Phobia of inertia
The name is mildly misleading I just don't know what else to call it. Inertia is when any object will stay at rest if at rest but will be in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
Im scared of objects being in constant motion. Some examples are like cars, I get scared that the car will keep on driving and won't be able to be stopped and drive around the earth. It's not a fear of an accident but a fear of being in a situation where I'm forced to be a victim of it moving forever. It comes and goes though, I only notice it in cars sometimes.
Another example is fans, I'm scared that it won't turn off, fall down, and keep spinning and drilling, worse if its on top of me. Again obviously the dying aspect is scary but it feels scariest because its going to keep spinning and drilling forever. This also includes other people, where someone is repeating the same thing, or engaging in a perpetual and patterned activity, it scares and unnerves me. Spotify used to also scare me slightly because it could just play songs forever until I discovered the sleep timer feature.
I'm completely aware of how unnatural and insane it sounds and that none of what I'm scared of is real. I also don't think my name for it is accurate, has anyone else experienced this? Is it a real phobia? I've considered maybe it's a phobia of eternity/infinity but I'm fine with those things conceptually it's specifically an issue when an object and me are involved.
Posted Jun 11, 2026, 10:29 PM UTC