Do you have any odd or unusual fears?
For example: I've got mild issues with what I'll call "big dark things within emptiness." I'm sure there's probably a very specific term and associated subreddit for this, but I don't particularly enjoy searching it up.
An example would be looking at a planet in Celestia or Google Earth, especially the unlit side. Another example would be seeing the hull of a submerged ship underwater. I have no idea why these kind of things give me the willies, but they do.
Intellectually I think it's absurd and will often try to will myself to ignore the nonsense feeling based on completely unthreatening stimuli, but that doesn't seem to alleviate my instantaneous lizard-brain reaction. For whatever reason, I can't get past it.
It's been this way for a long time, too. I can remember when I was very young, I had a picture book about space. It had shots of all the planets, most of which I was fine with, but there was a close-up of Jupiter in shadow that I would deliberately avoid looking at.
Another book had a very dark picture of a giant squid that caused the same reaction in me. I remember memorizing the page numbers for these two photos so that I could skip them whevener I looked at the books. If I ever opened the book to a random page, I would crack it ever so slightly so that I could peek the page number to make sure it was safe.
Do you have something like this? Some absurd fear, phobia, or aversion to something strangely specific or benign? When's the first time you realized it? Has it stayed that way over time?
Sharp things with any possibility of interaction with my eyes. Coathooks below head height, decorative spiky railings on fences where I might fall, my wife's nails, hair scissors if they're aimed improperly, water from the shower falling directly on my face anything. It's not overwhelming, but it's at a totally irrational level.
Me too! I thought I was the only one. Looking at anything even mildly sharp makes my eyes feel super weird.
A tight space where, to get through, I would have to go through sideways or crawl and wouldn't be able to turn around or stand up at any spot in the middle.
Funny thing is that as a kid I've gone through a ton of spaces just like that even though I was already afraid of them, mainly because I was afraid someone would discover my fear. In other words, as a kid my biggest fear was people discovering my biggest fears (recursion!).
Yes, this too! The story of the Nutty Putty Cave still haunts me.
The ending of the movie The Borderlands (2013) creeped me out too.
EDIT: i found out there's a movie about the Nutty Putty cave incident. It's called The Last Descent (2016). I watched and it's good. The actors are not wonderful, but it does the job.
I can't imagine being in his place.
I'm in a similar boat! Mine stems from sensory issues. I can't handle the smell of anything fruity, so being near fruit induces anxiety.
Hey, mine developed around the same time too I think! I have a distinct memory of being three years old and eating strawberries. Now strawberries are the absolute worst for me; I can hardly stand to be in the same room as them. Apples and bananas I don't mind as much (unless something is artificially scented to smell like them), but just about any other fruit is horrible for me to smell. Some of it is the texture too; I just don't like their weird mushy consistency.
I have some degree of Trypophobia. Some images are really unsettling for me. I'm not giving examples.
I get really nervous around train tracks. I have a fear of my car getting stuck on the tracks or the warning lights and barricades not working and then I get destroyed by a train I didn't see coming. I think that no amount of car safety features or airbags will save me from a full speed train.
I still have that fear of dark objects. It makes watching 2001: A Space Odyssey a little more intense, lol. I was drawing something like the Pepsi logo when I was 10, started with a black circle, and had to abandon it.
I get this late night paranoia. It can kick in at 8pm in Winter, but usually closer to 10. I missed nights of sleep as a teenager as I waited for some horrible thing to be done to me by some creature lurking in the shadows, and didn't feel safe until the sky was ever so slightly blue with sunrise. I've learned to live with it, I think it's a biological thing, just a standard fear of the dark. It gets absolutely terrifying if I've been drinking too much whiskey at my computer, I'll start checking my dark living room by looking over my shoulder.
I used to be afraid of ovens. If I got close to an open oven that was on, I would feel jiggly in my legs. I never baked anything, and if I did want something baked, I'd as someone to put it in and take it out.
I’m afraid of finding out I’ve been doing some simple and mundane task the wrong way my entire life.
So I guess that means videos like this are your nightmare fuel: How to peel a banana the "right way"? ;)
Getting stuck in sweaters and shirts. It's stupid but if it takes slightly too long to correctly put on a shirt l start to panic.
Large animals. Anything larger than a horse can fuck right off.
I mean, I can readily accept that shark attacks are far rarer than people often fear. I don't live in an area with sharks nearby, sharks aren't as aggressive as some would think, and beaches where there is a risk are monitored for that kind of thing. Even if I were attacked, there's a chance I could get lucky and land a punch on the nose. I'm not afraid of getting struck by lightning, which is both more common and more deadly.
Blue whales though? No, absolutely not. I want nothing to do with them. I'll go whale watching, I'll fully support protecting them, but the thought of being in the ocean, either swimming or on a small boat, next to a blue whale? Nope, no thanks.
I think it comes from when I was a kid, and would go to the Vanderbilt Museum here on Long Island. There's this one building with a whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling, and aside from it being really creepy as a skeleton, I was always afraid of it falling on me. Same goes for all the other museums with hanging whales, like the Natural History Museum.
...also, on a related note, I was afraid of high ceilings when I was really young. I would look up and get the same feeling like I was looking down from a great height. What if I fell up?
I went whale watching a few years ago and got to see a blue whale up close. It surfaced near our tiny little skiff, and the sheer immensity of it was chilling. In the same way that pictures of the Grand Canyon don't do justice to its scale, so too do images and videos of whales.
We were above water, so it didn't trigger my "big dark things within emptiness" fear, but if I had been looking at it underwater? I would have had a hard time staying calm.
Yep. It's the feeling of insignificance, and that it might absolutely wreck you without even noticing.
Sunken ships.
