Not doing something with my life. It scares the crap out of me whenever I think about it.

Tomatoes and deviled eggs. I'm seriously freaked out by both. I can't even watch other people eat them. I'm also afraid to touch food with my whole hand--like I eat popcorn with just my thumb and pointer finger. I'm also very, very claustrophobic. I once kicked my way out of a cardboard box maze at an elementary school carnival.

I'm also afraid of making phone calls. Terrified. Hate them, hate them, hate them.

I was never afraid of heights until a few years ago, when I started. I have no idea why. I get woozy-feeling, and feel like I'm going to keel over the edge. Which is ridiculous but still true.

Going to the bathroom in a bar I've never been to, especially if I've had more than one drink. I'm terrified that I'll go in the wrong door, or walk into the wrong part of the bar. Bar settings do this for me more than anything else. I feel like people are watching each other much more closely.

Fruit salad really freaks me out and I can't eat it. I have to look at my fruit beforehand, and when it's all mixed together like that and covered in dressing I just can't handle it.

I suppose it's probably not that odd, but: earthquakes. I know, I know, I don't live in the ideal area for this fear, but that's life. And I can't accept that it's highly unlikely that I'd be seriously injured or killed in one as most of the buildings that I spend time in are retrofitted.

I think if anything it's more about the lack of control. I'm sure I'd be terrified of tornadoes or hurricanes if I lived in areas that experienced those disasters, but at least you generally receive a bit of warning.

It can get worse, especially when I'm taking a class in a building/classroom that for whatever reason I consider less safe (usually basement rooms). It also got worse this past winter with all the discussion of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes.

Also, Geni, I agree about the phone! It seems though that people are fine with texting back and forth - not sure if you're interested in that or able to (or if those who you're communicating with will/can), but I've found that it allows me to cut down a lot on phone time. And then longer "conversations" can occur over email.

Rats. I moved to a basement-less house made of cement and cleared the vegetation out to 6 feet from the structure. It may not be pointless but, it is a serious phobia for me and some houses here can not be made completely rat free.

Death.
Failure.
Certain tubers.
the 700 club.
Global Thermonuclear War & the ensuing Red Dawn-like scenarios.

Not in that order.

Oh no, earwigs! I had completely forgotten about those things but now I'm icked out and entirely conscious of what's in my ears.
[I don't recall any specific references to their eating brains, but I do recall being told that they creep into your ears and especially remember the irrational fear-and-ick factor that I associated with them as a kid]

Phone calls completely screw me up. I almost never answer my phone, I generally just let it go to voicemail and then text whoever back after a reasonable amount of time. Unless it's my mum in Sydney, at which point I pull out the phone card, call her back and stammer through a couple of awkward minutes because, well, you know.
I think it's partly the lack of visual stimulus, and the associated fear of sounding like a complete idiot.

I'm also afraid of doing nothing with my life.

Also, heights and spiders. And the thoughts/impressions people get of me.

Bridges-- I don't mind being in a car and going over them, but walking over them can be quite difficult for me (only the high ones). This has gotten better since I had a job that required me to walk over the University Bridge twice a week to get to/from work, but it's still a little dicey. I'm not worried about any specific scenario (like the bridge failing or whatnot) while I'm on a bridge, I just feel panicked.

Sewer drains in the curb of streets also freak me out, although I know that this one is related to Stephen King's "IT", which I both viewed and read at entirely too young an age.

And I am also (much more rationally) terrified that I'm never going to fulfill my potential or become an entirely functional and independent adult. I know that this has to do with my frequently debilitating physical condition and its impact on the academic, work, and social aspects of my life.

I get a strong case of the heebie-geebies whenever I am in any body of water bigger than a bathtub, because of a totally irrational fear that I will get attacked by piranhas or sharks.

When I was 10 or so I saw Piranha at the movies. I'm now told that it is funny and a send up or something, but hey, I was 10. I used to watch Dr Who from the hallway through the gap at the door jamb.

So now, I cannot help but imagine the sharks, piranhas and monsters out there in the hidden waters. Even in a swimming pool I have to make sure I just look straight down, so as not to glimpse the dark water in the distance and start my imagination going.

This is different than being careful in the ocean, for example, which is common sense.

Spiders and sometimes heights. It depends on how high I am and what kind of ground I'm standing on.

I'm 6'3 and a chubby 275lbs and built like a linebacker and basically scared to death of spiders. It's pathetic.

Any time anyone sees me "calmly" dealing with an errant strand of spiderweb that has floated into my face or a neglected, spidery outdoor storage closet, they may get the impression that I don't mind spiders, but I am having a trillion anxiety attacks inside. I am so relieved to spot the spiders before they surprise me. At least I know where they are then. If a spider is moving quickly manages to surprise me in close proximity, there is a very likely chance some unique sounds will be made by me. I may freak out.

I hate spiders.

I don't even know why. No traumatic experiences. I know they are 99.98% harmless. I have held a tarantula. I have managed to be surprised by spiders or even have them on me without freaking out before. But, at the end of the day: I. Hate. Spiders. I hate pictures of them, I hate them in person, I hate webs, I hate daddy long legs, I hate them all.

The spider part of the zoo is always my favorite because I know they can't hurt me or I could totally sue somebody post-freak out.

It's their movement that gets me. It's like Dwight's mistrust of jello... they don't move like any natural thing should. It's too creepy.

I fast forward through anything spider related on the Tivo.

I'll never get over it. The only other thing from nature that bothers me are jellyfish, but not nearly as bad as spiders. Scorpions, snakes, roaches, termites, bed bugs, ear wigs, centipedes, moths--I don't mind any of these bugs (and reptile).

But I will always kill any spider I see in the most painful way possible. It's just how it is. But when I spot one in my apartment, it is a whole ordeal to both track it and kill it. I go through several weapon choices before finding something that gives me the confidence I need to destroy the spider. I'm pretty sure that, subconsciously, I'm a cat person because I know they eat spiders because I've seen them do it.

Death to all spiders!

Asking out women.
Heights.

Neither is a crippling fear, but both are the anxiety/heart racing/flushed face fear.

Meat Week.

And I constantly have these waking nightmares of something terrible happening to my kid, but I think that's healthy. Mostly Meat Week.

I mean for fuck's sake. "I'm an only child who has been coddled from birth. I was bounced from no less than three top flight preschools because mummy couldn't find one that was sensitive to my needs. Fast forward to now. Trust fund is fine -- thanks for inquiring! No, the question is, I'm a vegetarian who is about to start eating meat again, but I'd like as much attention as possible and I don't know what to do. It isn't like my wedding where for $80,000 I could be a princess for a day. Eating meat is common as dirt. Everyone eats meat all day every day, but if I start doing it I want to make it special. Unique. Upscale. Losing my vegeneity needs to be more about me! What should I do?"