Hello everyone, welcome to my blog again, TGIF!💃
Today's inleo prompt is quite interesting as it arouses deep searching and speaking out that innermost fear. Fear is one of human innate emotions and it is often said that fear is a safety emotion as you won't want to endanger your life by doing what you fear. We are all afraid of something.
In recent times, a lot of research has been done to come up with name tags for these fears a.k.a phobias. Some are within the boundaries of normal and rational while some are just off the charts irrational like the fear of books and even food. Fact is that these fears are real and should not be down played as the resulting consequence can be life threatening.
What is the meaning of phobia?
Phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction that leads to dread or panic attacks when one encounters the source of the fear_Oxford dictionary.
Now that we've had a glimpse of what phobia is, let's dive in to my phobias..
"Ophidiophobia*, this is the fear of snakes. Yuck, even saying it is giving me the peeves right now. I don't like encountering those slimy, crawling things cos if I do, I'm going to go on a full blown anxiety attack. It gets so bad that I'll start having nightmares of being swallowed by snakes and when that happens, there's no more sleep for me.
Acrophobia, this is the fear of heights and this has plagued me since childhood after I witnessed a neighbour fall to his death from the balcony of a two storey building. I do my best to avoid high places and if I must visit high rise buildings, I have to stay clear of the balconies, windows or anything that would make me look down. I even dislike crossing bridges. If there's a need to, then I would do so with my eyes partially closed.
- Aquaphobia, the fear of drowning. This is one reason why I'm still the swimming champion in my bath tub. I love water but only as long as it does not exceed my knees. Funmy thing is that the beach is my number one relaxation and fun spot, yet I have never dared to swim in it. I sit on the ahore and watch the waves do their stuff. Whenever I try to break the jinx and swim, my mind flashes images of me drowning and that is enough to keep my butt on the sand.
image is mine
- Trypanophobia, the fear of injections. Before you start laughing, please note that this is such a big deal. You need to see my face whenever the doctor says "Miss, you will be taking an injection today". My face gets drained of all colour and I immediately become healthy, hehe. Going to the nurse is a herculean task as I try to stall but no, that nurse just has to call my name and usher me into the private ward. Then comes the introduction of the needle into my skin (my buttocks precisely) my oh my, sometimes I chant incoherently while at other times I curse my ancestors and every scientist who invented injections 😂😂. This makes me not to visit the hospital when I'm sick except it is overly necessary.
I know that phobias can be treated through therapy but I don't think I have the courage to try it out. The mere thought of touching a snake can make me pass out or looking down from the heighest floor of "burj khalifa* can shoot my blood pressure up in seconds. So this is a no no, even my courage has limit😎.
This is my participation for day #24 of the #mayinleo initiative. Thank you all for reading.