Good evening everyone!
Today I am going to discuss the subject of fear; I was inspired to write about this topic by the baby steps I took today towards overcoming one of my personal fears. I have always tried my best to not let myself become ruled by fear, but throughout my life I’ve had many phases where I deeply feared the “typical” types of scary things, and many of them I still fear today. Some examples would be spiders, snakes, and needles- which I will be talking about today. I know it may seem like a silly topic to talk about, but we all have our own weak points and fears.
Ever since I was very young, I HATED going to the doctor. Going to the dentist’s office never bothered me, but I would cry everytime my mom basically dragged me into the doctor’s office if I was sick or needed my yearly check-up. I hated seeing blood or anything even slightly gory when someone got hurt; therefore, it was only natural I was deeply afraid of needles. I had quite a few notable tantrums before getting shots or fingerpricks, one when I was five involving kicking a nurse in an attempt to deter the process (I was desperate, and don’t worry- I ended up writing a letter of apology). Even the idea of getting a shot made my arm start to hurt, and I went into utter panic as soon as I walked through the office entrance. My teeth would chatter, I would start hyperventilating, and in some cases just burst into tears as well.
To be honest, I’m not sure when this fear started or how it became so severe since I’ve never had that negative of an experience besides the actual freakouts before a shot/fingerprick/any appointment, and these things usually happened once a year at maximum. Either way, it was still definitely a huge fear of mine and even though my parents and I both hoped I would grow out of it and it was just something attached to being a little kid, I never did (but at least I handle it more maturely).
Bringing this issue into the present, I had three shots at my last yearly check-up in August 2018; one of them was a two-part shot and needed to get the second part before my next check-up. A couple days ago and much to my dismay, my mom called to finally make the appointment for me to get that shot. They gave us a couple options of dates with some as far into the summer as late July/early August before my check-up, and one as early as June 27th, today. I could’ve easily put it off until the end of summer since I was dreading it so much, but I decided I wanted to get it over with instead, a pretty mature decision for me.
I woke up early this morning and headed to the doctor’s office, and sure enough, the chattering teeth and heavy breathing returned as soon as my mom drove into the parking lot. I was there for the sole purpose of getting the shot so it was only going to take one second, but of course there was a long wait until they were ready for me so I just had more time to panic. I did some breathing exercises to slow down my breathing and it worked, at least until I was directed to one of the patient rooms and had to sit and wait for the nurse to get the actual needle and supplies.
I felt very babyish being a teenager freaking out in a pediatrician’s office and holding my mom’s hand for comfort all in the name of one pesky little shot, but the emotions of fear overcame me yet again. Luckily, the shot lasted one second (it actually hurt and my arm is sore, but of course everyone says I’m being overdramatic). However, I still feel that my response to the fear was better than it has been in the past (last year with the three shots I was bawling), and I was glad I made the decision to face it head-on and get it over with.
I know it may sound trivial to base this post on my overdramatized experiences getting shots that most kids have to get and have no problem with getting, but regardless of the actual issue at hand I wanted to draw attention to the fact that everyone has their own fears, the things that make them sweat whenever they pop into their brain. Sometimes they may seem silly to other people, but that’s why they are fears; they cause that dreadful emotion to the individual in which they affect. People have always told me my fear of needles is ridiculous at my age, but no amount of times hearing that could change the innate feeling of panic I get when I see a sharp, shiny needle on the nurse’s tray. Don’t feel stupid or babyish for being afraid of something and don’t listen to people trying to criticize you for it- instead, work on becoming more comfortable with whatever the thing is and take your own baby steps towards eliminating the fear.
About six to seven years ago, I was extremely afraid of being alone/sleeping in the dark. As long as I was with someone else I was completely fine; it could be pitch black and I wouldn’t even blink an eye, but as soon as that person left my mind would drift to nightmares of stalkers and murderers and other horrible monsters lurking in the shadows. I overcame it by slowly having less and less lights on when I went to bed, but it took a while for me to become truly comfortable sleeping by myself in the dark and not running to get one of my parents to check for monsters or watch over me. It may have been difficult for me to get to that level, but at least there was a simple strategy I could implement that eventually got me there in an effective manner. With many fears such as my fear of needles, it’s not that easy to just overcome- especially because I’ve had that fear a lot longer.
As long as you recognize what your fears are and you’re not just letting them have free reign over your thoughts, you’re already taking baby steps in the right direction. Remember that fears are created by us- any incident or event can trigger emotional reactions that turn something into what we know as a fear. Don’t let your fear rule you or hold you back; it is a mere obstacle in the course of life that you will eventually overcome with the right mindset. It’s almost always better to just push through and deal with the things you’re afraid of in order to move forward than to remain stuck and contemplating what to do. Another thing that helps is to focus on your dreams and goals, not your fears; if you’re thinking about whatever motivates you or excites you, you’re so much more likely to keep going and ignore the obstacles fear throws at you.
I believe in all of you and I know eventually we can overcome our fears together! If you want, comment down below what one of your fears is and one thing that you have done in the past or plan to do in the future to overcome it. I’m always here to talk about this topic (or anything else) with you guys! Also, please don’t make fun of me for being scared of needles- they’re scary and pointy and make holes in your skin, okay? Yes, I do kind of have the mind of a toddler. 🙂
adventures of a typical high school student 