What is worse: loneliness itself or the fear of loneliness?

In my experience the fear of something is nearly always worse than the object of that fear because fearing something can have an insidious and lasting effect on you. The power of the human mind is something that we are not really anywhere near realizing and if we fear something the imagination will often make something seem far worse than the thing you fear. Before I was involved in a nasty combat situation in the Army, I was, if I'm honest, absolutely terrified of being in a situation like that. I envisaged freezing from the sheer horror and also of being found somehow wanting: will I freeze, or act cowardly or even, and this one really bothered me, would I act in a way that would result in one of my mates deaths? I was constantly haunted by thoughts of a troubling nature. And then I found myself in just such a situation, and it was WAY more furious and frenetic than I could have ever imagined...except for one thing. I didn't really 'think' at all. The training took over and I led my section from the front and dealt with the situation with ruthless efficiency. All that worrying and it was for nothing. Another example is death. Most of us find the notion of dying pretty terrifying, and so we should. But as a nurse, I have witnessed more than a few 'last breaths', as it were, and nearly all of them excepted it with a surprising amount of courage and stoicism. One old man who was just minutes away from passing has me with him. I was holding his hand and we were waiting for his daughter to get there. He suddenly turned to me and said "tell my daughter: all that worrying and it was for nothing". When she got there he had passed and I told her what he had said. She looked at me and said "You were with him when he died weren't you? I said yes and she told me that all his life he had had an almost crippling fear of dying alone that had spoilt his enjoyment of living. So yes, if you're worried about something then its a safe bet that it won't be as bad as you think when it or if it happens to you. Life's too short people so live it with a smile! It's a matter of perspective. Its all too easy to think that life is crap and cruel but..life is what you make it. I've had cancer in the past and have recently had to start treatment for another benign tumuor. I;m single at the moment and yes, I feel lonely but...I'm alive and as long as I'm breathing, I'm winning. I'm pretty broke from being at uni, but I don't need money for anything at the mo. I'm also single but there is an amazing girl that lives close by that thinks the world of me. My life is hard but I'm happy I'm here because when I die, I'll spend an eternity dead so whatever life throws at you just laugh right back in its face and say "Bring it on!!" There's always something you can do about your problems if you approach it the right way.