Is there even such a thing as irrational fear? It sounds to me like people gladly covering their lack of knowledge with ignorance where otherwise an answer could be found. Exempli gratia: Makes perfect sense: you think highly of yourself and believe that everyone may have a reason to hate you, even though in reality most people don't care. Do you crave attention, by any chance? That would explain why you'd reach out into others' minds and try to turn them against you: at least in that case they notice you. So is with other things. I'm afraid of insects in general, partly because I don't like being touched by things I didn't authorise it for and partly because, perhaps, subconsciously I believe that they may spread disease or carry poison, which both might be lethal for my brain (which, like the rest of humanity, is still at the cave people stage).I have high self-esteem, but occasionally get myself all up in a knot thinking that everyone hates me.
I disagree with the idea that irrational fears are simply ignorance. It's not as if someone simply says, "Oh, I am scared of heights. Oh well." People have a tendency to self-explore and evaluate who they are as a person, so most would know of what the fear is rooted in. That said, even when they figure out what it is rooted in, their response is still unreasonable to the situation and difficult to alter. That's where a fear becomes irrational.
I was coming from the idea that the fear itself - be it of heights, mannequins or tomatoes - was irrational, which doesn't seem to hold water, as you seem to agree. If I were to take up your definition of an irrational fear - that it's the inadequate response to those objects that matters... It makes sense. Thanks for peeling some of my own ignorance off me.