I ain’t escared.

Fear. One of the strongest four letter words in your vocabulary. Take a guess which fear listed below is the most common. Come on…do it before you read the rest of the post. I have a surprise in store and I am not publishing the results of this one. You will find out what all the cryptic messages and scary poetry has been about for the last three days.

Clown.

Mr. Scary-available for parties.

Clowns Barely Rate

Despite some notable celebrities with aversions to face paint, only about 8% fear clowns. Many more dislike them, but the debilitating phobia strikes fewer than one in ten people. Did you guess this one thinking it was the trick player?

Winner of best legs… all eight of them.

Creepy Crawlies 

Although many a movie has been made with giant spiders ravaging cities and dormitories, only 14% of people have arachnophobia. Another 35% are ready with I hate spiders, but they are not paralyzed at the sight of eight hairy legs. Was this a dislike of yours?

It is more afraid of you than you are of it.

Things That Slither

No legs rates higher than eight legs. The fear of snakes cripples 15% of the world’s population. This is another animal which gets a huge vote of dislike with an additional 25% saying they would prefer not to meet cool and scaly in a well-lit aquarium. Are you one?

Safer travel than in a car.

Flight 77, Now Boarding

Another phobia with many notable members, the fear of flying grips 16%. These are the people taking the bus, train or boat where they are going. Another 17% get the butterflies (or Samsonite gorillas) in their stomachs before take off, but medication, meditation or a good double Scotch helps them get off the ground. Which one is your ticket?

The Grim Reaper

22% of all people fear death. Ironically, (and many parents are convinced otherwise by their teenagers) younger people fear death at as much as double the rate of older people. Before you go to thinking these numbers are nothing to write home about, consider the phobes from above…all of them fear death from their fear producer.

It is more certain than taxes.

Essentially, the percentage is lacking because others in the grasp of a phobia are also afraid of death. To add to the malnourished numbers, when asked What do you fear? many other things come to mind before death. On the other hand, when you ask, Do you fear death?  more often than not, the answer is yes.

Grow Out of It

Many people do grow out of it. More younger people are willing to admit they fear death, but not the youngest. 18-24-year-olds are not as afraid to die as those 25-44, which is the group most afraid to die. Those over 65 were the group with the smallest fear of death, but only by a tiny margin. To a small degree, as we age we get less afraid of the end, but we never truly shake the fear.

22%

Nearly a quarter of us have a crippling fear of death which stops us from taking chances which we (irrationally) feel could kill us. Simple things:

For someone to remember.

  • Reading the obituraries
  • Crossing the street
  • Traveling (vacation, business)
  • Eating certain foods
  • Home repair
  • Climbing ladders or trees
  • Attending funerals or burials
While necrophobia (fear of things relating to death, like headstones and obituaries) is not thanatophobia, it is related and affects most of those who fear death. The mere proximity to something related to death makes us feel like we are getting closer.

Fear

Merriam says fear is an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, an anxious concern. When fear stops us from doing other things, it becomes a problem. No one surveyed said they did not have fear. Makes you wonder where the fear of death originates.

Remember, all the numbers are talking about people who fear death, not merely those who dislike death (as in those who did not fear the creepy animals, but did dislike them). These are people, when you talk about death, their:

  • heart rates
  • breathing rates
  • blood pressure
  • brain activity
  • adrenaline levels
  • body temperatures

…all go up. These are people who have physical manifestations of fear…even those who claim just a heart palpitation.

Why?

Now, I want to hear from you. Think about your own answers. Think about the answers of people you know. You can admit to your own or pawn them off on my friend, but I do want to hear from you.

And thank you for your patience in waiting for this post. Barring a catastrophe, I am nowhere near the computer when this goes live on Tuesday morning.

Why do people fear their plane is going to fall from the sky? Why are people afraid to die of a snake bite? What makes people fear death?


© Red Dwyer 2012
Reblogging of this or any other post on The M3 Blog is expressly forbidden.
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27 Comments

  1. I am not afraid to admit my fears. I have a real fear of snakes when I see them I panic. I forget common sense and reason of what you are not intended to do and begin to move in a clumsy stupor. I run. Movement can alarm a snake and cause it to strike but my mind begins to race and my body follows suit. I fear some things not listed here that goes along the side of death: cancer, medical procedures, and tight spaces. Yep you guessed it all these fears probably relate back to a fear of:death. I must second your reasoning I feared death less when I was in my teens and early twenties than I do now. Why do we fear death? I hate the thought of leaving those I love behind. I wonder what if those who fight against religion is correct. What if this has been the only life I have? What if beyond this life is well…death?

