Were you a fearful child?

Some children are full of joy adventure. Others seem to be full of fear.

Were you a fearful child?

I personally was scared of everything (and I have no idea why). I was scared of the dark, storms, my sister (I know why I was scared of her), the wind, dying (as early as three), school, and SO MUCH more. I was just plain scared all the time.

I had a decent childhood up until I was about 10, at which time my older brother started getting in fairly serious trouble with the police, auto theft, mostly. My parents pretty much had no idea how to cope with the situation, so they just withdrew. My mother went back to work, leaving my brother with even less supervision, and the family basically fell apart. It was very stressful to me, and yeah, I was pretty scared a lot of the time, never knowing what was going to happen next. Plus, we lived in a small town, and everyone knew my brother's reputation, so with only a couple exceptions, no families would let their kids hang out with me, even though I wasn't the one getting into trouble. I was very unhappy. I've often wondered how my life would have been had I had no older brother, or had he not gotten into trouble.

Yea, I was a real wimp! Painfully shy, 'over conscientious' featured on my school reports and used to vomit in my sleep regularly, especially if I was facing an exam, new event etc. The doctor told my Mum that, even at a very young age, it was due to stress. I think I've done quite well really, to wait til the age of 51 to develop Crohn's!!

My only fear was because I was deaf in one ear and the hearing aids 40 years ago were on the outside and on a harness, I only wore it to school but I hated it and people would stare and I became self conscience. So that made me a bit insecure.

No, I was blessed with the most happiest of childhoods.
I was a tomboy, happy and fearless, a daredevil, the joker in the pack, or the thick one more like!
In fact, nowt's changed!

Astra101 said:

In fact, nowt's changed!

Click to expand...

That's what I was gonna say!!
H x

By all accounts I was a happy but extremely hyperactive child!

I had stages, I was a very nervous person I think but a large part of my life may have been managing a front to deal with this, people refer to me as confident and at times arrogant.
Throughout school I was bullied generally over superficial things, tbf it mightve made a goth out of me, I think i decided if I was gonna be attacked because of my appearance, It may aswell be on my terms rather than for being skinny and crap at sports, I can defend a choice I have made but had no defence for my lack of footballing ability nor my families poverty ( damn not having the right schoolbag and trainers in a clicky school : P )
As I grew I never escaped the anxious gripped feeling in my tummy, I once upon a time thought it was nerves but have come to understand its my ilium over the years, but before i knew this I believed it was my "anxiousness". I had happiness with friends, playing in the woods, building the best lego spaceships I could imagine and was rarely without friends until moving. As Im writing this now, I think tbf, even now Im not truly sure if I am incredibly nervous or in control but still instinctively assuming my crohns is nerves.
Umm i think im gonna need to think about this.
Will be interested If this makes any sense to anyone.

I had a lovely childhood, so I was happy, but I was also quite scared and gullible, but nothing out of the ordinary reeally.

I had a couple of specific fears (dark, slugs/snails, vomit) but they didn't affect my life as a whole, so I put 'no'. For the most part I was a dare devil tomboy sort of child, always up a tree!

When I was a kid, before Crohn's diagnosis, I was terrified of getting sick or catching someone's sickness. I remember obsessively washing my hands all the time at school and I would go the nurse all the time. I think back now and I probably didn't feel good because I had Crohn's and didn't know it. Hm... I think anxiety, stress and depression has a major major impact on crohns. Not sure how but I'm positive it is factored in somehow. I too was scared of storms and tornadoes (still am). I'm pretty much an anxious cat sometimes.=)

I was a fun loving kid. I had 2 older sisters and 2 older brothers. My oldest brother never had any fun cause he was always looking for mom and dad, my next older brother looked half the time and I never looked. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead. I got so many butt whoopings. My mom use to give me a spanking first thing in the morning just to be ahead for a little bit.
I have always been a prankster. I'll never change. I once jumped into a flooded river because I saw a bobber floating down stream. Boy did I do some dumb things.

