Fear fuels us. It's how we survive. Without fear, we wouldn't push ourselves forward. But not all fears are healthy. Instead of letting the fear fuel you, it paralyzes you and causes a deep sense of dread. Some fears or phobias are so bad, they paralyze people and cause them to panic over something that, to others, may be nothing. Common phobias are arachnophobia (spiders), coulrophobia (clowns), aviophobia (flying) and claustrophobia (tight enclosed spaces). Everyone has that one irrational fear that haunts them to their bones.
For me, I have an irrational, intense fear of birds (ornithophobia). My fear has gotten so bad that when I see a flock of birds outside my house, my breath becomes sharp and tense, my head feels heavy and my hands become clammy. On a campus filled with geese, who are ALWAYS angry, I had to face my fear nearly every day. One day, there was a flock of 20 or so geese blocking my path to class, I distinctly remember holding my friend's hand and crying as he lead me past the geese. It was at that moment that I realized I was letting my fear of birds take control of my life. What would I have done if my friend wasn't there, skip class the week before finals? Break down and cry in the middle of campus? I had to stop my fear from ruining my life. For God's sake, I had a panic attack at Passion Puddle because two ducks waddled up to me! They were harmless, just looking for a snack, and I became a crying mess.
I don't want my fear to define me. While it's alright to be freaked out by something, the moment it stops you from living your life, it becomes an issue. Fears are perfectly fine when they fuel you or challenge you, but having to change your daily life because you are afraid is when a fear has gone too far.
This is my resolution to FINALLY face my fears.
Disclaimer: When facing your fear, don't go crazy trying to expose yourself to what you are afraid of. I'm afraid of being buried alive, but I'm not going go dig a hole and hang out in it! Don't put yourself in any dangerous situations in order to attempt to face your fear. For example, if you're afraid of drowning, don't throw yourself into a deep pool. If you have claustrophobia, don't lock yourself in a cabinet.
First: Accept the fear. Acknowledge the fear and accept that you are afraid, don't let yourself be "brave" when deep in your gut you want to cry. By accepting and acknowledging your fear, you begin to detach the fear from the object. When you accept the fear and figure out WHY you're afraid, the world seems a bit less scary.
Second: Slowly reintroduce yourself to the object. Slow exposure to the fear allows you to face the scary thing in a comfortable environment.
Finally: Continue to expose yourself to the fear. Dissociate the object from the fear, allow it to be just another object. With continuous practice, soon the fear will become distant and unremarkable. Your fear will seem like nothing, and it won't matter anymore.
