Happy Wednesday, friends!
It’s another edition of LET’S LOOK!
If you don’t know what this is, once a month, Erika and I do a little link up where we “look” at different aspects of our lives (and then if you blog, you share and link up too!). We have been doing this little linky party for years now, and it’s always one of my favorite posts each month because most of the topics are YOUR suggestions!
So far in 2023, here’s what we’ve “looked at”…
In January, we looked at HOW WE ORGANIZE FOR THE NEW YEAR.
In February, we looked inside OUR MEDICINE CABINETS.
In March, we looked at ourALL TIME FAVE AMAZON FINDS .
In April, we looked at MY PET PEEVES.
In May, we looked at MY MORNING ROUTINE.
In June, we looked at MY BEST TRAVEL TIPS.
In July, we looked at MY FAVORITE SUMMER FINDS.
In August, we looked atOUR WORST HABITS.
In September, we looked at OUR EVENING ROUTINES.
And today, we’re LOOKING AT OUR BIGGEST FEARS.
Just to be clear, I think there is a huge difference between true anxiety and a silly irrational fear. I am going to be addressing today’s post from the perspective of my own “silly irrational fears”. If you are someone who has true anxiety over one of my silly irrational fears, please know, that I’m not making light of YOUR perspective. Okay? Also, I gave myself about three minutes to think over this topic and came up with a few, then at dinner on Sunday night, I asked my family if they thought I had any fears and this is a transcript of that conversation:
Andrew: You’re not afraid of anything, you’re just weird.
Smith: Oh yeah, you’re just weird.
Kensington: (Starts naming things immediately)
Andrew, Smith, Ashby and Madeley also start naming them immediately.
Andrew: Yeah, you’re just weird.
(Side note: These are the people who are supposed to love me most in life just in case anyone has forgotten…)
So, here we go:
1: OPENING MY TOILET LID AND FINDING A SNAKE. You guys, this happens! I have a photo (I won’t share it because it legit is SO DISTURBING) of my cousin’s office toilet where there was a GIANT snake curled up in the bowl. Yeah. It freaks me out just talking about it. It came through the plumbing system and was just huge and big and nasty and hanging out in the toilet. This happened like five years ago, and I think about it basically every time I need to use a toilet.
2: GETTING EATEN BY AN ALLIGATOR. Sharks don’t bother me, alligators do. I am pretty much convinced that any body of water outside of a beautiful beach destination has an alligator just waiting there under the water to eat me. I’m that person that doesn’t like to even go near the edge of the containment area at the zoo. The lion? I’ll get super close to your area to take a look. The gorilla? No worries. The alligator? I’ll be way over here by the flamingos while you people take a look. They’re prehistoric looking devils that I’m not interested in.
3: FALLING OFF ANYTHING TALL. Andrew gets so annoyed with me when I’m being irrational about this kind of thing. I’m not talking about falling off a mountain or a 10 story building. I’m talking about falling off the second step of my step stool in the kitchen. I don’t even remember what he was needing my help with the other day, but it basically required him hanging off the roof of our house and me not wanting to step to the highest step on the tiny step stool. He was so annoyed that I’m not sure how his eyes didn’t get permanently rolled in the back of his head.
4: FOOD POISONING. Is this irrational? Have you had food poisoning? I have a handful of times, and it’s awful. Basically, I’m really iffy about eating things that don’t seem natural in the environment that I’m in. For example (and again, I know this IS NOT RIGHT), whenever people suggest we eat sushi in McKinney, I decline. I love McKinney. We grow a lot of amazing produce in our area, raise great beef and poultry. Fresh fish though? That isn’t something we have here as we’re pretty darn far from the ocean. (And don’t get me started on lake fish, have you seen our lakes?)
5: SITTING BY A BATHROOM AT A RESTAURANT: Can I be totally transparent here? Like legit honest? I just feel like perhaps some sort of peep/poop/vomit/baby diaper/all of the other nasty things that happen in public bathrooms is going to sort of leap out when someone opens/closes the door and land on my food.
6: SLEEPING WITH THE BLINDS OPEN: Because I’m 100% positive a man will be watching me while I’m asleep through the window.
7: RATS: My family believes my natural reaction to seeing a rat is unnatural.
8: SEWER DRAINS: If you walk close to a sewer drain, you will fall in and be lost forever. I’m not sure how that’s “weird”, I feel like that’s factual.
9: CLAUSTROPHOBIA: I do get claustrophobic from time to time, but I can flat out panic if I get “stuck” in my clothes. Have you ever put Wellies on without socks? Just the thought gave me chills. The other day after church, I pulled my dress over my head and couldn’t get my shoulders out so I couldn’t see/couldn’t put my arms down and kind of flipped out until Andrew yanked it over my head.
10: SKIING: Well clearly I cannot go faster than a sloth down the mountain or else I will crash into a tree.
Speaking of which…
11: FALLING TO MY DEATH OFF A SKI LIFE: I have NEVER gotten on a ski lift without envisioning my death. There is absolutely nothing about the ski lift experience I don’t find terrifying.
12: DRIVING THROUGH TUNNELS: Because it’s going to cave in while the vehicle I’m in is passing through. I think about this every single time I go through one.
13: SCARY MOVIES: Andrew and Kensington LOVE scary movies. I refuse to watch them. Why oh why would someone put themselves through that voluntarily?! I can’t even listen to them in the other room listening to one.
