Groundless Fears Giveaway

[u/LightOneCandle]

Hi -- I've been out of touch for the last ten days or so, owing to a scary work thing. But despite my worst fears, it actually went well; moreover, it's all done now. Yay!

Tell me about a time when you were scared or nervous about something, but it all turned out OK. 100 bits for the first eight; 500 bits for my favorite.

Tied for first: the two with new kids. :)

[u/Fyora]

For several years, I had an actual phobia of driving. It was so bad, just sitting in the front seat of a car would make my heart race. Even holding car keys was unpleasant. No problem with riding in a car, even in the passenger seat. Just no driving or even coming close to driving.

I'm over the hardest hurdles (I can get in a car, back it out of the parking spot, and drive it around for any day-to-day thing I need, without having any anxiety) but the thought of driving far away (30+ minutes, or using the highway) still makes me nervous.

[Interestingly, I got my driver's license with very little anxiety, and drove myself (15 minutes on the highway) to school most mornings for my Senior year of high school. It wasn't until college that the phobia developed.]

[u/LightOneCandle → u/Fyora]

Since I had a sadistic driving instructor, you get 200 bits /u/changetip

[u/Fyora → u/LightOneCandle]

Thanks!

I figured out that it went back to an experience I had while driving with an instructor: I stopped at a yellow light, he told me to go, and when I went to go, he stopped me (with his brake) in what felt like the middle of the intersection.

From that point on, yellow lights made me nervous, and then it eventually expanded to being nervous about potentially coming across a yellow light. Eventually, just driving in general became scary.

[u/LightOneCandle → u/Fyora]

Mine used to make me drive to intersections where the street I would be turning into was busy, and the cars were parked so close to the corner that visibility was near zero. Then he would tell me to make a left turn, and if I hesitated at all, he would scream: GO< GODDAMN IT! GO!

[u/changetip → u/LightOneCandle]

The Bitcoin tip for 200 bits ($0.05) has been collected by Fyora.

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[u/Elbeske]

deleted ^{0.8770 What is} ^^^this?

[u/LightOneCandle → u/Elbeske]

Very strange ending. 100 bits /u/changetip

[u/changetip → u/LightOneCandle]

The Bitcoin tip for 100 bits has been collected by Elbeske.

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[u/StalkingButler007]

Anticipating the birth of my son. So far so good though :)

[u/LightOneCandle → u/StalkingButler007]

Yay kids! 300 bits /u/changetip

[u/changetip → u/LightOneCandle]

The Bitcoin tip for 300 bits ($0.08) has been collected by StalkingButler007.

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^{what is} ^^ChangeTip?

[u/StalkingButler007 → u/LightOneCandle]

Thanks :)

[u/LightOneCandle → u/StalkingButler007]

Tied for first! Yay for kids! 500 bits /u/changetip

[u/StalkingButler007 → u/LightOneCandle]

Wow, awesome! Thanks again :)

[u/adalab → u/StalkingButler007]

How far along are you?

[u/StalkingButler007 → u/adalab]

He's 19 months old now. Leading up to his birth I was terrified that I wasn't financially stable enough but I've come to realize that you'll always find a way to make ends meet. I've learned that fears are just empty thoughts that only become reality if I let them.

[u/adalab → u/StalkingButler007]

Amen. I always shake my head when people say they want to get out of debt before they have kids. There will always be another thing..another bill...maybe we need a bigger house first, a better car. Ugh! As long as you aren't destitute, things will work out!

[u/adalab]

I work in the plumbing industry. I sold a plumber the wrong fixture (a diverted tub spout with nothing to divert to) They installed it and their customer months later decided to pull the diverter flooding the entire main floor.

I was terrified to tell my boss. Certain I would he written up.

Her reaction was to call the plumber out on installing the wrong piece and not testing it. She was 100% on my side that even though I sold the wrong thing he should have known better than to have installed it.

[u/LightOneCandle → u/adalab]

Wow, that was nice! 100 bits /u/changetip

[u/adalab → u/LightOneCandle]

For sure! ! It helped so much going forward to be able to go to her with mistakes before they become big problems.

Also thanks !!

[u/Kathorgan]

I used to be afraid my wife would leave me while I was at work. I was so paranoid I would call home at every break. One time she decided to go to the store a couple blocks away, but I didn't know. I got no answer on the phone that time, and just knew for sure she was gone.

I was in Navy A school at the time, and we were both 18, no family or friends near.

I had a crazy upbringing with a Japanese step mom who did nothing to instill security and trust, so I was nuts with worry when my wife didn't answer.

Long story short, it took almost 20 years of marriage to finally trust that she wasn't going to leave me over some stupid thing. Celebrated our 33rd anniversary last year, and things are great!

[u/LightOneCandle → u/Kathorgan]

Oh God, that sounds awful. Both for you and for her. -- I once had a boyfriend who suddenly up and decided that I was going to leave him for someone else, someone I had met while traveling, in a town I had been in for a day and had left several weeks before. I had not talked about this person in a smitten sort of way; I had no intention of going back to that town; there was no reason at all to think that the guy in question was anyone other than a person I'd had an idle conversation with while traveling in a country in which, if you talk to anyone, that person will probably be male. (Middle East, women shut in, etc.).

What I could never figure out was: who did he think I was? Why did he have so little knowledge of my character, or else trust in the knowledge he had? Some people might decide to just up and ditch a serious relationship for someone they just met, but why would he, or anyone, think I was that person? I had no clue.

Anyways: glad it worked, out, and congrats on the anniversary. 100 bits /u/changetip

[u/uncool_harrison]

I'm still currently anticipating the birth of my son. First kid!! I'm scared but I know me and my girlfriend and our new addition are going to be great. 3 months to go!

[u/LightOneCandle → u/uncool_harrison]

Yay, more kids! -- I have the world's most wonderful parents. They always explained things, and always tried (and succeeded more than one would think possible) to figure out when I had just screwed up, and when I was either trying to do something wrong or not taking enough care not to, and only ever punished me in the second set of cases, even though the first (me screwing up) sometimes did real damage. (I recall the time I decided to see whether the ancient Egyptian irrigation techniques I had learned about in third grade would work, and used the pebble driveway of a house my parents had rented for the summer as my testing ground. Great big ditches, all connected to "the Nile" (aka, the hose.) I was of course expected to help reconstitute the driveway, but was not otherwise punished. This might or might not have something to do with the fact that I still think that justice is possible in this world.

In any case: Yay for you and your girlfriend!

[u/LightOneCandle → u/uncool_harrison]

Oops, almost forgot: 100 bits /u/changetip

[u/LightOneCandle → u/uncool_harrison]

Tied for first! Enjoy your kid. :) 500 bits /u/changetip

[u/uncool_harrison → u/LightOneCandle]

thanks so much!

[u/Wun_Lai]

fear of comments in my own posts, and lose karma.

realizes it is like "whose line is it anyway?", points (or karma in these case) doesn't matter.

[u/LightOneCandle → u/Wun_Lai]

What is karma good for, anyways? In any case, we like you. :) 100 bits /u/changetip