Are you content with being fearful of something?

Fear is a healthy and natural response that we evolved to have for a reason.

That said, irrational fears that inhibit our day to day living, or fears that are based purely on ignorance are not healthy and should, ideally, be conquered.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard moths can’t hurt me though, and they still freak me out, but I think it’d be a tough road to get over them, and I’d be more scared in the process. I dunno, I don’t think I’ve ever conquered an ‘irrational’ fear.

What should we be afraid of?

Yeah, keeps me on my toes I suppose. Wow, what a poet I am :¬)

I am terrified of bugs. I always have been. Is it irrational? Yep. Does it affect my life? Yep. Do I have any interest in conquering it? NOPE.

@ninahenry, you should be afraid of anything that poses an undoubtedly, undeniable, and quantifiable threat of harm to yourself or others. That doesn’t mean, though, that you should cower in fear.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard I think a fear of moths is irrational, although mine is only mild, but do you think a fear of lifts is? I agree completely with what you’re saying, but it’s hard to draw the line between what does and what doesn’t pose a threat of harm to someone when you have ‘what if’ scenarios and think about all possible risk factors.

I second every word that @TheOnlyNeffie said.

@ninahenry, statistically, you don’t have to worry about being hurt or killed on a lift.

If I had to name specific things, I’d say that is is healthy to fear car accidents, being attacked by other people, or animal attacks.

All of these reasonable fears should, however, be addressed by countermeasures:

1. Defensive driving, 2. Situational awareness/self defense measures, 3. Don’t screw around with wild animals.

See what I’m saying? It is okay to fear things that are at least somewhat likely to happen to you, because that fear inspires you to take measures to protect yourself, which is perfectly fine.

Using your example… you are far more likely to be killed in an auto accident than you are to be crushed to death in a falling lift or swarmed by zombie moths… so plan accordingly.

Not really.I force myself to confront my fears and it usually works out well.I haven’t yet dove with Great white sharks or wrestled grizzly bears but you never know when the opportunity will arise.
That is why I wear a pork chop necklace and stroll through bear country. ;)

@lucillelucillelucille, marry me?

i’m terrified over a three foot putt!

Fear is good. It makes us careful. I had an old guy (I was helping with his wood he used to heat part of his house) ask me if I was afraid of the chainsaw I was using. I said a little. He said when you get to were your not afraid its time to quit using it.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard -Sure! :)

@BoBo1946 I’m feeling your pain man. The hole shrinks, your shoulder’s twitch, for god’s sake get in that hole you spawn of satan you…...err I know it’s just a game…..XD

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard statistically, I don’t, but it does happen sometimes that lifts fault and plummet, or get stuck and you can be trapped for a long period of time. The reason that I’m fearful of them is that I was in one with a friend’s cat whose leash was sucked down as the lift went up, so the cat got pulled towards the door and was nearly crushed to death, but luckily the leash broke.

@Adirondackwannabe, I think that is an important point, and I think that in dealing with objects, respect is also important and is tied closely with a healthy dose of fear. For instance, I’m not afraid of guns, power tools, or sharp hand tools, but I use all of these things regularly. I do have a healthy respect of their capabilities however, which I think is a matured and evolved form of an initial fear of the power of something.

@ninahenry, that’s true, it does happen, but very, very, very, very rarely, like I said. Sorry to hear about the kitty though. I’m glad it was okay.

@Adirondackwannabe that makes a lot of sense :)

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard thanks, you talk a lot of sense also. Would you think it’s better for your health to take an alternate route, or use a lift; considering it’s (mentally) unhealthy to be fearful of them as it’s pretty irrational, therefore taking the alternate route, or would it be more healthy to take the lift, with the small chance you could get stuck for days or plummet to your death?- (physically unhealthy, haha) I think I’d feel it was healthier to not have conquered my fear of them if I was harmed in one. It’s really just precaution, I know it’s safer to take the stairs so that’s what I do, the same way I act about other aspects of my safety, like preventing STIs and not running across the road, though those examples provoke a higher chance of harm than taking a lift. I guess it’s also pretty dangerous to be in a confined space with potentially dangerous people. I don’t fear that and I’m not a paranoid person, I’m just considering all options for point of discussion, thank you for joining me :) Unfortunately I’ve had a lot of near-death experiences, down to bad luck.

