When asked if a fear is irrational you would consider a few things: Will it kill me? Is the severity stopping me from doing things in my life? Is this something I will encounter often enough for me to be scared? These are all the things when deciding which fear is the most rational out of the most common irrational fears. Many of these final 5 fears do not typically hurt a person nor do they typically kill someone.
The sixth most rational irrational fear would be needles. Many people have come into contact with needles which may be used to help you but still are a sharp object that pierces your skin and causes pain. The majority of people will have a needle in their arm once a year for things like vaccines, so needles are something people see commonly. Needles cannot kill you and a death due to needles is very unlikely but the pain they cause is enough reason to feel discomfort.
The seventh most rational irrational fear is the fear of thunder. Britannica says the odds of being struck by lightning are 1/15,300, which is highly unlikely, but many fear thunder. Thunder is the sound lightning produces when striking and many are scared of that sound. When hearing thunder, people are scared of how loud it is and the fact it could be coming for them. The fear of thunder is extremely irrational as the sound cannot kill nor harm you physically and the chances of being struck are so low you will most likely never be hit by lightning ever in your lifetime.
A fear I was not expecting but is on the list regardless is crowded places. Crowded spaces can be scary when someone has anxiety or just paranoia in general. People can fear being attacked, hurt, or trampled on. Crowded places are something you can encounter just about anywhere considering our 8 billion population size in the world. While crowded places in itself cannot kill someone or harm someone, freak accidents can happen which raises this irrational fear higher up in the list.
Ninth place is germs, which I have feared, and have taken time and effort to help myself be less conscious of germs and dirt. Germs typically cannot kill you nor are they something that will harm you. You can get sick but do not need to think about how to avoid germs 24/7. Just wash your hands, don’t put your hands in your mouth or nose, and don’t rub your eyes. As such, germs are the second lowest on this list since they typically are a non-issue in people’s lives.
Social Interaction is in the final ranking of the ten most irrational fears. They can be scary and make people nauseous but social interaction doesn’t kill you. Social interactions themself are not dangerous. Some people can be dangerous but social interactions are not dangerous. The fear of people judging you is a valid reason to be nervous but it is still an irrational fear.
Overall, being scared of these things does not make you less than, but can make you more nervous than you need to be in certain situations. I hope this article has made you reason with yourself. Don’t let these fears control your life.
