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?

Always been afraid of heights, and of falling. Now I'm on blood thinners I'm afraid of cutting myself and of bruising badly (I am constantly covered in small bruises). Now I'm immunosuppressed I'm afraid of getting infections. My chemo left me with bowel issues so I'm afraid of being too far from a loo...
And I'm afraid my cancer will come back.

All my fears are related to my health (or lack of it) and my age

Losing my eyesight
Getting dementia
Falling (fear of ever having to go to A&E again after two awful experiences over the last couple of years)

I was scared of What Lurked Below while sea swimming, and gradually managed to convince myself not to be silly, that there's nothing there. Then I tried snorkeling, and realised that yes, in fact, there ARE a lot of things down there 😱

I should just leave that there to shit you up, but OK, here's the truth. No kraken or giant malevolent octopuses spotted, just a lot of small, quite cute fish and the occasional crab.

This is irrational. An Orca has never attacked and killed anyone in the wild, it’s only in captivity. Lots of people swim freely with Orcas off the coasts of Norway. They have attacked boats but never people. Any documented deaths have been at the likes of Seaworld etc where they are forced to live in inhumane conditions.

Becoming ill or incapacitated (lone parent). Although actually not so acute now that the DC are old enough to look after their immediate needs/ call for help (I'm sure you've all heard the horror stories). I recently had a month of post viral fatigue following some Covid- like bug and it was like my worst fears coming true, although it was only a tiny taste of what some people go through.

Also, bears. That's a really rational one living in the UK 😆. But suffice it to say that, although I'm quite outdoorsy, the prospect of hiking and camping in North America does not appeal. (Although a jogger was killed by a bear in Italy last year, so...)

Flying. I really don't like air travel anymore.

Being a burden to others.

When I was younger I barely gave this a thought but now I'm at the age where the generation ahead of me is getting ill and dying, it weighs on my mind.

I'd rather have the option of assisted dtlying than having to pay for long-term care.

*dying!

Me neither, @SparkyBlue ! Next year I'm going on a rail tour of Germany & the Low countries.

@GreggsSteakBake that sounds lovely. I think it's the whole faff at airports as well. I just can't be arsed with it anymore.

Driving in the dark

I was surprised by a sudden-onset fear of heights last year when I’d happily climbed to the top of climbing rock at a playground and was immediately paralysed with terror and unable to make my way back down for about half an hour. Felt like an absolute idiot.

I didn’t learn though, and climbed halfway up a tree the other day only to find myself, again, frozen like a kitten and too panicked to climb back down for a long time.

Probably my body’s way of telling me I shouldn’t be doing this stuff as a decidedly unathletic nearly 50-year-old. I just wish my body could remember this before I’m actually 5 metres off the ground.

That's the problem with AI....it's the wrong way around.

I’ve always had a fear of heights, but now even with a 19 and 15 year old I hate them near edges of cliffs on like lookouts etc. They think it’s hilarious but I panic so much that the wind might blow them over or they might trip 🤣 sounds completely stupid but i guess fears aren’t always rational lol.

I'm in the same boat.

People my parents age are dying, and we will be next up.

I really want euthanasia to be legalised in the UK soon.

Less and less, actually. Don’t really worry about anything personally, but do worry if the (adult) kids are having any problems.

Living longer than any of my dc. When dh drive dc 4 hours away to visit family and I didn’t go due to work deadline I was worried they’d all die in a car accident and my life would change forever. I didn’t dwell on it but the thought was there.

My theory is AI is predominantly developed by men so mopping the floor is covering their wives do and not an issue to find a solution for because it doesn’t impact them.

Climate change here too. Nothing scares me more than that. I often feel that I shouldn’t have had children. When I had them in the mid 2000s, I was naïve to the reality of where we were heading.

They terrify me too , i've never heard anyone else say it ,i think they are much more threatening than sharks .

Oh my! That is scandalous.

So many posts on here are worried about becoming ill and having to go to hospital with our decrepit and non-functioning NHS.

It's a major worry for everyone. And if it's not, it should be.

I worry about the way the world is going - not just climate change but the increasing rise of powerful dictatorships - not for myself, since I almost certainly won’t be here in 20 or so years, but for dds, and even more so for my grandchildren.

Rollercoasters

I can much more easily list all the things I'm not afraid of any more. I even started picking up leggy spiders with my bare hands to chuck them outside (recently).

I am lodging in other people's homes right now & have a huge aversion to cooking there. I just don't want to make the mess. I didn't hesitate to cook when younger. So all canned food for my suppers right now.

Growing much older
Being diagnosed with dementia
Driving to places I don't know that well