And that, my friends, are a list of some of my “fears”.
Please do me a favor and share your fears in the comment section so I don’t feel like the only weirdo in blog world today. Please.
HEADS UP ABOUT next month…
…at a reader request, we are going to swap the topics for November and December since we know many of you start your holiday shopping early. If you blog Let’s Look too, make sure you note that for the rest of the year.
You guys, can you believe we’re already talking about the rest of the year?! I cannot.
I know I was gone earlier this week, but I was still here in blog world! If you missed my AMAZON HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS yesterday, make sure you catch that post which includes…
…THESE SLIM PORTABLE CHARGERS that I carried all over London and LOVED!!
On Monday…
…I shared my current faves from Vuori including outerwear both Andrew and I WEAR DAILY when it’s chilly out. I’m only 5’3″ but he’s 6’5″ and this brand works so well for both of us!
Okay, if you blogged today with us, please link up below. I’ll see you all back here tomorrow! I can’t wait to read your fears in the comment section!!! xx
Kelly says
I think the world of you and look forward to reading your blog daily, but your family is certainly right. Thanks for making me literally laugh out loud reading your fears this morning 😂
Mix and Match Mama says
It took them no time at all…zero seconds…to begin launching into my weirdness.
Elspeth says
I have a big fear of skunks and raccoons! Can’t stand the sight of them! No thank you!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Erika Slaughter says
I’m with you on the ski lift….EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!
Melissa says
Me too. Rachel Zoe’s son fell from one! The photos online were terrifying
Angie says
My then 21 year old son fell off a ski lift. They estimated it was 30-40 feet. He was airlifted to a trauma unit. They thought he was a goner. He suffered deep bruising, a concusion and a collapsed lung. And, of course, he didnt have the bar down. Most terrifying day of our lives. God is good.
Mix and Match Mama says
Oh my gosh! That is TERRIBLE! Praise the Lord he’s okay. PRAISE. THE. LORD.
Kathy says
I’m with you about sitting by a restroom at a restaurant. It’s just no good – lol
Nicole says
Your family would put me in the weird category too. These are spot on…ski lift death trap, eaten by an alligator, snake in the toilet, tunnels. Yep to them all!!!
Shannon says
This blog post was HILARIOUS! I’m so glad you did this post because for the longest time I have wanted you to do a post on my biggest fear…flying. How in the world do you do it so much!? If you could do a post on what goes through your mind while flying, how you handle turbulence, etc. Because every time you randomly show up in a random country across the ocean, I’m so envious because that terrifies me. And I’ve flown to Europe and Hawaii, etc., but I hate it! I’d love your perspective and advice on this topic. Thanks!
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! See?! We’re all so different! Flying isn’t an issue for me at all! I should blog about it!
Kay says
I’m also terrified of flying :(. I’m working on it and getting better but I’d also love to hear from someone who does not worry about this!
kimberlee nelson says
Same for me! And I have a flight coming up in February! I agree, a blog post about flying would be awesome!!
Angela says
There is absolutely NOTHING irrational about number one. I’m terrified of lifting the toilet lid to see a snake. Then, to top that fear off, someone I follow on IG posted about a frog in their toilet so add that to the list of things I’m scared of finding in my toilet. I also think about tunnels crashing in and me drowning while driving through them. I love aquariums but I always think of that there, too.
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank YOU!!! My cousin sent us a photo, and I swear to you, it’s too disturbing to post online. He said for like 18 months after, he went to Starbucks to pee. Bahahaha! I would still be going there!
Gwen says
Oh my goodness, I have almost all of the same fears that you do. Especially Rats …….ugh!!! So I guess I’m weird too. 😂
Kristen says
I hear you with Scary movies!!! My 13 yr old and husband love them and now also love haunted houses! Why oh why would anyone put themselves through this???!!!!! I can’t even be in the same room either when the movies are on…eeeeekkkkkkkk!!!
Mary says
I love hearing your family conversations, so cute 😂. Totally agree with the food poisoning fear! Had the worst case of food poisoning in college and have never gotten over it!
Kristin says
Excuse me, but what is irrational about tunnels and people watching you sleep? I am totally with you! I share your claustrophobia, I have an issue with certain kinds of heights, and I am terrified that I will get locked in an outside bathroom at a gas station (thankfully most are inside these days). I also don’t want to cruise for a number of legitimate reasons, and because I have read about too many shipwrecks, and I am sure my ship will sink for some reason. If I don’t drown, I will most certainly be eaten by a shark. Not sure I will ever forgive my mom for letting me see Jaws when I was 10.
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank YOU, thank YOU! It’s good to not be alone with your fears.
Erin Rivers says
I’m with you on sewer drains but POOL drains?!? Oh my holy moly. I can not even. Just even thinking about them makes me freak out a little bit. I don’t know what I don’t know why but, rest assured, you will not find me anywhere near one….and IF you do, you best believe I am moving as fast as my tiny little 4ft 11in self can move in the water. Ugh. Eek. Blech.
Lisa D says
Rodents ugh!
Throwing up
War
Erin says
I agree. War has been a constant on my mind since Saturday. Hard to digest that humans can be so brutal towards one another.
Mix and Match Mama says
I would say that what’s happening right now to Israel is a very “rational” fear. War is certainly not irrational. xx
Lisa D says
My fears listed above are not irrational but very real. ‘Nuff said. I do not want this to be political. Just pray!
