People are afraid of a number of things that others may find to be quite ridiculous but none-the-less, a persons fear can be paralyzing. Although people will try to fight it or act like everything is fine in their lives, they all have some fear or phobia that alters the way they perceive their surroundings or the way they act.
For me I have several fears that I am not at all ashamed to admit: stairs (Bathmophobia), heights(acrophobia), birds (Ornithophobia) and most of all loneliness/ rejection. The first two I have been able to live a normal life and conquer them in one way or another by running up and down stairs to getting on a roller-coaster. In the midst of me conquering those two I have never been able to shake the fear of being alone, until now.
Autophobia is something that starts from birth and some people grow out of it sooner than others. In order to get over the fear of being alone you have to come to terms with the idea that at one point or another you will be PHYSICALLY alone. That does not mean that you are alone in the world or that you are unloved but that at that very moment no one is PHYSICALLY around to keep you company. Once I was able to grasp that concept these are the things that I did to help get over my fear:
- Preoccupy my time with favorite hobbies that do not require others company (ie reading, blogging, writing, planning surprises etc)
- Surrounding myself with people who genuinely care about me and my well being
- Even though it may be embarrassing talk to those people because it will make it easier for them to understand. I talked to one of my friends about it and she made (and still makes) it a point to contact me on a regular basis even if its just to say "hello =)". It gave me the comfort of knowing that someone was always thinking about me and cared.
- Inserting myself into situation where I would have to be alone or possibly rejected (auditions, interviews)
- Finding stress relievers (writing, dancing, breathing techniques)
- Praying or meditating. The reason this is one of the most helpful sources is because you have to do these things alone. No one can distress for you in these methods and people are sometimes distracting during these times of silences.
I am still working on my Ornithophobia, which only developed after being attacked several times by birds. Little evil creatures *giggle*. I will conquer this fear one day to but until then my motto will remain, "Little evil things that are only good for one thing and that's being cooked on my plate!"
Questions? Don't be afraid to ask.
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