Is there anything you are afraid of? To me it's clowns. We went to a party today and they had clowns

[debm55]

for the kids. I felt a wave of panic come over me. I have always disliked clowns. But my reaction was to get up and tell the hostess I didn't feel well. I am ashamed I freaked out over the clowns, It was embarrassing. Does anyone have a fear of something?

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Snakes. It can be only a 4 inch garter snake and I will scream or faint.

[debm55]

5. usually I deal with parades and such by shutting my eyes. Which I did, but it didn't work.

[debm55]

9. sinkingfeeling, I know what you mean.

[hlthe2b]

2. A'holes carrying AR15s-- which is devoid of any humor, unfortunately

[debm55]

25. A neighbor of mine cuts his grass with a gun strapped to his hip

[Polly Hennessey]

3. The dark. Total darkness is 😟 scary.

[debm55]

6. Yes, it is.

[MOMFUDSKI]

8. I am with you

on the dark. Can hardly see anything so have no way to know what might happen.

[Silent Type]

4. My lady friend finds clowns creepy.

[debm55]

7. I know that they are supposed to make people laugh, but yes they are creepy and scary to me.

[Different Drummer]

52. A sensible fear, given Pennywise.

[ailsagirl]

53. Clowns never made me laugh as a kid

Last edited Mon Jul 3, 2023, 06:55 PM - Edit history (1)

I never understood their appeal.

As I’ve gotten older, I realized there’s only one word to describe them: grotesque

[Mr.Bill]

10. Heights (even a picture looking over a cliff makes me uneasy)

Spiders, and to a lesser degree insects in general. I actually have a fondness for reptiles and amphibians. Especially frogs and lizards.

[debm55]

11. Thank you Mr. Bill, I guess we all have our fears.

[Mr.Bill]

13. I know a fear of clowns is not uncommon,

but do you fear happy clowns as well as sad clowns?

[debm55]

16. All clowns

[grumpyduck]

12. Entitled assholes driving a car.

[Mr.Bill]

14. So, BMW owners, huh?

[bucolic_frolic]

15. I'm afraid of experts

They are never as expert as they say. There are caveats they don't or won't tell you. They lie to line their pockets and perpetuate their power.

That's why I distrust M.D.'s and mechanics. And why I like lawyers. While they have a reputation for lying, they can't stop talking so you usually get the full panoply of options. And they hedge everything they say to protect themselves, so you can't say you weren't informed.

[emulatorloo]

17. Been lucky to have had several great doctors as well as teachers. They cared about healing

and training people. Sorry you’ve had bad experiences. I’ve had a couple bad docs, but they were the exceptions fortunately.

[TexasBushwhacker]

18. I'm not good with heights n/t

[Archae]

30. Me too.

Flying is ok, when I flew two years ago, I just felt like I was in a bus.

But put me on a second floor balcony, and I get scared almost to death.

Those vertigo-inducing videos on Youtube scare me silly.

[debm55]

32. Me three.

[Effete Snob]

19. I'm afraid of taking off my clown makeup

[debm55]

24. ---------

[Quakerfriend]

20. Yes, several.

Heights- This started when I was 33. Prior to that, I used to sky dive (from standing on the wing of the plane!) & rock climb- go figure.

I am also afraid of dogs though I have always had dogs and currently have 130# German Shepherd. But,
I will not walk onto your property if I’ve never met your dog.

I’ve also had cats but, am now wary of them too -
Don’t wish to be left alone in your living room with the cat.

Also, afraid of horses as I was kicked by one as a little girl.

Somehow, it’s only the domesticated ones I fear!
However, I love all wild animals, snakes and insects.

[debm55]

27. Yes, I understand.

[Diamond_Dog]

21. A couple things

Mostly same as the posts above.

Snakes, large insects, the dark, angry people with guns.

[debm55]

34. I check out stores now to find the exits.

[happybird]

22. Spiders

Not a fan of clowns, either.
Heights.
Deep water. I can swim and generally love the water but it takes me a few days at the beach to go in the water past my waist. Gotta work up to it gradually. Anything could be swimming in there! And there is no way in hell I’d go on a cruise. I respect, am in awe of, and have what I believe is a healthy fear of the ocean.
I will not let any limb, or part of any limb, hang off the bed.

[debm55]

28. spiders-yes

[Chainfire]

23. Being caught outside in a bad thunderstorm.

I was once caught in the middle of a large lake when a quick thunderstorm kicked up. I was in an aluminum boat, the highest thing for a half mile in either direction and it was striking all around. This old boy was terrified.

[debm55]

26. That happened to me last month, I started walking the dog. The wind was blowing. We got half way on

walk and it starting heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Two transformers blew on the street and a wire went down, I cut through a persons yard and the wind and rain were so strong, it blew my raincoat off. You know I checked the darn weather and they said thunderstorms in the evening--she always goes on her walk at 4PM. I am glad you are okay. As we were running, and a pine nearly missed us, I thought of the poor people in Ukraine that go through that everyday

[Aristus]

29. Cockroaches.

I will weep tears of terror when I see one. They’re one of the many reasons why I’m happy I no longer live in Texas.
One time when our family was living in Houston, a cockroach fell out of an overhead A/C vent and landed on the floor with an audible *click*. Creepy.

Once, I got out of bed in the middle of the night to go pee, and when I came back to bed, there was a huge roach crawling across the blanket. It was so big, I could see its head turning from side to side as it skittled along.

I spent the rest of the night with the light on, standing in the middle of the floor. I wouldn’t go near the bed.

