this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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Afraid or cautious? Isn't that how we learn to stay safe? We mostly learned with our own mistakes, but with the advent of the TV and internet, we got to learn from thousand of other people's misfortune.
(e.g.) I learned not to use slippery shoes in the rain on the stairs from fail videos on YouTube. Am I afraid of the rain or the stairs?
Afraid. This isn't other people's misfortune, it's fear fantasies and ghost stories that are shaping how someone behaves. It isn't healthy to terrify yourself into restrictive behaviors.
Totally depends on the behavior. Choosing not to drive behind a logging truck won't negatively impact you in any way. Not using a tanning bed is actually a positive. Not swimming near a pool drain also is unlikely to have a negative impact.
If you aren't doing those things because a fantasy horror movie made you terrified of those situations, that isn't healthy. It doesn't matter if you don't 'perceive' a negative impact. That you're controlled by a ghost story is the negative impact.
I'm of the opinion that hedging your bets about something due to a superstition or the like is fine if it doesn't negatively impact your life or those of others. It's a bit overblown to say that avoiding the situations mentioned in the post means the person is "terrified."
Having your behavior influenced by a fairy tale fear is the negative impact. Carrying phobias because you can't see the negative impact isn't healthy or wise. The perception of negative impact will be biased by the fear itself through the coping systems it produces, leaving you blinded to the negatives and blinded to the opportunities the phobia takes from you. Both of which take from the potential of your life. I would expect a person with these fears to have a difficult time seeing the negative impact if they're afraid because seeing the negatives would undermine the coping system and bring the fear out.