[Indie'sOK]

Hi,
I've had this irrational fear of space aliens for a long time. I know it sounds silly, but please understand that I am serious when I describe this. Last night I watched "Independence Day" on TV, and was pretty freaked out in the beginning, but got better by the end. I've seen this movie before, along with Signs, War of the Worlds, and countless other television shows about the same thing. So for about the past year and a half, almost two years, I've had an on and off fear of extraterrestrials and alien attack. I probably sound a little ridiculous, but is there anything anyone can do to help me with this fear? I'm afraid to talk to my therapist about it in case she thinks it's dumb or laughs at me. I know she probably wouldn't do this, but I still wonder what she'd think of me. Sorry for the ramble, thanks for any help or if you can relate to this. x

Indie

[elliemay]

Originally Posted by Indie'sOK

Hi,
I've had this irrational fear of space aliens for a long time. I know it sounds silly, but please understand that I am serious when I describe this. Last night I watched "Independence Day" on TV, and was pretty freaked out in the beginning, but got better by the end. I've seen this movie before, along with Signs, War of the Worlds, and countless other television shows about the same thing. So for about the past year and a half, almost two years, I've had an on and off fear of extraterrestrials and alien attack. I probably sound a little ridiculous, but is there anything anyone can do to help me with this fear? I'm afraid to talk to my therapist about it in case she thinks it's dumb or laughs at me. I know she probably wouldn't do this, but I still wonder what she'd think of me. Sorry for the ramble, thanks for any help or if you can relate to this. x

Indie

FWIW, I don't think you sound ridiculous at all. Your therapist shouldn't either.

Think about it.

It is scary to think that some unknown, yet all powerful force could come in and rock the foundations of life as we know it. Especially if their intent was not benign (as it was not in Independence Day).

However, I bet this is likely a very old fear of a situation, rather than an actual event, that is a very triggering thing for you.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm scared to death of dinosaurs. I had to walk out of Jurassic Park, and I'm pretty convinced that I'm of decent mental health.

(trapped on an island with just about anything and everything trying to kill you? - yeah, that got me big time.)

I think filmmakers know what lies just beneath and can scare us to bits.

I think the more you talk about it, the more normalized the fear will become, the more you will master it, and what lies beneath it.

You may always be afraid of aliens, just like I'll always be afraid of dinosaurs, but it's nothing to be ashamed of, or feel bad about.

You're perfectly fine in my book.

[FooZe]

Hi Indie, it sounds no sillier to me to be afraid of space aliens than of anything else. One thing I've noticed though, is that when I'm around things that are realistically dangerous -- electricity, gasoline, snakes, wasps, high places -- I tend not to be particularly afraid of them; I just make sure not to do anything stupid and carry on with business as usual.

The things that I've been most afraid of in the past have mostly turned out (eventually! ) to be reminders of unresolved issues. For instance, I once lived way out in the country where to get to my cabin, I had to cross a creek and then follow a path through the woods for a few hundred feet. At night, walking the path with a flashlight, I'd sometimes get the feeling that nothing looked familiar any more and that I might be not only in the wrong part of the woods but on a different planet entirely.

It wasn't till some years later that I realized what a shaky relationship I'd been in with the people I was living with, and how my "unrealistic" fears had mirrored some much more realistic ones that I hadn't been up to looking at.

[Indie'sOK]

Thanks guys I'm not sure if my fear is really about aliens or if it's something deeper, like fear of the unknown generally. I'll bring this up in therapy..we've discussed stranger topics

I hope you and your therapist can get this resolved, Indie'sOK.

[Rhiannonsmoon]

Indies'ok

No sillier than me being afraid of nightmares, no sillier than any phobia.

Let me know though if I can point out a humerous side of this situation. I wanted to type something but am not aware of whether you would take it humerously or be offended,

But please don't feel silly...I'm afraid of chat....how silly is that...

Rhian

[Indie'sOK]

Sure you can Rhi I'm still having this movie on my mind for moments at a time each day..hopefully they will go away soon.

[Elana05]

Hi Indie'sOK,

I think you're right on that it's often about something else - and definitely ok to bring up in therapy. I always start those with, "I know this sounds really odd but..." I used to have a strange panicked feeling that something in the next room was going to explode. It was during a time that I was feeling anxious... It really helped to go over it in therapy.
Sending you good thoughts...

E