About Me, Self Improvement, Thought of the day

What are you afraid of ??

“Fear cripples you, leaves you distressed and gives you an illusion of helplessness.” TillyJoanAdams 

Story Time!!! 

I randomly met a lady who told me she had a fear of taking a lift alone. As I left the lift to enter my flat she quickly rushed out and continued her journey on the stairs. 
I wondered what she thought would happen to her if she remained in the lift alone. I can imagine it was probably something that frightened her enough to compel her to take the stairs because where I lived those stairs were quite scary themselves. I once saw a dead rat on the stairway so I personally wouldn’t have taken the stairs by choice. (Apparently the president of United States of America is afraid of stairs, who would have thought so right, he held our PRIME Ministers hand just to feel secured down the stairs….wow! Don’t quote me on this, it’s on the daily mirror) 
 
After my encounter with this lady, I got thinking about my own irrational fears. 

I have a fear of dogs, I mean: I’m even scared of puppies, yes I know they’re cute and adorable but hey, they’re just too jumpy for my liking, I mean I don’t want you to lick me… No matter how many times I’m told that they are harmless I can’t seem to get myself to believe that. I am one of those people that will cross to the other side of the road to avoid walking past a dog. It seems rather silly, right? I have super powers: My dog radar is on point, they’ll never get me lol.

 
Whilst fear is a physical response to emotional and physical danger, it becomes a problem when it is irrational and stops you from carrying out normal daily activities, imagine not being able to have a shower because you have a fear of bathing, it sounds crazy but google ‘Ablutophobia’, it is actually a thing. I can imagine that a person that suffers from such phobia is likely to encounter other problems such as bullying as a result of foul body odour or may even exclude him or herself from others as a result of self-consciousness. (I am not a psychologist). 
Phobias are a form of anxiety disorder and are characterised by intense and irrational fear of an object or situation that poses no real threat. (You can quote me on this one, it’s not from the daily mirror)
 
As an ex-psychology A-Levels student, I found the topic on phobias to be very interesting. During class sessions, we were shown multiple videos of people who could not carry out simple tasks as a result of a phobia.
You would be surprised with some of the things that people are afraid of. Click play to watch the video below to catch a glimpse of what I mean.
Fear can protect you from making life threatening decisions such as running into a burning building but it can also stop you making the most out of life.
Think about it, how many things have you failed to do just because you fear the unknown outcome?

I find facing my fears head on to be so liberating. I once stroked a dog and I was so pleased with myself (P.s It was a medium sized dog) but since then I haven’t found the courage to do that again. Recently my husband has taken a shine to dogs and spends hours watching funny dog videos (I hate it). He has expressed his desire to one day have a dog, thus I am now actively trying to overcome my fear (when I say actively, I mean I tolerate the videos) but I won’t lie it is very hard. I recently jumped for my life whilst at a bus stop because a dog walked past unexpectedly. Clearly, I have a long way to go.

I’d like to know what your thoughts are in the comment section below: what scares you and how does it affect you? (I promise not to judge you). Get involved in the discussion.
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