What have you become afraid of as you have gotten older?

[AliceMcK]

Heights.

They never bothered me when I was younger, I travelled and visited towers with glass floors, I never got to jump out of a plane but always wanted to. I did The Nevis bungee jump when I think it was the world’s highest, multiple vertical (slingshot) bungies, paragliding, I remember once being lifted up by a crane and pulling a cord to release me and 2 strangers, we free fell then swung in the air. I was absolutely that annoying person who swung the big wheel carriage when we were at the top.

Now the thought of even a ferris wheel freaks me out. I went on the small one at Legoland Windsor a few years ago felt so sick, I couldn’t look at anything. My DDs wanted to go on the Liverpool Wheel the other week and I felt so bad because I’ve always talked about cool things I’ve done, but I couldn’t do it. I can’t even go on high theme park rides any more. When I was younger, talking right into my 30s, the bigger the better.

I don’t know what has happened to me, I still love the thought of jumping out of a plane but I know I’d be a quivering mess if I tried.

Anyone else have sudden fears they never had, other than the immortal ever lasting sleep that is?

Climate change. I didn't seem to appreciate the danger when I was younger, or maybe I ignored it.

Running out of money.

Agree @KateMiskin i remember some talk about it, but not as it is today. We are far more informed now and it is really scary.

Flying. I used to fly quite a few times a year and loved it. Now I am battling with any negative thoughts or trepidation as I know it'll just escalate.

Orcas. I’ve never seen one in RL but have watched enough documentaries to know that they’re what evil looks like. In my worst nightmares I’ve lost all three of my children to them in horrific attacks and they genuinely scare me so much that I can’t watch anything about them now and wouldn’t go anywhere they might be.

Losing my family but that’s an obvious one.

I’ve gone the other way with heights. I used to be terrified, but now I can control it. See also spiders.

I am really scared of what might happen to the people I love. It has always been there, lurking, but then I lost two people who were very close to me, and my anxiety around it has escalated.

Same. It's always concerned me, but it used to feel more abstract because I didn't expect to be alive when it got really serious. Now I know I probably will be.

Then there's AI. taking all the jobs... When I was young I thought I would have a robot to do all the housework while I did my cool exciting job, but now apparently the robot will take my job while I mop the floor.
😂

Me too! I’ve flown all over the place but now I can’t even contemplate getting on a plane, I just keep thinking of falling out of the sky!

@Touty i never had any so it was never a fear for me. I actually think it’s been a blessing as I do know how to live without it. The thought of never going to a hairdressers, on holiday, buy treats, new clothes, days out, clubs dosnt scare me, I know I can survive that. Your talking to some one who threw away a pair of 17yo pj bottoms last week, the top went a few years ago, some of my knickers are older than my oldest child who is 12yo 😂 The difference now for me is my parents were too proud to use foodbanks, I never ever will be if I’m ever in that position again.

Theme park rides. They just all make me feel unsafe and vulnerable now, even fairly tame things like swinging ships.

Driving - I used to be a very confident driver but now I find myself anxious about things I had never previously given a second thought to; planning to avoid tricky junctions and getting anxious about long drives and/or motorway driving. I still do drive almost daily so it’s not a phobia or anything but definitely something I think/worry about that I never did before.

I’ve skydived when younger and did my PADI scuba dive qualification…. Have no desire to do either again! Not scared of heights, but scared of being permanently injured.
I used to love rollercoasters - have been on loads of them, all over the world… but when that girl lost her leg at Alton Towers it put me off - haven’t been on one since.

Heights
Rodents (I used to have hamsters and gerbils as a child, can't stand them now)
The NHS
Getting nervous flying now

Many years ago I worked for little woods catalogues, I remember a big hype about robots and automated machines taking over warehouse jobs. I’m not sure what happened as I left Littlewoods and the UK but I do know many many people lost their jobs not long after. Whether it was because of automation, I’m not sure.

Heights and Theme Park rides. I can't believe this happened to me really because I was the complete opposite when I was younger. It is strange. I think having children puts you under pressure to try and stay alive!

I regularly dream about rats, more nightmares. But that’s not new, I always hated them. Happy to watch in a cage from afar and don’t want to see them used for experiments, buy stay the fuck away from me 😬

Flying used not bother me at all but now I totally dread taking off and landing. I'm fine when the plane is in the air though. I hope it doesn't get worse.
I've always been a little claustrophobic. It never really caused me any issues but now that I'm getting older I'm developing a weird phobia that I might need an MRI and not be able to cope.

Riding my bike after dark. I take the tram now.

I never thought about it, but I suppose this is always at the back of my mind. I remember when I was younger reading articles about rollercoaster accidents in china thinking, but it will never happen here.

You are not the only one, I know quite a few people like this. All women who never cared before but all of a sudden fear driving under certain circumstances.

Heights, I literally get jelly legs that seize me up.

Turbulence, I now visualise as being like potholes on the road, and realise that a bumpy flight feels terrible but is in (wine-spillage) terms much smoother than being in a car.

Spiders, the fear is still there, but I have to be braver than my panic-stricken teens and just deal with them (house, that is; Amazon-sized ones that belong on the telly still give me nightmares.)

I challenged myself at age 50 to go on a rollercoaster, and found myself drying streaming tears off my cheeks at the end. Single parent, kids wanted to do it. So I did it. Done. Never again! Ditto water slide.

We are all mortal. What’s the worst that can happen on any given day?

I wonder if part if this is just that women as they get older are more aware of the risks of driving. I know quite a few women who really struggle with the glare from oncoming traffic at night and a quite a few men who don't even bother wearing their prescription glasses to drive.
I know it's a massive generalisation that I can't apply to everyone but it holds for people I know.

Snow and ice. It terrifies me, the thought of falling over and breaking something that will take an age to repair cos my bones are older and slower to heal. When I was a child I loved the stuff.

Dying.