Hello everyone

So I have a rather unusual fear of butterflies and a fear of darkness. The first one is definitely the fear that has confused lots of people in my life. I can’t explain it, for some reason I am just afraid of them. If one even comes near me, I completely freak out. The latter is a rather childish fear of mine. I don’t know why I’m afraid of the darkness specifically, but I know that I can’t stand it.

So what are your fears?

  • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    An ex was afraid of butterflies but not moths. They could explain what their were afraid of but not why it applied to butterflies and not moths.

    My SO loves butterflies but is afraid of moths.

    I’m not afraid of either. I’m afraid of being incapacitated though, so things like ledges or working under a car makes me uneasy.

  • ditty@lemm.eeEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I grew up in the country with an in-ground swimming pool that we heated with a solar cover. When the cover was retracted/rolled up Bullsnakes would hide inside. There were quite a few times when they’d hastily slither out unexpectedly, and I’ve been pretty freaked out by snakes ever since.

  • Zathras@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Fear of losing my teeth. Spent about 5 years with dental braces, teeth pulled (permanent and baby to make room), and oral surgery to have a tooth exposed to pull down slowly in place over time. I have some fucked up dreams, but nothing disturbs me more than one where my teeth are breaking, cracking, loose, or falling out. Maybe it is a bit of dental PTSD.

    • klemptor@startrek.website
      0·
      2 months ago

      Wow, I had the exact same situation, including having the tooth that had to be pulled down into place. I still have dreams that I’m wearing headgear, or I’ll dream that I bite into an apple and a tooth comes out.

  • keepcarrot [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    This is as good as it gets. Everyone struggling to rent, find jobs, finding out that a substantial portion of people around you hate you.

    Bees, but only because I’m allergic.

  • spittingimage@lemmy.world
    0·
    2 months ago

    I’m afraid of drinking through a straw. I’m convinced (against all logic) that I’m going to inhale it and choke.

    However, I recently started drinking through a straw again at my dentist’s recommendation, to protect my teeth from carbonation. I have a set of reusable metal ones. They don’t trigger my phobia at all. Maybe the texture makes all the difference.

    • OmgItBurns@discuss.onlineEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      Human brains have the strangest triggers.

      ‘This exact thing will definitely kill me, this nearly identical thing is fine.’

      Existence is wild.

  • pancake@lemmygrad.ml
    0·
    2 months ago

    I used to be afraid of looking at mirrors at night. Idk what it’s called, spectrophobia maybe? Well, anyway, one night I took acid and happened to look at a mirror while blasted off my mind. Staring at it felt so disappointingly mundane that I laughed at myself for expecting anything to go wrong. Lost my fear permanently.

  • lady_maria@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I’m horribly afraid of heights and can’t even stomach a normal wall climb (like with a harness and everything) without quivering like a leaf.

    Also most BIG bugs, especially if they have a lot of legs… though I think I’d probably be fine with a tarantula, for some reason. No idea why. The small ones are usually fine, minus wasps and hornets.

    I’m kind of afraid of the dark too, but it’s also not really about the darkness itself. I’ll find myself vividly envisioning things like a snarling wolf suddenly lunging from the darkness to tear my throat out, or a large, unhinged man sneaking up behind me, or some shit like that. It usually only happens outdoors in rural areas where nights are much darker, which allows my imagination to run more wildly than usual. Thankfully, I live in a city now.

  • Ardyssian@sh.itjust.works
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    2 months ago

    I don’t know the official name of this fear, but seeing the world spin around me makes me shut down (say goodbye to driving around roundabout highway exits, carpark roundabout ramps, jet boat spins, etc.). Even typing this out is hard.

    Ironically, I (think) I would be ok if the spin is counterclockwise.

  • ickplant@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Heights. There was some movie or show where people were hanging from a skyscraper window after an earthquake, and I regularly have vivid nightmares about it. It’s not to the point of a phobia but a really strong fear. I went up the Seattle space needle with my husband, and he was clowning against the glass while I was only able to stay in the middle. Had nightmares about him falling or me falling off it ever since.