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All the same awesomeness, just a new site.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
I'll start out by saying that I am terrified of many things: the dark, spiders, clowns, scary men hiding under my bed, vast spaces, confined areas, strange and/or loud noises, creepy trees, heights, sketchy-looking people/places, and the list goes on for a while. But I have a justifiable reason for each of these fears.
See? This is a scary clown. They’re all this scary. Totally sensible.
People tell me that I have a bunch of irrational fears. I think they’re wrong and my fears are completely rational, each of them justified. It's possible that only I will find them rational, but this means that they are indeed, rational, not irrational.
You have to understand that it's all in perception.
A common fear is a fear of heights (or if you want to be nit picky, a fear of falling that is induced by heights). This fear is seen as rational. Why? Because it's normal and, apparently, justifiable. How I see it: the possibly of falling is greater than the possibility of dying in the ocean, therefore a fear of heights is more rational than a fear of the ocean.
If you were deathly afraid of spiders, one might consider this a rational fear seeing as they are tiny death traps that have the ability to drain your life away with one bite. If you were deathly afraid of bumblebees, people point and laugh at you because, "Everyone knows they can't sting you!" This may be true, but they can also buzz very loudly and scare anxious people into thinking a gigantic hornet has magically appeared and is going to eat them.
Being scared of heights and lethal creepy crawlies is perfectly okay, whereas a fear of clowns or a large man hiding under your bed with the intent of killing you are irrational and silly. Not to me! In fact, it is quite the contrary.
How would you feel if this was hiding in your closet?
Breaking into a person's house is a common crime. That's why they have a name and law against breaking and entering. Murder is also (way too) common. Though both of these things are frowned upon, they also still occur.
As I take these into consideration (while also watching a handful of murder investigation shows [i.e. Law & Order, The Mentalist, and Criminal Minds]), I begin to wonder about the probability of this happening to me. This sends me into a frantic, panicky state of being that leads to me scrambling about, checking my window locks, looking under my bed, and checking for scary men (Freddy Krueger) hiding in my closets.
I tried to explain to my father that fears are all about perception, not necessarily reality. The mind is a powerful weapon that can create legitimate fear in the hearts of many. Just because something does not frighten you doesn’t mean that it can’t make another person run crying to their mommy.
I am often told that I am a pansy. This makes me indignant, belligerent, and very upset. I am not a wuss; I am strong and intelligent, and am alive today because my fears make me cautious, dang it.
I have not yet drowned in the ocean, been murdered or stung by a wasp, attacked by a man under my bed, kidnapped in the middle of the night, or eaten by a scary clown. Precaution saves lives!
It’s also quite possible that I am a wuss. Who knows? It's all up to your perception.
See? This is a scary clown. They’re all this scary. Totally sensible.
People tell me that I have a bunch of irrational fears. I think they’re wrong and my fears are completely rational, each of them justified. It's possible that only I will find them rational, but this means that they are indeed, rational, not irrational.
You have to understand that it's all in perception.
A common fear is a fear of heights (or if you want to be nit picky, a fear of falling that is induced by heights). This fear is seen as rational. Why? Because it's normal and, apparently, justifiable. How I see it: the possibly of falling is greater than the possibility of dying in the ocean, therefore a fear of heights is more rational than a fear of the ocean.
If you were deathly afraid of spiders, one might consider this a rational fear seeing as they are tiny death traps that have the ability to drain your life away with one bite. If you were deathly afraid of bumblebees, people point and laugh at you because, "Everyone knows they can't sting you!" This may be true, but they can also buzz very loudly and scare anxious people into thinking a gigantic hornet has magically appeared and is going to eat them.
Being scared of heights and lethal creepy crawlies is perfectly okay, whereas a fear of clowns or a large man hiding under your bed with the intent of killing you are irrational and silly. Not to me! In fact, it is quite the contrary.
How would you feel if this was hiding in your closet?
Breaking into a person's house is a common crime. That's why they have a name and law against breaking and entering. Murder is also (way too) common. Though both of these things are frowned upon, they also still occur.
As I take these into consideration (while also watching a handful of murder investigation shows [i.e. Law & Order, The Mentalist, and Criminal Minds]), I begin to wonder about the probability of this happening to me. This sends me into a frantic, panicky state of being that leads to me scrambling about, checking my window locks, looking under my bed, and checking for scary men (Freddy Krueger) hiding in my closets.
I tried to explain to my father that fears are all about perception, not necessarily reality. The mind is a powerful weapon that can create legitimate fear in the hearts of many. Just because something does not frighten you doesn’t mean that it can’t make another person run crying to their mommy.
I am often told that I am a pansy. This makes me indignant, belligerent, and very upset. I am not a wuss; I am strong and intelligent, and am alive today because my fears make me cautious, dang it.
I have not yet drowned in the ocean, been murdered or stung by a wasp, attacked by a man under my bed, kidnapped in the middle of the night, or eaten by a scary clown. Precaution saves lives!
It’s also quite possible that I am a wuss. Who knows? It's all up to your perception.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Liz's Survival Guide
"How do you keep going and not give up on it all?"
A good friend asked me that today. That, my dear, is a wonderful, loaded question. Well, a Liz is programmed to attack negative emotions like a super ninja. High five if you think that’s plausible!
