Everyone’s afraid. The monster under the bed that we feared as children often lurks in the recesses of our minds as adults, serving as an ever-present reminder that we are not invincible. The arrogance of youth is kept in check only by various symbols of our mortality, simultaneously driving us onward and holding us back. In that sense, fear is both a blessing and a curse.

I conducted an anonymous survey via a popular online forum to find out what people fear the most. Death topped the list, with potentially life-ending scenarios such as lack of control, accidents, and insects tying into that theme. Fear of failure, fear of success, rejection, feeling trapped, lack of love, loss of love, and loneliness were also high on the list, affirming that beneath the façade of material worth, most of us just want to feel valued as human beings and make the most of our time here while we’re still alive.

What are you most afraid of?

Death. I can’t run my ponzi scheme from the grave. Nor are my profits useful there. – P.C.

Dying. Not being happy. The dark. – F.R.

Death by molten asphalt. – E.J.

Death by suffocation. – W.B.

Violent death, where I suffer for days before dying. – D.E.

Drowning under ice, being able to see the surface but not get to it. That freaks me the hell out. – C.H.

Drowning or going blind. – F.B.

Dying in a fire or drowning. Okay, dying painfully while lucid. – J.K.

Dying alone. – M.W.

Dying hated and alone. – S.M.

That when I get in my car at night, someone will be hiding in the back and I will see him in my rear view mirror before I die…which has become a real fear since I just caught sight of some guy creeping around my house at night. – A.K.

Tragically losing the person I love. – L.V.

My significant other dying (this should fade as we age, but for now it’s terrifying). – O.E.

My wife being killed. Especially in something like a car accident because the chances are high. Ever see The Princess Bride? Where Wesley says, ‘This is true love. You think this happens every day?’ Yeah – that’s what we have. There is no coming back from that. If she is gone, my life is over. The one last purpose I would have to fulfill would be to kill her abusive stepfather, who deserves to die, before killing myself. – U.W.

Something happening to my kids. – K.B.

My parents dying. We (the kids) turned out well enough, but we don’t have the employment opportunities that they did. – G.S.

After seeing how amazing my parents were when taking care of my dying grandparents, I’m very scared of being in the same position. I’m scared of them dying of course, but I’m more worried about whether or not I’ll be able to step-up and be there for them. – O.A.

Alzheimers. – D.B.

Relapse. – B.C.

To lose control of myself, either mentally or physically. – F.E.

Going insane. Though I might already be, so losing control would be more fitting. – J.C.

Losing control of my reality, either through a mental disconnect, or through a series of happenings beyond my control (such as a wreck, lawsuit, or wrongful encounter with the police or hooligans). Thus, psychedelic drugs are excellent because I can lose control of my reality in a controlled manner. It is practice! – C.M.

Getting sick or hurt, without having health insurance. – I.D.

I am afraid of AIDS. – P.Y.

I am mycophobic. I am afraid of mushrooms and many forms of fungi. I have dreams where I am barefoot in a field and mushrooms are growing all around me rapidly, and I cannot escape. Recently these dreams have evolved to include people physically throwing mushrooms at my face (which has happened in real life). – S.O.

Large numbers on walls in repetitive patterns. – A.U.

Heights and tight spaces. The usual. – M.B.

Submarines, and even worse: submarines with a spider crew. Also, being put under for an operation and not waking up. – C.S.

Head-on collision. When I’m driving down the highway with no divider, I’m always thinking one small jerk of the wheel and it’s all over. – B.D.

Someone running a red light and crashing into me. Strangely I don’t have this fear when I’m a passenger. – S.J.

Having an itch near my eye while riding in a car really bugs me. I’m afraid that when I go to scratch/rub my eye, the car will hit a bump or a pot-hole and I’ll jam my finger in my eye. – T.H.

Flying – just not being in control of what’s going on with my transportation is scary. – A.J.

I have a weird phobia of falling into the sky. I get really freaked out if I’m outside and happen to stare up into the sky, especially if I don’t have enough trees, buildings, or other environmental clutter blocking a portion of the sky! – L.S.

The laws of thermodynamics. – A.B.

Revolving door accidents. Especially betwixt two lovers holding hands. – I.I.

Horses, revolving doors, and enclosed spaces. (Descending in degree of terror.) – P.T.

Someone crushing my head using a wood-work vice. – T.S.

Falling and breaking up my grill on concrete/getting curbed. – B.V.

Sharp objects near my eye. – J.B.

Needles anywhere below the elbow, especially on the inside of my forearm or the back of my hand. I can cope with them anywhere else; I had a rabies jab on the middle knuckle of my index finger, and hearing the crunch as it went in was traumatizing. – C.P.

Getting a fishing hook under the nail…ugh. – O.N.

Having my finger break through the toilet paper while I wipe my ass. – A.J.

Speaking in public forums. Oh god, is this a public forum? – D.F.

I am plagued by fear upon fear. I’m afraid of driving, I try to avoid social situations, I’m terrified of screwing up in school or at work, but for some reason, I absolutely love public speaking. – A.P.

I have been attacked by wolves, a bear, and a jaguar. I have lost a finger. I took a mortar firework to the eye. My entire left hand is covered in third degree burns. I have been stabbed in the back. What am I most afraid of? Pretty much nothing at this point. – C.C.

Being alone. – L.Z.

That no one actually likes me. – J.A.

The next 60 years of my life being as bad or worse than the last 20. – H.S.

