What Induces Fear?

AlleyCat

AlleyCat

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The other night, I was watching "Ghost Whisperer". I'd never seen this show before. There were a few moments, such as when this "dead" child appeared out of nowhere in a dark shed, as well as when that dead child's older brother broke into the house he grew up in and was hiding behind the curtains. Both of those moments caused my heart to "jump" or "start racing" out of fear. I know there's been many moments in my own life when something scared me because I didn't know what it was. For you, what induces fear?
 
Big dogs is the worst for me.

Also if someone touches me without my knowledge they were there.
 
Bottesini said:
Also if someone touches me without my knowledge they were there.
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That startles me very easily too. My ex-hubby had to learn to flash the lights in a room before entering it (if I was in the room) because just him coming up to me or touching me scared me out of my own skin.
 
in my case, it's auditory hallucinations, delusions and paranoia (i have
7 different types of paranoia) which all are of concern to me given my bipolar.

this may sound strange, but i'm also afraid of cats. i don't like it when they hiss at me (as they always tend to do) nor do i like it when they jump out of my arms without warning. cats make me extremely nervous which only adds to my fear.
 
Snakes. In real life, photos of them, on T.V., in movies, even dead ones in the road.
 
Bottesini said:
Big dogs is the worst for me.

Also if someone touches me without my knowledge they were there.
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this frightens me too and happens to me all the time especially when a well-meaning pedestrian just grabs me out of nowhere because they want to help me across the street.
 
Hear Again said:
in my case, it's auditory hallucinations, delusions and paranoia (i have
7 different types of paranoia) which all are of concern to me given my bipolar.

this may sound strange, but i'm also afraid of cats. i don't like it when they hiss at me (as they always tend to do) nor do i like it when they jump out of my arms without warning. cats make me extremely nervous which only adds to my fear.
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Nothing strange about it, so don't worry about what others might think. Everyone has their own things they are nervous about. For example, I absolutely love horses, but yet I am afraid of them. I will ride them, but when I'm not riding them, I'm wary of how close I get to them. Kind of weird that I can just get in a saddle and ride them, then ...
 
AlleyCat said:
Nothing strange about it, so don't worry about what others might think. Everyone has their own things they are nervous about. For example, I absolutely love horses, but yet I am afraid of them. I will ride them, but when I'm not riding them, I'm wary of how close I get to them. Kind of weird that I can just get in a saddle and ride them, then ...
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Makes perfect sense. When you are riding a horse, you have more of a sense of control over them. They are very large and powerful animals, and you are at a disadvantage when standing on the ground next to one.
 
AlleyCat said:
Nothing strange about it, so don't worry about what others might think. Everyone has their own things they are nervous about. For example, I absolutely love horses, but yet I am afraid of them. I will ride them, but when I'm not riding them, I'm wary of how close I get to them. Kind of weird that I can just get in a saddle and ride them, then ...
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i can understand that. i feel the same way. i've already been hit in the face by a horse who became a little too wild as i was standing near it, so i get nervous about that too.
 
For me..
Fear is something that I give the definition of having an unfamiliar experience with, and that I think the results of that particular experiment in action whether first/second/third person, may end in disaster from my logical reasoning (however quick it is).

Usually things that I know that will induce a negative effect, I don't think I classify it as fear. As in say, my father going to give me the beating of my life because I broke something important. I think is more of a premonition of a "cause and effect" thing, although I can't think up of the word for it right now..
 
naisho said:
For me..
Fear is something that I give the definition of having an unfamiliar experience with, and that I think the results of that particular experiment in action whether first/second/third person, may end in disaster.

Usually things that I know that will induce a negative effect, I don't think I classify it as fear. As in say, my father going to give me the beating of my life because I broke something important. I think is more of a premonition of a "cause and effect" thing, although I can't think up of the definition for it right now..
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Agreed....that would be more of an anxiety over what you know is coming than a fear.
 
naisho said:
Usually things that I know that will induce a negative effect, I don't think I classify it as fear. As in say, my father going to give me the beating of my life because I broke something important. I think is more of a premonition of a "cause and effect" thing, although I can't think up of the word for it right now..
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jillio said:
anxiety
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Thank you, there we go. I gotta start working on re-expanding my vocab, I keep forgetting simple definitions.
 
jillio said:
Agreed....that would be more of an anxiety over what you know is coming than a fear.
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wouldn't that be equivalent to having the fear of being abused by someone else? i have the fear of re-experiencing all of the traumas i have, but i don't know if you'd actually consider that fear or anxiety.
 
Hear Again said:
wouldn't that be equivalent to having the fear of being abused by someone else? i have the fear of re-experiencing all of the traumas i have, but i don't know if you'd actually consider that fear or anxiety.
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Anxiety would be more like the dread you feel when you know for certain that something unpleasant is going to occur, like the situation naisho described. Fear would be what you feel when you don't know that something will recurr, but are frightened that it might.
 
jillio said:
Anxiety would be more like the dread you feel when you know for certain that something unpleasant is going to occur, like the situation naisho described. Fear would be what you feel when you don't know that something will recurr, but are frightened that it might.
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got it. thanks. :)
 
jillio said:
Anxiety would be more like the dread you feel when you know for certain that something unpleasant is going to occur, like the situation naisho described. Fear would be what you feel when you don't know that something will recurr, but are frightened that it might.
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Absolutely. And it's not even necessarily about something that might recur, but even happen at all. Just walking into a dark, strange house that you've never been in before might cause fear when you don't know what's in the house.

I used to watch all the Friday the 13th movies. I couldn't go to bed for YEARS after without checking the closets and under my bed, even in my late teenage years. I felt silly. It's only now as an adult that I can finally stop doing that.
 
AlleyCat said:
I used to watch all the Friday the 13th movies. I couldn't go to bed for YEARS after without checking the closets and under my bed, even in my late teenage years. I felt silly. It's only now as an adult that I can finally stop doing that.
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hahaha!
I have a Friday the 13th DVD collection boxset I purchased a few years ago.
I can share your sentiments exactly. Each new release back then had something that kept you watching, even though you knew it was going to spook you.
Now when I re-watch them, I'm like what the hell? Did you see that? That's so fake, how the heck did I get scared by this!?

I wasn't afraid of Jason Voorhees, Mike Myers, but I was afraid of these other two movies I watched - Critters and Gremlins. Anyone remember those? I always checked my stairs to make sure there were no critter balls on there and felt the wall next to my pillow to make sure there was nothing behind it.

Those were the days of being pansy at its best. But yes, you can say, I was very well afraid then.
 
i remember when i had the daylights frightened out of me when i watched all of the halloween and nightmare on elm street movies.
 
not to compare situations, but having the fear that something will recur creates even more fear especially if it plays in your mind over and over and over again. that, or you hear the voices of those who were responsible for causing that fear in the first place.
 
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