Do you remember laying in bed, frozen with fear as your imagination conjured up monsters under the bed? It didn’t matter that you couldn’t actually see the monster. The creature was as real as your hand, and threatened to grab hold of you at any moment. Falling asleep became practically impossible. Setting foot on the floor to walk down the hall and ask for help was terrifying. Even calling out for help required your child-self to rely on bravery you didn’t feel you had. Light was no match for the creatures under the bed. They appeared only in the darkness. Slumber took over only once the feeling of safety dissolved the mental monsters.
At what point does one outgrow self-concocted fear, or do we ever? Fear doesn’t change, but what we are afraid of does. Monsters under the bed get traded for more mature adultlike creations, but they are still formed in our minds. Most of what we are afraid of in life stems from our own imaginations and our fear of the unknown. We make assumptions and expect things to happen that may never actually materialize. Combating what we fear requires us to reel ourselves in mentally, take that terrifying step to ask for help, or turn on a light. https://www.verywellmind.com/i-fear-change-how-to-cope-with-the-unknown-5189851
Avoidance of what scares you won’t make fears go away. The more you fight your fears and keep them in the dark the bigger and scarier they become. Be brave and acknowledge your monsters under the bed, invite them into the light. Acknowledge that your fears are real, but tell them they cannot cower in the dark. Fears are afraid of being exposed, but they also desire to be released. Remove the hiding places of your fears and take action by shining a light on what scares you.