@ninahenry, if you have a hard time dealing with lifts to the point of where you are mentally anguishing over the thought of what could happen on them, or your daily life is inconvenienced, you should probably seek some kind of help. Pretty much everything in the world can kill you, and if you felt that way about everything like you do about lifts, you’d never leave your room. It sucks that you’ve had a lot of near-death experiences though. I can definitely see how that would compound your fears. And I don’t think you are paranoid at all. It’s wise to be prepared.

I think the bottom line is that if you don’t think your fears are a real problem, then you should do what thou wilt.

Good luck to you, though.

@ucme if you are i, could find a cure for the “yips,” we could own the world. It is an involuntary jerk of the hands when you are under pressure. Oh my gosh, it is going drive me out of golf. hate it…just a game, but when i lose that “little bit of change” to my friends…what a horrible feeling..loll

I ‘spose I don’t mind being afraid of certain things. I’m afraid of stupid things like spiders, butterflies, and pretty much any other bugs/insects. I can deal with that.

Though sometimes certain fears I have (like fear of the dark and fear of losing certain people that are close to me) can really suck. If I’m alone and it’s dark I sometimes get really panicky and anxious to the point of almost having an anxiety attack, I sometimes cry and just completely freak out. Same thing happens when I for whatever reason start to think about what would happen if I were to lose someone really close to me. It’s a horrible feeling to freak out over things like that, but at the same time it helps to remind you that you’re only human.

@ninahenry Fiddle summed it up pretty well. If it’s affecting your life get help. If you can work around it it’s okay. Fear of lifts isn’t unwise. You“re in a mechanical (meaning it’s going to breakdown sometime) box moving through a tube you can only get out of at very precise points with nothing underneath the box.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard ohh you’re lovely :)

It really doesn’t bother me much, and I do take lifts when I’m in a rush (oh I’m so dangerous) it’s only now that I’ve been thinking deeper into phobias that I considered all possible dangers that I could think of. I’m not paranoid about them in real life, but thank you for your concern! Are you afraid of anything?

@Adirondackwannabe thank you too jelly friend ^_^

@chels you can borrow my candles and I’ll make sure Richard doesn’t die when you leave :)

@ninahenry, I used to have a paralyzing fear of the dentist. When I was four years old, I had a bunch of cavities and they dropped a dental dam down my throat which caused me to gag and choke for about 10 minutes before anyone noticed. My teeth have been perfect since then, but I’ve always had a horrifying fear of that happening again. I eventually realized that such an instance is rare, and my fears were irrational now that I am capable of taking good care of my teeth, and my phobia has subsided. Other than that, I used to be afraid of a lot of things… I had a severe problem with anxiety that I actually conquered by adopting an “I’m a badass, I shouldn’t worry so much” attitude. That, coupled with a healthy dose of rationality, helped me overcome most of my fears :)

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard well done! I nearly choked to death on something as a child too (so many near death experiences >.< I guess that one was partly my fault though.)

Good question. It made me think a while. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become less fearful or altogether unfearful of many things, more fearful of others. For example, I used to be constantly afraid of losing my job. When it actually happened due to a company cutback, I got through it, got a better job, and have never worried about it happening again because now I know what it’s like and I’m prepared. As a younger man, I never was afraid of driving, but lately, thanks to a few close calls, I’ve gotten very nervous about driving in heavy traffic and at night. Am I content/comfortable with my fears? You bet. They keep me alert.

To the extent it limits your life considerably it’s an issue but we all live with one irrational fear or another.

One fear I am not comfortable with is my irrational fear of spiders. I have learned to contain myself when I see them, but my heart still speeds up, and the adrenalin flows.

Yes!
I’ve always been fearful of STD’s so I’ve been very careful and picky with hygeine.

I think if you can live a normal life then it’s not too bad.
My boyfriend absolutely loves to go to airshows and watch the blue angels perform. I’m absolutely fearful of them flying over my head. There’s been occasions where I felt like I couldn’t breathe when they were flying. But with time and good earplugs I’ve become a lot more comfortable with it.

My stronger fear is of death. This one is unescapable as we are all going to die. But I’ve learned to deal with it and don’t obsess over it like I used to. It no longer controls me.

There’s nothin’ wrong a bit of good old fashioned fear :)
I like to conquer my fears.

@ninahenry Thanks :D <3

My top three fears: 1. Losing my love or children suddenly, 2. Having my children grow up and realize the world is so ugly that they’ll wish they were never born, 3. Getting MS or Alzheimer’s and losing myself. None of these make me glad or happy or improve my life.