The Sims 4 Patch 132 introduced Wants and Fears to the game. Whims have been replaced by Wants.
Fears are emotions your Sim experiences after having a negative or bad experience. They are greatly influenced by your Sim’s traits.
Let’s explore what factors trigger specific fears and how your Sim can confront and overcome their Fears.
What Fears can my Sim experience in Sims 4?
Your Sim can experience 12 different types of Fears in The Sims 4. Not all the Fears that the game support will trigger during your gameplay. Fears are influenced by your Sim’s traits.
List of Fears that your Sim can experience in Sims 4:
- Fear of Being Cheated On
- Fear of Being Judged
- Fear of Cowplant
- Fear of Crowded Places
- Fear of The Dark
- Fear of Dead End Job
- Fear of Death
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Fire
- Fear of Ghosts
- Fear of Swimming
- Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams
Your Sim will typically experience only one Fear at a time.
At least, that’s what I noticed in my gameplay.
Let me know if you noticed something different in yours.
How can my Sim overcome their Fears in The Sims 4?
The quickest way for your Sim to overcome their Fears is to confront them and do the things they’re afraid of. After looking fear in its face, your Sim will become Confident and won’t panic the next time the same situation arises.
Confronting fear is easier than you think.
Don’t let your Sim sweep their fears under the carpet.
Fear has no power over your Sim if they refuse to do what their face is telling them to.
Aristotle used to say that an individual develops courage by doing courageous acts. Sims that choose to confront their fears are indeed doing courageous acts.
How to overcome specific Fears in The Sims 4
Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams
If you don’t take care of your Sim’s wants, they’ll develop a sudden Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams.
To overcome the Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams in The Sims 4, fulfill your Sim’s wants. You’ll find them appear above their portrait.
The next step is to Discuss Fears with other Sims. Have your Sim openly talk about their Fear of Unfulfilled Dreams.
If you want to speed up the process, you can have your Sim drink a Fear-Be-Gone Potion. You can purchase it from the Aspiration Rewards Store.
Fear of Failure 😨
If your Sim is having poor work or school performance, they’ll experience a sudden Fear of Failure. The same thing happens if they’re making low-quality craftable items.
To overcome the Fear of Failure, use the Ask for a Performance Review interaction. If your Sim likes to craft various items, have them show off something they’ve crafted.
If your Sim is a high-school student, they’ll often experience the Fear of Failure when getting low grades. To help them get good grades, make sure they do their homework every day and go to school in a good mood.
Fear of Crowded Places
The Fear of Crowded Places is triggered after spending a few minutes on a lot heavily populated with NPCs. Sims that have the Loner trait will often experience this fear.
To get rid of theFear of Crowded Places, have your Sim perform a series of Funny social interactions in front of a large group. These interactions will boost your Sim’s self-confidence.
Fear of Being Cheated On
The Fear of Being Cheated On is typically triggered after not interacting with a romantic partner for a long time. Your Sim can experience this fear after getting an unsatisfied WooHoo buff.
To overcome their Fear of Being Cheated On, your Sim needs to talk about relationship fears with their partner.
Sims with the Jealous trait tend to experience the Fear of Being Cheated On more often than other Sims.
Fear of Being Judged
The Fear of Being Judged is triggered when your Sim is on the receiving end of Mean social interactions. They’ll develop this fear when other Sims are rude or mean to them. Sims may sometimes perform mean interactions autonomously. That’s not something that you can control.
To confront and overcome their Fear of Being Judged, your Sim needs to figure out their differences with the Sim that’s being mean to them.
Fear of Cowplant
After being swallowed by a Cowplant, your Sim will develop a strong Fear of Cowplant. They’ll get ready Tense when they get near a Cowplant.
This can be quite tricky, especially if your Sim is pursuing the Freelance Botanist aspiration or you already have a cowplant on your lot.
Sims won’t die the first time they eat the cake offered by a Cowplant. But if they eat the cake twice, the Grim Reaper will pay them a quick visit.
To overcome their Fear of Cowplant, your Sim needs to milk a Cowplant while in a Confident mood. Their fear will disappear instantly.
Fear of The Dark
If your Sim encounters an occult Sim at night, they may develop an intense Fear of the Dark, especially if the encounter results in a negative interaction.
As a result, they’re afraid to go outside after the sun sets.
To overcome the Fear of the Dark and help your Sim feel confident outside at night, have them go outside at night while in a Confident mood.
If you don’t own any packs that support occults, your Sim won’t experience Fear of the Dark.
But if you have Werewolves installed, and your Sim encounters a rampaging werewolf, they’ll become petrified and develop a Fear of the Dark.
Fear of Dead-End Job
Sims that haven’t been promoted recently may experience a sudden Fear of Dead End Job. They feel stuck in a job that brings them no satisfaction.
To overcome the fear of a dead-end job, click on your Sim and select the Regain Passion self-interaction before going to work.
Fear of Death
Sims that witness the death of a loved one may develop an intense Fear of Death. This fear will paralyze them, preventing them from enjoying life to the fullest.
There are two ways to overcome the Fear of Death in The Sims 4: eitherDiscuss Fear of Death with another Sim or offer a Death Flower to the Grim Reaper.
As a quick reminder, there are tens of ways that your Sims can die. Additionally, the ghost of a dead Sim can offer important clues as to the cause of death.
If you really regret the death of a particular Sim, you can use Ambrosia and other methods to bring them back to life.
Fear of Fire 🔥
Sims that witness a fire, may develop an uncontrollable Fear of Fire. Random fires are not uncommon in The Sims 4. They often break when using low-quality stoves. But even toilets can sometimes catch on fire.
To help your Sim overcome their Fear of Fire, have them put out a fire. This will give them the Confident buff.
Fear of Ghosts 👻
Fear of Ghosts develops after having a negative encounter with a ghost. Some ghosts are very mean. They’ll use all sorts of mean interactions on your Sims and even prevent them from sleeping at night.
For example, if you have the Paranormal Stuff Pack, almost every encounter that your Sim has with Temperance will result in a bad experience.
To overcome the Fear of Ghosts, have your Sim use the Fight interaction on a ghost. This interaction is available under the Mean menu.
Fear of Swimming 🏊
Your Sim may occasionally get a negative moodlet while swimming, especially if they’re very tired. This triggers the Fear of Swimming.
To overcome the Fear of Swimming, Swim for an hour while in a Confident mood.
Conclusion
There are 12 different types of Fears that your Sims may experience from time to time in The Sims 4. Fears are influenced by your Sim’s traits.
The quickest to help your Sims overcome their Fears is to confront them and do the things they’re afraid of.
Sims that confront successfully their fears will overcome their anxiety and build their confidence. This will help them get out of their comfort zone and pursue opportunities that they might have otherwise missed out on.
Happy gaming!
Note: This guide was updated in March 2023 to include additional information.
