Facing My Fears

animal-1836120_1920.jpg

Somewhere at one point in our lives, some of us developed a phobia. Throughout the years that phobia grew bigger and bigger.

In my case, we are talking about ophiphobia, an abnormal fear of snakes. I don't recall when exactly I started to be afraid of them, but I know that in my teenage years and later on, all my nightmares were snake-related.

In my 20's I went on a fishing trip with my friends and one of them had a terrible idea of pranking me. They had found a snake skin (recently shed) and they considered it would be fun to place it on my feet while I was not paying attention.

Since my eyes were fixed on the floater which was bobbing above the water, I did not realized that I was getting pranked. A few minutes later when my friends shouted at me not to move cause there was a snake next to me, I totally freaked out. I froze and couldn't breath right. It took a few slaps and lots of deep breaths to come back to my senses.

That was not the only snake incident I was involved with. There were several others throughout my life, that shook me to the core. You can read about some of these encounters here and here.

Luckily, I was never harmed. Someone suggested to me here on Steemit that maybe snakes were my totem and I should not fear them.

I had two previous attempts of trying to face my fear. Unfortunately none of them had a positive outcome. That's because the first time when I tried to get more comfortable being around a snake (which was in a closed terrarium), the snake managed to open the lid and was just about to sneak outside. My screams alerted the exbition's manager and he placed back the snake in his glass container.

The second time, the cobra I was starring at, jumped with all its strength towards me and shook its terrarium. It must have been disturbed by the noise made by a few kids jumping around. That day I learnt snakes react to vibrations. That lesson saved me and my son years later when we experimented a safari at home. I guess I could say there is a reason for everything.

Third time worked like a charm! It was a recent birthday party for kids that I attended with my son. My friend had arranged a surprise for all the kids by having animals brought to the party. Among the creatures brought, there was a snake as well.

IMG-20200202-WA0006.jpg

This was the moment where I had to practice what I preach as I always tell my 6 yo not to be afraid of the dark, monsters, ghost stories, etc. I constantly encourage him to face his fears and explain that there must be a logical explanation for all the things/noises/ stories he worries about.

It took a shot of alcohol and encouragement of six children for me to touch that snake. I told to myself that if I managed to survive a cobra, a rattle snake and a python, I could handle this one, in a controlled environment. Those I had previously ran into there into the wild, in their natural habitat. No one had taken away their venom or fed them well before the encounter.

It felt weird holding to it and it turned even more challenging when it started to move its head closer to my hands. My friends told me they could not see anything on my face, that I did not look scared. That's because my jaws were clenched and I was already on fight or flight mode.

I only held that snake for a less than a minute, though it felt much longer. Meanwhile into my mind, I had already ran a few possible scenarios. I had to tell myself it was okay and I was not in danger. If the kids were able to handle it, I had to do it as well. Well, I did it smiling, though that smile was caused by an image of a pair of snake shoes with a matching purse.

text15.png

What about you? Do you have any phobia(s)? Did you try to face your fears? If yes, how did that work for you? Drop me aline in the comments section below, I'd like to hear all about it!

PHC-Footer-05.gif



0
0
0.000
8 comments
avatar

ooh wow, I wouldn't want to encounter one of those :o

0
0
0.000
avatar

First of all.. WAY TO GO @lymepoet!!!!! Facing something that fears you so. I do not like snakes, but occasionally cross paths with them. I have mastered my fear of them by leaving them alone when I see them. Admire them by far and let them be. I respect their place in the food chain. I don't like to bring harm to anything, so I just move them along with a stick.

My big fear are Tornado's. I have weird dreams that I freeze up.. can't move but very slowly. Strong wind before a storm captivates me but scares me like you explained. Heart pounding, light sweat, and hard to breathe. I remember as a kid seeing and hearing a tornado close to our grandmother's house.. Oh man was it loud and eerie; Rumbled and shook everything like a moving earthquake. I think that experience brought that fear about. For Sure!

Glad to hear you did so well :-) I suppose I should face my fears and head to tornado alley for a good dose of 'fear stoppers' .. lol.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Thank you! I know they have their role in the eco-system and I try to stay away as much as I can. As for tornados, I have witnessed five of them. Although I found fascinating to witness the force of nature unleashed, one of them gave me a really good scare. During the other four, I was among those crazy persons trying to take photo of the raging funnel. But this one when I was in an airplane in Chicago (sitting duck), waiting on the runaway to take off, was scary. The strong winds made the airplane bounce up and down and then turn to 180 degrees and pushed one of the other airplanes into one of the airport buildings. That was a memorable night!

0
0
0.000
avatar

To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.

Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.

0
0
0.000
avatar

Yes, snakes do me in, too, as do rats and spiders. I can deal with mice - I don't like them, but I can deal with them. Knowing that the others are around, though, makes me want to put on a full hazmat suit.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I'd want to put one on if I'd be around rats or spiders ;0)

0
0
0.000
avatar

Hi @lymepoet!

Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 3.759 which ranks you at #5446 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has dropped 1 places in the last three days (old rank 5445).

In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 76 contributions, your post is ranked at #55.

Evaluation of your UA score:
  • You're on the right track, try to gather more followers.
  • You have already convinced some users to vote for your post, keep trying!
  • Try to work on user engagement: the more people that interact with you via the comments, the higher your UA score!

Feel free to join our @steem-ua Discord server

0
0
0.000