What is your biggest fear???

"There are fears that are useful and protect you and there are fears that have no use (such as fear of blood, etc, unusual phobias)"----Another One


This is very true other one. Our fears can be useful and they can be menacing. That is part of the reason I started this discussion, because I want to try and understand the power of fear. Fear is quite powerful and some people don't understand how much it can, and does rule one's life.

Dr. Phil will tell you that. Dr. Phil is always saying that one must do good to themselves and live for themselves and not others. This ideal is right to an extent, but doesn't have to be a blind faith. You need mediums. You need balance in your life. You can't live for others and you can't live without others, but you can live in the best way you know how.

Finding the medium between what we want and expect from ourselves, to what others want and expect for ourselves is sometimes a deceptive and endless game. Many people simply lose out on good oppurtunities because of the expectations of others.

Just imagine all the great police officers that were never able to join the force because of the feelings other people they knew had. Because of someone else's fear. Think about the millions of potentail officers. Now think about everything from the common political idealist, to the aspiring ballet dancer. They are all oppressed by the intent and the will of others. This is all induced through fear. For if one didn't fear reprisal than one would not care what the others think. I think in today's world be able to overcome those fears is essentail. In today's world knowledge and freedom are suppressed by reason and fear. Over come this and we can all begin to be free.

This next quote maybe out of context but it represents my sentiment. This is a quote from Plato's "The Republic":

"Let him be the best of men, and let him be thought the worst; then he will have been put to the proof; and we shall see whether he will be affected by the fear of infamy and its consequences. And let him continue thus to the honor of death; being just and seeming to be unjust. When both have reached the uttermost extreme, the one of justice and the other of injustice, let judgement be given which of them is the happier of the two." ----Socrates talking to Glaucon about the just man.

I think the reponses are great and it is interesting to see so many different fears. I hope we can all work together to over come them and find reasons for our fear. Fear isn't just destiny. Does anyone else agree or disagree with that???

posted on 3-5-2003 at 09:43 AM
There are fears that are useful and protect you and there are fears that have no use (such as fear of blood, etc, unusual phobias)

The fear of blood is not a useless fear , it is ingrained in the human instinct to protect you from unclean products.
God made it quite obvious how blood was deemed sacred and how one would become unclean if coming in contact with it. Only in the last decade - since the discovery of microscopic bacteria and virusis has this instinct come into its own.

Would you still be able to eat a bowl of soup if you saw me take a new never been used clean toilet brush and stir the soup infront of you with it. No I think an instinct born from fear of uncleanleness would stop you from eatig it or most definatily stop you from enjoying it.

In the same sence fear of blood these day represents the same thing an uncontrolable fear that you may catch something from it.

If the fear is related to your own blood then i can understand this as being useless in some part , but can be related to an uncontrollable fear that one my bleed to death.

Control that fear it is useful, Put a plaster on the cut!

Originally posted by Maddas

posted on 3-5-2003 at 09:43 AM
There are fears that are useful and protect you and there are fears that have no use (such as fear of blood, etc, unusual phobias)

The fear of blood is not a useless fear , it is ingrained in the human instinct to protect you from unclean products.
God made it quite obvious how blood was deemed sacred and how one would become unclean if coming in contact with it. Only in the last decade - since the discovery of microscopic bacteria and virusis has this instinct come into its own.

Would you still be able to eat a bowl of soup if you saw me take a new never been used clean toilet brush and stir the soup infront of you with it. No I think an instinct born from fear of uncleanleness would stop you from eatig it or most definatily stop you from enjoying it.

In the same sence fear of blood these day represents the same thing an uncontrolable fear that you may catch something from it.

If the fear is related to your own blood then i can understand this as being useless in some part , but can be related to an uncontrollable fear that one my bleed to death.

Control that fear it is useful, Put a plaster on the cut!

LOL man it just came out of my head, I bet you know what I'm trying to say.

How is the fear of plants and flowers useful? Botanophobia.

Originally posted by another_one
How is the fear of plants and flowers useful? Botanophobia.

What? You never seen that TV series 'The Triffids' or 'Little Shop of Horrors'?? Damn...big scary plants that'll eat your butt!

Originally posted by alien

Originally posted by another_one
How is the fear of plants and flowers useful? Botanophobia.

What? You never seen that TV series 'The Triffids' or 'Little Shop of Horrors'?? Damn...big scary plants that'll eat your butt!

