Top fears revealed: the biggest fear in the South East is death and dying

A new study from money-saving brand www.vouchercloud.com has revealed the biggest fears throughout the UK, split by those living in each region.

As many as 35% of those living in the South East of England admit to being afraid of death and dying, while Britons elsewhere in the UK are more afraid of heights, clowns and thunder and lightning.

The team at www.vouchercloud.com conducted the study as part of its ongoing research in to what Britons’ most common fears and phobias are. A total of 2,187 Britons aged 18 and over were quizzed on their biggest fears and how much of an impact these had on their everyday lives.

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Initially all respondents were asked ‘Do you feel that your particular fear(s) are rational or irrational?’ to which two thirds of respondents (65%) revealed that their fears are ‘rational’; with 35% describing them as ‘irrational’. All respondents were then asked ‘Have you ever opened up to your friends and family to talk about your fears?’ The majority of respondents, 54%, admitted that ‘no’ their friends and family were unaware of their fears, with a further 72% of these individuals revealing it had never come up in conversation.

Respondents were then asked whether or not they felt their fears had made any sort of negative impact on their everyday lives. The most common responses were either ‘yes, because there is chance I might have to face it anytime, anywhere’ (37%) or ‘no – my fear is not something you come across day-to-day’ (31%).

In order to determine the biggest fears throughout the UK, respondents were provided with a list of possible fears and told to select all that applied to them. Once all of the results were collated and split per region, each region’s biggest fear were revealed as follows;

1. East of England – spiders (43%)

2. London – clowns (39%)

3. Wales – thunder and lightning (38%)

4. South East – dying/death (35%)

5. North West – various pets/animals (31%)

6. Yorkshire and the Humberside – heights (30%)

7. Northern Ireland – heights (27%)

8. East Midlands – flying (25%)

9. South West – being overweight (21%)

10. North East – clowns (19%)

11. Scotland – heights (18%)

12. West Midlands – spiders (18%)

Matthew Wood, managing director of vouchercloud.com, said: “It’s interesting to see what the biggest fears are around the UK, and how some regions have similar fears while some are a little unexpected. It was particularly interesting to see how the biggest fear in the East Midlands is flying when they have their own airport.

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“It’s totally normal and actually very healthy to be afraid of something, and whether it’s considered rational or irrational – it’s personal to you and your life experiences. Don’t let anyone pressure you in to facing up to your fears in a bid to get over it, but we’d always recommend trying to overcome your fears at one point or another, purely so it doesn’t have an impact on your enjoyment of life and isn’t passed on to your children. While you may not think that you’re showing fear, children pick up on all sorts and always copy those within their immediate group.”

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