Fear is a natural part of life, and as unpleasant as it is, the emotion helps us recognize danger, and prepare ourselves for the worst.
Fear is a natural part of life, and as unpleasant as it is, the emotion helps us recognize danger, and prepare ourselves for the worst.
But while some people fear concrete things like heights and spiders, others fret about losing loved ones, failing expectations, and their own mortality.
Here are 20 people sharing the one thing that terrifies them the most.
1
Mob mentality, groups of people can be scary when they are angry and turn their brains off.
2
Getting stuck in a tight spot like a cave or vent and dying of dehydration or starvation. I could not imagine the regret I’d feel while stuck in that position, especially with no one to speak to. Also catacombs, similar reason but being lost instead of stuck.
3
Being buried alive. Even the idea scares the ever-living heck out of me. I can't stand having my face covered, and any depiction in movies or TV shows makes me uncomfortable.
4
Locked-in syndrome. The idea that you can be lying there listening to doctors tell your loved ones that you’re brain dead, fully conscious and struggling to tell them that you’re still in there, completely aware.
5
Time… time terrifies me. There’s no stopping time, there’s nothing you can do, we are all just hourglasses and the sand is slowly draining until there’s none left.
6
“Let’s go around the room and share a fun fact about ourselves.”
7
My dad had early onset Alzheimer’s and it terrifies me! He was a smart man but couldn’t understand what was happening. The day he was diagnosed and told it was Alz he turned to me and said “why won’t anyone tell me what’s wrong,” so I held his hand and with the professor told him again, and he just shook his head and said again “no one will tell me.” A truly horrifying disease.
8
I genuinely fear that everyone hates me, and that I am not really a person people want to be around.
9
Medical negligence. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, they're all just human at the end of the day. Human error is inevitable. It terrifies me to think how many lives have been lost due to honest mistakes made by healthcare professionals. And I say this with so much respect for healthcare workers. It's just terrifying to think about.
10
Not being able to retire before I’m too old to enjoy it.
11
My mother passing away. It genuinely feels like it’ll be completely dark after that, like it’s the end.
12
Genuinely, the ocean. Deep lakes make me feel uneasy and even more so if I can't see the bottom at all.
13
My own mortality. What will be my last thoughts? Will I have some spiritual epiphany? Intense anxiety? Fear?
14
Heights. Can't even stand on a ladder without hyperventilating.
15
The split second of realization just before you incur a significant injury during any physical activity. It's horrible. It unfolds and there's nothing you can do to stop it. In a moment it goes from "Things are going great!" to "Oh god I know what is about to happen," to complete resignation to fate.
16
The thought of living a long life. I'm disabled, have terrible chronic pain, and I'm only going to get worse the older I get. I don't want to live to be 100 and suffer all that time. I just want to be around with my spouse until things get too hard and then peacefully pass on my terms.
17
Tsunamis. Thankfully I've never experienced one, but I grew up next to the ocean and was told to run to high ground if I ever saw the tide go out really fast.
18
The dark. Not being able to see anything in a place that would be "familiar" to you if it wasn't dark. That's probably one of the most scary things I can think of.
19
I’m currently living it. I’m watching my spouse decline with age. He will pass before I will, in the meantime I’ll be making him as comfortable as he can be. As I’m typing this, I am waiting for him to finish scans in the ER to determine if he has a bone infection, possible blood clot and if his foot will need to be amputated.
20
Sleep paralysis. I had auditory sleep paralysis once and remember just staring at my ceiling unable to move, feeling extremely creeped out and vulnerable.
