I’m not often afraid. Concerned on occasion, apprehensive sometimes. But really being afraid of something, being scared, either of or for, that is rare. Not because I never experience those feelings, but because I refuse to let that get to me. So I work hard to reduce fear by trying to understand its core. To understand what it is about the thing that scares me and then trying to work through that. There’s a reason why one of my favourite quotes is “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” as said by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Fear, when unchecked, can completely freeze you and cause you to make stupid choices. I’ve experienced both, and would like to not have that happen regularly.
So, at this point the only things I fear are
– Death. Not the actual process of dying, but what comes next. The not existing anymore. I really like living and being me and stuff. The idea that I at some point will stop being, is chilling. And I’m not sure if there’s anything after this life, but if there is, I’m not sure it will be in a form that will necessarily remember me, so the point remains.
– The dentist. The root of the problem with the dentist is that I like to be in control of what happens to me. And for me that means seeing what happens and being able to clearly indicate what I like and don’t like and when I want things to stop. At the dentist however, you’re pretty helpless. Lying down, not able to see what goes on in your mouth, and not able to clearly indicate when you’re uncomfortable because you can’t speak. Add to that the dentist I had as a kid who, without warning or whatever pulled my incisor. It had to come out, it was my baby tooth that, instead of falling out when the adult incisor came through, got pushed upwards. However, that was the point where I stopped trusting dentists.
– Rollercoasters and related rides, things like bungeejumping and such. I think this ties in to the death thing. There’s always the underlying thought that I might fall out or something. Especially since most of those things are open on the top.