Understanding Washington Resident’s Biggest Fear

What do you think Washington's greatest fears would be? I would bet that it would be a destructive earthquake, and the resulting tsunamis would rank high on the list. Driving on one-lane roads, such as Route 17 between Ephrata and Moses Lake, Highway 2 through the heart of Eastern Washington, or Route 28 between Quincy and Wenatchee, raises a lot of concerns for me.

What is my biggest fear? 

A chance encounter of a rattlesnake, a mama bear, or a mountain lion on my trail runs.

Washington sports fans would probably mention

As I write this, the Seattle Mariners just lost Game Seven to the Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. A fear that I have is that the M's, my boyhood team, will never make the World Series in my lifetime. Another fear is the Seahawks never getting back to the Super Bowl, or the NBA taking its sweet old time to bring back the Seattle Supersonics. 

How did someone come up with Washington’s actual worst fear?

A company named Area52 used Google's Keyword tool. With this, they analyzed 49 fears - chosen from a university study. Those were then analyzed with Google Trends to see what type of fear was searched for in each state.

So, what is Washington’s biggest fear?

The fear of being alone.

A top national medical facility gave its thoughts on why some people have a deep-rooted fear of being alone. 

‘Some people can trace their fear of being alone to a negative or traumatic experience. Potential autophobia causes include: Being ignored, uncared for, or feeling abandoned. Divorce or loss of a parent during childhood.’  -The Cleveland Clinic

Seven other states echoed Washington residents' fear of being alone. Others like Washington include Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, and Nevada.