Sloane, a 12-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, is a bit anxious about starting middle school in the fall and wonders if there’s a single word that means “fear of middle school.” There are some long, rare words for the extreme fear of school in general...
Denise in Panama City, Florida, is trying to recall a word for the fear of not knowing what happens in the world after one dies. It’s a more elevated term than FOMO, the fear of missing out. A poetic alternative is gephyrophobia, a fear of crossing...

