Phobias
Phobias, they can creep into your life and change it forever. It can cause an immense fear in someone, a fear so great it can drive them to do incomprehensible things. It’s funny just how much one’s phobia can affect them in their daily activities, don’t you think?
There are known to be many types of phobias. For example, some people are unable to leave the house due to the fear of sunlight. Some can’t even look at their own faces, for the fear of mirrors or anything with a reflection convicts them. The most depressing and troubling phobia I’ve heard of though, is the fear of knowledge. Imagine someone who wants to be successful in life, wants to study and graduate from a university and earn their degree. How is one supposed to do that with a fear of gaining knowledge? Phobias and fears overwhelm people and prevent them from performing certain activities. Some people suffer greatly, some more than others. Some, not at all.
Sometimes, phobias are a result of past experiences or incidents. Whereas, for the unfortunate, are just born with it.Starting off would be the most predictable kind of phobia – the fear of animals. Past experiences that trigger this fear could include near-death animal attacks or injuries from animal attacks.For example, being chased by a dog or worst, being bitten by one. Then there are rather eccentric ones. Take ablutophobia for example, which is a fear of washing or bathing. Who wants to be dirty all the time? I’m sure the person suffering from that phobia doesn’t wish for that, but what can they do? Even disturbing ones, such as automaton phobia - the fear of ventriloquist dummies, wax statues or anything that falsely represents a sentient being. Also, the common ones such as acluophobia and acrophobia, which are the fear of darkness and fear of heights respectively. Common, no?
Many claim that phobias can be overcome, with a good reason to back it up. Of course, it’s easier said than done. Fears don’t just disappear voluntarily, one would have to put in a great amount of commitment on their part and even then, success may not be guaranteed achievable. Then they have to learn to pick themselves up, and try again to eradicate the phobia. You don’t just give up and accept the fact that you have to live with your phobia all your life do you? No you don’t, you fight. You fight in hopes that one day you’ll overcome the insurmountable. Though for some, their particular phobias may not affect their daily lives greatly,overcoming their phobias will definitely provide some sense of liberty.
So how do you face phobias? How do you overcome your fears? The answer is simple, conquer them. Do not succumb to them. No matter what others may tell you, there truly is no other solution. No amount of psychotherapy will prove effective without your own initiative. Your peers also prove to be a great deal of motivation because with their support, it can be done. In the end, it all boils down to one thing – facing it. You have to face it to overcome it, and with that, eradicate it completely. Everyone would will for their fears and phobias to be vanquishedby putting it all behind them.
I once read a story about a woman who suffered from a phobia of choking. Imagine a life where you fear swallowing the food you’re chewing. Consumption of food is inevitable;therefore this was one phobia that could not be avoided. This woman had to face her fears involuntarily every day, but she did not face them with courage or with the aim of conquering it, she simply was forced to face it and backed down every time, shivering in the corner from the swallow she had taken. She was not born with it; in fact it was a result from the death of her late sister. Her sister suffered an incident whereby there was an inflammation of her trachea caused by an allergy, which made it swell up, blocking her air passage-way. Just in a matter of seconds, her sister had died choking. This left anindelible mark on the woman and it affected her mental health. Having to deal with that immense amount of fear swirling inher mind every single time she took a bite and attempted to swallow her food truly was a burden for her. Good news was she recovered in the end. She managed to defeat her fear as she realized how much it was troubling her. She did it with willpower and faced her phobia one step at a time and she got through it.
Fear has a way of consuming you. So whatever you do, do not allow it to consume you. Period.
BY MEGAN TAH
There are known to be many types of phobias. For example, some people are unable to leave the house due to the fear of sunlight. Some can’t even look at their own faces, for the fear of mirrors or anything with a reflection convicts them. The most depressing and troubling phobia I’ve heard of though, is the fear of knowledge. Imagine someone who wants to be successful in life, wants to study and graduate from a university and earn their degree. How is one supposed to do that with a fear of gaining knowledge? Phobias and fears overwhelm people and prevent them from performing certain activities. Some people suffer greatly, some more than others. Some, not at all.
Sometimes, phobias are a result of past experiences or incidents. Whereas, for the unfortunate, are just born with it.Starting off would be the most predictable kind of phobia – the fear of animals. Past experiences that trigger this fear could include near-death animal attacks or injuries from animal attacks.For example, being chased by a dog or worst, being bitten by one. Then there are rather eccentric ones. Take ablutophobia for example, which is a fear of washing or bathing. Who wants to be dirty all the time? I’m sure the person suffering from that phobia doesn’t wish for that, but what can they do? Even disturbing ones, such as automaton phobia - the fear of ventriloquist dummies, wax statues or anything that falsely represents a sentient being. Also, the common ones such as acluophobia and acrophobia, which are the fear of darkness and fear of heights respectively. Common, no?
Many claim that phobias can be overcome, with a good reason to back it up. Of course, it’s easier said than done. Fears don’t just disappear voluntarily, one would have to put in a great amount of commitment on their part and even then, success may not be guaranteed achievable. Then they have to learn to pick themselves up, and try again to eradicate the phobia. You don’t just give up and accept the fact that you have to live with your phobia all your life do you? No you don’t, you fight. You fight in hopes that one day you’ll overcome the insurmountable. Though for some, their particular phobias may not affect their daily lives greatly,overcoming their phobias will definitely provide some sense of liberty.
So how do you face phobias? How do you overcome your fears? The answer is simple, conquer them. Do not succumb to them. No matter what others may tell you, there truly is no other solution. No amount of psychotherapy will prove effective without your own initiative. Your peers also prove to be a great deal of motivation because with their support, it can be done. In the end, it all boils down to one thing – facing it. You have to face it to overcome it, and with that, eradicate it completely. Everyone would will for their fears and phobias to be vanquishedby putting it all behind them.
I once read a story about a woman who suffered from a phobia of choking. Imagine a life where you fear swallowing the food you’re chewing. Consumption of food is inevitable;therefore this was one phobia that could not be avoided. This woman had to face her fears involuntarily every day, but she did not face them with courage or with the aim of conquering it, she simply was forced to face it and backed down every time, shivering in the corner from the swallow she had taken. She was not born with it; in fact it was a result from the death of her late sister. Her sister suffered an incident whereby there was an inflammation of her trachea caused by an allergy, which made it swell up, blocking her air passage-way. Just in a matter of seconds, her sister had died choking. This left anindelible mark on the woman and it affected her mental health. Having to deal with that immense amount of fear swirling inher mind every single time she took a bite and attempted to swallow her food truly was a burden for her. Good news was she recovered in the end. She managed to defeat her fear as she realized how much it was troubling her. She did it with willpower and faced her phobia one step at a time and she got through it.
Fear has a way of consuming you. So whatever you do, do not allow it to consume you. Period.
BY MEGAN TAH
