What Induces Fear?

Daredevel7 said:
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....
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it's ironic you should mention the feeling of someone walking behind you because that also happens to be one of my fears. i can't *stand* the sound of someone's footsteps behind me or walking down a stairwell. whenever i hear someone behind me (or walking down the same stairwell i am), i always have to stop and let them pass before i can continue on my way. i get *very* anxious in this kind of situation -- especially since my life was threatened once.
 
Bottesini said:
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.
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i feel the same way whenever i hear a noise and can't pinpoint its' source. since i'm totally blind, it isn't like i can look for the sound i heard to be able to figure out what it was caused by. all i can do is try and relax so i don't start to panic.
 
Hear Again said:
it's ironic you should mention the feeling of someone walking behind you because that also happens to be one of my fears. i can't *stand* the sound of someone's footsteps behind me or walking down a stairwell. whenever i hear someone behind me (or walking down the same stairwell i am), i always have to stop and let them pass before i can continue on my way. i get *very* anxious in this kind of situation -- especially since my life was threatened once.
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you should take a few krav maga classes. I believe they will boost your self-confidence quite a bit.
 
Jiro said:
you should take a few krav maga classes. I believe they will boost your self-confidence quite a bit.
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what does krav maga involve? i've heard of it before, but am unfamiliar with what is actually done in such a class.
 
Hear Again said:
what does krav maga involve? i've heard of it before, but am unfamiliar with what is actually done in such a class.
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Krav Maga is an Israeli hand-to-hand combat for self-defense purpose. It is possibly the best self-defense technique in the world because it is so simple that any person of any gender, age, disability can do it. It's so simple that it is widely accepted by law enforcements and military which are included in their basic trainings. We both know Israel has decades of experience in urban warfare so they need an extremely simple and effective technique to disable a person.... including suicide bomber.

of course... you won't be learning how to disable a suicide bomber in Krav Maga class lol but in this class - you will learn simple moves that inflict as much pain as possible to intruder to give you enough time for you to run away safely. Additional classes will also teach you how to protect yourself against armed intruders who are mostly armed with knife or gun.

the classes are inexpensive and simple. I think I will sign up next month for one month.
 
Jiro said:
Krav Maga is an Israeli hand-to-hand combat for self-defense purpose. It is possibly the best self-defense technique in the world because it is so simple that any person of any gender, age, disability can do it. It's so simple that it is widely accepted by law enforcements and military which are included in their basic trainings. We both know Israel has decades of experience in urban warfare so they need an extremely simple and effective technique to disable a person.... including suicide bomber.

of course... you won't be learning how to disable a suicide bomber in Krav Maga class lol but in this class - you will learn simple moves that inflict as much pain as possible to intruder to give you enough time for you to run away safely. Additional classes will also teach you how to protect yourself against armed intruders who are mostly armed with knife or gun.

the classes are inexpensive and simple. I think I will sign up next month for one month.
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that sounds really interesting. i think i'm going to look for a class in my area. thanks for the recommendation! :)
 
Hear Again said:
that sounds really interesting. i think i'm going to look for a class in my area. thanks for the recommendation! :)
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YW! it's the best I can suggest you to overcome your fear of being "helpless" in public space. IMO - fear is when you don't understand/know anything about it which made you feel like you can't control the situation to your advantage. Unable to control your own environment, your own space is indeed a very frightening feeling.

For ie - people are automatically afraid of snakes because we all have heard about it and saw it in movies all the time but we do not know anything about it. People seeming to get bitten by snakes anywhere-anytime, dying a painful death from it. It sounds horrible. But of course... when you learn a lot about snakes, it's not what you thought... thus you feel empowered to be able to control that situation.
 
Jiro said:
YW! it's the best I can suggest you to overcome your fear of being "helpless" in public space. IMO - fear is when you don't understand/know anything about it which made you feel like you can't control the situation to your advantage. Unable to control your own environment, your own space is indeed a very frightening feeling.