Thank you for being a happy spot in a darkening world.
Kathie says
As a child I was terrified of escalators, that they would suck me down into another world. I’m still vigilant when getting on and off of them. I am crazy afraid of mice. Since childhood and still going strong. I moved to a different part of the country and to a house without a basement to lessen my encounters with them (other reasons too, but this was on my mind). I’m now 60.
Angela says
I had a friend who had her shoe get caught in an escalator and eat it! She did get a new free pair of shoes from the department store where it happened though so at least there’s that!
Sam says
That actually. happened to my 12 year old this summer! Ugh dang escalators!
Paige M Wright says
You made my day haha! Sewer drains…factual😂
Mix and Match Mama says
Right?! It’s not even a question, it’s a fact.
Kerri says
I have a fear of something crawling through my sunroof while I’m driving. Like somethings just waiting for me to open my sunroof 😂
Andrea says
Yes to the snakes in the toilet! And I live in Michigan where that shouldn’t even be a fear.
Lisa N says
Snakes in the toilet🙋🏻♀️ As much as I’d prefer the lid shut it’s just easier on my mind to have it up so I can look in without the fear of lifting it lol
Andrea Hooper says
100% getting stuck in a sweaty or tight sports bra. I panic every time. Can I breathe? Sure. Does my brain register that? Nope.
Also think about the chair lift too and am always telling my kids to sit back.
And possums. They are the worst creature.
Jeanie says
My daughter’s dog caught one in our backyard and brought it in the house in his mouth. I thought it was dead until I realized it was just playing dead. I kept screaming and approaching it and finally caught it with long handled bbq tongs and threw it outside in the yard, Truly traumatic.
Jana Hampton says
I didn’t read your comment before I typed mine, but opossums are on the top of my fears list. Eeewwww!
Amanda says
Omgoodness ME TO!!!! I can come up with all the way to get hurt or die in the most annoying ( to my family) times. Maybe it’s our natural instincts to protect….lol
Add in people who watch horror movies scare me….. because WHY!!! Why would you subject yourself to even more ways you could die or more places that things/people could be hiding!!!
Vanessa says
Yes, yes, yes to finding a snake in a toilet!!! I think of this every time I open the lid.
Ani Martinez says
The ski lift – I get it… every time!
Kay says
OMG-I love this post! You’re the best. I wouldn’t have come up with these on my own, but I share some of your fears! I fling every single window covering in my house open to let sunlight in. But come night, they MUST be closed or else that man will be standing there. I also feel claustrophobia/nervous in tunnels. The only thing that helps with getting “stuck” in an outfit is when I tell myself, we can CUT this RIGHT off with scissors if need be-lol!
My own list includes:
-POSSUMS. Yes. I saw one in my backyard and he locked eyes with me and radiated PURE EVIL. Even my 86 pound golden barking incessantly IN HIS FACE did not scare him away.
-SPLINTERS! Something trapped uggggghhhhh don’t even get me STARTED.
-My garage door closing on me. I know, I know. But every time I walk under it and it’s fine I say a little prayer
-Posting one of those accidental selfies your phone snaps when you’re looking down at it and you have seventeen chins to my social media
Can’t wait to read what everyone shares!
Arika says
The toilet thing happened to me once, but it wasn’t a snake, it was a mouse. It was awful.
Mix and Match Mama says
I would have had a heart attack and died. Died right there in the bathroom.
Sue says
I have an absolute fear of spiders, snakes and mice. Like I can’t even stand fake rubber ones.
Kacey says
These are hilarious, but also so relatable! To add to #13 the only reason I hate this time of year is because of all of the scary commercials. What is up with that!! ugh. Thankfully I just skip past them, but if something is on in the background while I’m working and all of a sudden I hear some creepy/scary commercial come on, you bet I’m running to grab the remote! NO THANK YOU
Debbie says
Loved this post….hilarious….until I got to the fear of getting stuck in your clothes! I sometimes have nightmares about getting stuck in my shirt! 🙂
Sheaffer says
1) I too hate being stuck in clothes. It happened to me in a dressing room once (apparently I put on a dress that was way too small) and I was seconds away from running out into the store in hysterics begging for help. 2) Whenever I see Carter running on concrete, I’m always very sure that he’s going to fall, hit his face, and knock his teeth out. 3) June Bugs terrify me. I hate them. The end.
Shannon says
I totally relate to #9. I once had to get a pair of scissors to cut myself out of a sports bra I thought I was stuck in.
Nicole Wilder says
Girl, the stuff about food poisoning is me to a tee! I will throw out food if it’s been in my fridge just a bit too long, I won’t eat any type of sushi, and I usually avoid foods that could be spoiled(like dairy products or fish) in a restaurant. I am terrified of food poisoning! 😂
Mix and Match Mama says
If the milk’s expiration date is October 15, I stop using it on the 13th.
Laura says
Roaches! I can handle spiders, mice, any of the other creepy bugs. But if I see a cockroach my body seizes up and I become irrational. It’s ridiculous. I once had one crawl on my arm in the middle of the night and I freaked. Even writing about it gives me all those feelings. I need to move on.
