Overcomming a fear and changing your life

By Stoffel
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Grand Master

Stoffel

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Has anybody here on Neowin had a (irrational) fear they overcame that changed there life?

For the longest time I was afraid of the ocean.

I was born in 1977 so i consider myself a kid from the Jaws generation.

So for the longest time I had an irrational fear of getting attacked in the ocean.

In 2003 a friend of mine convinced me to go and dive while on a holiday.

It wasn't a natural thing for me but i did overcome my fear of the ocean.

I liked it so much that I gave up my day job as a computer consultant in Belgium and moved to a tropical Island on the coast of Honduras

I've been living here for 6 years now and teach people how to dive on a daily basis

Does anybody else here have a similar story they would like to share?

Grand Master

Stoffel

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  • Author
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I was afraid of lizards, and still am. :(

Don't want a life-changing experience with them. :D

Where I live now we have huge iguanas running around :)

I don't mind those, but I'm still not cool with the scorpions, even now that i know that a sting from those is the same as a bee sting.

Mentor

Gladiatorus

Posted
Posted

I was afraid of dogs. I've never been much of a dog person myself, I like cats so much more, but when I was about 8 y/o I was attacked by a dog, nothing serious, in fact I hardly think it was an attack; I was just in front of it leanning down to scratch it's head and it pulled a front paw hitting my upper lip. The dog's nails made two very deep cuts splitting my lip in three almost from the nose down. I had to be vaccinated against rabies (those mother effers hurt like hell) and had 10 or 12 stitches. I then became VERY afraid. As years went by, the fear went away. I still treat dogs with lots of respect but I just don't walk across the street to the other sidewalk whenever I see someone walking his/her dog anymore. I can even pet them if they come close in peace sniffing to get to know me.

I still like cats so much more though.

I don't know if this is a life-changing achievement but I certainly live with more peace of mind. Hell, my brother in law has two large retrievers and I play with them like ragged dolls, I can pull their food out of their mouths, pull their ears, poke their eyes, carry them up and all sorts of stuff and they keep moving their tails and asking for more. It's almost the same with my dad's dog, a mini schnauzer. But I wouldn't do all these things to a dog that I don't know and doesn't know me enough.

Grand Master

Stoffel

Posted
  • Author
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I was afraid of dogs. I've never been much of a dog person myself, I like cats so much more, but when I was about 8 y/o I was attacked by a dog, nothing serious, in fact I hardly think it was an attack; I was just in front of it leanning down to scratch it's head and it pulled a front paw hitting my upper lip. The dog's nails made two very deep cuts dividing my lip in three almost from the nose down. I had to be vaccinated against rabies (those mother effers hurt like hell) and had 10 or 12 stitches. I then became VERY afraid. As years went by, the fear went away. I still treat dogs with lots of respect but I just don't walk across the street to the other sidewalk whenever I see someone walking his/her dog anymore. I can even pet them if they come close in peace sniffing to get to know me.

I still like cats so much more though.

I don't know if this is a life-changing achievement but I certainly live with more peace of mind. Hell, my brother in law has two large retrievers and I play with them like ragged dolls, I can pull their food out of their mouths, pull their ears, poke their eyes, carry them up and all sorts of stuff and they keep moving their tails and asking for more. It's almost the same with my dad's dog, a mini schnauzer. But I wouldn't do all these things to a dog that I don't know and doesn't know me enough.

Maybe not life changing like you say, but never the less you did overcome a very real fear, So good on you.

I love dogs, but just like you i will not just start playing with any strange dog. I need to get to know them and feel comfortable around them before i will play with them

And thanks for sharing

I didn't really think about it when i posted it, but sharing a fear might not be as easy for everybody

Grand Master

FMH

Posted
Posted

...

I'm afraid of dogs too. But now it has improved a lot. Had some bad experiences around 5 years ago.

Once I got chased, other time it just sort of pounced at my feet. I had 3~4 bad experiences around a month's time span. No wonder, I developed a phobia of some kind.

But it has improved a lot. I learned that dogs can sense fear, and you need to be confident around them, if you don't want him to attack you or bark at you.

Veteran

Alwaysonacoffebreak

Posted
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I've been afraid of heights since I can remember. Once had to work on construction on a TV tower, that made me almost crap my pants. Over a week or two it slightly passed but lets be honest, I won't be running up to any hights still.

This is probably the most common fear? :)

Veteran

Alwaysonacoffebreak

Posted
Posted

Without a doubt. Most people are afraid of dying. ;)

Well yeah I got one more thing, guess it ain't actually a fear to be exact but I have hard time eating infront of other people, don't know why but it feels uncomfortable lol and seems I can't overcome that. Took me 2 months to actually eat infront of my girlfriend lmao.

Grand Master

FMH

Posted
Posted

Well yeah I got one more thing, guess it ain't actually a fear to be exact but I have hard time eating infront of other people, don't know why but it feels uncomfortable lol and seems I can't overcome that. Took me 2 months to actually eat infront of my girlfriend lmao.

Yeah, it is awkward for me too if I'm the only one eating. Though if everybody is eating, it isn't a problem for me.

Grand Master

Stoffel

Posted
  • Author
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Without a doubt. Most people are afraid of dying. ;)

See that's where my fear of the ocean came from too i think

It wasn't the ocean per se, but the fact that you could get attacked by a shark and die

Mentor

MidnightDevil

Posted
Posted

I always had fear of becoming a dad.... when at 2007 my ex gf gave birth to the most beautifull baby I ever seen....

I tried to live with it naturally, putting her to sleep... playing with her... but right in the first days you'll realize there's nothing to be afraid off... there's nothing better in the world then putting your own baby to sleep and just stay there watching :)

.... Now I fear the day she has her 16 birthday... lol

Grand Master

Axel

Posted
Posted

I've been afraid of heights since I can remember. Once had to work on construction on a TV tower, that made me almost crap my pants. Over a week or two it slightly passed but lets be honest, I won't be running up to any hights still.

This is probably the most common fear? :)

You shouldn't be afraid of heights. You should be a afraid of FALLING from them, which is entirely rational :p

I have yet to discover an irrational fear, I don't think I have any.

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