Ways to Describe Fear

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Hi!

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Hi!

I understand how fear can be hard to capture, because everybody experiences and shows it differently and because, like all emotions, it has calibers and gradients. I think I can help you on both accounts.

Firstly: Types of fear. (I haven't ranked these in any particular order.)

1. Anxiety: defined as "a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome". Separate from the disorder, when I think of anxiety I think of nail-biting, eyebrows drawn together, sweating. Anxiety is like nervousness, but heavier.

2. Nervousness: defined as "the quality or state of being nervous", and nervous is defined as "easily agitated or alarmed; tending to be anxious; highly strung". Nervousness is more when you don't know whether the outcome of something is going to be good or bad (the typical fear of the unknown), whereas anxiety is the fear of a bad outcome.

3. Horror: defined as " an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust". Horror is fear mixed mainly with disbelief or shock: for example, a scene after a shooting on the news might horrify somebody, or an account of things done at the Auschwitz camps might horrify someone.

4. Terror: defined simply as "extreme fear". Terror is the most unadulterated of these emotions - it's strong, bright, pure fear, plain and simple.

5. Dread: defined as "great fear or apprehension". Dread is similar to anxiety, but heavier even than that, because the feeling implies that you already know the outcome is not good, whereas anxiety expects a bad outcome but isn't sure.

6. Panic: defined as "sudden uncontrollable fear or anxiety, often causing wildly unthinking behavior". This is the child of terror - the need to do something causes you to do anything.

I think that's it for emotions - now for how to show them. (Keep in mind you don't have to use every single one of these mannerisms/feelings for every single character - it really depends on the person.)

1. Anxiety: lip-biting, nail-biting, foot-tapping, leg-tapping, laughing a lot, falling very quiet, being irritable, panic attacks (crying, hyperventilating), shaking, nausea

2. Nervousness: queasiness, fluttery stomach, laughing a lot, nail-/lip-biting, foot-/leg-tapping

3. Horror: I can't think of any outward signs, but a feeling of shock with a negative connotation

4. Terror: wide eyes, paleness, shaking, hyperventilating, crying

5. Dread: a pit in your stomach, heaviness in your limbs

6. Panic: hyperventilating, crying, speech problems (word vomiting, especially calm speech, or repetition)

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