Donna Mason says
SAME SAME SAME SAME SAME SAME. Was born in Florida and was terrified of them as a child. Then lived in California and didn’t see one for 30 years, NOW I AM BACK IN FLORIDA AND TERRIFIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Randi Jo Rooks says
SHAY !!!! YES to every single one of these hahahaha we are so the same in this area!!! Hilarious
Jennifer says
I said “Yes, Ma’am!” out loud to your feelings about alligators!! I HATE them. One of my most bizarre pregnancy dreams was that I went alligator hunting with Snoop Dogg at a local lake in my city:)
I’m also afraid of balconies in arenas or performance halls. How can they really hold so many people without collapsing??? So I also don’t like sitting under a balcony:)
Yolanda McLean says
I just spit my coffee out laughing so hard at “hunting with Snoop Dogg”. Love this!
Wendy Crawford says
I’m 100% with you on the snakes in the toilet (especially when I have to get up and go during the night and when I use a public restroom), the sewer drains, and the claustrophobia (which is mainly the getting stuck in clothes type).
Jana Hampton says
1. Opossums – Specifically, being trapped in a room with one. My skin is crawling as I type this.
2. When I was pregnant, it was the fear of my feet growing and not returning to original size. I have A LOT of shoes I love(d).
3. Oops baby once my kids are in high school. Look, any baby would be a blessing and a miracle. I just would prefer to not have this LARGE gap. My kids are 9 and 7, so while we don’t plan to have more babies, we’re not in danger zone for awhile. Ha-ha.
4. Veggies. I have such a texture issue. I want to be healthy in general, and I do have seasons of figuring out how to get my veggies in, but it’s legit, mind over matter. I have to think about it SO hard.
Sharon says
I think this is the funniest post you’ve ever written. I feel the same as you do about snakes but I think I fear caterpillars more. We have a lot of catterpillar nests in the Pacific NW and if one ever touched me I think I would die. I also fear deep dark water. I won’t swim in a lake because I don’t know what is under me. Am I the only person that can’t stand not to have all the blinds closed when it gets dark? The darkness scares me but it doesn’t bother me when I’m riding in a car at night. Go figure.
Tamara R says
In college (off campus housing), we found a dead rat in our toilet. I’d be happy to send you the picture 😂😂. Also, in high school the ski lift I was on broke and I had to be lowered from it by the fire department. So I should basically be able to survive anything now right? 😂. Also I’m 100% with you on the scary movies and claustrophobia.
Crystal DeWeese says
I have never identified with you more than this post! Alligators, open blinds, stuck in clothing…. almost every one of these are my exact oddities (Okay the falling off tall things doesn’t apply to me, but I’m about 12 out of 13 with you.) I would add moths to my irrational fears. Give me a spider or even a butterfly… but spastic moth that leaves dust everywhere. NOPE.
Dana says
Oh my goodness…I have an irrational fear of moths too! My husband thinks I’m weird. But seriously, an erratically flying thing with dusty FUR…so gross.
Laci L Murray says
I relate to every fear you have so I guess I am irrational too? But clearly we are right, this is a hill I am willing to die on.
Bailey says
Sitting down to pee, a rat crawling up the toilet, and biting my cooter. Pardon the language, I think about it every.single.time. thanks to a picture book in elementary school about rats that told me this was possible. Oh, and driving behind anything that could fly out (like a truck full of logs or cars or random heavy machinery) & kill me a la Final Destination.
Erin H says
I cannot keep my shower curtain closed (when not showering) bc there will for SURE be someone hiding in there. Agree on the blinds being closed at night. What kind of maniac could sleep with them open??? When I lived in New Braunfels I was terrified I would find a scorpion (coming from the Midwest this is all I thought about when I moved to TX) and I had to check my bed for one every single night. Side note – I lived there for 3 years and only ever saw 1 and it was outside. ha. And now after reading this I will be terrified of snakes in my toliet.
Mix and Match Mama says
Shower curtains are super creepy! I agree!
Lisa says
Oh gosh- mine are mostly related to being claustrophobic! Getting stuck on an elevator, being stuck on a plane on the tarmac, getting stuck underground on a subway. I only took the Tube once on our recent trip to London and was SO scared of getting stuck- it was so crowded and hot and so far underground!! And I’ve lived in Boston for over ten years and I avoid the T like the plague.
Paige E says
Tile. Anything “plush” in the bathroom. The word “plush.” I just can’t.
Mix and Match Mama says
I literally just lol!
MIRANDA BODENHAMER says
I fully support this weirdness. I have to turn the light on to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I also don’t let my kids eat hard candy in the car because I’m worried they will choke…they are 15,13,11, & 9 LOL They make fun of me for it, but I just can’t help it!!!! I’m also afraid of flying and my husband is a pilot!
Penny Giesecke says
Snakes in a toilet are definitely to be feared. I live in West Texas – a friend whose home is in a nearby canyon walked past her bathroom one time to see a snake between the toilet and the seat – it had managed to put it’s tail through one side and head through the other side and was just dancing to try to escape that bondage. Don’t even get me started.
Heather says
Mine is Snakes. Period! I like turn on all the lights if I go to the bathroom at night. Will not get near the straw. My whole family malfunction of me. I don’t walk through that area at the zoo either. Scary Movies I’m totally with you. I just don’t get it. Riding a motorcycle. I know it’s weird.
Anita says
Worms!! They are the worst!
Lauren says
Getting stuck in clothes…I am so with you! Full on panic. If it happens in a fitting room, forget about it!!