I used to worry bout something happening to my mum and dad and when my little brother was young he had asthma - my mum says i used to watch him sleep just in case he stopped breathing. When i think about it wasn't fearful for myself , scared for my family and being alone. Plus the usual things : spiders,the dark, height and weirdly enough clowns and sheep lol

I was always a worrier even as a child, very deep thinker. Had psoriasis too probably as a result of stress - worrying about things I didnt need too and not worrying about things I ought too.

I had a lot of worries and fears as a child. My parents were attentive and loving, but I seemed to be the only child who developed strange and deep fears, out of my siblings.

speaking up in class- I was very shy for a long time

doctors- I used to get strep throat a lot as a child. That was back in the 70's and early 80's when they used to give penicillin shots. Those hurt so bad! I don't think it would have been bad, but I used to get strep about three times a year.

shots- I hated needles

rats- I don't know where that one came from, but I was and still am very scared of them.

dentists- When I was 6, I heard the little girl in the next chair screaming her head off. I felt sorry for her and then became so terrified, that I couldn't move. I clung onto the arm rests. I didn't fuss or resist, I just froze. When I was 18, I had my wisdom teeth removed by an Army dentist. I still remember that unpleasant experience.

vomiting- I think it started after I caught a really bad stomach flu when I was 6. I thought I would never quit puking.

guns- My father, brother, and husband are all typical of the men in Alaska. They love to collect, shoot, and carry heat. Randy, my brother, was playing around with a 22 in our home when he was in high school. He was aiming it at the back door and he didn't know there was a bullet inside. The back door was connected to the family room. I was sitting in the family watching t.v. with my sisters and parents. We were all startled, and my parents were very angry with him. He put a hole through the screen door. I've been freaked out by guns ever since.

I am happy to say that I have long since overcome my fears of doctors, shots, and needles. I had to. No procedure really scares me much anymore.


Interesting topic!

I was a fearful child. I've had fears of vomiting, dying, family dying, hospital, needles, dentist, doctors, operations, bugs/insects, dogs, people. The list goes on.

Being ill so much meant I kind of had to get over my fear of needles, hospitals, vomiting, doctors etc.

I was a fearful child, I had to go to school with a tube up my nose and had to have my teachers keep an eye on me and help me with my meds that I had to take, because of this I was bullied quite a lot, so I didn't really enjoy my childhood.

Scared of getting beat up at school. Scared of getting in trouble at home. Over protective mom who is also a Physician which makes it ten times worse. Also parents from old country with guts of steel who didn't understand proper food handling and storage times .

I grew up in the 80's and remember hearing about the Nuclear Arms race on TV all the time. I was most certain the end of the world was near. My dad died when I was 4 so I also worried that something would happen and we would end up homeless or leaving out of our car. I look back now and wonder if this was a contributing factor.

Thanks for this thread. Learning to manage stress and worry has helped me to keep my crohns in remission. A book that has helped is Dale Carnegie's "How To Stop Worrying and Start Living". It's old book but the principles are timeless.

I was a total tomboy, playful and happy, no fear at all.
that did change with puberty though.

Astra said:

No, I was blessed with the most happiest of childhoods.
I was a tomboy, happy and fearless, a daredevil, the joker in the pack, or the thick one more like!
In fact, nowt's changed!

Click to expand...

That's me to a "T" too, Joan. The tomboy, the class clown, etc. I smiled so much that if classmates saw me without one for 30 seconds, they would ask "what's wrong, Cheryl?". But inside, I had many fears, illogical as some could be. Fear of trains, thunderstomrs, etc.I finally by my 40's told my mom that for years I had a fear my stepdad would just drive me out in the country and leave me. Now he was a great stepdad, nothing he did to make me fear that. Maybe something I saw on the news, but it stuck with me, and he loved going for long car rides, etc.

