fear is, at many times, completely irrational. we hold fears of things that other people don’t, and in that way, we know that that thing is most likely harmless. most fears derive from the human’s fear of the unknown. for example, a classic type of fear is fear of the dark. after the lights are turned off, you can probably remember that there is nothing alive in the room that can harm you, but once you can’t use your visual senses to reaffirm that belief, your brain gets to work at convincing you that there are demons in the dark. is it really possible that the minute you turn a light off, something starts creeping out of the shadows whose sole purpose is to harm you? and once the lights are on, it is able to, without being seen, slink back into the shadows? it’s highly unlikely, yet most people are afraid of the dark.
me, i’m only afraid of certain things if i am in the mindset to be afraid. for example, earlier tonight, a friend was upstairs, and he was banging around; at the time, i had thought he left, so i was scared out of my mind. when i found out it was just him, i was okay. but since then, every noise and creak has made me jump. just a while ago, i was scared out of my mind when i came out of the bathroom and thought i heard something whisper behind me, and chills crept down my spine. i was so scared that i ran to my boyfriend, hoping he’d make me feel better and keep me company while i calmed down. he was about to go to the bathroom to do his business, and he was very reluctant to hang out with me. i was so scared that i tried to convince him to let me sit in the shower while he took a shit. now i feel silly. but i still have to have something playing in the background, like music, to calm me. and i absolutely, 100% refuse to check on the brownies until he comes out of his “office.”