I'm already afraid of the ocean. Very afraid. If I go underwater in a game when I'm not prepared, I can feel what I can only describe as a panic attack (though I've never had one) coming on. Don't even get me started on Subnautica. For some reason, seeing sunken machinery/ships/big things gives me wicked heebyjeebies.
You would probably hate this VR game (scripted "experience") then: TheBlu. My buddy also has thalassophobia and legit did have a panic attack when he tried it. He "noped" out after about 30 seconds of playing it and it took him a while to calm down afterwards. I think he was hoping it would help him get over his fear, but I suspect it may have just cemented it even more. :P
At this point, I'm 100% certain that we as a species were never meant to brave such a massive and unknowable frontier and that our hubris will surely be our undoing. A VR underwater game may actually give me a panic attack so nooooo thank you
LOL... and FYI, Subnautica actually has VR support too. ;) Not that you would likely ever want to play that either. And TBH even though I have no fear of deep water or being underwater, it made me feel ill on several occasions just because of how disorienting it was, especially in the tight caverns and when deep under water with no reference points in it to rely on. TheBlu was wonderful though and I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)
I've heard much about motion sickness during VR and I hope that when/if I'm able to try VR that I don't get it too bad. I've never experienced it before so I'm optimistic! Dunno about being underwater and in VR too, though. Playing VR seems like a huge pipe dream for me, though. Seeing games like Pavlov and Jet Island fill me with real, childlike wonder and I long to freak out about running into nonexistent walls and fabricated heights. Maybe in a few years 😅.
Yeah, motion sickness is definitely an issue, although from what I have read a lot of that is to do with the low framerate of most VR setups currently. But it obviously varies from person to person. Even with my setup (1st gen Vive + 980Ti) I have yet to experience any, even in really fast paced games with lots of quick movement in them, but many of my friends with similar or even better setups have... so. :/
I wonder if it's just a genetic predisposition to it, then. That's a bit reassuring at least. I don't get the least bit motion sick on cars, boats, or planes so that gives me hope. Now to cough up 1 grand for a vive and gfx card update (I've been using a 960 for 4 years now)
Maybe, but I think it's also possibly just experience based (or lack of it, rather) as well. One of my friends gets motion sickness and struggled a great deal with VR at first, even in rather stationary POV games, but now they can play most games just fine, even ones where they sprint around. They can still only play in shorter bursts than I can or they risk getting sick, but they are slowly getting more tolerant to it. And I suspect my experience with downhill skiing, kart racing, snowmobiling, ATVing and jet skiing as a wee lad might have something to do with my higher base tolerance.
Ahhhh that makes sense as well; like a muscle you have to train in a way. I used to skateboard a whole lot and still do so maybe I'd be a bit more resilient. I'd probably play no matter what, though, haha
I have panic attacks going underwater in games too. I HATED and avoided at all costs the underwater stage at Super Mario 64.
In a Tomb Raider game, i killed a shark with the basic pistol before jumping in the water. He did a pattern and i could get one shot per loop. It took me almost 20 minutes, but i didn't jump in the water until it was dead.
But surprisingly i went snorkeling in the middle of the ocean (it was not deep, but it was hard to stay upright) and i found really calming watching all the fish. It was filled with people tho.
I have a fear of crickets and grasshoppers. I think they move so unexpectedly and unnaturally. I hate the idea of them jumping onto me very suddenly.
I think I developed this fear when I was a kid. We had a gecko that we would feed crickets to. I remember going to the pet store and seeing where they had all the crickets and how they crawled and jump over everything. Just so gross!
Their mandibles are the worst. Those fuckers gross me out and I'm not usually averse to insects
Yeah, I get that. It's not even the thought of it dropping suddenly in the middle of a set, but slipping when I'm taking it on or off the rack. I mean, I know how to drop the bar safely, and I've never pushed myself to the point I was unsure of my ability to rerack, but there is always that intrusive thought. :p
Also, while it would be rude in a gym, you can use the side rails of a squat rack as a safety measure.
I'm afraid of flying, buzzy insects, particularly being stuck indoors with them. The sound of their wings is the worst. If one flies past my ear I'll flinch hard enough to cause my neck to lock up for several seconds. Everything about them makes me uneasy.
I'm pretty scared of being pregnant.
It just seems really terrifying to me, my whole body in service to this small separate life inside of you, and then it grows and gets quite huge and then it comes out of your body. And lives outside of your body and grows into a whole person who eventually has food preferences and talents and stuff.
I know that biologically that's how it's supposed to work, but it just seems so crazy parasitic and weird, and people will always tell you about how the baby will make this hormone release, or your body will start doing something because of the baby... it's so weird, like krang from tmnt, a little thing controlling your whole body, where you're no longer in charge. I really don't like the idea.
Yes. Whenever I use a Q-Tip I am afraid an earthquake will happen and the Q-Tip will be pushed inside my ear and rupture my eardrum.
Velvet.
The feel of it against my skin sends horrible shivers through me, tenses every muscle in my body, and puts my teeth on end. It's a similar feeling to when you hear nails on a chalkboard.
Due to the effect it has on me, I've developed a bit of a fear of it. I wouldn't describe it as a full blown phobia, it's more of a nervous aversion, but I will (within reason) do my best to avoid it.
I am afraid of heights and that is fairly usual, but I am also afraid of dragonflies, which is something I haven't heard of yet. I guess I heard they were poisonous ages ago, and that combined with the fact that it is flying (does a shiny, flying, and poisonous fucker that looks like a miniature military chopper not sound scary!?) caused that fear. It is not a phobia, but I'd also jump off of my seat if one approached me.
I am also careful in the vicinity of seagulfs. It is not a fear, I like them, but boy they are strong: one day near Bosphorus one flew into my head, was nearly throwing me under traffic. Luckily there was railing along the pavement. They are quite abundant here.