Okay, there are a few things that have actually kept me from blowing my brains onto the wall over the past eighteen years. That may sound melodramatic, and possibly too graphic, but hey...it's the truth.
Everybody feels like a useless tool that only exists to take up space sometimes. That's a pretty nasty feeling, so this is what I do to counter those feelings.
1. This might mean I'm severely optimistic or naive, but I live for the future. It's the only thing that comforts me when I'm at my lowest point. Rather than wanting to ravenously attack either myself or the next human to walk by...I think that, "Hey, this feeling can't last forever. Negativity is a pansy, so it'll shrivel up and die soon." If I didn't think like that, one of a few things would happen:
(I’m crossing my fingers that #3 will happen…but that’s not probable.)
2. Run around in circles. If you get winded easily, run in small ones. If you’re more experienced, big circles are totally the way to go. Run around the room. Or do the running man. Maybe, if you’re daring, spin around a little (or a lot).
I swear, you’ll feel so much better. Partly because running releases endorphins, but also because you will eventually feel silly…then you’ll laugh at yourself (which also releases endorphins!). The only downside to this is if you’re clumsy, you might fall a lot (I do), but the pros still totally outweigh the cons.
Do like that little gold man. Just go ‘round and ‘round.
3. Talk about the situation. This sounds cliché, but just hold on.
Talk about whatever’s freaking you out, but make it as theatrical as possible. Rather than saying, “It’s been a bad day…” then continue sulking, say something like, “Today was so bad that Hitler could have come back and taken me hostage, and I wouldn’t have cared; it would have gotten me away from the sheer stupidity of today.”
This may only happen to me, but if I begin to tell an over dramatic story, I have to see it through until the end, or until someone shuts me up. But, if you do it right, you’ll get caught up in making the event so theatrical that what actually happened seems like a mere spec compare to what could have happened. You see? It’s perfect.
Look at this little guy. He’s just screamin’ about his terrible day.
4. Being easily amused has saved me several times. I mean, it really isn’t that hard to please me. Here’s an equation to demonstrate:
(Sad Liz x Easily amused) + Somebody falling = Way happier day
Next time you find something even slightly humorous, laugh. Laugh out loud and make yourself heard. I previously said that laughing releases endorphins…so doing that can only have a positive effect! If you’re in a bad mood and you just let yourself laugh at something idiotic, you’ll realize that the bad just isn’t so bad after all.
These things are what get me through every day. It’ll keep you from making dinosaurs attack towns and punching people in the face. Call me crazy, but it works.
Now here’s a funny picture to make your day happy:
A good friend asked me that today. That, my dear, is a wonderful, loaded question. Well, a Liz is programmed to attack negative emotions like a super ninja. High five if you think that’s plausible!
Okay, there are a few things that have actually kept me from blowing my brains onto the wall over the past eighteen years. That may sound melodramatic, and possibly too graphic, but hey...it's the truth.
Everybody feels like a useless tool that only exists to take up space sometimes. That's a pretty nasty feeling, so this is what I do to counter those feelings.
1. This might mean I'm severely optimistic or naive, but I live for the future. It's the only thing that comforts me when I'm at my lowest point. Rather than wanting to ravenously attack either myself or the next human to walk by...I think that, "Hey, this feeling can't last forever. Negativity is a pansy, so it'll shrivel up and die soon." If I didn't think like that, one of a few things would happen:
(I’m crossing my fingers that #3 will happen…but that’s not probable.)
2. Run around in circles. If you get winded easily, run in small ones. If you’re more experienced, big circles are totally the way to go. Run around the room. Or do the running man. Maybe, if you’re daring, spin around a little (or a lot).
I swear, you’ll feel so much better. Partly because running releases endorphins, but also because you will eventually feel silly…then you’ll laugh at yourself (which also releases endorphins!). The only downside to this is if you’re clumsy, you might fall a lot (I do), but the pros still totally outweigh the cons.
Do like that little gold man. Just go ‘round and ‘round.
3. Talk about the situation. This sounds cliché, but just hold on.
Talk about whatever’s freaking you out, but make it as theatrical as possible. Rather than saying, “It’s been a bad day…” then continue sulking, say something like, “Today was so bad that Hitler could have come back and taken me hostage, and I wouldn’t have cared; it would have gotten me away from the sheer stupidity of today.”
This may only happen to me, but if I begin to tell an over dramatic story, I have to see it through until the end, or until someone shuts me up. But, if you do it right, you’ll get caught up in making the event so theatrical that what actually happened seems like a mere spec compare to what could have happened. You see? It’s perfect.
Look at this little guy. He’s just screamin’ about his terrible day.
4. Being easily amused has saved me several times. I mean, it really isn’t that hard to please me. Here’s an equation to demonstrate:
Next time you find something even slightly humorous, laugh. Laugh out loud and make yourself heard. I previously said that laughing releases endorphins…so doing that can only have a positive effect! If you’re in a bad mood and you just let yourself laugh at something idiotic, you’ll realize that the bad just isn’t so bad after all.
These things are what get me through every day. It’ll keep you from making dinosaurs attack towns and punching people in the face. Call me crazy, but it works.
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