If you're anything like me, then you might have an irrational fear of everything. There are some things that pretty much everyone is afraid of, like serial killers, sharks, and often clowns, but then there are the things that only scare a select few. Among my list of strange fears are trains, bugs, fish, escalators, new people, and the dark. I find myself in a constant state of thinking "anything can happen" or imagining myself dying of a spider attack. So, here's a list of things I do that you might do too, if you're as afraid of the world as I am.
1. You can't go anywhere by yourself.
I struggle with going anywhere by myself; whether it's the cafeteria at school or a public restroom, I feel like I constantly need an escort. This is partially because I'm afraid of looking sad and lonely, but mostly it's because I'm afraid of pretty much everything else. Anything can happen when I walk somewhere alone; I could be kidnapped or attacked by a bird or I could even trip and break my arm (which I've actually done). These things could NEVER happen if another person walks with me.
2. Screaming seems like a natural response to almost any situation.
People who know me know that I scream a lot. Like a whole lot. Like, basically, I'm just in a constant state of screaming. My friend is actually making fun of me for screaming all the time as I'm typing this. Whether it's screaming at the top of my lungs, screaming under my breath, internally screaming, or just typing "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!," I feel that screaming is the natural response to everything. Especially when I'm scared. When I see a bug or a bird or a squirrel or a person that intimidates me, I feel the need to scream out of fear. Every. Single. Time.
3. You can't sleep because there might be something terrible hiding in your room.
I actually have a perfect example for this one. The other night, I left my window open because there's no air conditioning in my room (perks of living in a really old residence hall) and an ungodly amount of bugs flew in my room. There were at least six different kinds. They were hiding out in my lamp and on my laptop and basically anywhere they could find light. I was awake past one in the morning trying to convince myself that they probably wouldn't crawl into my ears and set up camp.
4. Everything makes you jump.
I guess I'm just overly skittish, but I jump at the smallest things. A lot of people jump when they hear a loud noise or maybe if something falls near them, but I jump just when someone comes up behind me or a light flickers. It can actually be pretty funny to other people, but once I'm back on the ground, my heart rate is insane and I'm too busy recovering from my near-death experience to find the situation humorous.
5. You walk really quickly from point A to point B. Especially when you're alone. Especially in the dark.
If you refer back to number one of this list, I can't go anywhere alone. Ever. Under any circumstances. But of course, there are times when there's just no one available and I have to get somewhere. In these situations, I magically learn how to power walk and I get to wherever I need to be as fast as I can because every noise or falling leaf is a potential death sentence.
6. Scary movies give you a false sense of reality.
Finally, there's the problem with scary movies. Every single time I watch a scary movie, I somehow manage to convince myself that what happened in the movie is somehow going to happen to me. Even though I'm pretty sure my neighbor isn't hiding women named Carrie-Ann in his basement like in "House at the End of the Street," the Woman in Black isn't watching me through my window, and a ghost isn't haunting me through my computer like in "Unfriended," I have this horrible suspicion that something crazy like this will actually happen to me (and with my luck, it probably would).
Life can be pretty tough when you're afraid of literally everything, but I think I'm just going to have to accept that I'm one of the most easily frightened people on this planet. On the bright side, I've watched enough episodes of "Criminal Minds" to profile everyone I know and figure out if they're actually all serial killers (which, luckily, they're not).
