alliancesjr | [Thirty-Day Meme]

Three to go before I'm caught up.

Your fears, in great detail

Oh, Dayna's going to have a field day with this one. She's the one where nightmares actually cause her pain, not me.

Oh well. Let's see, what do I have?

Heights

Or rather, the falling from. And even then, it's more the sudden stop at the bottom that really terrifies me. I guess the more accurate term would be that I have a fear of depths.

What's interesting is that this is something that only really developed recently. It's proof that I'm becoming more and more like my father; I also make bad puns, cook by feel instead of by recipe, stubbornly refuse to see doctors unless absolutely necessary, and get uncomfortable around close presses of people. Speaking of...

Close Presses of People

Although I don't think this is so much a fear as it is a discomfort. I will often go out of my way to avoid a packed environment, though if I've made plans and the situation becomes packed, I won't freak out or demand to leave.

It's very specific, too. I'm not talking about being in a busy area, such as a theme park or Woodfield Mall on a Saturday. There may be thousands of people, but it's still fairly spaced out. What I'm talking about is the truest definition of the term "crowded". It's the difference between Woodfield Mall on a Saturday and the Apple store in Woodfield Mall on a Saturday.

Is there a very specific kind of claustrophobia that only applies to sardine-packings of people? I have no problems with simply enclosed spaces.

The Eye Scream

Self-explanatory. One time in Junior High, I was at the nurse's office because my eyes were irritating me, and she brought out a bottle of eye drops. She asked if I had contacts, and without waiting for a response started reaching for my eyes with her thumb and forefinger ready to pluck out whatever contacts she thought I was wearing. I started freaking out and screaming "No I don't have contacts I don't have contacts please don't pluck out my eyes."

I'm going to get glasses soon and I refuse to get contacts of any kind. I don't care how convenient they are, nothing is touching my eyes.

Bees

My god.

I have no problems with bees being nearby, and I won't freak out if they land near me or hover around my head. I even think they're pretty cute and fuzzy. I'm not even allergic to their stings; I'm just afraid of being stung.

Amusing and related anecdote: I was holding a water bottle and a bee had landed on it without me realizing it. It was between my fingers. I shifted my grip on the bottle, causing my fingers to close. On a related side-note, removing stingers from between your fingers hurts.

Fever Dreams Wherein I Am Being Chased By The Number Seven

There's no way in hell I can explain this. It's a fever dream.

Granted, it was only once, and I was very young. Regardless, the memory of how terrifying this dream was has stuck with me my entire life. It wasn't a Muppety seven with googly eyes or an educational song (although that would be pretty damn terrifying too), nor was it any other kind of anthropomorphic number. Nor was it written down on anything. Nevertheless, I was being physically chased by the concept of the number seven.

Scary as hell, man.