Mix and Match Mama says
YES!!!!! I go into full, full panic!
Jan says
I share all your fears except I’d add sharks. I handle elevators but I’m not crazy about them. In my own 3 floor building, I live on the second floor. I take the stairs most of the time….only exceptions would be if I have several bags of groceries. Every time I push the button, I think it will not go or will stop between floors. Weird? Probably so and at age 83, do I care what others think? NO!
Jenny Rowars says
I freak out whenever my fingers swell and I can’t get my rings off, I’m convinced that they will have to amputate my fingers to remove them… I refuse to wear them while, hiking, walking, or exercising just to be safe.
Oh and the snake and the toilet thing is definitely frightening…we live in Florida with lots of alligators, so creepy when you see them swimming in the water with their eyes peeking out!! 🙁
Lauren says
OK i’m lol-ing real hard at most of these, but seriously – does anyone want to sit by the bathroom at a restaurant!? This isn’t irrational, this is just smart. And lake fish ARE WE JOKING? *dry heave*
Mix and Match Mama says
DRY HEAVE!
Denise M says
I am deathly afraid of spiders. The legs, when they jump, the way they stare at me 🤢
I am cracking up about you being surprised Andrew’s eyes aren’t permanently rolled into the back of his head 😆
Morgan says
How aren’t more people commenting here terrified of spiders?! I am PETRIFIED of them. Really, of most bugs. But spiders are the worstttttt.
Kathy says
We have snakes and scorpions here in Florida- not just gators! I have a friend whose husband found a scorpion hanging out on their toilet paper roll! 😱 I’m not only checking inside my toilet but now I have to check my toilet paper!
Melanie M. says
This is a great blog. I am fearful of roaches. I hate them! I also have a weird one…..I don’t like to sleep with my closet open. I have some others and NOW I will add “snake in the toilet” to my list. I, too, live in Texas…..thanks for sharing, LOL.
Mix and Match Mama says
YES!!! I need closet doors closed as well.
KC says
Alligators and scary movies– I agree 100%!!!
Kristen Hatcher says
We are the same person!!!! If there’s water, I can assure you there is an alligator! My biggest fear for sure!! LOL
Maryellen says
Oh my gosh, I have the same one with shutting the blinds at night. My grandmother raised me and she would always close them the minute it got dusk. She would say, “We need to be “in for the night”. I do not feel “in for the night” with the blinds open HAHA My Aunt thinks I’m crazy. She says no one is looking. You got that right because I never fail to shut them HA HAH
Leticia says
Same, girl. And if it does get dark before shutting the blinds, I can’t look at the window while closing them. I have to look away!
Tamra says
Add me to the “weird” list because all of these hit home to me! 😅
Another fear of mine is my car falling off a bridge and having to evacuate in the water. 🫣
Amie says
Tunnels…yes!! Fying…yes!! and Cruises…yes!! I guess I am never going anywhere too far from home..sigh.
Cassy Moore says
At night I will turn the light on in the bathroom just to make sure there is no snake in my toilet.
Alison says
Rats and scary movies. 💯
Thanks for the laugh about your step stool and Andrew on the roof. Lol
Tammy says
Love the post! Here are mine:
-I have a fear of dark, open water. Those videos circulating TikTok where the people are on the cruise ship and the water is coming up over the windows-SHUDDER! (How do you do so many cruises??)
-Sleeping with the closet door open. Closet monsters are REAL, y’all.
-Hands on/around my neck. I suppose this is rooted in a real fear: when I was a child, my father used to think it was hilarious to randomly walk by and choke me…not in a violent way, but a “funny” way (not that I EVER found that funny). As a result, I break out in a cold sweat anytime hands are near my throat!
Sarah Shaneyfelt says
Love this post! Looks like we all have these types of fears! There’s a bridge over a river near me and it terrifies me–I am so scared of the wind blowing my car off the bridge and into the river that I keep a tool in my door that can break a window if needed. I have never heard of that happening to anyone, but I’m convinced it could. I also can’t do scary movies OR Dateline or 20/20–even if a killer is in prison for life, I’m convinced he can still get me haha!
https://meettheshaneyfelts.com/2023/10/simple-joys-no-7.html
Lisa says
When I was around 9/10 years old, someone knocked on my older sister’s bedroom window around 10pm. I am scarred for life from that. (It wasn’t a friend, just some random person). The thought of someone watching my movements from outside–ughhh shudder.
I agree on several of these and as I get older my list gets longer. We were recently taking enclosed gondolas ( yep, multiple) up to the Matterhorn glacier (it was pretty crowded) and I started thinking what if this gets stuck with all these people? My heartbeat quickened and I needed to think about breathing (just like now as I type this!). Younger me would’ve just enjoyed the scenery.
Lisa says
I love this post! I relate to many of these and have now added a few more to my list, so thank you! 😂 I’m terrified of a gecko touching me in my sleep. If I see one in our house I freak! My poor husband has had to stalk a gecko in the middle of the night because I would not go to sleep until he was caught. FYI, they are speedy little monsters and impossible to catch!
Jessica says
Thanks to your and Erika’s podcast I am now deathly afraid of a tarantula or a scorpion living in any shoe I keep in my garage. Never mind that I live in Pennsylvania and the odds of either creature surviving in our area is nearly impossible.
