All humans have their differences, and that makes us unique in our own way. That uniqueness also plays out differently in person-to-person phobias and pet peeves. These are some critical issues that can affect one's mental health if not properly managed, and I, for example, as an individual who has been plagued with a particular phobia for about 20 years before I sail through, can tell you for a fact that it's not an easy ride, and today I'll love to write to you about related issues.
But before I delve into my experience dealing with my phobias and pet peeves, I'd first love to state my understanding of the meaning of both terms. To start with, I believe phobia is more or less like an irrational fear that plagues an individual, and such fear could be towards anything such as height, depth, water, and the like. Most of these fears are adopted based on past negative experiences with such objects, and sometimes they just come naturally. Phobia is a common term for an anxiety disorder that can be overcome via therapy and the like.
While when we talk about pet peeves, it's somewhat more complicated because it's a habit or action of someone else that irritates us; this usually varies per person, and sometimes these things that irritate us could be something others see as normal, and yet whenever such plays out around us, we feel uncomfortable and irritated, and sometimes due to the irritation, it does lead to strong reactions when we can't take it anymore.
Now that both are understood, I'll now share my personal life experience in dealing with both because I'm the living testament of someone who's dealing with both and had to come in contact with the same pet peeves I so much despise every day, how I overcame one of my phobias, and my steps in managing my mental health.
So, like I said in the first paragraph, I once had a phobia that lasted about 20 years before I overcame it, and that's cyclophobia. It's an experience I've shared before, so I won't be talking much about it here, but to let you know, I started having the phobia when I was involved in a ghastly accident on my first day of riding, and the fear from that day held me captive for the next two decades until I overcame it, and you can read all about it here.
My other phobia was the fear of a large body of water. If you ask me why I'm so afraid of it and I look into the past, I'll probably agree that my reasons are irrelevant, but then I still have it, and that's because the very first time I boarded a boat to cross to the other side of a river, I realized the boat was broken underneath and water from the river was flowing inside; these made me afraid that we might sink, but others in the boat with me that day seemed unfazed by what was happening. Instead, I just used a small bowl to throw the water back into the river.
Since that very day, I've been so afraid of a lady born of water, and despite how much I love to see people go on a boat cruise, indulge in sea diving, and the like, it's still personal. I've been afraid to give it a try, and that's probably why I haven't learned how to swim to this day. For this particular phobia, I'm yet to overcome it like I did with cyclophobia.
Talk about my pet peeves. It's somewhat strange that a teacher finds such a thing irritating when it's something I'll definitely have to deal with every day.
If you're wondering what my pet peeve is, it's no other thing but irritation from a loud noise or someone speaking at the top of their voice. These usually irritate me, and that's why I'm not usually pleased when someone close to me is talking too loud. I'll be like, Reduce your voice because you'll disturb others with how loud you talk.
Going into the classroom as a teacher or walking around the school premises, noise can't be bypassed because these students make noise and speak at the top of their voice at any given time, and sometimes when it's an adult who does that too often, I might avoid the person if I notice they won't reduce their voice. For the students, I tend to give them a task or group project to indulge in, and that usually makes them focus on being the best group rather than playing and making noises.
Talk about whether one can use logic to overcome irrational fear. I think it's possible, but it's not something that's easier to sail through because such fears have mostly taken root in our hearts and are like a stronghold with a fortress that's difficult to break in, but with a gradual process of giving it a shot to face our fear ones. In a while, with logic on how it's not really a big deal to do those things, we'll overcome.
The way I care for my mind to stabilize my mental health involves some important measures I've come to learn through the years, and some of them are seeking professional help like a therapist, taking enough rest, indulging more often in meditation, setting realistic goals that won't weigh me down, and overall indulging in activities I enjoy doing. All of these usually put my mind at ease, and you can give it a shot too.
This is my entry for the day 24 of the #mayinleo prompt of the #inLeo initiative, if you'd love to participate, you can read days about it in the announcement post.
That's all my take on these. I hope you enjoyed the read!
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