# what is your greatest fear ?? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 7, 2008, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296 "2008-04-07T11:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/41 "2008-04-08T05:59:20Z")
Mine were mentioned: -Non-existence. The whole “nothingness” sort of deal that’s been covered by those mentioning Dying. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/42 "2008-04-08T10:48:27Z")
{{{ **FarmerChick** }}} Not ever regaining my mental health. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/43 "2008-04-08T11:35:00Z")
Death does not overly scare me. I fear dying without maintaining my dignity. A man ought to be able to die without causing anyone too much trouble. That is just being polite. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/44 "2008-04-08T12:47:35Z")
My fear is that I’ll wake up five, ten, fifteen years from now and realize that nothing has changed. That I have the same issues, the same loneliness, and the same depressions that have practically defined me for some time now. Something’s gotta give. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/45 "2008-04-08T12:52:10Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] You should not reveal your greatest fear. It is a weapon that can be used against you. [/QUOTE] Only if my enemies can command sharks. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/46 "2008-04-08T13:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Only if my enemies can command sharks. [/QUOTE] …with frickin laser beams… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/47 "2008-04-08T13:17:38Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > My greatest fear is probably the darkness I see within my self, the potential to turn into a depressed, anxious, hateful wreck of a human being. [QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] I fear my inner darkness is going to swallow me someday. [/QUOTE] Guess what happens when you shine light on darkness? ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/48 "2008-04-08T13:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > [QUOTE=Autolycus] > My greatest fear is probably the darkness I see within my self, the potential to turn into a depressed, anxious, hateful wreck of a human being. [QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] I fear my inner darkness is going to swallow me someday. [/QUOTE] [/quote] [QUOTE=tdn] Guess what happens when you shine light on darkness? [/QUOTE] Well, since these two sound about as dark as a black hole I’d say the light gets swallowed up, never to return. Come on, you two! I’ve met emo kids with sunnier dispositions. Seek out some therapy, get some good anti-depressants and discover the world can be a decent place. Occasionally. Sometimes. Rarely. When it isn’t beating you down, sucking your will to live dry, eroding your soul to the point where you dread getting up in the morning and just want to stay in bed for the rest of your miserable, worthless life until you finally waste away and your desiccated corpse isn’t discovered for five years which only goes to prove just how unwanted and unloved you really are… Oh God, I need a drink. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/49 "2008-04-08T14:10:37Z")
[QUOTE=Slypork] Come on, you two! I’ve met emo kids with sunnier dispositions. Seek out some therapy, get some good anti-depressants and discover the world can be a decent place. Occasionally. Sometimes. Rarely. When it isn’t beating you down, sucking your will to live dry, eroding your soul to the point where you dread getting up in the morning and just want to stay in bed for the rest of your miserable, worthless life until you finally waste away and your desiccated corpse isn’t discovered for five years which only goes to prove just how unwanted and unloved you really are… [/QUOTE] Yikes. :eek: I don’t know about **HazelNutCoffee** , but she seems like a fun person. I’ve hung out with **Auto** , and it’s always a party with that guy. We all have our dark sides, but it doesn’t do much good to keep them in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/50 "2008-04-08T14:18:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Guess what happens when you shine light on darkness? You can make shadow puppets? [QUOTE=Slypork] Oh God, I need a drink. [/QUOTE] Pass the tequila. I’m not generally a dark and brooding person, but I have my days, as do most of us. And even in my most angsty moods, there is a part of me that retains enough perspective to poke fun at myself. It’s the part that keeps me sane. Unfortunately there is also a part of me that relishes wearing black eyeliner and sulking in a corner that I’ve never quite outgrown. ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/51 "2008-04-08T14:47:49Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] You can make shadow puppets? Pass the tequila. I’m not generally a dark and brooding person, but I have my days, as do most of us. And even in my most angsty moods, there is a part of me that retains enough perspective to poke fun at myself. It’s the part that keeps me sane. Unfortunately there is also a part of me that relishes wearing black eyeliner and sulking in a corner that I’ve never quite outgrown. [/QUOTE] Just joshin’ ya! I get those moods too when I want to sit around singing, > [@](#): > > Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, > Guess I’ll go eat worms, > Long, thin, slimy ones; Short, fat, juicy ones, > Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms. I throw myself a pity party, tell myself how I’m a useless, unsuccessful fraud who is worth more dead than alive and generally am a lifeform slightly lower on the evolutionary ladder than pond scum and personal injury attorneys. Then I get a big hug from my 7 year old daughter, a smile from my 15 year old son, a kiss from my wife and my dog climbs in my lap and suddenly I’m the happiest guy around. No richer, but much wealthier. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/52 "2008-04-08T15:41:23Z")
I would have to say that my greatest fear is lonliness. That I will never find anyone who loves me and that I will spend the rest of my days with my cats and that one day I will fall in the shower or something and die and no one will notice that I am gone until my corpse has rotted away and my neighbors call the police because the building smells too bad to live in anymore. That and dogs that when they bark they shoot bees at you. And a robotic Richard Simmons. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/53 "2008-04-08T15:51:30Z")
_hugs **FarmerChick** _ I was going to say “Zombie clowns”, but that seems kind of disrespectful now… (I do have a horrible claustrophobia fear that prevents me from getting on elevators and planes, which is not helpful _at all_.) ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/54 "2008-04-08T17:55:42Z")
I’m afraid of the big, standard things, like anything horrible happening to my children, and being left to wet myself in a nursing home. But on a more day to day basis, I’m afraid of accidentally ingesting mold (other than blue cheese - I didn’t say it was a rational fear). I carefully inspect all foods for any sign of mold, particularly bread and cheese and produce. I fear reaching my hand into the produce drawer and accidentally sticking my hand in a big, rotting, liquified fur-bearing cucumber. ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/55 "2008-04-08T18:06:44Z")
That the cancer will come back soon. And evil clowns. And automatic car washes that you have to drive yourself half way into before the machines start up with evil lashings and sprayings and snortings…help ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/56 "2008-04-08T23:35:26Z")
Normal things - absolute rejection, never accomplishing anything that’ll live beyond my lifespan, plus being the center of attention (social anxiety, but I’ve gotten better.) The middle of the ocean. A few years(?) ago, a movie came out about some divers who’s boat left them stranded in the middle of the ocean. The _preview_ for the movie scared me so much I had to go out into the lobby and compose myself to ward off a panic attack. Even writing this post has literally made me feel queasy. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/57 "2008-04-09T00:05:05Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Only if my enemies can command sharks. [/QUOTE] Dude, there as a weekly Shark Mustering & Mastery workshop at the Supervillains’ Co-Op. Live in fear. ---
**Author:** ![Euthanasiast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Euthanasiast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euthanasiast)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/58 "2008-04-09T00:13:17Z")
That my novel sucks as bad as I think it does. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/59 "2008-04-09T00:45:09Z")
Thank you for the hugs guys. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296/60 "2008-04-09T01:00:51Z")
Burning to death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-greatest-fear/444296.md?page=4)