Other scholars suggest that our fear of death is what underpins the majority of human action – we are so anxious to face its inevitability that we fill our lives completely as a means to ignore or evade it. Death is one of the only things we know is for certain, and yet the uncertainty of it is what truly terrifies us.
We are born with only two innate fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud sounds. A 1960 study evaluated depth perception among 6- to14-month-old infants, as well as young animals.
The top 10 fears found in the 2022 survey suggest that Americans' fears center on five main topics: corrupt government officials (number 1), harm to a loved one (numbers 2 & 4), war (numbers 3, 5, & 10), environmental concerns (numbers 6 & 9), and economic concerns numbers 7 & 8).
It sounds crazy, but that's what people say. Is there any truth to this? Certainly the vast majority of people rank fear of public speaking as number one – 75% according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.
In fact, our most common fears—fear of heights, enclosed spaces, blood or injury, and animals like snakes and spiders—generally involve stimuli that are threatening.
Examples of innate fear include fears that are triggered by predators, pain, heights, rapidly approaching objects, and ancestral threats such as snakes and spiders.
Snakes are a major one, but humans are also instinctively afraid of spiders, hunting cats, and herbivorous animals that may have posed a danger. Just trying to avoid getting hurt by these animals has shaped our instincts and physical senses.
According to Soukup's study, the fear archetypes include: The Procrastinator, the Rule Follower, the People Pleaser, the Outcast, the Self-Doubter, the Excuse Maker, and the Pessimist.
Facing their fear of identity loss (ego-death), the shame of troubling others (loss of autonomy), fear of losing loved ones or loved ones losing them (separation), and the fear of death itself (extinction), their journeys tap into and explore humanity's primal fears.
Fear of loss is most likely one of the most prominent and powerful fears that is holding you back. The biggest fear of loss often stimulates negative emotions like anger that stop you from being the person you can be.
666: Fear of 666 (hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia) is also widespread in Western cultures. The book of Revelation in the Bible lists 666 as the “number of the beast.” Many horror or doomsday films incorporate the number into plotlines as a mark of evil or the end of the world.
Common fears include fear of the dark, burglary, war, death, separation or divorce of their parents, and supernatural beings (such as ghosts and monsters). Suggestions for helping your child include: Let your child know that you take their fears seriously.
1. Great expectations. The Fear: I'm afraid my child won't get the education and opportunities she needs to reach her potential. This was the top fear of the parents in our survey.
People with aquaphobia have severe fear when they see or think about water. They may be afraid of baths or showers, drinking water, large bodies of water or swimming pools. Aquaphobia treatments include exposure therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy and medications.
The most popular theory about the origin of fear of the number 13 is biblical: there were 13 diners at the Last Supper. The 13th to arrive was Judas, who betrayed Jesus. In Norse mythology, too, a table of 13 proved unlucky, to say the least.
If your fear of the number thirteen is interfering with your ability to live a normal life, then it would be good to see a therapist who specializes in phobias. Therapies such as CBT and hypnotherapy can be helpful in reducing or eliminating phobias, and giving you better strategies to cope.
Women fear everyday life scenarios more than men and are more likely to express "great fear" of certain scenarios like sexual assault, physical attack and mugging, according to a new study.