LOL then you should fear ANYTHING & EVERYTHING since anything can be dangerous at some point.

No fears here, just crazy thoughts!!!

To another one

Fear :-an unplesant emotion caused by the threat of danger; pain or harm

Phobia:- an extreame or irrational fear or dislike of a specified thing.

All fears are born from instint, ingrained into the human psyche over 100's of thousands of years of evolution are of them important at some time in the past.
-walking into the wide open of the sahara to be attacked by lions
-poinous plant's, or plants that my conceal predator's
-spiders.

Natural selection, selected these individual with these fears and therefore insticts. We can not undo the years of evolution, and unfortunatly these fears resurface from time to time . When they become uncontrolable they become phobia's.

in saying that the only Phobia that I do not understand and could be said is worthless is the phobia of the number thriteen -Triskaidekaphobia But this is not fear but superstition.

Can supersition be counted as a fear, I'm unsure.Anyone care to elaborate.



[Edited on 2-5-2003 by Maddas]

Originally posted by Maddas
To another one

Fear :-an unplesant emotion caused by the threat of danger; pain or harm

Phobia:- an extreame or irrational fear or dislike of a specified thing.

All fears are born from instint, ingrained into the human psyche over 100's of thousands of years of evolution are of them important at some time in the past.
-walking into the wide open of the sahara to be attacked by lions
-poinous plant's, or plants that my conceal predator's
-spiders.

Natural selection, selected these individual with these fears and therefore insticts. We can not undo the years of evolution, and unfortunatly these fears resurface from time to time . When they become uncontrolable to become phobia's.

in saying that the only fear that I do not understand and coulld be said is worthless is the fear of the number thriteen -Triskaidekaphobia But this is not fear but superstition.

Can supersition be counted as a fear, I'm unsure.Anyone care to elaborate.

right

Fears are not just healthy responses to bad stuff. They can be wrong responses to things experienced in early childhood. Behavours that have raged out of control.

My wife is afraid of snails (really!) when she is in the garden I have to remove the dangerous creatures throwing them over to the neighbours- to ravage their garden (I don't like killing them, they are cute) (neighbours: "Why do all these snails keep ending up on our lawn?"),

One time there was a snail on the doorstep and the phone was ringing inside. She couldn't step over the snail to answer the phone.

The worst time was when we made a salad for dinner with lettuces from the garden, she stabbed the fork into the salad on her plate and out crawled one she had just missed stabbing it. Boy if she had she probably would have puked in fear!

Another time one crawled through the window on to her dressing table, I thought she was being murdered from the screams!

Her phobia came from being teased by her bothers at a young age with snails and then just got out of control.

She is smart with a degree and a professional job, and knows its crazy, and sometimes with gloves on and a gardening trowel she can push them away, but thats it.

Me? I am afraid of being an old destitute bag person living on the streets, a fear I have had from a young age and one that seems to slowly fade...

[Edited on 2-5-2003 by Netchicken]

Originally posted by Maddas

in saying that the only Phobia that I do not understand and could be said is worthless is the phobia of the number thriteen -Triskaidekaphobia

Not worthless at all.

Just imagine if you accidentally pee in someone's cornflakes and that person gets his friends together and they decide to invent a time travel device to travel to the year 3741 to bring back a Drone that can install a device in your brain that reacts to the number 13 by destroying your entire body.

The fear of snails may seem stupid on the suface, but the underlying fear to your wife may be substantable but the device (the snail) is wrong. This could be viewed as a disorder instead. If you get what I mean. How was the snail used to scare her. Thats the underlying fear.

I'm with AV, my biggest fear is being alone. Hopefully one day I will be fortunate to spend forever with a wife. I'm slow dancing with destiny everyday until then.

Another one

Fear born from supersition. Could quite possibably be the easiest to control.......................For some mayby.

Other fears: -Fear of God
-Fear of the supernatural
-Fear of alien abduction
Complex Creature's are we human's. So many questions, not enough answers now I'm getting scared

Originally posted by Maddas
Another one

Fear born from supersition. Could quite possibably be the easiest to control.......................For some mayby.

Other fears: -Fear of God
-Fear of the supernatural
-Fear of alien abduction
Complex Creature's are we human's. So many questions, not enough answers now I'm getting scared

Okay.

But Nas, i thought you were engaged to Kelis..?!?