SA says
Vintage dolls
Opening a can of biscuits
Vomit. Ugh. Just no.
Mix and Match Mama says
Opening a can of biscuits might be my favorite one today! Bahahahaha!
Lindsey Thomas says
Thank you for switching topics!!!
Mix and Match Mama says
Happy to do it! xx
Amy St. Hilaire says
Getting impaled by a beach umbrella. Try to tell me that’s not a terrifying possibility?! Also with you on sewer drains, ski lifts and claustrophobia! 🙂
Sharon says
I forgot to mention a big fear of mine. I can’t walk over a grate or a wooden dock with space between the slats. One time in Reno we rode a tram up the mountain and it let us out where there was nothing but a grate to walk on. I closed my eyes and walked to the gift shop as fast as I could. My husband said, “Just don’t look down.” But that doesn’t help. ha ha!
Janet says
Ceiling fans. More specifically, the ceiling fan over my bed flying off while I’m sleeping, and horribly maiming or killing me.
rita says
bridges. i just know they will collapse when i am halfway across. or i might drive off the side for some reason?
Mix and Match Mama says
I don’t love a high one.
Michelle Gardner says
YES on the blinds shut. If it’s dark out they have to be shut because if they aren’t, someone is definitely out there! Lol! My same fear!
Andrea says
I’m 99 percent sure we are the same person because I am scared of every single thing on this list too!!
K.K. says
OH, Shay!! Any of the falling off or falling into or falling down… I’m WITH YOU!!
Jennifer Bethune says
Snakes in the toilet fear is why I HAVE to turn on the light in the bathroom at night. I just know there will be one in there the time I DON’T turn the light on! We live in Texas, this is not completely unrealistic! lol! Totally agree on the scary movies as well, not a fan of the scary movie previews/ads/pictures this time of year! You’re not weird, they just aren’t being totally honest about their fears! lol!
Carrie L says
I kid you not, we found a snake in our toilet when checking out of our rental house in Bonita Springs, Fl on a Spring Break trip. I still had littles at the time and I sent my oldest inside with her brother to go to the bathroom before we left. The snake was peeking it’s head out as they entered. They came out to tell me and I didn’t believe them. It has been years and I still haven’t gotten over it! I have a picture to prove it!
Mix and Match Mama says
I would have died right then and there!!!
Natalie says
Not just in toilet. I was 9 months pregnant working at hospital and opened door (must have slid behind door), began washing my hands before using toilet and heard hissing. Looked down to a snake coiled up by my feet. Almost died of heart attack that day. Lol
Barb says
I’m afraid of all kinds of snakes and scorpions.
Bridges–all kinds especially draw bridges like they have in Manitowoc, WI. I’m afraid the bridge will go up when I’m on it and I will fall in
Especially in a car.
Sandra Rosellini says
I’m totally with you on the snakes and alligators! Every time I read someone has been eaten by an alligator, I think that could’ve been me!
Kathie says
These comments are the best! Thanks.
Patti S. says
Monkeys. They have human hands and more hands on their feet! Just no.
Also going to the zoo. One of the animals will escape from their enclosure while im there, I’m sure of it.
Debra E says
I have quite a few as well, but I have to laugh about the foot claustrophobia. As I have gotten older, it has gotten worse. I was sitting enjoying a Broadway show while wearing booties. I could not wiggle my toes enough, and I had a full on panic attack. I felt like I could not breathe, and I had to get up, go into the lobby and take my boots off. I then found an area where there were no people sitting and I sat there for the remainder of the show with my boots off. Prior to getting up, I told the guy next to me that I had a leg cramp because I was wiggling so much. I am sure he was so relieved when I got up. Now any time I go to a show or a concert, my friends and family look to see what kind of footwear I have on and I have been forbidden to wear boots. It has become a big joke, but it was not funny at the time.
Kelly Henderson says
I am so passionate about my fear of snakes, I REFUSE to go in the reptile exhibit at the zoo. When my kids were very young, I would hold my breath to go through there but once they were old enough to meet me on the other side, that was the plan! Your alligator friends are there too. Eeeks! My Dad lived in FL for most of my childhood and until he passed, he thought nothing of seeing aligators on golf courses, no thanks! Back to snakes in toilets, have you seen the videos where snakes come out of car vents? OMG I would literally die.
This is a fun post! It makes us realize we are all normal. 🙂
Shirley says
I love this post! I laughed out loud. My mom got stuck in a dress once in a dressing room. My two sisters & I went in to help & started laughing uncontrollably & poor Mom was stuck until we could compose ourselves long enough to finally tug off the tight dress. Memories! My sister opened her back door one time to find a snake had crawled into the crack between the door frame & the door & it just missed falling right ON TOP of her! Sharks scare the heck outta me! We were in Gulf Shores one time years ago & had lots of fun playing in the ocean with our two young sons. Not 5 days later, a boy barely survived a shark attack less than a mile from where we were. I remember seeing dark shapes further out in the ocean when we were there, but I was totally oblivious that they could have been sharks! Now I won’t go in the ocean past my ankles! Hahaha!
Jessica says
I have an irrational fear of large man made objects like sky scrapers, wind turbines, statues…. I would be terrified of flying if I had to walk up and board a plane if there was no enclosed jetway. Last summer we went to NASA in Houston and I had to stand at a distance to look at the space craft exhibits. We haven’t gone a cruise because just thinking about walking up to board makes me very nervous and anxious.
