27 Facts About Common Fears That Might Actually Make You Feel Better

My wife is afraid of sharks. 

I don’t mean that “she doesn’t like the idea of sharks,” or “she’s kind of spooked by them” — I mean even a playful, cartoon-y image of a baby shark singing an obnoxious nursery rhyme about the generations of their whole little cartoon shark family sends her into a very real anxious spiral. Sure, she’s basically 100 percent guaranteed to not encounter a shark while on land, but it doesn’t make the fear she experiences any less real. I showed her a few entries on this list — a few facts that demonstrate that several mundane things are more likely to cause her harm than a shark — but she just punched me in the arm and yelled at me for showing her a listicle with pictures of sharks on it. 

So, these facts didn't help her much. But maybe they’ll help calm your irrational fear of whatever it is that you’re afraid of.