I wrote about my fear for dogs over here and how managed to get over it. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Facing a fear like that takes years. Some never get over it. There are people who have been bitten by a dog. That’s even worse. Even if they face their fear, in the back of the head, there’s always the thought about the event. But if you let your fear get in the way of living your life, you’ll never get anything done.
People that have never felt fear, won’t understand how it is to be really scared. There was an episode in ‘Friends’ where Chandler is afraid of dogs. He said he didn’t like dogs because he was scared of them. But if you’re scared, it means you can’t even be in the same room. You panic and wants to get out of there. The only reason he was scared of them was because he didn’t know what they were thinking. I wouldn’t call that fear. He wasn’t attacked or any other bad experience. That episode was unrealistic. Someone who’s afraid of dogs won’t get over it in a day. The writer who wrote the episode clearly didn’t know what it really feels to be scared of dogs.
The only person who understands how to be scared of something, is a person who’s afraid of the same thing or have been. If you’re scared of spiders, you can’t tell them, they won’t do you any harm. The same goes with dogs. I heard comments from dog owners that how nice and lovable their pets are. But for a person who is scared, it doesn’t help. That fear will still be there no matter what you say.
The only thing that helps to get over fear, is to face it. It might take years like it has for me. There are fears you can’t get over. My fear of needles has never disappeared. I know it might not hurt but still I try to ignore injections like a plague. Unless it’s really necessary. Blood tests are the worse. That’s one of the reasons I won’t donate blood. Just the thought makes me feel anxious. That’s a fear I know I’ll never get over.