death but I am afraid of -dying- because it most cases it involves severe pain and suffering.

I'd probably also share your feeling about heights. It's moving from two different heights that is the scary part, not the height itself. Of course, I'd add to that the fear of falling. In fact, I've always wondered if the reason people are scared of heights is because they are really scared of falling, not the height itself. The same could be said about climbing because really the only thing there is to fear when climbing or moving from one height to another is falling.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, I suppose King and other "horror" novels and films probably have advanced the clown phobia. Since I have never cared for that genre, it has little direct influence on me.

I think you're right about the heights thing. It really is the fear of falling. In general I have no desire to seek out high places, but I do like the view as long as it doesn't involve standing on an edge to look. I enjoyed the views in the Rocky Mountains, for instance, but not driving on the roads up there.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

You're not afraid of giving birth? ;-)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Not in this life anyway. ;p I'll settle for being afraid of things that could actually happen to me.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

It's gotten better these days but I still hate heights with a vengeance. I suggest we join forces and go sort them out for good. That'd teach 'em.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, heavens_steed has a point. It's not the heights themselves, but the fear of falling from them. ;p

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

I'm a little skeptical here. Only 7?

So if you were swimming in the ocean and a Great White Shark was coming right at you, you wouldn't be scared at all?

That's what I don't like about this checklist. It's not very specific. I don't freak out whenever I see a shark, but if I was in the water with a species that could easily kill me and is known to attack humans, I would be scared.

And what if you had fallen in a pit full of Cobras, Rattlesnakes, Pit Vipers, or any other venomous snake? You wouldn't be the least bit scared?

And I suppose you wouldn't mind it if hundreds of Black Widow spiders or tarantulas were crawling all over you?

I know I'd be scared. But then, I'm a coward through and through so I'd have a lot more things checked off. I'll probably put this one on my journal.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, that wasn't quite the way I took "being afraid of."

Sure, if I were swimming in the ocean, an approaching shark would make me pretty nervous. But the thought of it wouldn't keep me from swimming in the ocean, as it would someone with a true phobia. Nor am I so afraid of spiders that I panic at the sight or touch of one (or its web) as many people do. I don't have nightmares about sharks or spiders, I'm not frightened of pictures of them or even if I happen to see one or two in real life.

I'm reading the question in the sense of true phobia. The things I've checked bother me enough that I will generally avoid any possible exposure, in advance; and any major exposure is likely to evoke a very strong reaction from me.

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

Good point. I guess I was thinking too specifically. If I treated the list like you did, my numbers would go down.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they would. You are neither neurotic nor compulsive, in my opinion, so you probably don't have many genuine phobias.

That doesn't mean that you or I wouldn't pay attention to an actual tornado warning or shark alert. But we aren't going to panic about it, or obsess on the possibility every time there's a little rumble of thunder or we hear the sound of surf. ;D

[heavens-steed.livejournal.com]

Heh, quite right.

But the tornado one really baffles me. Unlike you, I don't live in a tornado-prone area. I've never seen a real tornado with my own eyes or been near one. Yet I've had many scary dreams involving them. I can't figure out why my subconscious would be so fascinated with them. Maybe it's just because a huge swirling funnel cloud from the sky just has a strange, menacing appearance to me. I don't freak out when I see an image of a tornado. I don't even feel scared, in fact I feel fascination. It all just seems strange to me.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Everyone has a certain fear of the unknown, and tornados are sensationalized in the media all the time because they do spectacular damage in very concentrated areas. That's the point that often gets missed, though. The affected area is usually extremely small. Bad news if you are on ground zero, but a distance of just a hundred feet can mean nothing more than a fright. If you lived in an area where they are frequent, you'd have a better perspective, but without that exposure, it's easy to understand why you'd feel worry. As a matter of fact, I've often heard people who moved to the Midwest from the Pacific coast say that they are very nervous about tornados. Yet when asked about earthquakes, they just shrug and say it doesn't bother them. Familiarity breeds contempt.

I'd be very uncomfortable about working or living in a high rise building in an earthquake prone area like Japan or Southern California. But people who live there don't even think about it much.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

I git 10. Everything to do with the spooky things and heights. :P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

OK, I won't sneak up behind you wearing a scary mask then. :)

(Not that I'd usually do such a thing anyway.)

Just Plain Spooky, that's me ^_^

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Ever been to spooky houses? I love going to places like that. Almost stayed in one once overnight- but it looked like someone else- probably a homeless person- had been there & might come back. Fear of being robbed and murdered is higher on my list of phobias than seeing Casper or Slimer :P

[jairus-greywolf.livejournal.com]

*looks at choices* Fear of silk? Now that's an interesting one. Ditto with the odd/even numbers and the welcome mat. Never known any welcome mats to attack anyone. These are common fears?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing that they are, yes. Phobias. There isn't necessarily anything rational about a phobia or its object is there? Some, like the fear of clowns, are quite widespread these days though I suspect a hundred years ago they were almost unknown.

I'm surprised to see dogs listed, but not cats. In my observation, as many people are terrified of cats as are afraid of dogs. I'm surprised to see "Friday the 13th" listed rather than just a fear of "the number 13," too.

I'd have thought fear of deep water and fear of the ocean were the same thing.

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

The eyes one fits me. I can't remember what else. Religion? And my mom?
Scratch that last one.

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

You know what? Scratch all of those. I have no phobias.

*looks over list*... uh, WTF?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

I used to have a friend who was afraid of heights- he'd freak out anytime we drove over a bridge (about the highest place in Florida).

WTF? A fear of dinosaurs? So if I held a five inch tall Godzilla toy in front of certain people, they'd flip out?

Re: *looks over list*... uh, WTF?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's a list of phobias. By definition, such fears are irrational. ;p

Re: *looks over list*... uh, WTF?

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

*smirks* Fair enough. Jumping from high places kind of seems more like common sense and is the only one I wavered on- but it's not an irrational fear of, merely a desire to limit it to having a need to jump off a high pace... if it were something over a body of water, I'd be fine with it. Otherwise, to me, it probably involves taking physical damage.