Why do people get afraid? Where do irrational fears stem from?

Recently, I flew from Denver to Michigan, heading home to visit family, and was reminded of one of my fears. I refuse to use airplane bathrooms. I don’t know why, and I’ve always been this way. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m claustrophobic or if it’s something irrational like.. I’m waiting to be sucked down through the toilet, into space. I just can’t do it. I would wait for a 15 hour flight to end, just to avoid the bathroom. That got me thinking about other illogical fears people have, mainly myself. I am the Queen of irrational fears. Capital Q.

A fear of the water is another one. Not water in general I guess, just open water. Possibly because it's endless... and deep, with so many possibilities. Sharks maybe? The Loch Ness Monster? Who knows. I suppose that means I don’t do boats either. Not sure, never been on one. Also heights, not a fan. Towers, ladders, really just anything high up without a safety fence. Which is especially ironic because I am 6’2. You would think because my head is already up in the clouds, height wouldn’t be an issue for me.. however it’s the opposite. Most of my six feet and over friends, have the same irrational fear too. Ridiculous. We can add caves and tunnels to the list. Claustrophobia would play into that. That, and what if... you’re six miles deep into a cave, and it collapses for some reason? Like the eight million years of rocks that are holding the walls of this cave together, suddenly decide to give out the day you’re exploring down below? No thank you.

This next one I got from my mother. The need to go to the bathroom when you’re stuck in a “no bathroom accessible” situation. What if you’re packed in a car with a ton of people, road tripping through the desert, and suddenly need to go to the bathroom really bad. That can absolutely happen. I am scared of public transportation. Busses, specifically. Airplanes I am clearly fine with, and I actually live Downtown so I use Uber occasionally. It’s just something about busses and trains that don’t sit right with me.

About a month ago, I got Salmonella. I honestly thought it was a myth... You always hear jokes about how it might be a made up sickness to keep us from enjoying raw cookie dough. NO. No, it’s a real thing. It’s miserable, and long. It lasts almost two weeks, before it’s completely out of your system, done and passed. With that said, I basically have a fear of rotten food, or expired food. I am the person who cleans out the fridge weekly, and throws out anything that expires the day OF the expiration date. Just because I’m paranoid.

Motorcycles don’t make sense to me. Bicycles, sure. Motorcycles, nope. They aren’t safe, for one thing. But somehow they just defy gravity.. It’s a mixture of the speed, and the mechanics. If I’m looking for a way to die, I’m sure I could find a better way. I mean hell, I just listed off a couple other ways. I could probably top it off with my fear of the circus. Clowns especially, but the circus in general. I don’t like people dressing up, outfits, too lot of make up... OH, let me add dolls to that list. Dolls scare the hell out of me. I am a basket case, no question about that.

Realizing all of my paranoias and fears, I wonder how many people there are like me in the world. I’ve been this way as long as I can remember, it’s a little bit of my mom embedded in me, a little bit of scenarios throughout my lifetime that have formed me into this type of person. The rest of it, I would just say comes from being point, blank irrational.