Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?

What are you afraid of?  The dark?  Heights?  The big, bad wolf?

My things I’m most afraid of are (in no particular order – whatever I’m facing at that moment is the scariest thing):

1. Spiders.  Ugly creatures with 8 legs that can all move independently.  They are hairy and they try to bite you.  The curvature of our skin may mean that they can’t but that doesn’t mean that they’re not trying.  And if they’re really big you can actually hear them tapping across the wall which totally freaked me out at a friend’s house.  I can’t even look at a picture of a spider, and I feel sick if I turn a page and realise I’ve been touching a picture of one.  Sorry – can’t even look up a picture of them to put here.
2. Needles.  “You’ll feel a little scratch.”  Hello!?  Who scratches them?  That is most definitely not a scratch.
3. Walking alone in the dark, especially if there’s a man walking nearby.  Because clearly all men are out to get me.  I have been known to recite the Lord’s Prayer as I walk along and hold my breath if they pass me.  Crazy!
4. Making phone calls.  I will avoid phone calls until it’s absolutely desperate – and often beyond.  I don’t know why but the idea of phoning someone makes me break out into a cold sweat.  Why can’t we all just communicate by email?  Or Twitter?
5.  Forms.  I hate filling in forms.  I will delay these as much as a phone call, and will go without something rather than fill in a form for it.  I have a law degree but forms still send me into a panic.
6. Heights.  I wouldn’t have said I was afraid of heights until I was clinging to the walls of Il Duomo in Florence.  In fairness, it was breezy blowing a gale and the wee railing round the edge was bent out the way.  Hardly confidence inspiring.  I was sure that with ever footstep I was going to be blown over the edge even though the wind couldn’t make me move that far on the ground.

These are just some of the things that make me sweat and quake with fear.  All totally irrational and yet they totally grip me.

What about you?  What makes you shake in your boots?

This wasn’t intended as a meme but I think I’ll tag some excellent, lovely bloggers because I’m nosey and want to be able to tell myself there are other people as crazy as me…  Make sure you check out their blogs.

• Mummy Glitzer @mummyglitzer
• Wendy’s World @Wendy0
• Always a Mummy @alwaysamummy
• From Fun to Mum @from_fun_to_mum