The only thing I was fearful of was spiders (still am).

Also for a time I used to get scared of mum dying as she had crohns & at that time treatments were more hit & miss than they are now. I remember going to see her in hospital when she had a resection & had lost about 3 stones in weight. When I got there there was a hospital priest & a nun at the side of her bed praying for her whilst she was asleep. I thought she had died & it took a long time for that worry to go.

I grew up in a physically abusive household so yes there was constant fear of that and other stuff like the dark, spiders and for some reason had the fear of being raped or molested at an early age. I don't recall anything like that happening though.

I became fearful in elementary school. Always felt the world was falling out from under me, may have someting to so with moving 13 times in growing up. Many times not knowing until I came home from school and the moving van was there! Learned to love the school library- all schools have the same authors= friends!! I guess I am a "very" cautious person, some would same its the same as fear.....

I wasn't fearful, but I was a really anxious child. I worried way more about things than a kid should...I'm still bit of a worry wart

Me too, Niki. Am a worrier to the core.

Which is not a good thing for us. Considering stress is a major trigger for Autoimmune disorders. For me it is anyway..

It is me too. Usually within a month of a very stressful time I go thru, I will flare. I can count on it.

I'm a big worry wart too.....even when I was a child.

Same here!.. I keep saying I'm going to start doing yoga or something to help with my stressful nature. But I haven't yet. Do you do anything like that?

One Fearful Child

David,

Interesting question... Yes I was a fearful child, although I don't have a clue as to why. I was afraid of the dark, of what people thought of me, of getting old, afraid of dying, and afraid of school and a lot more fears. Strange, but over the years, I did get through all these fears and I was ok and I've been ok. I'm even old now 61, and even that is not that bad! What I never realized when I was young, is most fears we have are really unfounded. They are contrived bad thoughts that we make up in our mind, that really stiffle our growth and what we are capable of accomplishing.

The real issue I grapple with now, is stress, which is another word for... fear of the unknown. Many people even link high amounts of stress to Crohns flare-ups, and some believe it can cause Crohn's symptoms to thrive.
I'd be interested to know how how people deal with the stress characteristic?
I know that there are drugs used for stress issues that you can take, but drugs can be kind of dangerous, witness their effects on Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and recently Whitney Houston. So what is the alternative to controlling stress?

I can definately link high stress times/periods to Crohn's flares for me. Maybe I should have tried something to manage my stress, but I have never asked to be prescribed anything.

I was deathly afraid of the dark because I was tormented by my 2 older brothers. I was also claustrophobic because of them. Lots of baggage there. I was scared to try new things. I skipped a few grades in grade school, and was younger than everybody, and was bullied terribly, so I was afraid to speak up in class or make myself noticeable in any way. I learned to walk on eggshells with an alcoholic father, and abusive mother.

I finally got over just about everything when my abusive marriage ended and I sought counseling. Now I have found how liberating it is to not worry about what other people think about what I wear, say or do. I try not to be an ass to anyone, golden rule and all that. I am not fearful of much any longer except worsening health issues. I am very comfortable in my own skin.

YES I was a fearful child, mum said I had bowel issues from birth and was very clingy, I would only go to my dad and his mum when my mum wasn't around which wasn't very often. I hated being out of my mums sight and as I got older I hated school, they would lock doors to keep me from running away, teacher was a nasty piece of work also and I cried everyday for the first 4 years of school. I was afraid of the dark and like so many here was afraid of things happening to my family not so much myself. (Think it came from my grandad dying when I was 6, seeing my mum break her heart and not knowing why) Then fast forward to age 11 and I became ill and DX with CD and I seem to accept life and death and became more confident, making friends and finally enjoying school. But that sadly wasn't to last as soon as I had children the fear has returned and my hubby says I could worry for Ireland.
Definitely think stress and IBD go hand in hand but don't think I'll ever figure out wether it was stress that caused crohns or bowel issues from the beginning causing stress.

