Top 10 Worst Fears of All Time

Suggested by SMS

Our worst fears are the bane of the human condition. True, fear and adrenaline can excite us and that is why we ride rollercoaster’s, watch scary movies and seek out adventure, (as much as we can anyway.) But our worst fears are different. They are unwanted, unsought, and have a tendency to always show up at the wrong time and place to interfere with our daily lives. These are not phobias because while they might be slightly irrational, they are not irrational fear. Still like a phobia a worst fear can seriously inhibit your life, take the fun out of cake, make you hate parks in the summer, and avoid cheese altogether.

But sometimes recognizing the problem is half the battle, so maybe it might help to get it all out in the open. Here is a list of the top 10 worst fears in the world.

10. Putting on weight

It’s not just for women anymore, and probably never was. True there is more pressure on women to keep themselves in shape, to look like the women in the magazines and on the big screen. But with a world becoming increasingly obsessed with cholesterol, national weight medians, celebrity fit programs, and reality TV exercise shows not to mention a cult of self image fed by a growing stream of media outlets the fear of getting fatter is growing. What’s more it brings on the kind of paranoid suspicion comedians have enjoyed playing on for years. Such torment makes it one of the worst fears in the world. So…does this font make me look fat?

9. Being alone

Being alone has to be one of the worst fears in the world, because it’s universal. No one likes to feel alone, even if we do enjoy our personnel space. The idea of being alone has been used as an essential worst fear by every genre of writing from romance to horror movies. But what’s more being alone has come to be linked to the idea of marriage and dating, perhaps it always was, but this link has come to be a driving force behind the need to date often and succeed as often as possible, (or at least that’s what the movies tell me), and that can lead to early commitments and, let’s face it, a rise in affairs when people find partners they might be better suited for. Maybe the rise in the divorce rate isn’t because of how easily you can get one, but actual because of how easy it is to get married. If nothing else the feeling of being alone has to be one of the worst fears in the world simply because of the devastating effects actually feeing alone can create. It is a highly common reason for suicide, and one of the worst experiences many people have ever had.

8. Getting caught

Whether it’s short changing a customer, taking a sneak peek at your spouses Christmas gift, or lying on a job interview, we all have some reason to fear getting caught. Of course if you’re hobbies including robbing banks, stealing doe and generally breaking the law then you have a lot more reason to justify the fear. But most of us are familiar with the tingling sensation of fear mixed with anticipating as our heartbeat drowns out the world when we think we are about to get caught. The fact it is so common and happens to most us on a weekly basis, and the disproportionate nature between the levels of anxiety we reach because someone as small as taking an extra five minutes for break, makes it one of the worst fears in the world.

7. Mold

Close to being a phobia, the fear of mold is another worst fear in the world. Some people can’t go near cheese because of it, others just stay away from the blue cheese stuff, and no matter how many times we are told that mold does a lot of things we like, (making alcohol anyone?), it is sometimes hard not to worry about the idea of ingesting tiny little organisms. Plus with the growing threat of ‘house mold’ many wonder about it living in their walls. It’s hard to judge when you think about it, everyone’s smelt the results of a festering bowl of cereal in their kitchen, (even if you were a student at the time and it wasn’t even yours), and had an emotional response, (like throwing it out the window.) Besides tiny organisms that grow and make things fester getting into your body is a scary thought, what if they got into your blood or something, right?

6. Speaking to the opposite sex

Some people never have this do they, and don’t lie, because the rest of us have to watch as you all get along so well form the moment your hormones start to kick in. Anyway, speaking to the opposite sex is a scary thing for many people, and often doesn’t get easier as time goes o and hormones level out. Simply but if you don’t suck it up and learn to talk to girls when you’re still not sure they don’t have cooties, it might make your working life a hell when you get older. Even then a lot of people still feel that nervous tick coming back the first time they meet a new member of the opposite sex.

5. Rejection

This of course runs on from the last item on the list of worst fears in the world, after all a lot of people are afraid to talk to the opposite sex because of rejection. But rejection is so prevalent in our growing world that it’s not right to limit it to a sub category. From an early age we are all pressured to do well, succeed and pass tests. Many kids feel like their whole lives rest on next week’s math finals, or last week’s English homework. The fact is hardly any of it does; really, it’s how you grow that matters. But before we figure any of that out we have to apply to jobs, collage, more jobs, loans, the military, a mortgage (maybe), more jobs and any number of other things we have dreamed about all our pressure cooking lives. The fear of rejection is everywhere and seems to mean more and more. The fear of rejection has to be one of the worst fears in the world, especially when so much we think is so important is open to the prospect of kicking us to the curb.

