It's fair to say that during the last few years I've had to face a few fears that have stayed with me from a young age. Some of them have literally been thrust in my face, as in I've had no choice but to just go through with them and do it. Sometimes this is the best situation, as you have no time to decide not to do something - you are forced to. More recently however, I've taken the decision consciously to go through with some things, which often surprises me, because my head is certainly capable of convincing me why I shouldn't do it.
Heights
I've always had a lingering fear of heights, and many times I've needed to face it head on. When I was younger I went on PGL courses where I would often be jumping off high poles or abseiling, and they absolutely terrified me. It's something to do with feeling insecure or unstable at such a height which unnerves me. Last week I faced my fear of heights again, where I climbed up a rock face on a via ferrata, which is like a climb with iron steps all the way along. I had a few moments where I was in tears and stressing out, but I actually found that I was enjoying myself most of the time! I'm starting to feel at ease with heights these days, given that I'm in such a high-altitude area and I've loved walking to the tops of peaks so much being here.
Public Speaking
Public speaking without a doubt has always been a huge struggle of mine. Since secondary school I've hated doing class presentations, I even hated volunteering answers in class. Again, as school is, I've been forced into facing this fear but it has by no means eradicated this fear. Every time I go up to speak, I feel my heartbeat racing, my hands quivering a little, and a catch in my throat. University certainly hasn't diminished the amount of presentations I've had to do, but I've gradually grown in confidence when speaking, even if I don't feel the most confident in the world. I feel like if people can't tell that I'm nervous, then it doesn't matter as long as the performance goes smoothly.
Dogs
I had a huge fear of dogs when I was really young, due to the fact one of my relatives had an extremely boisterous and intimidating dog, which would terrify me. Since then, I never really liked jumpy dogs, I would feel uncomfortable and out of my comfort zone. However, all of that changed a few years ago when my ex boyfriend's family got a new puppy. Like most puppies she was jumpy and cheeky which worried me at first but becoming used to her in her jumpy stage helped me to relax more around other energetic dogs! She grew into a very gentle and sweet dog and now I feel at ease around all dogs, it often is the case that you need to become to used to that type of presence.
It is normal to have fears in life, and often the most useful solution to making them easier is trying to throw yourself into situations with the fear more than a few times to start seeing it as something less threatening, and much more doable.
Thanks for reading! Are there any fears that you've had to deal with? How did you deal with them?
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