Human brains are weird things, and the truth is, we’ll probably never really understand how they work, or what makes us tick. Why do some people like black licorice? Why are some people left handed? Why is mental illness embedded in people’s genes?
And yeah, why are some people irrationally scared of stuff that other people never notice?
If these sorts of questions fascinate you, too, you’re going to enjoy reading about what normal things scare these 14 people.
14. Scared is different than squicked out.
I am terrified of dead bodies, of being in the ground, of corpses. The thought of being buried makes me panic. Not being buried alive. Not even the claustrophobic feelings (because I am not Claustrophobic) the idea of decaying and the clothes still being there, and the way it would look just freaks me tf out.
My own mortality isn’t even the scary part. It’s just the corpse. I want to be cremated because I don’t want anything left. I don’t even care if whoever keeps the ashes, I just don’t want to be around forever rotting and shriveling up and trapped in an underground box. I don’t want people staring at my dead self and touching it.
13. It’s best not to think about it too hard.
The future. And people asking me how I feel about something because usually I have no clue how I feel about something so I end up lying and just agreeing with them.
It makes me feel so fake because everything I like and dislike generally based off of other peoples opinion because I seriously jus have zero clue how I actually feel about things.
The only things I am certain that I do and don’t like are things like food and music. Everything else even things like my hobbies I generally cant figure out if I actually like doing it or if it’s because I grew up around people whose hobbies were the same as my “hobbies” I only just realized this too.
12. This is sad (and probably anxiety related).
I have IBS so the idea of going out to eat or eating in general with people frightens me, especially if it’s breakfast or lunch. If I eat, even a little, of anything except the blandest foods I will have to urgently run to the bathroom, possibly more than once, and it doesn’t help that I’ll be anxious about using the bathroom because I’m around people who will notice.
And if I don’t eat, people judge me for not eating saying it’s unhealthy and then I have to explain my condition. In the end I just do everything I can to avoid eating with people which includes skipping any kind of invitations unless I have to and then just eating some crackers or a small salad or something really light and bland.
I’m sometimes okay with dinner. Not always, but sometimes my body behaves better in the evening. I can also control it by drinking and getting tipsy which usually turns off my anxiety so I’ll be less likely to have an emergency. Still, I avoid it as much as I can.
11. That’s one way to get your heart racing.
“Let’s each stand up and introduce ourselves and say one interesting thing about ourselves”
10. It can make you a bit dizzy.
Space.
Just looking up and coming to terms with how big it is and how little we know about it.
9. When you can’t see the shores…
The ocean. I’m talking like out in the ocean, hundreds of miles from land, treading water, alone.
Also, spiders.
8. Maybe he was a spy in a former life.
This seems largely irrational compared to others, but someone driving behind me.
Like they don’t even have to be close to me they can just be doing their own thing but I don’t like it.
7. It was Poseidon for me.
Subnautica made me afraid of the deep. I’ve never cared for the ocean (grew up in a landlocked state) or any body of water that I can’t see where my feet land. In rivers, I prefer to just swim no matter how shallow the water is if I can’t see where my feet are landing. But I’m not scared of deep water in rivers (those are actually my favorite spots).
Really not scared of rivers at all (just freaked out if I touch a wet log cause ew, ugh, eep) But that game made me terrified of deep water in the ocean. Absolutely petrified. I quite playing even though I really like it because of the near panic attacks I would get playing it.
6. Who wouldn’t want a parrot like that?
I have an irrational fear that someone will break in and steal my parrot whenever I leave my house.
Davy Jones is an African grey worth over $4000. He is currently standing on my head as I write this. He is becoming more and more valuable as he is incredibly smart and already says over 50 words at 1 year old. He said his first word at 2 months and knew 14 at 6 months. I am home schooling him and teaching him basics like colors and reading.
I would never stop worrying that he is being neglected or abused, and that would continue for the rest of my life because it is possible that he could out live me. My fear of living without him is strong, but my fear of him living without me is stronger.
To those of you who are interested him stealing him, here is why that is a bad idea:
- I have a rescue pit bull / lab mix who will kill you if you attempt to enter my house. I also have a guard goose (he wears diapers) that will back him up.
- I have an advanced security system with several cameras. I can check them whenever I want and I will get an alert if you come near my house. The police will be there in 2 minutes.
- He barely steps up for me and he will never step up for a stranger. He is free in his bird room and will fly around. Good luck catching him because if he doesn’t want to be caught, I can’t even do it. He will probably bite your finger off if you manage to catch him.
- Just because my car is gone doesn’t mean I am. My husband usually leaves on his own. I wear a pistol on my hip and I know how to use it.
5. That sounds like a normal fear, all things considered.
Feeling warm. I had a vacation to China when I was a child, and ever since I woke up in the hospital there, I’ve been very (and I mean very) sensitive to heat. It could be 20°F outside and I’d feel warm.
The worst part is, usually when I get too hot, I have a wicked seizure and wake up on the floor with scraped knees or a bruise on my forehead. I dunno. Feeling warm terrifies me now because I just know I’m more likely to pass out.
4. This messes with your mind.
Growing up in a very neurotic family, my biggest fear was that I was like them and lacked the ability to see myself and the world clearly.
It was sort of like “my mum is in complete denial that she has severe BPD and PTSD, her memories change depending on what she wants to remember, what if I’m the same and just don’t know it?”.
I basically gaslit myself.
3. I need to know more.
That LEGO dragon statue in the water outside the LEGO store in Orlando, Florida.
I recently found out that other people find it scary after discovering the submechanophobia subreddit.
2. That’s the way it happens in the movies.
Getting a bath or a shower at home alone. I always have the terrible fear that someone will breaking and kill me or I’ll slip, fall and die. It’s not the dying part that gets me though, it’s the dying while naked part that does.
Such a vulnerable state to be in, then when you start to relax, boom something happens and you die. Idk what started this fear but I wish it would go away lol
1. Yep. Read too many horror novels to do that.
Freaking walking in the dark. You expect me to just walk comfortably when I hear a small noise in the bushes AND I CAN BARELY SEE!?
Some of these surprised me, but most of them kind of make sense in a weird way – I’d just never really thought about it before.
What about you? Do you have a strange fear? Share it with us in the comments!
