Why so many people are scared of these 10 things

“Fear of heights (acrophobia), closed spaces (claustrophobia), and fear of illness [nosophobia] represent potential threats to our physical safety,” Dorfman notes. The same goes for things like fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and insects. But not all of the top fears have to do with physical threats. According to Dr Dorfman, many of the most common fears are emotional fears, e.g. fear of public speaking or fear of abandonment, isolation, humiliation, shame and sadness.