Fears and Phobias Blog #1 Cameron McGill
I have been afraid of many things over the course of my life, but only a few of these fears have stuck with me over the course of my life. One fear that refuses to go away is my fear of heights. I have had this fear for as long as I remember but thankfully it’s not as severe as it used to be. I remember when I was smaller I had such a hard time dealing with this fear I refused to ride any Ferris wheel no matter how big or small, I would become anxious and scared if I so much as climbed the bottom few steps of a ladder, and I only ever used the swing set for sitting, not swinging as I was worried I’d fall, no matter how unlikely it was. However, as I am growing older and becoming better at stepping outside my comfort zone, I have begun noticing instances where this fear no longer controls me like it used to. Two summers ago, I visited the CN tower, and instead of backing out and making excuses to leave, I walked on the glass floor despite being several thousand feet in the air and very nervous.
Another fear I struggle with is insignificance, which is seemingly something more and more people are now having trouble with. I often find myself ruining what would otherwise be a completely normal and enjoyable couple of hours when I dwell on this idea for too long. There isn’t much I can say about this fear that hasn’t already been said unfortunately. However, I will happily recount an idea that I find comforting. The idea is essentially as long as you were mindful of what you said and did to others, and helped yourself and others to produce more positive feelings than negative feelings, you had a productive day. Whether anybody will ever know about these actions is irrelevant.
A third major fear I have is being disliked, which in my case is fairly similar to the ideas discussed in the previous paragraph. I know it's complete and utter nonsense as no matter what you do, someone won’t agree with it, but I hate the idea of upsetting anyone. Maybe it's due to my inability to easily shake off what others say, but I constantly worry and fear that what I say and do will leave a negative impact on somebody. I admit this fear is somewhat narcissistic, but I struggle with it nonetheless.
Admittedly, I know deep down that just about all of my fears are pretty irrational. Avoiding a fall from a high place is done easily enough, and oftentimes the fall completely decimates your body, meaning it likely won’t be a painful process at least. When it comes to feeling insignificant, I am having less and less trouble comprehending the fact that it's unlikely any human will ever amount to anything universe altering, meaning I’m doing about as well as anyone else I meet. Lastly, when it comes to worrying about being disliked, acknowledging that the fear is fairly narcissistic and foolish can help belittle and dismiss the fear with much less effort. In conclusion, I am now going to go out of my way to annoy others. 😛
Interesting blogpost Cameron! One thing I would like to point out is that the fears you listed were pretty common. If you look up "most common fears and phobias" you'll probably find one or two of the fears you listed on there, so they're not as irrational as you might think. (I am also afraid of heights).
ReplyDeleteHey Cameron, very nice job on the post. I can relate with you on some of these fears and I thought it was cool to see how you reason with yourself to reduce them. I will say, going from being scared of heights to standing on glass in the CN tower is an impressive change. That would be pretty nerve-wracking even if you didn't have a fear for heights.
ReplyDeleteThe first sentence of your last paragraph interested me because I know most of my own fears are irrational as well, but I still can’t get rid of them. I liked the way you described growing out of some of your fears with examples like walking across a glass floor thousands of feet in the air, and even if you still aren’t completely free of some of your fears yet, they’ve been reduced at least. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you described your fears. In the way you described your fears it is really relatable. I like how you talk about growing out of your fears and how they are irrational. That's good that you know that but someone times it only helps us get less afraid and not fully not afraid. I am glad you are overcoming your fears!
ReplyDeleteThe fears that you talk about are very relatable and I'm glad that you decide to give a wide approach by talking about many different phobias. I'm interested by the "harsh reality" perspective that you mention towards the end, because I do agree with your points about some of them being irrational if we really think about it. I think the problem is that we tend to have rampant imaginations and we hear stories which influence our perception and increase our fears of these things you mentioned. In general, great descriptions and anecdotes. (Oops sorry, I accidentally replied to Kara's comment... twice).
ReplyDeleteI liked that you embraced your fears at the end and used it as a chance to grow instead of just wallowing in it. All of the fears you talked about are relatable to me, especially the people-oriented ones.I liked how you went into detail about each of the three fears and then put a positive spin in the end so it wasn't so cynical. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the last two of your phobias, which I distract myself from by consuming media (Twitch, Youtube, Spotify) almost 24/7 and hanging out with my friends and family in the remaining time. I feel like when most people mention phobias, they don't talk about deeper-rooted ones like those two, so I'm very glad that you included them. Great post!
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