[debm55]

31. When I was in college, my girlfriend and myself decided to drive from Pittsburgh to Dallas to look

Last edited Sun Jul 2, 2023, 11:16 PM - Edit history (1)

for jobs.We stayed at her aunt's house. There were these huge bugs running around. I had no idea it was a roach. It didn't phase her relatives one bit. But it did bother me.

[3catwoman3]

38. When I was stationed in San Antonio I got "introduced"...

...to cockroaches. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

One time while brushing my teeth, I saw what I thought was a hair near the overflow drain in the sink. I soon realized that there were 2 of these 'hairs', and they were moving! They were cockroach antennae from one of the nasty things coming up through the plumbing - Eeewwwwww!

[Elessar Zappa]

33. Public speaking,

too much social interaction. I suffer from social anxiety and I start getting nervous, turning red and shaking. It really sucks.

[debm55]

35. Believe it or not, I have no fear of public speaking--maybe because I was a teacher for 45 years.

But I did have your reactions to the clowns---the nervousness, and the shaking. It does suck.

[Aristus]

36. That's interesting, isn't it?

I have some social anxiety myself, but public speaking doesn’t bother me at all. A history of community theater probably helps. It’s speaking to one person that gives me the frights.

[Elessar Zappa]

58. It's funny because

when I was a child I regularly did plays but starting in high school I started getting nervous speaking in front of people. Now I even get nervous at doctor’s appointments and other meetings in an intimate setting.

[3catwoman3]

37. Bees, wasps, and hornets. I get an instant surge...

...of adrenalin that feels so strong I could probably serve as my own Epi-pen if I were allergic.

[debm55]

39. Yes, they will frighten you. Please be careful of the ones that build their hive under the ground.

Had a neighbor run over one with a lawnmower and a swarm attacked him.

[Bayard]

40. Wasps. Definitely wasps.

I HATE getting stung, plus I'm allergic. Not epi pen allergic, but swelling, hives, and itching for days after. Unfortunately, we get a lot of them around the big barn, and the little goat barns. I see a live nest, I run screaming.

I think everyone should be afraid these days of going in public places where some crazy with a gun might show up. Oh wait--that's everywhere on the planet!

[Ocelot II]

41. High bridges. I even have nightmares about them.

[debm55]

45. The one going out over the Chesapeake Bay is a nightmare. Water completely around, bridge is low and

you are not allowed to stop. Part of the "bridge goes under water.: I held on for dear life when we crossed it.

[Ocelot II]

47. The one that really got me going is the Leo Frigo bridge in Green Bay, Wi.

It's not extraordinarily high, though it's the highest one in the area, and it has a steep enough slope that sometimes they close it in bad weather. I had to cross it once in the winter on my way to visit relatives in Door County, and it was windy and the pavement was icy (they should have closed it) and it scared the hell out of me. A year or two later they closed it down to repair it because it was sagging and cracking. Now when I go to Door County I take the long way through Green Bay. And then there was the total bridge collapse right here in Minneapolis in 2007 that killed a bunch of people. I used to cross that bridge at least once a week, just my dumb luck that I wasn't on it. I don't like bridges.

[debm55]

48. I remember that --you are very lucky.

[Ocelot II]

51. Ironically my city is full of bridges. In order to get anywhere

you have to cross the Mississippi and/or the Minnesota River all the time. But most of these bridges aren't frighteningly high or arced - they're pretty flat, and on most of them there's a sidewalk between the road and the rail. So usually they don't scare me much. It's the ones where you have to change altitude while driving across them that I find disturbing. Coincidentally, there was an article in today's paper about our bridges: https://www.startribune.com/the-five-best-bridges-in-minneapolis-and-st-paul-and-the-story-behind-each/600287079/

[debm55]

56. I live outside of Pittsburgh. Our city and surrounding areas all full of rivers(Allegheny,

Monongahela, Youghiogheny and the Ohio Rivers. Basically, you can't go anywhere in the Pittsburgh area without crossing one bridge. In a ten mile radius, I cross 3 to get to Pittsburgh. I don't like it, but I have no choice

[Silver Gaia]

42. Mice. They elicit an automatic scream and shudder.

Rats, too. No problem with snakes. Or spiders, unless they're crawling on me. No problem with bugs, either. Except ants. They don't scare me. I just hate them. They've tried to take over my home, my gardens, and they farm aphids in my neighbor's tree which then drips sticky, gooey "honeydew" (aphid shit) all over my back yard all summer. I hate ants. A lot.

[Emile]

43. Weddings

[Mad_Dem_X]

44. Not a fan of bats or deep water

Both scare the crap out of me.

[debm55]

46. Yes bats.

[ailsagirl]

54. I seldom if ever come into contact with any but...

bats do go after mosquitoes.

[ailsagirl]

59. Deep water-- yes

[Paladin]

49. I don't like enclosed spaces.

I have no problem with elevators, but I'll let crowded ones pass by and wait for less populated ones. I don't know where this affliction came from; luckily it's rarely bothersome.

[debm55]

50. I agree. Sometimes you get on an empty elevator on a lower floor and as you go up, more and more

people enter.

[ailsagirl]

55. Definitely, same with me

especially with elevators

And being in a car with windows rolled up and no A/C on a hot day makes me panic

[LeftishBrit]

57. Distorting mirrors, and anything with a distorting-mirror effect, like looking into a metal tap

And my birthday- can't bear to be reminded of it, or to have it marked in any way; and keep the date a secret.

[Luciferous]

60. Mice, heights, clowns.

[Different Drummer]

61. In my childhood, I was deathly afraid of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's...

Supermarianation programs. I was especially afraid of this one.

[Stuart G]

62. Driving in a thunderstorm, pouring rain, unable to see ahead of you from the driver's seat.

Also.. .pneumonia

..................................I really don't like it, I have had it 3 times...