For ie - people are automatically afraid of snakes because we all have heard about it and saw it in movies all the time but we do not know anything about it. People seeming to get bitten by snakes anywhere-anytime, dying a painful death from it. It sounds horrible. But of course... when you learn a lot about snakes, it's not what you thought... thus you feel empowered to be able to control that situation.
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It's funny. I don't lack self-confidence per se...I just don't feel comfortable around people whenever I'm alone. If I'm in a crowd (even though they make me nervous and manic), I feel better, but then again, I guess it depends on the person I'm with. Sometimes I feel nervous around "nice" strangers because I have no idea what their intentions are.
 
Hear Again said:
It's funny. I don't lack self-confidence per se...I just don't feel comfortable around people whenever I'm alone. If I'm in a crowd (even though they make me nervous and manic), I feel better, but then again, I guess it depends on the person I'm with. Sometimes I feel nervous around "nice" strangers because I have no idea what their intentions are.
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hhmmm it's the different kind of self-confidence, I think. Not sure how to explain it. lol
 
Jiro said:
hhmmm it's the different kind of self-confidence, I think. Not sure how to explain it. lol
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are you talking about self-confidence as it relates to me no longer fearing others? if so, then yes, i do lack a great deal of self-confidence in that regard.
 
When people touch me on the shoulder/neck area, that scares the living daylight out of me. I usually jump up in fear. Sometimes I even scream. And anyone coming from behind me, even though I can hear them, is a sure way to scare Nika to death! <cringing at the thought>
 
Movies that go through time or several generations. Just the idea of time passing creeps me out. Movies that come to mind are Bicentennial Man and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I had a panic attack during both of these movies.
 
Hear Again, I hate that feeling too, when I can't pinpoint a sound. And not being able to look around for its source, having to just sit there in discomfort.
 
Nika said:
Hear Again, I hate that feeling too, when I can't pinpoint a sound. And not being able to look around for its source, having to just sit there in discomfort.
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yep. this is a fear i've had ever since i was a child. even now, i just can't get over it.
 
Nika said:
When people touch me on the shoulder/neck area, that scares the living daylight out of me. I usually jump up in fear. Sometimes I even scream. And anyone coming from behind me, even though I can hear them, is a sure way to scare Nika to death! <cringing at the thought>
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when someone touches me on the shoulder, i don't scream, but i do automatically go into flashback mode where i start hallucinating and can't hear anything around me.
 
I dont like watch scary movie by myself. I would have nightmare when i go bed.
 
Hear Again said:
are you talking about self-confidence as it relates to me no longer fearing others? if so, then yes, i do lack a great deal of self-confidence in that regard.
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yea. For example - You heard in news about night mugging at park in LA, NYC, etc... thus creating a fear that it could happen to you so you don't do evening walk at your own park anymore even though it rarely happened at your park. SO you learned how to effectively use gun for personal self-defense or martial arts.... thus feeling empowered and confident.

does that make any sense to you?
 
Hear Again said:
when someone touches me on the shoulder, i don't scream, but i do automatically go into flashback mode where i start hallucinating and can't hear anything around me.
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Lots of time I do that too. I freeze and go back to thinking I'm X years old (however old I was during insert flashback material).
 
Nika said:
Lots of time I do that too. I freeze and go back to thinking I'm X years old (however old I was during insert flashback material).
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off-topic...

i can't remember if you've mentioned this before. do you hallucinate during your flashbacks? i do. i relive the traumas i experienced and hear the voices of those who were responsible for them.

(sorry for the off-topic post everyone.)
 
Jiro said:
yea. For example - You heard in news about night mugging at park in LA, NYC, etc... thus creating a fear that it could happen to you so you don't do evening walk at your own park anymore even though it rarely happened at your park. SO you learned how to effectively use gun for personal self-defense or martial arts.... thus feeling empowered and confident.

does that make any sense to you?
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yes, that makes perfect sense. thanks for the explanation.
 
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