# What are Doper's greatest fears? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557 "2013-02-16T23:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/1 "2013-02-16T23:45:06Z")
OK, this is my first try at creating a poll. I’m curious, do you have particular fears? If so, what are they? If I’ve done this poll right there are multiple choices allowed, plus I’ve included the traditional “Other” for options I didn’t think of. Feel free to discuss/ not discuss your fears and phobias in this thread. When I’ve created the poll I’ll vote for my top two, needles and heights. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/2 "2013-02-16T23:57:24Z")
I really hate needles, yet I try to give blood several times a year. I’m healthy and the blood is always needed, so I make myself do it. And I’ve never once seen the needles, I always look away. I said I wanted to close my eyes but they don’t want you to do that, it makes them think you may have passed out. Looking out from a tall building gives me the creeps as well. I once served on a grand jury, in the federal courthouse, and it was inside a building with a four story lightwell up the center. Of course the courtroom I was assigned to was on the fourth floor, so I was like a rat in a behavioral test, I hugged the wall of the wide hallway/balcony that gave access to the rooms. Everyone else went to the edge and looked straight down. _Shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/3 "2013-02-17T00:05:34Z")
Being incapacitated somehow and having to depend on others. This is me being melodramatic, but if I can’t take care of myself, I don’t want to live. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/4 "2013-02-17T00:16:17Z")
I hadn’t thought of that one. That would bother me too, but I’m still more scared of the two I named. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/5 "2013-02-17T00:16:46Z")
I’m scared of all of them except the dark and flying. And I’m no more afraid of heights than everyone is. My biggest one is definitely death of a loved one, probably followed by intimacy. And change/the unknown. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/6 "2013-02-17T02:12:30Z")
I voted for a couple of them, but by far the biggest one is the death of a loved one. It’s not so much a fear though, as it is the thing that could devastate me most out of all the stuff listed. That being said, while I don’t personally have a fear of heights, I do get very sweaty palms and a very sickening feeling in my stomach whenever I’m watching a movie and someone is hanging on a cliff or whatever, about to fall off. But personally, I have no problem with being on tops of roofs, tall buildings, hot air balloons, airplanes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/7 "2013-02-17T02:37:04Z")
I said losing the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/8 "2013-02-17T02:40:23Z")
I said death of a loved one. It’s more a specific situation that I won’t get into here, but it falls in that category. Until recently, I would have also included needles. However, a bout with melanoma (I won) got me poked and stuck enough that needles just really suck now, no phobia. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/9 "2013-02-17T03:03:07Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Looking out from a tall building gives me the creeps as well. I once served on a grand jury, in the federal courthouse, and it was inside a building with a four story lightwell up the center. Of course the courtroom I was assigned to was on the fourth floor, so I was like a rat in a behavioral test, I hugged the wall of the wide hallway/balcony that gave access to the rooms. Everyone else went to the edge and looked straight down. _Shudder_ I have problems with heights, too, but looking down doesn’t normally bother me - looking _up_ does. One of the worst attacks I ever had was standing on a chair, looking up to change a light bulb in a ceiling fixture. Another bad one was in the state capitol building in Des Moines; you go in the door, then up a flight of stairs to the main floor, which is under the dome. I stopped halfway up the stair to look up into the dome, and had to very quickly grab my wife with one hand and the stair rail with the other. It’s the idea of tilting my head back and leaning backward a bit without solid ground right behind me… ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/10 "2013-02-17T03:08:40Z")
I’ve got phobias (needles and birds), but nothing compares to how I feel when I think of losing a loved one. After all, phobias are by definition irrational, but fearing the death of those you love is nothing if not rational. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/11 "2013-02-17T03:28:54Z")
I have a height phobia, which I have had to deal with when climbing ladders when I worked backstage in a theatre, but I know it still lingers. I also hate spiders and similar creepy-crawlies. Under “Other” I put dogs, and water. I am okay with friendly dogs, but if any dogs bark at me I am completely incapacitated. And I stay away from immersing myself in water as much as I can. Mostly seas and pools and suchlike, but I don’t even like rain really. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/12 "2013-02-17T04:07:12Z")
[She](http://www.lindacraft.com/) wants to eat my soul.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/13 "2013-02-17T04:25:07Z")
The way I see the poll I keep thinking that I would be really afraid of flying needles. And one of my “others” is people on the internet finding out about my strongest phobia 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/14 "2013-02-17T04:25:50Z")
I am afraid I’ll fall face first down a flight of stairs and break my front teeth. It’s particularly gripping at the top of outdoor masonry type steps. I have to hold the handrail. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/15 "2013-02-17T04:52:21Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I am afraid I’ll fall face first down a flight of stairs and break my front teeth. It’s particularly gripping at the top of outdoor masonry type steps. I have to hold the handrail. WTF? I’m afraid of that too. How bizarre. I’m afraid of the death of loved ones (specifically of my siblings) and I also chose “Other” since I’m afraid of leaving my house, talking to people, answering the phone, and clowns. ---
**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/16 "2013-02-17T05:38:42Z")
Living too long. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/17 "2013-02-18T07:48:41Z")
To sink into old age alone and be forgotten/un-needed by my children. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/18 "2013-02-18T12:52:26Z")
For me, it is heights. :eek: I get the shakes if I get more than two rungs up a step ladder. On those occasions when work necessitates a trip offshore the helicopter is usually one that lets me sit in the middle and stare at the floor. Another deathtrap for me are those hotels with the big, open atrium’s. I try to get a room on a lower level so I can take the stairs but if that is unsuccessful, I get on the lift and face the panel until it gets to my floor. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/19 "2013-02-18T13:02:44Z")
Incapacitating illness, depression in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557/20 "2013-02-18T13:18:18Z")
My own death, tied with being awoken by loud noises. Well, not so much a fear of them as fear when it happens. When it’s a particularly loud and/or screeching sound, such as a faulty transmission/belt slip of a car that sounds like one of those three-pronged metal dirt-clump rakes being drawn across a chalkboard at multiple speeds loud enough to permeate the whole house and instantly awake me from sleep, waves of horror echo up and down my spine even after the noise has stopped. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-dopers-greatest-fears/650557.md?page=2)