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La primera fobia que recuerdo, la cual aun mantengo es a los sapos o las ranas, aunque sería incapaz de hacerles algún daño, por ejemplo quitarles la vida…eso nunca. Pero si prefiero que estén lejos de mí. Una de las primera que vencí fue a los “tuqueques” sé que en otros lugares reciben otras denominaciones estos lagartos totalmente inofensivos y a los cuales vi por mucho tiempo con absoluto temor, aprendí que no hacen daño por el contrario comen insectos no deseados, lo dominé…observándolos fijamente, hasta que me transmitieron la ternura suficiente, inclusive en una ocasión lloré por encontrar uno ahogado que cayó accidentalmente en un "tobo" de agua.
La aversión que me ha costado superar, pese a que la he enfrentado, sin embargo pareciese que ocurriesen hechos que me llevan a aumentarla, es la aerofobia, el miedo a volar en aviones, he estado en dos situaciones de emergencia ellos y considero que eso ha ayudado poco. La ultima en la cual estuve, la luz roja de no levantarse jamás se apagó y vi como un azafata sentada en su puesto sacaba de su bolsillo un pequeño Rosario y comenzaba a rezar…Dioss…no me dio un infarto porque adopté la resignación que iba a morir…este cerebro nuestro que siempre consigue una solución en momentos emergentes.
Ahora bien, tengo la certeza emocional que para vencerlas debe ser afrontando, algunas de manera gradual, otras con más determinación pero el final es el mismo… enfrentar. Hay un refrán popular venezolano que dice: “todos somos valientes…hasta que vuela la cucaracha”…muy acertado, si es rastrera de zapatazo la matamos…pero si es voladora…allí la cosa cambia y el valor se amilana un poco. No obstante atreverse a vivir la fobia es determinante en su superación.
El miedo es la emoción elemental más vieja e importante en la vida del hombre en la tierra, ya que nos resguarda de las amenazas del entorno, imaginemos que los cavernícolas se hubiesen detenidos por todos lo peligrosos animales que tuvieron que enfrentar, consiguientemente tener miedo es sano, pero este se convierte en problema cuando nos ataja y nos encierra impidiéndonos tener una vida funcional.
La peor de las fobias es la incertidumbre, con ella no se consiguen vías de escape, ni soluciones fáciles y viables, nos va amilanando el sentido común y hasta la creatividad, por ello se mira a los ojos dejamos de adelantarnos a las cosas futuras, se vive un día a la vez, los creyente oramos, lo hablamos lo decimos…y a enfrentarnos a lo que venga…que lleguen mil ranas para no perderlas de vista …lograr pensar que lindas y buenas son.
Phobias generally occur in our lives and often lead to important situations where the only alternative is to overcome them. That's the best solution, by the way...to face them. I remember having had several, some of them limiting, but I have overcome all the ones I could. I think I should clarify that there are some called xenophobias and homophobias, and in my humble opinion, these are not fears of race or sexual orientation; they are something worse: anger and contempt, which is a feeling deeper than fear.
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The first phobia I remember, which I still maintain, is of toads or frogs. Although I would be incapable of harming them, for example, taking their lives... that would never happen. But I do prefer them to be far away from me. One of the first I conquered was the "tuqueques." I know that in other places these completely harmless lizards are known by other names, and which I viewed for a long time with absolute fear. I learned that they don't cause any harm; on the contrary, they eat unwanted insects. I mastered it... by staring at them until they conveyed enough tenderness to me. On one occasion, I even cried after finding a drowned one that had accidentally fallen into a bucket of water.
The aversion that has been difficult for me to overcome, despite having faced it, yet it seems that events occur that lead me to increase it, is aerophobia, the fear of flying in airplanes. I have been in two emergency situations and I consider that this has helped little. The last one I was in, the red light indicating never to get up went out and I saw how a flight attendant sitting in her position took a small rosary out of her pocket and began to pray... God... I didn't have a heart attack because I adopted the resignation that I was going to die... that brain of ours that always finds a solution in emergency moments.
Now, I'm emotionally certain that overcoming them requires facing them head-on, some gradually, others with more determination, but the end result is the same: confronting them. There's a popular Venezuelan saying that goes: "We're all brave...until the cockroach flies." It's quite accurate. If it's a crawler, we kill it with a single blow...but if it's a flyer, then things change, and courage weakens a bit. However, daring to live with the phobia is crucial to overcoming it.
Fear is the oldest and most important elemental emotion in human life on Earth, as it protects us from environmental threats. Imagine if cavemen had stopped because of all the dangerous animals they had to face. Consequently, fear is healthy, but it becomes a problem when it stops us and locks us in, preventing us from having a functional life.
The worst phobia is uncertainty, with it there are no escape routes, nor easy and viable solutions, it dwindles our common sense and even our creativity, that is why we look into each other's eyes, we stop anticipating future things, we live one day at a time, believers pray, we talk it out, we say it... and we face whatever comes... let a thousand frogs come so we don't lose sight of them... manage to think how beautiful and good they are.
