Through my own experience of phobias i have found that facing them head on is the most powerful way to, not only overcome, but destroy the phobia altogether.
I'd like to share two examples from my life:
1. Since I got stung by jellyfish inMalta when I was about 6 years old. I had the most ridiculous fear of water. Even in a swimming pool if there was anything dark on the pool floor (even a black tile), I was too afraid to swim directly over it.
This phobia had me for most of my life, I turn 30 this Friday on the 8th July and it was only last year in November in Cape Town South Africa that i managed to puck up and face my fears.
It was time to sort this out, constantly missing out on trips to the beach and having fun in the sea was killing me, so i decided to do a SCUBA course and top it off with a 20% discount off a shark tank dive at the aquarium.
Through-out the few weeks of training and exam style tests, i made myself quite comfortable by creating the best excuses not to go ahead with the dive on that dreadful day that was creeping closer by the minute.
I still can't quite put into words the confusion my mind and body went through that day, from the moment I woke up to the moment i went to sleep, (by that time i was still ridiculously excite. Let me share with you that i've had some wild parties in my career of been a DJ/Producer, but nothing can come close to the adrenaline rush i got when I sank my scared back-side into that tank.
I touched sting-rays as they passed me, I was within arms length of some of the worlds most terrifying sharks like the 'Raggy' (ragged tooth shark) and even got a sharks tooth from the tanks bed of sand and shells as a souvenir.
Today I have no problem with swimming in the sea, although i'm very cautious about rip tides, as they kill more people than sharks.
2. Basically the same principal to the 1st one, I didn't rate heights until (again in South Africa), I did the highest Bungee jump in the world, (Blaukrans Bungee Jump). My next thrill will now be in the form of a sky-dive =)
Regards
Oli
Answered by Oli VeronAge : 31 1 month ago
Report Abuse
Edit
Delete
Vote 0