I wish you all a healthy, stress free day

My Stress Fighting Routine

I try to do whatever I fear the most first, and get it out of the way. Then, I don't have to worry about it anymore. I also try to stay physically active and stay on a rigorous exercise campaign, at least 3 gym visits per week to stave off my stress. Also, reading the Bible, communicating with loved ones and trusted confidantes is helpful too, to reduce stress. In the long run, the more relaxed I am, the bettor controlled my Crohn's condition is. I know there are lots of other ways of coping with stress. This routine seems to work for me.

I wasn't a fearful child, I don't think I paid much mind to 'fear' as a small child.. I wasn't afraid of the dark, storms, falling over, etc... I was a tough kid.

But my mum was ill for a lot of my childhood. I was scared of that. Until I was 6 if I woke up in the night and called for "Mummy and Daddy" I'd get scared if they didn't come and start crying because I thought they'd gone. They always did come eventually.

I still am a child, well teen, but I WAS terrified of needles. I would struggle and cry, with this disease I have gotten used to them, I still dislike them but i don't think anyone really likes them. I'm still petrified of bees and wasps though

I was - okay, am - quite a fearful child! I used to be terrified of getting ill, being abducted, someone I love getting hurt and so on. I used to worry about things like the bills as well, even though it sure wasn't my job :tongue:
I used to be deathly afraid of needles, but I'm glad that's gone now. I also have quite bad social anxiety.

My fears and anxieties always got worse when I was flaring. Now that my pred has done its job (well, I'm hoping!) I hardly think about things like that any more.

I am always a worrier I worry about everything. Wished I didn't but can't change. Didn't really enjoy school as a child I always got bullied so it made it an unpleasant experience xx

I wasn't afraid at all. I was constantly scaring my father and brothers out of their wits because I had to do everything my brothers did even though I was the youngest and small and weak for my age.

One time my dad took my brothers tubing down a river and told me I wasn't strong enough to go on that river. I got away from my uncle and took a tube down the river after them and almost drowned.

A little fear might have done me some good!

Jim Gonsler said:

David,

Interesting question... Yes I was a fearful child, although I don't have a clue as to why. I was afraid of the dark, of what people thought of me, of getting old, afraid of dying, and afraid of school and a lot more fears. Strange, but over the years, I did get through all these fears and I was ok and I've been ok. I'm even old now 61, and even that is not that bad! What I never realized when I was young, is most fears we have are really unfounded. They are contrived bad thoughts that we make up in our mind, that really stiffle our growth and what we are capable of accomplishing.

The real issue I grapple with now, is stress, which is another word for... fear of the unknown. Many people even link high amounts of stress to Crohns flare-ups, and some believe it can cause Crohn's symptoms to thrive.
I'd be interested to know how how people deal with the stress characteristic?
I know that there are drugs used for stress issues that you can take, but drugs can be kind of dangerous, witness their effects on Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and recently Whitney Houston. So what is the alternative to controlling stress?

Click to expand...

I have a high stress job so my doctor told me to take up meditation, yoga or something else to manage it. She said she doesn't prescribe things for that (not that I would do that anyway since it is something I can control in other ways). You could also use a form of exercise, martial arts or even walking for stress relief. People do all sorts of things. For me, walking, meditation and being with my pets works, but in all honesty, I am probably going to change jobs to lower my stress at work.

I wish I had some type of fear as a child...as a result of not having any fear, I ended up with quite the number of injuries! My mother remembers me having little fear even as a toddler, and giving her quite a few scares. I have always seen myself as adventurous, and loved "scary" things. I find it humorous, because I have developed severe anxiety for my brain injury (social anxiety). Without medication, I am the polar opposite of my younger self. I hated to go on medication, but for the fact that my anxiety completely hindered my life, it was the right, and best choice. I can finally enjoy myself again.

Sorry to hear that Nikimazur:-( xx