What Induces Fear?

naisho said:
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.
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I've actually never watched any of the Friday the 13th movies again. Probably for a reason, lol :) But I think I get what you're saying in how "what the hell? that's so fake, how did I get scared by that" .. I could probably reason out most of that now. I think the younger minds are more subsceptible.
 
I was raised to believe fear is the worst of enemies. Fear is the big death, while death is only death. Better to die than to live in fear. Worry is death's little brother who kills slowly and painfully.

Never hurry, never worry, never take anything seriously.

As a result those things that should scare me usually evoke laughter and, very rarely, anger. Although I was taught that anger is bad as it gives whatever or whoever you are angry at power over you.

But once in a while someone sneaks up on me and I jump, and I have been in situations where my heart, stomach, and lungs go tight. Whether this is fear or simply a recognition I could be in real danger I don't know.

Fear is intriguing. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone has, or has had, something they are, or were, afraid of.

When I was a child I was afraid of dogs: a fear so intense I remember it to this day. I even remember when it happened. A dog picked me up bodily out of my crib, not three foot from my mother, and drug me under the trailer like I was an old bone. It seemed like a hundred adults surrounded the trailer, but no one could get under there, nor could anyone coax the dog out. No one dared risk a shot as I was too close.

Getting over that fear was a long hard climb, but with my mother's help we did it.
 
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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Haha, I definitely can relate with you on that one. When I was younger, I used to watch all these Nightmare on Elm Street movies. It freaked me out so badly that I refused to go to sleep in fear that Freddy Kruger would get me in my dream, lol.

Anyway as for my fears - Death is one of them and the other one is, being trapped and feeling helpless about that.
 
Hear Again said:
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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Anxiety creates fear and fear creates anxiety.

So it feeds on each other.

So I agree.



Sometimes when I'm home alone at night I hear something!
I instantly start thinking. What was that?? I become anxious and then, I start thinking of all the bad things that it could be. That leads me to be scared.

My imagination gets out of hand when I'm scared.

Fear feeds on itself.
 
Regarding heights, I don't have a fear of heights. But my mom does. I remember one year that my parents and I took a trip out to Washington/Oregon/BC Canada. We stopped at Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helen, etc. In Vancouver, BC, we stopped at a national park that had a suspension bridge from the mainland to a teeny tiny island. My folks refused to go over that suspension bridge, even my dad. I had to clutch to the rope that served as a "rail" for the suspension bridge, and that was nerve-wracking. You look down, the river below appears to be no more than an inch wide. For someone like me who is not afraid of heights, it was quite something else! :eek3:
 
not sure if it's fear or anxiety but

I have many..the dark, changes, the unknown, living alone, scary movies (or suspense), being around more then a hand full of people, things like that in general, and failing.

Lori and Sons
 
A little twist on Babyblue thinking she hears something.

Sometimes my two little dogs indicate they did hear something. If I am home alone, often I can't find out what they heard, and that is really nerve racking not knowing what danger might await.
 
I never considered myself scared of heights until about a year ago when I went to the grand canyon with my brother. We were in an area with no railings and of course I was cautious but I never expected the paralyzing fear that took over as I looked down. Less than a foot from the edge of a very steep drop off I found myself dizzy, heart beating out of my chest and I couldn't stop myself from dropping to a stooped position and clinging to my brother for dear life. It was the most nerve wrecking experience for me, I have never before or since experienced such a rush. *blush*
 
I watched Nip n Tuck earlier this week and had nonstop nightmares. I woke up at 2 AM in a midst of anxiety attack and was hyperventilating :(

Sometimes shows/movies strike a nerve in me and I end up feeling uneasy for many days. Especialally paranormal movies - I refuse to watch movies like Sixth Sense, Haunting, etc - I seem to be too sensitive and that shows up in my nightmares. My best friend loves these movies and likes to analyze these but I tell her I cannot handle watching them - I feel as if I watch such stuff, Im opening my soul up for bad spirits. Weird?
 
Babyblue said:
Anxiety creates fear and fear creates anxiety.

So it feeds on each other.

