What's your most irrational fear?

[WomenHour]

I would say having nightmares after on crimewatch they said "don't have nightmare"

Wasps I know they are tiny little bastards but my reaction to them is all out of any proportion. I don't even think I'm allergic to them!

Moths.

That gravity will stop and everything not in a house gets sucked into space, and it's likely to happen when I'm driving my car on the school run

Frogs 🤢

Dogs.
Big, small, tall, short.
Sweaty palms, thundering heart, can’t breath when I even see one. I cross the road if I see one coming towards me.
Haven’t been to the ils house for 15 years + since they got one.
Don’t get me started on dogs off leads. It’s my ultimate waking terror.

And then there’s those dog owners who just don’t get it, those that insist the dog is “a big softy” or “just being friendly”.
No. Get your fucking animal away from me.
Not everyone likes them.

Spiders.

And I have a reoccurring nightmare that my car will get stolen from the petrol station with my children in the back.

I'm frightened of one of my cats and she intimidates me because of her personality and intelligence. When she looks at you it's so intense. I keep thinking she's planning to kill me or something.

I think an asteroid will hit the earth at some point and everything will die. I suppose at least that would deal with the fear of the cat.

That a bee will fly into my mouth and sting me directly in the throat and my throat will swell up and I'll die.

I have a fear of something flying off the back of a truck, Final Destination style. It actually happened here this week, a poor guy lost his life in a freak accident

Spiders
Yes I know I am bigger then them and they are probably more scared of me
Don't care - they freak me out and I can't cope

every time I am due to go in holiday and start looking at the hotel website and trips a few weeks before etc and imagine myself there, I think to myself that we won’t actually end up going for whatever reason. it never happened. Then this year it happened to EVERYONE!

wow @crosser62, that must make life really difficult. So many dogs around.

Have you had a bad experience that triggered the fear?

Earth worms. I don’t just dislike them, I have a complete phobia of them. Sweating, heart racing, feel sick if I see one. I would rather wrap a cobra round my neck than touch a worm 🤢

Slugs. Luckily I don't have nightmares about it but I feel like I'm having heart attack if I see one unexpectedly. Once I went to walk the dog in the field with my dh. I suddenly realised I was surrounded by them. I had to be carried by dh since I couldn't put my feet on the ground anymore. Worst ever. Never went to the grassy field after the rain.

Polystyrene.

That the people I love will get in deadly trouble as soon as they get out of sight.
It's not all the time, thank god, but it's a very crippling fear.

(Complex PTSD due to various abuse)

rats.

my most rational fear is bedbugs.

Drains in swimming pools 🤷‍♀️

Wasps and the fear of being stung by one! And not knowing how painful it will be.

Never been stung but I've been terrified since being a very young child. I've since had two labours without pain relief and I'd take that over the thought of wasp sting any day. Completely irrational I know.

Rats. Dead or alive.

Balloons. I loathe them, they make me feel a bit sick when they are blown up to the point of bursting.

Tomato skins
Fridge blowing up
Ceiling collapsing
Spiders
Often think of them all when I’m half asleep and anxious (which seems to be increasing as I get older!)

Water pipes, u bends and cisterns.

No idea why but I can't get anything out the cupboard under the sink in case my arm touches the pipe

I'm worried about being stabbed right through the navel in the middle of the night. I have to sleep with an arm across it, which would obviously protect it from attack with a bladed weapon.

Butterflies! Especially the orange and black ones.

Similar to pp, I'm also terrified of breaking down on the motorway and having to choose which one of my kids to get out of the car first