The fear of trees, knees, good news, learning, clothing, the sun, chins, lakes, music, the Northern Lights and women are examples of some of the craziest phobias known to man.
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer goes to great lengths in avoiding. Typically, the phobia has a disproportional amount of fear attached than the actual danger posed, often it’s recognized as irrational.
According to the University of Minnesota, fear prepares us to react to danger. It causes our heart rate and blood flow to muscles to increase so that we can run faster. Fears affect our thinking by causing the brain to short-circuit rational thought processes, and store the details surrounding the danger – sights, sounds, odor, time of day, etc.
Fears and phobias are not uncommon to have. If you were to walk around campus and ask 100 different Oklahoma Christian University students what his or her biggest fear was, I’m sure you would get some surprising and exciting answers.
Douglas LaBier wrote in Psychology Today that fears underlie most life conflicts, and they all steadily shape your conscious values, choices and decisions. He wrote that our fears can also sway how we view things politically, claiming that fearful people tend to be more conservative.
In short, our fears control a lot more of our lives than what we think.
In my opinion, I believe too many people consider their rational fear too irrational, and therefore are ashamed or embarrassed of what they are afraid of. Whether you’re afraid of the dark, the color purple, open flame candles or guitars — the chances of you being alone in your fear are slim to none.
BuzzFeed listed 22 irrational fears that are actually quite common. This list contained fears such as closed shower curtains (and the murderer waiting behind it), underground tunnels, driving over bridges, birds, swimming in dark water, elevators, open closet doors, spiders, babies, rats, expired food and other things that people are commonly afraid of.
My biggest fear is bees. Don’t bother asking me if it matters if it’s a wasp, yellow jacket or honeybee. In all honestly, if it flies and has a stinger, then it is a bee and I am running away from it.
I’m also deeply terrified of movie theaters. While I still attend the movies occasionally, it is exceedingly difficult for me to focus on the movie when I’m freaking out because of the setting that I’m in. This fear has nothing to do with the Aurora shootings of 2012. I’ve been terrified of movie theaters since I was a little kid.
While bees and movie theaters do terrify me and send my body into its “flight or fight” response, I attempt to not let these fears control my life. According to LaBier, people are capable of healing the emotional damage of their fears and restore an internal sense of wholeness and authenticity.
We all have fears – whether rational or irrational – and it’s important to remember that you don’t have to ashamed or embarrassed of those fears. Sometimes I feel dumb for running away from a honeybee or not being able to enjoy a new movie on its premiere night, but it’s part of who I am.
Let us know your biggest fear in our comments sections or tweet us @OCTalon with #OCFears.
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