~13 Things That Frighten Me~

To preface, I was heavily inspired by blog about a latte who recently published a version of their own on thirteen fears they have and it was very informative and interesting - I couldn't resist making a post of my own and attempting to explore some of my own inner fears and things that make me go ~SQUICK~!

Networking Events

Maybe this one doesn't scare a lot of people, but as a hardcore introvert who would rather stay home than put myself out there in a public setting literally designed to promote yourself or your business....

....Most Men

If you were bitten by a very scary dog once in your life, nobody would bat an eye if you said you were now afraid of dogs. It'd be a perfectly natural response to one traumatic instance in your life. Imagine then, being brutally victimized by more than one man and still being told that your wariness and fear is unfounded. Ouch!

Rape and Sexual Assault

Piggy-backing off the previous fear, the idea of having your body violated or harmed in this manner is terrifying if you have never experienced it. And having lived through it, the memories of those events are traumatic and can induce some awful PTSD.

Human Trafficking

Driving through the Redwoods, we once stopped at a rest area in the middle of the night. There was a HUGE board outside with photos of women who had allegedly been kidnapped into sex trafficking. In the restroom, there were posters on the wall about what kind of action one should take if they suspect they've encountered a victim of trafficking or if they believe they've witnessed something.

I can't even imagine the horror of being taken from your family and your life, and having your body used and abused for other people's personal pleasure and sick sense of violence against women.....

Spirit Possession

I'm not afraid of ghosts. I'm not afraid of demons or old gods or poltergeists....I am afraid of something taking over my body and using it to do things that would not resonate well with me. Especially if it was some kind of entity that refused to leave and caused me severe harm upon exit. No thanks!

LSD and other Hallucinogens

These last few have been part of theme and that theme is having your agency removed. I've had a lot of friends extol the virtues and fantastic experience of mind-altering drugs. That's all well and good for them, but I do not relish the idea of having a substance mess with my brain and affect my perception of what's going on around me. Even worse when I can't control when and how it will take affect on me....

Slasher Films

To be very, very real for a moment, I don't like gore. I don't like watching people get eviscerated or chopped in half. Something about it makes me feel very sick to my stomach...and I'm hoping that's a normal reaction. I suppose that makes my fascination with surgical videos on Youtube a bit strange...no?

Clowns

I've been a bit wary of clowns ever since that scene with the clown doll in Poltergeist. Then there's Tim Curry's clown character in IT. Killer Clowns from Outer Space. And the phenomenon a few years ago of people dressed as creepy clowns chasing people around a few metro areas within the continental U.S.....because that happened.

Japanese Ghosts

There is just something about the female ghost with long black hair and a white dress. Kayako from The Grudge. Samara from The Ring. The Split Mouthed Woman....Japan has no shortage of creepy lady ghosts that will kill you if you interact with them...

Really Hungry Wild Animals

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! Typically, wild animals don't bother me. But being lost out in the woods and encountering a very hungry (possibly rabid) predator scares the bejeebus out of me!

Poisonous Spiders

I have a complicated relationship with spiders - I find them fascinating and beautiful, but also creepy and potentially scary. I don't mind when they're hanging out in a corner of the ceiling with their webs - catching all the summer mosquitoes that happens to sneak in - but when they drop down on me, take residence in my shower or contain a venomous bite....we can no longer be friends!

Small Spaces

Claustrophobia is a common fear of many people and I'm no stranger to it either. Most elevators don't wig me out - but the tiny ones with no air flow are uncomfortable. Public restrooms that only have two stalls make me anxious. Exam rooms in clinics. Public transit - trains do it more than buses.

I think much of my discomfort comes from the idea of being trapped - also called Cleithrophobia

Public Speaking/Crowds

And we're circled back a bit to that public-event, networking scenario. I don't feel comfortable in large crowds people - you never know who's lurking about - and being thrown up on a stage to speak in front of a group of people, under the bright lights....

Really not for me!

Disease and Illness

Scientifically, we've come a long way in terms of eliminating a lot of communicable diseases - but none of us can predict the exact moment when and if our own bodies will betray us. Cancer, autoimmune disorders, chronic and mental illness....there are so many things that could strike at any point. Are you ready? Am I?

Outer Space

When I was a kid, I watched all of the Alien trilogy films. They instilled a fear of not just space, but what might be lurking out there in space that humans could unwittingly stumble upon and be unprepared for. Do I think all alien lifeforms are evil? Of course not - but we can't know if their interactions with us would be benevolent or not....

And deep space in general - dark, cold, no oxygen, no sound - is kind of terrifying on a visceral level, no?

Sleep Paralysis

Honestly, I've never experienced sleep paralysis - but I know people who have and it honestly sounds awful! Being unable to move at all while your brain's midnight nightmare conjurings continue to wreak havoc on your waking self does not in any way sound pleasant or desirable.

Some people even believe it's caused by demonic or dark entities. Must be even scarier for those people!

Do you share any of these fears? What things really make you afraid? Please let me know in the comments!