P Is For Phobias

Day 16 of my A to Z Challenge. P is for Phobias.

If you don't know how this works, I've posted the link back to the rules of the challenge at the end of this, along with a link to yesterday's post. If you want to read my full alphabet, just keep following the links. Each day has a link back to yesterday's post.

 

I think it’s fair to say that everyone is scared of something. The important part is how you handle the fear. You need to find a way to deal with it. Whether that be by not putting yourself in the path of whatever you are afraid of, or by purposely putting yourself in its path to try to get over it. Whatever works for you! You may never fully eradicate it, but if it doesn’t affect your life in a negative way, than to me you’re winning!

I think some fears we grow out of (like monsters under the bed) and some we grow into (like health scares, facing our own mortality). These are something everyone has on some level, its human nature.

When I was young, I was terrified of spiders. I know it’s irrational, I don’t live anywhere where there are dangerous spiders, but that didn’t make it any less real. I couldn’t walk into a room with checking every inch of it for a spider. If I saw one, I would scream blue murder. I now class myself as over it. While I will never be a fan of spiders, they no longer send me into blind panic. I don’t scour everywhere I go looking for them. If I do happen to spot one, I just pop it outside (with a glass and paper, I’m not into holding them!), and move on with my life. I can’t remember when I stopped being scared of them, but I think a lot of it was as I grew older, I didn’t want to be that girl that was scared of spiders, so every boy in a one mile radius would try to capture one and throw it at me, so I pretended not to be afraid. It was hard at first but it worked. Fake it until you make it and all that.

I am still utterly terrified of water that is deeper than boob height (for want of a better description). I understand where this one comes from at least. I can’t swim, so water is kind of dangerous to me, so at least that makes it rational! I don’t think this fear will ever leave me, but I refuse to let it control my life! I make a point of being the first one into the sea on holiday. I make it a point to walk down pontoons and go on boats. This fear will not define me. When I force myself into these situations, I feel panicky, hot, clammy, and want to run in the opposite direction, but I don’t. Only by facing these fears can I beat them. And when I’m back on dry land, the feeling of achievement by far outweighs the feeling of panic.

Do you have any phobias? How do you try to overcome them?

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Link to rules: http://myrandommusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/a-z-challenge-whos-with-me.html

Link to O Is For Obsessions Of Mine: http://www.myrandommusings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/o-is-for-obsessions-of-mine.html