I remember growing up we were told not to voice our fears outloud, lest Satan hear them and use it against us during the GT. I was afraid of sooooo many things, but could never feel like I could talk about my fears - there was no way I was going to let Satan hear them and maybe put me in a pit with snakes and spiders (fear of snakes goes back to pretty much my earliest memory).
As a result I grew up pretending I wasn't afraid of anything, that I was the strong one, which is sooooo far from the truth! lol I have learned that I am stronger than I thought I was, but there is a part of me that just once would love someone else to deal with the fears and tell me it's all going to be ok.
There are alot of things I'm afraid of, snakes being one. We lived out in the country, surrounded by bush. I loved exploring the area as a young girl, I was about three years old, put my kitty in my doll buggy, put on my fav red rubber boots and went for a walk. It was either spring or fall by the weather, and I came upon a big mass of snakes all rolling in a big ball! I screamed and ran back home, my big sister was there and she thought I'd been bit by snakes the way I was carrying on lol. That really is my first memory. I still don't like snakes, but I have forced myself to handle them. The largest was a 3' ball python. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I'll never have one as a pet, and still let out the odd scream when I see them outside, but know I could pick it up if I had to.
Falling down the stairs is another fear. I'm not sure where I got this from, maybe watching someone fall and die in a movie or something when I was young. This one still freaks me out - and I hate anything on the stairs that I could trip over. If I stumble on the stairs my mind immediately shows me a picture of me all twisted at the bottom of the stairs. Not sure how to get over this fear.
Fear of death and abandonment. My mother died when I was three, and I had terrible seperation anxiety as a child (didn't know what it was back then, before "labels"). I would worry when my grandparents left after visiting that I'd never see them alive again. I no longer fear death, because I do believe that I will see the ones I've lost in death again (where/how I don't know, but I have a strong feeling that I will). Abandonment is a whole other issue that I think I'll need some professional help with.
What are your fears? Have you overcome any of them and how?
BB