4. Bees

Bee’s, moths, mosquitoes and all little creatures of the devils winged division of his empire, right? They seem to come after you whenever you’re enjoying yourself and whenever you least expect it, or so it seems. From an early age many of us are told to stay still and it won’t hurt you, (unless it’s a mosquito of course, they’re just evil), and they do. But a lot of people, perhaps people a little more paranoid then most, understand that parents and teachers are merely in league with the devils angles attacking us, and find that running around and hiding under peoples arms, tree branches and generally getting the heck out of their is a much better option. Far better to look silly, (or jump of a boat), then let the dastardly bee kill you, (it does hurt to be fair), where you stand. Bee’s, don’t trust ‘em, never will!

3. Speaking in Public

This is a big one, someone people can get cold sweats when they find themselves in the position of even having to give a birthday thank you message, some people find themselves paralyzed by the fear of having to stand up and speak in front of people. While it does come easy to other people, it is one of those things that cannot be practiced or, in the end, avoided. At some point in life most of us will have to address a crowd, even if it is only a handful of half friend’s, and it’s not something that can be prepared for. Of course you can have what you want to say and run scenarios in case something happens, you can do that, but the sensation of adrenaline and the nerves about having to think on your feet and opening yourself up to people, alone, is something that can only be experienced, not simulated. Like almost everything else speaking in front of people gets better with practice, but the only way to really practice it is to actually do it. And while it does get easier, everyone from teachers to Presidents admit that you can never truly be ride of the anxiety and fear of speaking in public.

2. Death

Some people say there are not afraid of death, and they’re probably telling the truth, (I wouldn’t tell most of them f they were wrong anyway.) But it’s what about the fear of not being alive anymore? That probably gets to the root of the matter. If you read a number of biographies about writers, poets, politicians, (or anyone else for that matter), you will start to notice that there are a large number of them who die while they are working on something, still trying to finish the next project. There is always something more, we learn that quickly, and there is a lot of good stuff we always want there to be more of. The fear of death isn’t just the fear of feeling what it might be like, (although that itself can be terrifying,), it’s not all about the pain of the event or the strangeness of the scenario. It’s also about the fear of not being about to finish, which we never can, and the fear of not being able to continue, which we also never can. So it’s clearly a very depressing fear even before we factor in the fear of losing someone else, pets, parents, friends, or worse, and we know there is worse. Yes the fear of death has to be one of the worst fears n the world, stalking not only us but everyone we care about. What make s it worse is there’s no real way of making you feel better about it, you just have to hope you fit in enough life that those you leave behind can smile and remember for as long as they need to grieve. Because it’s not the one leaving, it’s the one who gets left who really know what being afraid of death is like.

1. Getting old

Getting older above death, that can’t be right, can it? Well, yes, it should be because while death can be a terrible thing, it doesn’t follow us like the fear of getting old does. Everybody reaches a point in their life (normally when their metabolism changes and they suddenly can’t eat whatever they like without gaining weight), when they have to face the prospect of not being the new kid in town anymore. The moment is an awkward one, because you don’t’ want to go around saying, ‘god I’m old,’ to early. That’s just bad form in front of an 80 year old. But from then on we are aware of the ageing process. Aches and pains slowly become more than simply problems, they are signs of our body giving out, and getting on the trade mill is no longer a hip thing to do but a necessity to keep your heart from giving out. By being aware of this problem so early we end up torturing ourselves over the possibility of ageing and the helpless sensation of withering away. What’s more, it’s not true, but worry and stress can actual make us age. So the fear of ageing might just be a self fulfilling prophecy. In the long run the reason the fear of aging is one of the worst fears in the world is that it can rob us of enjoying the process of maturing, learning and growing up to see everything life has to offer. In the end worrying about what you can’t fix just leaves you looking constantly surprised, (if you have enough money for face lifts and such), and far more likely to live an unfulfilled life.