(literal) fear of capital letters

Post Reply New Topic

This is mostly a frivolous topic, so I'm not putting it in the secondary conditions forum. It is not about being offended by inexperienced or overemotional web users writing in all caps, although that is a real eyesore...

I've been afraid of text in all capital letters since early childhood. My earliest memory of this was being terrified by a page in a picture book about a bird losing his mother. The little bird wandered until finding a huge, scary bulldozer (emitting rather frightening clouds of black smoke) and walking onto the top somehow, thinking it was his (her? its?) mother. Once there, the bulldozer started moving (I think? It's been a while) and the bird cried "NOOOOO! You're not my mother!" in big red capital letters. It scared the crap out of me, especially when I saw that page or the front cover at night.

So, nowadays it's no big deal, but at night I will often turn over books and papers lying on the floor to hide their titles since they're usually in bold or capital letters. Can anyone here relate to this at all? I feel so lonely with this eccentric, completely inconsequential fear.

I don't have that fear, but it doesn't seem too far out. A lot of fears are from childhood things, and they might not be completely normal, there is a real reason that you fear them. Like my little sister is sincerely afraid of pot handles being left out (like facing the way where people walk (when cooking), even though you would have to try and knock it over. We had a little fire in or oven when she was small, and now she is super ocd about the handles facing out.) Me, I am afraid of the ocean because I got caught in a riptide and almost drowned. nbd. Like I can handle any body of water...except for the ocean). And I know it is irrational, because there is a way to get out of them, and I won't get caught in one if I am in a boat, but I am still afraid of cruises or swimming in the ocean. So, it is understandable, but I think you should try to get over it because it will help you grow. Like I know seeing a whole page would freak you out (I mean it is a screaming person, why wouldn't you be), but try some words. Think of it this way, it can be an emphasis on a word, and not a yell. When I was writing this, I wanted to capitalize some words like: sincerely, super, ocd, nbd. I am not yelling this, but it is a fluctuation in my voice, just as if I am telling it in person. So, I hope you can get over it because it is really (oh my gosh, I really just want to capitalize really right there) hard to type without capitalization (even though some may consider it juvenile, I find it a way to make words more meaningful in text).

P.S. Almost everyone has some childhood fear, irrational or not. Some are afraid to admit it, so good job. I hope you can fix it. As for me, Idk, maybe I will get over it, or maybe I will be swept out to sea (jk). Anyways, I am not going to live anywhere near an ocean, so it is nbd. But you will encounter it on the internet. (victory I can underline things , and I doubt that you want to stop being on the internet.)

Wow, I completely forgot about that book. My Mom used to read it to me when I was little. Good times.

You're not alone with these kinds of fears. When I was younger I used to be afraid of cymbals (like on a drumset), certain logo cards (like for THX, DiC, Viacom's "Flying V"), and the humongous speakers the IMAX theaters use and proudly show before the film starts. I kind of have something going on right now with human skulls but it's not as intense as the last three fears. I have always been afraid of the Emergency Alert System, especially when it activates unexpectedly and the show/song ends up being "BUZZZRZRSZRS".

I think it's just a phase. I tend to try facing them to try and desensitise the fear.

Good luck and kudos for facing your fears and typing with capital letters.

I read that book

oh by the way
ITS OVER NINE THOUSAND!!

ahhahahaha sorry you walked right into that one

heh... Thanks for the support guys. So no one has the same thing, even having read the same book? Aww. I guess I was conditioned into it somehow.

THE BEST THING FOR YOU TO DO IS FACE YOUR FEARS HEAD ON!! !

I don't think those are irrational fears as much as they are "Holy crap that was so loud, it scared the crap out of me!" Though literally, it's more "startled" than it is "scared".

I don't know about the DiC logo though, I don't remember that one being very loud...but the THX one I could definitely do without I didn't think the Viacom one was very loud, but I can see how others might think so (especially depending on the TV volume).

I have had similar, but not the same issues, and used to think I was alone in having them too, though I'm sure there must be a cause other than Asperger's surely. I had (well still do to some extent) a genuine phobia of seeing certain characters, or words in text within certain contexts, particularly when I didn't expect it and it was sprung on me.