Over the course of our lifetime, an estimated 3% of the world’s population will be affected by phobias. These overwhelming fears can greatly affect someone’s quality of life and can make certain situations unbearable. But oftentimes many people have fears that have not crossed over into phobias and exist for good reason. If we didn’t feel fear, human beings wouldn’t survive for long. Fear keeps us cautious and aware and keeps us away from violent or dangerous situations or things. Without fear, we may blindly walk into traffic or eat a strange, poisonous mushroom. While we are no longer spending our days running from deadly creatures and huddling in caves, fear still plays a large part in keeping us healthy and safe.

So what are some of the most common fears people have? What is almost guaranteed to make the average person jump back or twitch with nervousness? Read on to find out ten of the common fears among humans.

1Flight

flight FEAR

Fear of flight is the fear of being on an airplane or another flying vehicle, like a helicopter. In reality, fear of flying could more accurately be described as fear of falling, since most people’s fear is based on the worry that the flying vehicle will suddenly stop flying and plummet to earth.

Being comfortable with air travel is most often a learned skill, since it is not something most people are naturally exposed to. Fear of flying is a relatively recent fear, since air travel was quite uncommon for the average person in the past. Now, fear of flying can cause many issues for people as it can prevent them from travelling for work or visiting family.

2Public Speaking

public speakers fear


The fear of public speaking has spawned an entire business of tutorials, classes and books trying to help people tame their fear. Public speaking is not only a normal fear (since it’s really the fear of making a fool of yourself in public), it’s also a fear that gets in the way of people advancing their careers, gaining better grades and speaking out on your own behalf or for friends.

Public speaking is required at many points in peoples’ lives and not being able to stand up at your best friends’ wedding or to give an important presentation at work can really throw a wrench in your plans.

Of course, you can take advantage of the myriad options that are now available to help people overcome this fear.

3Heights

Overcome The Fear Of Height

Fear of heights, like fear of flights, is actually less about the height itself and more about falling from a great height. Most people exhibit a degree of natural aversion to great heights. It’s believed that fear of heights may be instinctual in humans, since being high up can pose a great danger to us if we fall. This can be easily seen when visiting locations known for their heights, such as the CN tower’s glass floor viewing platform in Toronto, Ontario. Most people are very apprehensive of approaching the glass or become agitated when on it, even if there’s no risk of falling.

4The dark

The dark fear


Fear of the dark may seem childish but it is actually a common phobia among adults. Who among us hasn’t lain awake in bed after hearing a creak in the dark and conjured up some unseen horror?

When we are children, a fear of the dark can develop due to a form of separation anxiety or confusion and helplessness when waking disoriented in the dark.

There can also be practical reasons we fear the dark: we are more likely to injure ourselves moving around in the dark and we can not protect ourselves as well from danger.

5Spiders

spiders fear


Fear of spiders is so common that it has spanned many movies, books and Halloween decorations. From Arachnaphobia to Eight Legged Freaks, fearing spiders is so accepted that it’s almost strange to meet someone who is at ease around the eight-legged little creatures.

Like many common fears, arachnophobia, or phobia of spiders, could be triggered by a natural aversion to something that can often so us harm. Though venomous spiders are rare in cooler parts of the world, many countries deal with the very real threat of being bitten by a dangerous arachnid.

6Needles

needls fear

Not many people enjoy getting poked with a sharp object, so it’s no wonder that fear of needles is right up there on the list of common fears. Fear of needles can appear in varying degrees but fear of needles is one of the few phobias that can actually be deadly. In cases of severe needle phobia, the drop in blood pressure related to a vasovagal shock reflex (what can happen during an episode) can cause death!

Of course, in most circumstances you will only need some deep breathing to get past the initial prick and then you’ll be on your way.

7Snakes

snakes fear


Like spiders, snaked are feared and reviled by many people. In fact, with about one third of adult humans admitting some fear or discomfort around snakes, this is actually the most common fear of all.

Snakes are often feared for their venom and the inherent danger associated with them, but many people also report feeling uncomfortable with their method of movement and reptilian coldness. It is believed that humans have an innate reaction to snakes since this used to be inherent to our survival as a species.

Like spiders, many movies have been made famous based solely on the premise of large or mutated snakes attacking a human populace.

8Sharks

sharks fear


Can you hear the JAWS theme song already?

Sharks are considered one of the most dangerous apex predators on earth. They are perfectly developed killers who have survived for thousands of years almost entirely unchanged.

While you can quite easily avoid ever encountering a real shark if you avoid the deep water of the ocean, this fear means that many people avoid going to the beach to even splash in the shallows, or even entering any deep body of water, such as a pool or lake, even though they are aware that it is physically impossible for a shark to be present.

9Clowns

clowns fear

You may think that Stephen King single handedly set an entire generation back with his horrifying story IT and its clown villain, but in reality a fear of clowns is incredibly common.

So how did this beloved form of children’s entertainment turn into such a deep-rooted fear for so many people?

Freud once wrote that clowns are scary because they’re a subversive form of something familiar: they look human, but the distorted and over-exaggerated features can cause a natural revulsion.

Whatever the cause, many people are going to think ‘run’ before they think ‘fun’ when they see a clown.

10Dentists

dentist fear


Let’s be honest, we probably haven’t flossed enough, but is that really enough to make us fear the dentist? In reality, our dentists are here to help our health, so why do so many people have such an uncontrollable loathing of them?

Dentists are often negatively portrayed in mass media, especially in films and shows aimed at children. This can cause a learned fear at an early age. On top of this, the closeness required for dental work as well as the feeling of being restrained can be very triggering for people uncomfortable with these situations.

Of course, dentists are 99.9% of the time wonderful health professionals only there to help you, and will probably understand if you admit you’re nervous.

11Let Us know

let us know what is your most fear from the list , Comment + Share

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