    Reply
    • An interesting thing to ponder. Considering that very discussion for next week’s Talk Tuesday, especially considering the interpretations of the poems from Sunday and Monday. Good food for thought, Rhonda.
      Red.

      Reply
  2. Red and Rhonda, I suggest that fear of death is fear of the unknown–for although there are many beliefs about the hereafter, there is little if any genuine and tangible TRUE proof to “lean on” if one has doubt.
    Perhaps therein also lies the definition and value of absolute faith.
    If you really think about it, every one of the 7 billion people in existence as of THIS SECOND …. will be likely dead within “200 years” or so–allowing for advancements in medicine and/or technology.

    As humans we ARE different. I choose to believe we are spiritual beings living a “physical” existence–to learn -and we move on to the next learning experience and challenges we face.

    Leaving people behind? Separation is perceived, at the time of death, but time is irrelevant at that point. In death, do we move along as a group– the same spirits —(in physical terms, same group of people) on to the next ‘class’ in the time-space continuum? Is our belief system only our guide in the process?
    Organized religious dogma is designed to achieve and feed a specific ‘agenda’ –often for control of a population by FEAR. That, of course does not make the specific “beliefs” within that agenda necessarily correct or magically turn it into absolute truth.
    Much of this discussion depends entirely on your faith. As one example, we are made in the image of our creator, so should we not also be capable of “rising again”( reincarnation in terms of Eastern religions) ?
    What is the REAL truth? Remember that at one time, people used to be afraid of falling off of the edge of the earth. The earth was thought to be “flat”.
    Perhaps our perception of our very lives is also “flat”. “:)

    Reply
    • Thank you for equating religion and fear. And before some of my other readers get up in arms…there is an ocean of difference between faith and religion, and if you do not know the difference, please…please read.

      I counter the fear of the unknown. With so many people claiming to be firm in their faith (pick a religion, spiritual path or atheism), each lays out specifically what the view is after death. How can so many faithful people fear something they have specific guidelines to navigate? And for those who know but still feel the unknown as a factor, why?

      I also note there is a difference between failing to fear death and hastening its arrival.

      And I really believe after the end of your comment, I know which poem will be the Muse for Monday. Hmm.

      Reply
  3. People fear the end, snuff, gone, they are no more. If life is eternal (and I believe it is) then the fear of death is irrational. And no, I don’t believe the myths of heaven and hell, those promises of eternal life, either bliss or suffering, inventions of all religions, are anything more than carrots and sticks designed to keep the faithful in line. Karma, where we whirl about on the wheel, returning to the ‘material’ world over and over until we are finally free of karmic debt is another myth.

    What if we are eternal beings, come into physical bodies from time to time to play and create, returning to pure spirit when those bodies wear out or die from some other cause? Why then would we fear the death of a worn out body? Why then would we fear the death of a body that we are done with? I don’t fear death but I ain’t ready to go just yet because I’m having too much fun.

    John

    Reply
    • I just commented to Ray there is a difference between failing to fear the end and actively hastening it. And it is irrational. The box the package comes in gets thrown away (after the children play in it or we store things in it—rebirth?). Fearing a natural event seems illogical. If it were innate, why do children not feel it? Learned behavior.

      Reply
  4. I have Demophobia as well as a fear of children – I was put through hell and driven insane by investigative journalists and everyone around me who were in a feeding frenzy because there was money to be had, accusing me of several crimes including Drug Addiction; Burglary; Paedophilia; multiple child murders in Denmark because I once visited the country and making pornography because I once told a joke in a Scottish accent.

    I was exonerated and am now the proud possessor of a pristine advanced CRB check certificate which shows my pristine criminal record, but after they drove me to suicide and a complete breakdown getting into my childhood and discovering the abuse and rape I suffered as a child, they would not stop until they had all the answers which ended with them poisoning my water supply to force me to go to hospital so they could have me examined by a doctor without my informed consent, my Step Father acting as my next of kin even though he wasn’t, my mother was….

    Consequently I have been left with a fear of crowds and children.

    Oh yeah – and I now have Paranoid Schizophrenia and have had it for over 13 years.

    Needless to say, when the News of The World was closed I got VERY drunk!!! 🙂

    Love and hugs!

    Prenin.

    Reply
    • I have done a better job over the years to curb the fears which remain. Some days, it is tougher than others. {HUGZ} Red.

      Reply
  5. bear

     /  January 10, 2012

    Pull up a chair and hear me out. I do not have a fear of death, I haven’t in a long time. I was in a violent car accident in 1977. I was thrown from the car and tossed about 40 feet in the air. This was later told to me by eye witnesses. The last thing I can tell you that I saw was the car running the stop sign and then total darkness. What happened next is amazing. I found myself sitting on a telephone pole watching what was going on. The police officer was doing CPR on me.

    The next thing I noticed was it was perfectly quiet not a sound to be heard. I wasn’t scared and I had an inner peace that I still carry with me to this day.

    I saw the emergency squad pull up and saw the box with the defibrillator in it. How I knew this I don’t know. As I watched them open the box, I thought, “No don’t leave me alone” and the next thing I remember is that I was on the ground screaming in pain everything hurt.

    But the next thing that happened was I suddenly knew everyone by name: first, last, middle. I hadn’t met any of these people ever. When the State highway patrol showed up at the hospital for follow up, he wanted to know how I knew his name and I told him. I also knew everyone in the crowd’s name, and I went on to give him the names of everyone there. I also went as far as to tell him his wife and children’s names.

    One other thing, this is not all of the story, but the one thing that was made clear is that there is a better place, call it what you will, but there is a better place and I believe all the fears you have about death are irrational.

    Reply
    • Out of body experiences are common, but most people dismiss them as dreams. Glad you got solace from yours. Red.

      Reply
  6. What about the fear of public speaking? About 98% of people will admit to some sort of communication fear…and public speaking tops the list 😉

    Reply
    • Now see, Em, you were just getting ahead of me…Did you read the next post in this series? I got to the public speaking in the buff! 😉 Red.

      Reply
  7. Love bear’s story. Fear of unknown seems to be the consensus. I am not afraid of death – I might be a tad afraid of the mode of death hurting. It will be short-lived, however, and I will enter my eternal home. Good post:)

    Reply
    • bear

       /  January 11, 2012

      The thing about what happened to me is there was no pain at all, not until I woke up. I truly didn’t know what happened until I saw myself on the ground. No pain = no fear

      Reply
    • I thought about the mode of death when I was very young. I solved that mystery by a visit to the coroner’s office and a long discussion about how it feels. Topping my list of how I do not want to go: 1. Fire 2. Drowning. Other than that, I am good.

      Reply
      • bear

         /  January 14, 2012

        The fear of pain is the pain itself. I can tell you from personal experiences that in reality death doesn’t hurt. The mind is stunned so quickly that you don’t feel a thing.

        Reply
        • I sincerely hope the shock is enough to numb the pain. My masochism is greatly exaggerated! Red.

          Reply
  8. I think it has changed for me over time. Now, I fear death because of the people I will leave behind – my four small children (5, 3, 2, 2). I had them later in life and I am already 41 years old. These kids need me. I need to be there for them. I can’t imagine the thought of me not being there for them, to teach them, guide them, love them.
    Before children, I think it amounted to the things that I couldn’t get to in live – the traveling I wanted to do, the experiences I wanted to have, the love I wanted to give. So, more on a selfish spin.

    Reply
    • I completely understand that feeling. We are the same age, but my children range in age from 21 to 6, with the two youngest both being handicapped with little or no (mostly no) chance they will ever function in the adult world without 24 hour supervision.

      Take a page from my book…travel with them. It may seem like a pain, but it is an experience which will take them far in life. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all of my family for taking me everywhere. It taught me a lot about the world and how to cope with differences amongst people long before I ever needed it for my own harmony.

      Red.

      Reply
  9. I haven’t read this one yet but
    have just noticed the tombstone…

    I will have to call back later today
    and read the whole posting instead
    of just looking at the photographs 🙂

    Have a lovely Saturday Red 🙂

    Androgoth XXx

    Reply
    • This was an import tombstone. I have others in other places. May have to ’round a couple of them up for my ongoing story…
      Red.

      Reply
      • Yes I am so far behind with your postings Red
        that I need to be catching up, and one of these
        days I might just do that 🙂

        I hadn’t realised that WordPress was likened to
        Windows Live Spaces, on there the perverse had
        the upper hand, and so I guess that was one of
        the main factors surrounding the merge with this
        networking community, which I figured was much
        nicer, but with all those e mails you receive, and
        covering every subject matter it looks like the rats
        jumped ship… I think deleting is the best option 🙂

        I very rarely have any kind of
        negativity forwarded to my inbox…

        Have a fangtastic weekend Red 🙂

        Androgoth XXx

        Reply
  10. Mine isn’t on there!

    I have already died, not once but twice. So I don’t fear it.

    Love snakes! Don’t hate spiders, though I there are some in this part of the country I could do without.

    Clowns? Really, come on.

    My fear? I fear stupid people. I fear them greatly.

    Reply
    • Red

       /  March 13, 2012

      I am so with you. Stupid people cause death more often than they are credited. Love snakes, too. Funny, I talk about spiders a lot today!

      Reply

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