Lauren says
I fell off a ski lift! Your fear is justified! It’s awful and scary and I’ll never be back. My husband jumped after me after I wasn’t moving, bless his heart, and broke both wrists.
Mix and Match Mama says
Oh my gosh! Your sweet husband! Bless his heart is right!
Betty Ripley says
I like you do not like driving through tunnels! I grew up in the Boston area. Driving through the Sumner Tunnel, the Callahan Tunnel was pure torture! I was sure it was going to collapse on us, & we would drown! They are built under water! I was so happy when a few years ago, we began flying in to Providence instead of Boston! I no longer go through any tunnels!
I also hate snakes! That is a recent addition. One morning I opened our front door to go out, & a snake fell on my head!!! I’m surprised you didn’t hear me screaming in Texas! He was sunning himself on the ledge above our door. He fell on my arm, & I flung him off & stunned him good. My husband wasn’t home. My neighbor threw him on the street. I checked on him 10 minutes later, & he was crawling through the grass! Still, a few years later, look up before I go out that door!
Becky g says
Spiders falling on my head. From the ceiling. In any basement. It happened to my mom. A huge one. I feel it crawling in my hair already! And sleeping with my hand hanging over the bed. Something will most definitely bite it!! We have no pets. But for sure, something will bite my hand.
Lauren says
You are all my people!! I’m so glad I’m not alone with my fears! 🤣
Stephanie says
Vomit /vomiting
Getting sick in public.
Walking near carnival rides that spin; see top answer!
Public bathrooms when the door is closed/unknown status when entering.
Running out of water/being thirsty. I travel with a gallon water jug basically everywhere and still fear running out of water
Anything on my neck/fear of strangulation. Turtlenecks and some choker necklaces can cause me major trauma.
Anything with more than four legs. Six is too many. Eight is unacceptable.
Answering the phone when it rings. I will call you back, but I hate answering without knowing why you are calling (except my sister and my dad- I always answer for them).
Anne says
Once I was in a fitting room trying on a sports bra and it got stuck taking it off. Talk about panic. I’m pretty sure I almost dislocated my shoulder. From now on I will only order from Amazon and try on at home.
Emily says
Yes, me too! to so many of these!
Especially the ski lift one, since I did fall off of one in 7th grade on ski day in front of the whole school 😳 I was only 10 or 15 feet off the ground but it was still terrifying and super embarrassing!
Mary Dollar says
100% legit…I have most of the same ones!!!
sandi says
When my kids were little I would not let them play near sewer drains for fear of them falling in. Open blinds at night drive me crazy, I don’t want anyone looking in and my husband thinks that is weird. We live 20 minutes from the ocean and are currently in Denver. I’m craving seafood and refuse to eat that in this landlocked area. Where did it come from and how fresh is it? My family could probably name many more but I am refusing to ask!
Kelly Bonner says
We have some similar fears: snakes, rats, scary movies, heights! Not weird at all!
Michelle says
I check the toilet every.single.time before I sit down just to be sure there are no snakes! 😂
Kacy M says
Number 2 and 9!! Alligators are terrifying with those creepy smiles and the way they move and just everything. Throw me in a pit of snakes or ocean full of sharks and I’ll be perfectly fine, but alligators are a no no. I’m claustrophobic too. I hate being in a crowded room (I never get food or cook food in the kitchen unless it’s empty) and I hate climbing those old spiral staircases when we visit old churches/cathedrals when traveling, the list goes on. I’m scared of heights but if I don’t look/pretend I’m not high up, I’m ok.
Constance says
Omg I share so many of your fears!!! #1, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11!!!
Rachel says
I’m with you on the open blinds, alligators, scary movies, but I’ve never been skiing, so I don’t know about that one. My fear of rodents is more anxiety-inducing panic and fear, have to leave my house for days if one happens to get in. My mom is the same as you with bridges and tunnels…especially if there happens to be an 18-wheeler next to us!
Becky says
I am the same on snakes and rats no matter how small! One jumped out of a paperbag of Hershey kisses on my hospital bed on my 2nd child c-section. I pretty much tore my stitches! One of my greatest fears is Height. I was miserable at the Grand Canyon at my boys getting close to the edge. Literally threw up. I love scary movies so much, but if I’m alone, I run and jump in my bed for fear of being grabbed from a monster under the bed! You are so normal Shay!
Caroline says
Mine definitely include the sewer. I will never ever ever step on or near a man hole cover. I also have a fear of caves, the cables failing on an elevator, and anything that involves canoes. I like the water and I like to be in the water, but you will not catch me ON the water (this may or may not be related to a leaky canoe on lake Huntsville which contains alligators) 😉
Clara says
This is so good! I relate to almost all of those! I will also add — someone wrecking into me while I’m driving over a bridge and my car flipping off and into the water. Completely ridiculous…but I won’t drive in the outside lane over a bridge.
Leanne says
Finding a snake in the toilet is a totally rational fear in my mind. When I was a little girl (almost 60 years ago!) a family friend found a snake in their toilet. To this day I cannot go to the bathroom with out the lights on and checking the toilet before sitting down. After all, it could happen.
Katie Stewart says
The snakes in the toilet and the bathrooms near my seat in the restaurants…yep.
My oldest daughter gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and LEAVES THE LIGHTS TURNED OFF. Doesn’t she know the stories of the snakes coiled around the toilet ring?!?!
