A Certain Kind of Fear
It's strange to think that our fears as depicted throughout the history of mankind are based on actual fears we would have had at the beginning. Most fears represent something that, in the past, might have been a means for death, hence the modern fear. As for me, I have two very prominent fears that intertwine like intestines: a fear of heights and a fear of stairs. Some people think stairs are nothing to be afraid of, and I get it. But that's why things called "irrational fears" exist. Most people find stairs as nothing more than a means to ascend or descend to the next floor in a building or some kind of place which has a set or multiple sets of stairs. In my case, this is why heights play a factor, every set of stairs is built at a certain angle, slope, height, and width with an array of materials that may or may not be stable. Stability ensures that there is a very low to no chance of said structure collapsing at any given moment. At this point, I always have every possible disastrous thing running through my head every single time I'm on a set of stairs. Whether it's the staircase in my house or another set of stairs. I mentioned heights, well heights always present an opportunity to fall to your death. Whether there is a massive drop off like a cliff or it's just a little hill, there's always terror and anxiety. Now some may question, "what about your height? Some cases conclude a fear of heights correlate to a person's height." Well sure, I won't dispute that perse, but I can tell you that although I am short in stature, my fears have nothing to do with it. Everywhere you go, everyday of your life, there are stairs or some form equal to it. It's unavoidable. For instance: let's say you work in a tall building, maybe for business or something. There may be an elevator, but let's say that for today you're running late, and you find out that the elevator is broken. So your only choice is to take the stairs. Let's say you suffer from anxiety and minute claustrophobia (fear of small or tight places), and this particular stairwell hits on those exact triggers. As you ascend the rickety metal grate stairs, the already dim lights flicker here and there. One or two people pass you going down, with no problem. However to you, your anxiety starts to build up. You're worried about how late you are for work whilst battling to keep calm walking up a flight of stairs. You're nearly to your floor when you stop and get hit with a sudden burst of vertigo, you look over the railing and your anxiety hits the breaking point. You collapse in a shaking huddle two steps away from the landing leading to the corridor. You can't control it and for five full minutes you sit there gasping for air and trying to pull yourself together. No one is there to help you, so you help yourself. Still shaking, you pull yourself up on to wobbly legs remembering why you're here. And you put one foot up each step and you walk through the door, down the hallway, to the office, to your desk and you sit down. Everything just floats away like it never happened and you go on with your day. You lie to your boss about being so late by saying, "i caught a late bus or train." You're not fired but just given a warning. So, that example is just one scenario that could play out. I could give several more but just writing that gave me anxiety. Anyway, just because someone has a fear of something that you don't, doesn't mean it isn't real or that it has no real basis.