So I agree.



Sometimes when I'm home alone at night I hear something!
I instantly start thinking. What was that?? I become anxious and then, I start thinking of all the bad things that it could be. That leads me to be scared.

My imagination gets out of hand when I'm scared.

Fear feeds on itself.
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I agree that fear feeds on itself. I have started mediating whenever I feel a major sense of fear taking over myself to end the cycle.
 
Bottesini said:
Sometimes my two little dogs indicate they did hear something. If I am home alone, often I can't find out what they heard, and that is really nerve racking not knowing what danger might await.
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I had the same problem. When I used to have 2 dogs (both have passed) every so often they'd twitch their ears, indicating they could hear something going on outside. Or, they'd sit and stare at the front door. Or, they'd even bark at the front door. Made me nervous to no end. It became a catch-22 situation. On one hand, I was not that worried about a burglar because the dogs' barking and big teeth (we're talking a BIG lab dog and a BIG retriever-mix dog) would be enough to scare off any potential burglar, but at the same time, just their indications that they were hearing something within close proximity was enough to keep me sleepless. As much as I miss those dogs, I actually sleep better these days in complete ignorance of what might be going on outside.
 
I've handled tarantulas, gone bungee jumping, petted a cheetah, climbed up scaffolding 10 floors high, and so on.

But guess what scares me?

The darkness!!! Not so much when Im going to sleep but if it's suddenly dark because of a thunderstorm or power failure, I get really scared.... Also sometimes if Im walking in the dark for a long time, I get this strange feeling that someones behind me....
 
my fear is..... getting buried in a coffin when I pass away :Ohno:
 
Jiro said:
my fear is..... getting buried in a coffin when I pass away :Ohno:
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I've had the fear of getting buried alive in a coffin. I'm not even dead yet! There was a Mary Higgins Clark book about this. Apparently back in the 1800's or so people used to worry about whether someone was really dead or not, and would place a cord in a coffin that would link to a bell above-ground so if the "dead" person in a coffin was really alive, they'd just pull the cord and the bell would ring, signaling that someone alive was buried below-ground. Gave me goose-bumps ever since I read that book. Now I just wanna be cremated and be done with it.
 
AlleyCat said:
I've had the fear of getting buried alive in a coffin. I'm not even dead yet! There was a Mary Higgins Clark book about this. Apparently back in the 1800's or so people used to worry about whether someone was really dead or not, and would place a cord in a coffin that would link to a bell above-ground so if the "dead" person in a coffin was really alive, they'd just pull the cord and the bell would ring, signaling that someone alive was buried below-ground. Gave me goose-bumps ever since I read that book. Now I just wanna be cremated and be done with it.
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damn right! my reason of fear of being buried in coffin cuz I believe in spirit stuff. My spirit will come out of body and then my first trip is to college girl's locker room. screw heaven. it can't get better than peeking. I know ghost goes thru wall and all but still - i'm stuck in the ground, screaming, clawing.... aaahhhhh!!! Hold me, AlleyCat :tears:
 
Jiro said:
damn right! my reason of fear of being buried in coffin cuz I believe in spirit stuff. My spirit will come out of body and then my first trip is to college girl's locker room. screw heaven. it can't get better than peeking. I know ghost goes thru wall and all but still - i'm stuck in the ground, screaming, clawing.... aaahhhhh!!! Hold me, AlleyCat :tears:
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LOL I'll hold you, Jiro.

But, the whole screaming, clawing thing thought is horrible. I can't even fathom that thought of being buried alive. Physically or spiritually.
 
Jiro said:
my fear is..... getting buried in a coffin when I pass away :Ohno:
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Oh, god. Mine, too. It's the closed in space issue that scares me about it. I know I'll be dead, but the thought of being buried is terrifying to me. It's why I refuse to be. I'm going to be cremated instead.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
Oh, god. Mine, too. It's the closed in space issue that scares me about it. I know I'll be dead, but the thought of being buried is terrifying to me. It's why I refuse to be. I'm going to be cremated instead.
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this scares me as well even though i don't plan to be cremated.
 
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