What is your fear.

[Amaris]

The only thing I fear is fear itself.

That reminds me of one of my favorite exchanges from the Andy Griffith Show, where Barney was frightened away from a "haunted house."

ANDY: "Now calm down, Barney. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
BARNEY: "Well that’s what I got. Fear itself!"



Anyway, while I am deathly afraid of spiders, Misfit Toy's fear of Alzheimer's mirrors my own. The idea of losing my memory, of losing my self, my identity, absolutely terrifies me beyond measure.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I'm... uncomfortable near large insects/arachnids. Pictures are ok, and I think spiders are awesome. Just... stay back and everything will be ok.

Exposed heights (as others have called them) are another. Buildings, bridges, and balconies are ok. Ladders higher than a few steps, not so much (but I still use them when needed: I'm not a slave to my fears).

(I'm only including phobias: of course I fear death, injury, illness, and most of everything, anything bad happening to my loved ones. But that's a given for everybody.)

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I used Vulcan logic to get over my fear of spiders and was totally successful. Which is good considering the spiders that hang out in houses here.

Spoiler: SPIDER + MY ACTUAL FINGER

 

[Tosk]

There's no way I would have gotten that close without spraying it with so much insecticide that it looked like I used white paint.

 

[Gaith]

Besides the boring existential stuff?

... Roaches; roaches bigger than a quarter or so. When they're 2-3 inches long... I just hate those f*ckers. Hate, hate, hate.

 

[The Dominion]

The ocean, or rather what lives in it.

Also I don't like bugs in general, but I love spiders.

 

[Captain Ice]

Just a reminder for everyone...hotlinked images are not permissible on this board.

 

[bbjeg]

Getting Alzheimer's.

That scares me too. Plus anything brain related like brain aneurysms.

I used Vulcan logic to get over my fear of spiders and was totally successful. Which is good considering the spiders that hang out in houses here.

Spoiler: SPIDER + MY ACTUAL FINGER

Wow, is that really the finger that makes those Janeway avatars?
Neat spider btw.

 

[RJDiogenes]

There's lots of things that are normal to be afraid of, like getting sick or people dying and so forth. In terms of phobias, I used to be very afraid of spiders because of a childhood incident, but I managed to talk myself out of it over the years. I also was terribly afraid that the house might burn down when I was a kid, and that one may be lingering in my subconscious.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I'm glad you liked the spider bbjeg. Here are some other ones from my house:

Spoiler: SPIDER AND ONCE MORE FINGER

And one of the biggest ones I've had, though not the actual biggest:

Spoiler: SPIDER IN THE SHOWER HORROR

They are about as poisonous as a wasp, at most, so they really are sweeties.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

There are a lot of things I dislike (cockroaches, maggots, injustice) or that worry me (getting old, politicians) but I can't find anything I am actually scared of. Does that make me a pervert, I wonder?
Cute spider, teacake! Is it as plushy as it looks? What species is it?

 

[Orac Zen]

Sound mind, useless body - and the reverse.

And snakes. Absolutely detest them.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

There are a lot of things I dislike (cockroaches, maggots, injustice) or that worry me (getting old, politicians) but I can't find anything I am actually scared of. Does that make me a pervert, I wonder?
Cute spider, teacake! Is it as plushy as it looks? What species is it?

Yes it is covered in hair. If you smash them though they are full of green goo.

It is a huntsman. There are quite a few varieties and they are regulars in houses, especially after heavy rain, arrival of cold weather, drought.. well probably more often than not

 

[C.E. Evans]

In exact order:

1. Being homeless
2. Bugs in my house (be it roaches, spiders, waterbugs, silverfish, etc.)
3. Being taken advantage of (either by a stranger or someone I know)

 

[Use of Time]

Besides the boring existential stuff?

... Roaches; roaches bigger than a quarter or so. When they're 2-3 inches long... I just hate those f*ckers. Hate, hate, hate.

THIS! I lived in Hawaii for a little bit and got up one morning to shave. When I hit the light this roach the size of a parakeet decided to dive bomb me from the wall. My wife reminds me to this day of the horrific scream she heard from the bathroom.

Fast forward to this past year. I have lived in my Virginia home for at least three years without seeing one. I opened up my back door one Summer night after a big storm to go take the trash out while forgetting to shut the door. When I approached the door I saw this mammoth black and brown monster run inside. I spent the rest of the night looking for him but failed to spot him. Woke up the next morning to find him belly up in my shower. Terminex was out to my house the next day.

 

[mari]

Pickup trucks, because I've been hit by one (that's actually PTSD, not fear).

Stairs. As a kid I had a tendency to fall down them, and while I outgrew that, now I've got nephews and my own spawn on the way so I guess I'm assuming they're all as klutzy as I was, and I'm overprotective.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Snakes, spiders

Dreaming

Heights

 

[Miss Chicken]

I think I only have normal fears and nothing that comes close to a phobia.

I actually like spiders, I used to keep huntsmen as pets when I was a child and now I consider having them inside a good thing.

We don't get usually get cockroaches in our houses in Tasmania, and we don't have termite problems either. We do have the the world's most deadliest ant but they don't come inside either but I have to look out for them when I am gardening. They are quite large and easy to spot.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

No real phobias for me, either. My fears are fairly rational and not anything I worry about unless I'm actually experiencing it for the most part.

I'm not afraid of heights if I'm on secure footing (I've been atop skyscapers and staring out the open door of a helicopter with no problem), but I am afraid of being up high on a rickety ladder or flimsy platform. Being very tall doesn't help the situation.

I'm not afraid of spiders or roaches, but I'm afraid of them crawling on me or getting in my mouth or nose when I'm sleeping.

I'm not afraid of dying per se, but I am afraid of living but being left without my faculties or control of my body. I've had some experience with both with my Mom's disability before she died, my Grandma and Grandpa both having Alzheimer's (my Grandpa passed away), and my own long-term medical issues, so I'm somewhat concerned about my own future. Not to the point of constant worry, but it's something that's occasionally on my mind. I especially don't want to be a burden on my family in the future.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

"A cage. To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire."

Or in other words:

"These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized."