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.
Fear of rejection is among the most common fears in the world.
(Note: There are five core fears, or “universal themes of loss,” that capture the basic interpretations of danger that we all make. They are 1) fear of abandonment, 2) loss of identity, 3) loss of meaning, 4) loss of purpose and 5) fear of death, including the fear of sickness and pain.)
Examples of innate fear include fears that are triggered by predators, pain, heights, rapidly approaching objects, and ancestral threats such as snakes and spiders. Animals and humans detect and respond more rapidly to threatening stimuli than to nonthreatening stimuli in the natural world.
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.
Being weak or being perceived as weak – one of the biggest fears for men, as they tend to believe they are not supposed to be weak or even to be perceived as such. Being irrelevant – fear and stress in wanting their lives to mean something.
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.
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.
Many kinds of fears affect our well-being or ability to perform well under pressure. We can put most of these fears into four categories and in this “How to Master Fear” series we'll refer to as the “big four fears”: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of rejection and fear of selling.
Most common baby fears
In newborn babies, common baby fears include loud noises, falling, separation from parents, and strangers. At this stage, babies can't distinguish between objects accurately enough to be scared by looking at them. However, loud noises trigger the startle reflex.
Having fears about falling in later life is very common and often distressing. It can limit your life in many ways, but help is available to overcome your fear and anxiety.
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.
Social phobias are the most common type of fear. They are considered an anxiety disorder and include excessive self-consciousness in social situations. Some people can fear being judged so much they avoid specific situations, like eating in front of others. Up to one in 20 people have a social phobia.
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.
Amaxophobia: Definition, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment.
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.