What You See First In This Visual Test Reveals Your Secret Fear
The role of your subconscious is to protect you, but sometimes facing what you are most afraid can help you feel more secure.
Butterfly Apple by Vladimir Kush Whether we like to admit it or not, the things that scare us play a big part in our daily lives. In prehistoric times, fear was the primal instinct that helped us survive. Fear of dangers like fire, predatory animals, and the dark don't arise from weaknesses or flaws in our character; they are logical responses designed to help us steer clear of situations that can, if we don't listen to them, cost us our lives.
Research has shown that many of our fears stay hidden in our subconscious minds, which keeps them from bothering us on a too frequent basis, but alerts us to danger when it rises.
Whether the things we fear most are internal or external, consciously identifying them can help us live stronger, happier, and healthier lives. It's just a matter of figuring out what exactly it is we are so afraid of, because, very often, we don't like to face those things.
What you see first in this visual test reveals your secret fear.
Simply at the image below and make a note of the first thing you see. Then scroll down to find out what it reveals about your most secret worries.
Butterfly Apple by Vladimir Kush
1. If you saw the knife first
If you saw the knife first, it means your secret fear is terminal illness. It could be that you fear this for yourself or it could be a fear that someone you love will contract such an illness.
While there's nothing wrong with taking care of your health, the danger comes in letting concerns over illness control and consume you. Sadly, we don't have control over everything that happens to us. This is what makes life interesting, but yes, it's also what makes it scary.
2. If you saw the caterpillar first
If you saw the caterpillar first when you looked at the image, your secret fear is of ghosts and the supernatural. This might not be a fear that you publicly advertise, but it's a huge part of who you are.
You may have always had this fear, or you may have developed it later in life, but it is powerful, even though you might not have a logical reason for feeling this way. It's natural to fear the things we do not know, and ghosts representing death and what comes after it is as unknown as it gets. Take comfort in knowing that countless others share this fear, too!
3. If you saw the butterfly first
If you saw the butterfly first when you looked at the image, your secret fear is rejection or betrayal. You're probably excellent at hiding this fear, but it informs a large part of who you are. You love your friends and romantic partners and even your family members deeply, but you're always keeping a watchful eye, wary that they might do the worst thing imaginable and violate your trust.
Trusting other people is never easy, but it's necessary for creating intimacy. If you want to have truly meaningful relationships that stand the test of time, you'll have to take the leap and start having faith in the people who matter to you most.
4. If you saw the apple first
If you saw the apple when you first looked at the image, your secret fear is death. Fear of death is difficult to rationalize away because death is scary. It's the ultimate unknown, yet it's as certain as taxes, as the saying goes. However, if you fixate on a fear of death, chances are you'll start missing out on all of the joys that do exist when you're alive.
The best way to conquer a fear of death is to remember that death is a natural part of life. Sure, the idea of not knowing what comes next is scary, but since matter can neither be created nor destroyed, it should hopefully be comforting to know that in some way, however small, there is a part of us all that is guaranteed to live on.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a freelance writer, editor, former Senior Editor of Pop Culture at Newsweek, and former Senior Staff Writer for YourTango. Her bylines have appeared on Fatherly, Bustle, SheKnows, Jezebel, and many others.