And the bathrooms next to my seat in a restaurant…. forget it. I’ll leave.
Allison Way says
Okay this was hilarious but also- I’m so with you on most of these. Especially 1, 8, and 13! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks about these things. I’ll add- driving my car off a bridge on accident. Like those tall exits at 121/75 or 635… I’m always terrified my tire will blow and I’ll fly off of that ramp to my death.
And… long time ago now, but when I was pregnant I was so scared my water would break in front of my students. I had a plan to accidentally spill my water so they’d think that’s what it was. 🫣😂
Alison says
I’m dying laughing at these because I can relate to most of them and even blogged about some of the same. I legit get claustrophobic in dressing rooms and freak out if I get stuck in clothes. I don’t like “heights” and hate climbing up ladders/stepladders to help my husband with things. This was a great topic to share about!
Paige M. says
I feel you on the rats. I am absolutely petrified! Talking about snakes in the toilet, I live in the Boston area & someone posted o social media that they found a rat in their toilet. They believe it came up from the sewer. This has happened to a couple people in our town. I am now officially freaked out!!
Susan McKain says
When we were in Barcelona, we planned to go up in a tower of the Sagrada Familia. While we were waiting to go, a woman was coming down the up-only elevator in a complete panic. Then the staff re-announced that everyone would have to take the stairs back down after experiencing the tower. I absolutely loved the views and the architecture, but after some time I noticed that my mom and my husband left the high tower breezeway a bit early with my 8 year old and started very slowly heading back down. This, and the reason the woman had been in a panic, was because it turned out that there was only a one-way marble spiral staircase with slippery and uneven steps heading down and it had no inside railing! We had to walk down floors and floors, meanwhile anyone could just fall to their death down the inside of the staircase which appeared as a dark, bottomless pit. Eeeeks.
Kathryn says
This post has been gold. I have shivered and cringed and nodded my head and laughed out loud. It made me think about my own fears:
Possums are disgusting. Disgusting and terrifying. When I see one scamper across the street while I’m driving, I scream and pick my feet up off the floorboard of the car, like the possum is going to jump through the bottom of the car and get me. Completely irrational, but it makes sense to me.
Speaking of something getting me while I’m in the car, last spring, I was at a stop light and saw a snake’s head come out from under the hood of my car and stick its scary tongue out. It’s a wonder I didn’t perish on the spot. I had to stop and get out of the car. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible experience. I don’t know how it got there or eventually got out but I almost sold the car that evening just to be done with that experience.
When I was in college in Austin, I sat down in the toilet and felt a distinct sting on my rear end. I stood up to find a ginormous spider in the toilet. I thought, how sad that I am going to die this way. I could not flush that toilet fast enough.
As a very young child, I had a couple of opportunities to ride a subway. I was petrified because I thought the devil lived below the earth where the subway cut through, and I knew I would see him and he’d grab me. I was especially scared of seeing his pitchfork.
The sewer drain thing bothers me too. When I’m on a walk, I always hold my hand over my ear when I pass by a drain bc I know my airpod will fall in there and be lost forever. That isn’t a fear so much as a caution. But I would rather be safe than sorry.
A fear that did not manifest until I was in my 40s is driving over a curved overpass/flyover. I feel that I am definitely going to drive off the side and fall to my death. If that ever happens, I hope I have a heart attack right away and die on the way down so I don’t have to be aware of the big crash.
I get really disturbed by those sentences that fade in creepily slowly on a dark screen after a movie/documentary to share a follow-up fact about the people depicted in the show. The show ends and there is either no sound or there is disturbing/depressing instrumental music while the screen displays something like, “John Doe is now serving 65 years in prison for the murder of his wife. His children ran away and have not been seen in years. His dog still howls at midnight like neighbors heard the night of the murder.” Then it fades to a dark screen. Then comes a slowly displaying photo of the murdered wife with her birth and death years. I am so very terrified after I see things like that, especially if I am by myself.
Pam Zercher says
No 9 LEGIT!! I have 💯 freaked OUT when I’m trying to get a dress over my head and gotten stuck. I yelled desperately to my husband to come help me. After I calmed down we could laugh about it but in the moment it was NOT laughable. Been there, Shay. 😩
(We’re in Paris so I’m running behind on email )
Mix and Match Mama says
yesssssss!!!!!!! I go into FULL PANIC MODE!
Dana says
Oh, wow. I loved this post, Shay. I don’t think you are strange at all! Add very scary amusement park rides to the list!
Last week we had some tree work done and the next day I found a snake in the bathroom! It was small (I thought it was a bungy cord. I immediately called my husband home and when he arrived 15 min later it was gone. I had shut the door and put a towel there so it couldn’t escape the room, of course! Where did it go? Why was it in my house? My husband says there are holes all over our house. WHAT? On top of that, since we have lived in our house, we have had multiple bats fly through when the seasons change. Thankfully my husband or one of my older sons have been home at the time to capture the bats. I’m not sure what is worse now. My fear is the snake is hiding in the walls and eating mice and then will reappear in the spring as a much bigger snake. Or that there are more snakes because it was really little. My family tells me I’m ridiculous so I can’t share with them any more!
I live in Michigan but I used to live in Dallas. I never remember bats or snakes in our house. My friend used to have scorpions in her tub and that would have sent me over the edge too.