Being asked a question I am obliged to know the answer to when I don’t. – L.J.

Success. And failure. – F.R.

Failure. It used to really restrict me. I was scared of failing and being viewed as a failure in just about every imaginable way. I’ve only recently started to get over it. – H.R.

I’m most afraid of dying before being able to really accomplish anything. Also homelessness. – I.L.

That I will never reach my potential. Or worse, I have and this is all it is. – D.J.

That even though I try my hardest to do my best, I am actually an incompetent fool and don’t know it. – K.I.

People finding out that I’m not actually smart or that I don’t know what I’m doing. – M.D.

I am afraid of the possibility that I will not make a difference due to fear, laziness, a lack of focus, or other reasons. I fear I will not make the world a better place, and that I will watch it all go to hell. I fear that all the potential within me will never truly be unleashed, out of fear that it’s not enough to change the world. I fear I will be alone due to this self-imposed burden of changing everything. I guess I’m afraid of myself and what I can and cannot achieve, and by being afraid of my potential, I fear I will achieve nothing. – L.B.

Let me sum it up with two quotes:

“Life passes most people by while they’re making grand plans for it.” – Blow

“A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire.” – Lord of the Rings – F.C.

Disappointing loved ones. – O.M.

Fucking up as a parent. – M.I.

I used to actually be paralyzed by the fear that I might be wasting my life, but then I saw a classic episode of Seinfeld, in which this exchange occurred:

ELAINE: You know, funerals always make me think about my own mortality and how I’m actually going to die someday. Me, dead. Imagine that.

GEORGE: They always make me take stock of my life and how I’ve pretty much wasted all of it, and how I plan to continue wasting it.

JERRY: I know, and then you say to yourself, “From this moment on, I’m not going to waste any more of it.” But then you go, “How? What can I do that’s not wasting it?”

ELAINE: Is this a waste of time? What should we be doing? Can’t you have coffee with people?

It honestly makes me feel much better. – L.A.

Fear itself. – A.L.

If there’s one thing I’m afraid of, it’s losing. If there are two things I’m afraid of, it’s losing and getting cancer. – B.U.

“I was living with a girl for a while. We worried about different things. One day, I was like, ‘What do you fear the most?’ And she was like, ‘I fear you’ll meet someone else, and you’ll leave me, and I’ll be all alone.’ And she was like, ‘What do you fear the most?’ And I was like, ‘Bears.’” – Y.W.

Living for the weekend and working for a pension. – T.T.

Having a job that I can’t afford to quit if I get fed up with it. – L.W.

Getting into debt. – S.D.

Being poor. – A.A.

Being financially dependent on anyone. – A.T.

Getting deported. – P.R.

Being incarcerated for a crime I did not commit. – R.S.

Government. – D.R.

Republicans. – L.A

Evangelicals obtaining more political power. – P.S.

Scientologists getting more power. – N.B.

America jumping the shark. – R.B.

There are only two things that scare me and one is nuclear war. – D.B.

I’m afraid that humanity will finally create a utopia with equality for all (with myself sparking some of the ideas that led to this glorious day), and then before my eyes, a massive asteroid collides with the earth and destroys us just as we figure it all out. – S.O.

That one day, we will forget we are all on this planet together. – S.P.

Other people. – M.P.

Girls. – G.L.

Getting a girl preggers. – I.M.

Getting preggers. – C.B.

Marriage. – W.A.

Marrying the wrong person. – D.B.

Being trapped in a sexless marriage with too much invested to easily escape. – F.T.

Sleeping alone for the rest of my life. – R.W.

Getting my heart broken again. – R.M.

The day I wake up and realize I’m too old for my junk to work right. – H.F.

Prostitutes. – L.G.

Carneys. – K.S.

Batman. – Y.S.

Barney Frank in women’s underwear (not that there’s anything wrong with that). – R.H.

Another popular song by Lady Gaga. They just don’t make sense. – O.S.

Zombies. I’m not kidding. I have nightmares that I wake up to screaming people outside encountering the apocalypse and then realize that it’s just the kids down the block playing on the sidewalk. – M.C.

Aliens and being abducted, because I know that it’s a very real possibility. – I.M.

Flying insects. The ones crawling under my skin I can deal with. It’s the ones buzzing around my head that I can’t. – B.M.

Butterflies and moths. More-so moths, especially large ones. – R.B.

Butterflies, because they look like creatures from the 7th ring of hell…with pretty wings. – S.F.

Cockroaches. Living in college apartments is tough for me. – A.M.

I have a fear of worms because they are gross and terrifying. – M.R.

Crawly bugs. – B.D.

Ants. – W.T.

Centipedes. – C.R.

Wasps. I only got stung once. Even before I was stung I was really scared of them. – T.S.

Spiders that turn into clowns. Or the other way around, it doesn’t really matter to me. It’s terrifying either way. – G.R.

Sea-going mammals. – D.S.

If dolphins ever make it out of the water, we are probably fucked. – A.F.

Bears. – M.N.

Bunnies. – R.F.

That in the afterlife, we’re all sheep. – G.J.

An afterlife. I’d rather there just be…nothing. Jim Jeffries had a hilarious take on it: “The Bible calls Heaven “Eternal Bliss”. I don’t care how blissful it is, it’s eternal, you’ll get used to it, then you’ll be fuckin’ bored.” – D.B.

Life. – A.A.

What are you most afraid of? Leave your answer as a comment, anonymous or identified.

Author: Britt Warner

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