OK, someone out there knows the answer to this. I have a sudden irrational fear of finding dead mice in my coffee. Specifically, in my coffee cup. I haven't found any mice in such a location, and I don't think I will, logicly. But the fear exists. I doubt there are easy answers as to why, or how to rid myself of this, but I also find it interesting that I have developed it. What other fears might I have that I can't identify as totally irrational? What fears do others have that they are incapable of seeing as irrational, and how does an outsider address those fears without pissing them off?

There is a Doctorial thesis in here someplace...

@JonKramer

Mm. I once went to a French cafetaria where I ordered a hot choc.

While drinking said hot choc I thought it was weird that the solid chocolatey bits were a bit crunchy. So I went to check what I got in my mouth...

Pieces of a cockroach. :P

The cafetaria owner apologized and asked if I'd like a new cup....
No, thanks, I'm good, thanks.

The first few times after that I was a bit wary of my hot chocs, but then life resumed as usual.

So whenever you fear dead mice in your cup of coffee... be comforted that this will at least be a lot easier to spot than pieces of a coackroach which could be mistaken for pieces of (very crunchy) chocolate. 😋

@trinsec , when I mentioned my fear to my wife, she told me about spiders in her coffee. Thing is, in her case, that happened. In my case, it possibly derived from mouse traps, and that's all I can think of. I am curious how this developed, and how the same thing can develop in others.

@JonKramer Spiders in coffees are certainly a possibility. So are flies in soups. ;)

Maybe you should go visit a pet store and ask if you could handle a mouse so you can get in touch with them and maybe that'll help get rid of the irrational fear? I dunno, bring a cup along and put the mouse in it to see what it looks like. I mean, they always say 'face your fears', well, then just put a cute mouse in a cup, have the situation under your control?

@trinsec , I don't have a fear of mice. They honestly don't bother me very much. The fear is discovering them in my food, specifically coffee. The interesting point, to me, is that it is so specific, and not based on any clearly identifiable experience. And, could be a surfacing of a fear I had repressed? And how would I identify the root cause, or the existence of other irrational fears? How would I respond if those irrational fears were challenged by someone other than me? How would other respond if I challenged their fears? And people have MANY irrational fears.

@JonKramer That's why I suggested to bring a cup along and put the mouse in so you have a clear visual of what that actually looks like. ;)

And no clue how that came to be. I suppose I have a few irrational fears too, though I can't really recall them offhand right now. But I'm certain I've got some weird stuff too. :P

@trinsec I think we all have them. How do we ferret them out and eliminate them without getting pissed off at the world?

@Pat @trinsec , Ya know, that might be it. It doesn't help me identify irrational fears in myself when I don't know in advance the fear is irrational, but caffeine could be the trigger HERE. I have recently started having morning coffee with my wife, and the mouse in the cup thing wasn't present before.

@JonKramer @trinsec

This may not be based on any experience you had at all. Sometimes neurons just get crossed, like a misfire. I've had specific activities that I do that will trigger a specific, completely unrelated memory. When it first happens, (the signals crossing), it's so unusual that you notice it. Then that act of noticing it causes a new connection that reinforces that misfire. Then your stuck. Every time A happens, then you think of B.

Perhaps this is what happened for you. Maybe the signal for "coffee" accidentally fired the neuron for "mouse" one time -- as a one time fluke. But now you have burned in that crossed signal.

Just a hypothesis. Yeah, I'm sure the caffeine didn't help.

Is this really a fear, or is it just an obsessive thought?

@Pat @trinsec , I don't think I have a firm understanding of the difference between 'fear' and 'obsessive thought.' I also seem to have a strange reaction to most fearful situations. I tend to get angry. With the cup, it is... apprehension? No anger.

It is a strange thing for me, But you got me thinking. Caffeine, or something I associate with "mouse" in some way. I will be altering my behaviour for the next 6 months trying to see what the trigger is. I still wonder what other things like this I have not noticed.

@JonKramer @trinsec

My understanding (I'm not a professional at all in this field), is that an obsessive thought is just something you think about a lot without being able to shake it. You just keep thinking about it.

A fear is something you feel. It causes a physiological reaction, it releases hormones and causes your heart to race -- that sort of thing.

Substitution of anger for other "negative" emotions I think is common, but I've never heard of substituting anger for fear, although I think you could get angry at someone or something that scared you, because it's not fun to be scared (for most people).

Actually, your mouse/coffee connection may not be neither a fear or an obsessive thought. Maybe is just a thought that you get in that certain situation and that's all it is.

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