Lithril said:If you want me to make life easy for you, the other half helps out at a local DoE group so I can find dates, locations etc
Don't worry about it ....it was about 9 or 10 years ago!
Panic Attacks in woods
- Thread starter Womble
- Start date
Don't worry about it ....it was about 9 or 10 years ago!
larry the spark said:Lithril said:If you want me to make life easy for you, the other half helps out at a local DoE group so I can find dates, locations etc
Don't worry about it ....it was about 9 or 10 years ago!
I think it's so that george can go terrorise...
If these were rational fears it would be easy to dispel them ... problem is, usually they aren't. They are ingrained deeper in the subconscious than that. Crocs, spiders, snakes,animals - most people can rationalize those fears and usually - sometimes with help - come to terms with them. However, the kind of fears that some people have of the being alone in the woods or the dark are related to childhood fears - the bogeyman, Alien, Freddy Kruger, Tommyknockers, the monster under the bed/in the attic. These are fears that, for some people, become embedded in the mind early on, even pre speech. Being pre-speech (or at least when our vocabulary was less developed) means that we find it hard to describe or vocalize the fears. This means it's hard to get a handle on them. If we can't describe them, we can't begin to rationalize and put them into perspective, which makes them hard to overcome.
Bottom line, irrational fears are harder to deal with for some that real things.
Bottom line, irrational fears are harder to deal with for some that real things.
Croc said:
Totally agree mate, things you can see, touch etc aren't quite as bad as you can often deal with them. Its when the imagination kicks in and you start wondering if there's a slim possibility that "something" is there that most fear comes from.
I agree with Lithril - I've spent lots of time in rainforests around the world and you know that if you follow the rules you're very unlikely to get anything too awful happening - If you hear noises in the dark you know its just a wild pig/jaguar/snake etc etc and you can rationalise that they don't want to harm you they're just living their lives and you're the traspasser that they're afraid of.
However if I'm out on my own in the UK and I hear noises at night my response would usually be "I know there are no wild pigs/jaguars/snakes etc out there, - so what the hell made that noise???". If you let your imagination run away, soon things can get pretty spookey.
Mind you I've spent some nights in some pretty spookey places that I would be happy never to have to go back to. Anyone spent the night alone in winter in Ben Alder Bothy?
George
However if I'm out on my own in the UK and I hear noises at night my response would usually be "I know there are no wild pigs/jaguars/snakes etc out there, - so what the hell made that noise???". If you let your imagination run away, soon things can get pretty spookey.
Mind you I've spent some nights in some pretty spookey places that I would be happy never to have to go back to. Anyone spent the night alone in winter in Ben Alder Bothy?
George
Adi has it right, I think. There was/is nothing really rational in the reaction I was having. After all; in both of the cases where it's been worst, I've been surrounded by people I know and trust.
In a way it's not fear of something - it's just fear; possibly made worse (as Adi suggests) by not being able to put the reason for it into meaningful language.
In a way it's not fear of something - it's just fear; possibly made worse (as Adi suggests) by not being able to put the reason for it into meaningful language.
If anyone else suffers from the same problem I suggest NOT watching either "The Blaire Witch Project" :evil: or "Dog Soldiers" :twisted: before sleeping out. If you weren't worried about strange noises etc beforehand these films would change that.
:roll:
:roll:
Panic is a complex set of bio and neuro chemical responses that are initiated by a part of out brain called the amygdala. The eyes and ears both have a high-speed neural connection to this almond sized portion of the brain and it can respond to a perceived threat much quicker than out higher brain can ... so before you can say "is that a sn ...", the amygdala has already seen to it that the fight or flight responses are in place and that out bloodstream is flooded with adrenaline ready. This is usually a good thing as it's designed to keep you alive!!! It can, however, get out of control.
Some of the things that we fear are pre-programmed into us while others we pick up (if a parent has a phobia about, say, spiders or the dark, the child is more likely to develop such phobia). Stories about bogeymen and so on are also much more likely to leave a lasting impression on a child than an adult.
The amygdala also seems to respond to severe traumas with an unerasable fear response that we call PTSD ("post-traumatic stress disorder").
The key seems to be awareness and understanding. Be open about your fears and it is likely that through the process of thinking them through and talking about them, over time the fear will decrease.
Take care!
Some of the things that we fear are pre-programmed into us while others we pick up (if a parent has a phobia about, say, spiders or the dark, the child is more likely to develop such phobia). Stories about bogeymen and so on are also much more likely to leave a lasting impression on a child than an adult.
The amygdala also seems to respond to severe traumas with an unerasable fear response that we call PTSD ("post-traumatic stress disorder").
The key seems to be awareness and understanding. Be open about your fears and it is likely that through the process of thinking them through and talking about them, over time the fear will decrease.
Take care!
scuse me adi but are you a psychologist? cause i thought it was to do with mental image pictures of bad experiences being restimulated in the subconscious mind,just below the level of analytical awareness,experiences which are real but suppressed and only of use in an unthinking reactive way. and only by actually viewing the full content of these pictures and as-ising them for what they are [ pictures of the past] can you then no longer be plagued by them. thus becoming 100% analytical and no longer "reactive" in your thinking.
works for me. :-D
works for me. :-D
I'm no psychologist but I've done a lot of reading and research on the topic.
What your talking about is reinforcement of an already instilled belief which is a very valid thing indeed. You get burned by fire and you then fear fire, which is a good thing but if you focus on the fire and your fear of it, you can put yourself into a cycle of fear and become phobic beyond reason.
However, how come we are fearful of things that we've never come across or seen? Such as snakes or the bogeyman or whatever? Also, how do we recognize these scary things ... that's where the amygdala comes into play. It also comes into play in the reinforcement stage too, so if you fear something all the time or out of proportion, you become phobic.
The suggestions you have for dealing with fears are quite valid indeed ... you are trying to override the instinct and use the rational part of the mind to work the problem. It's one of the best techniques but relies on the subject actually wanting to get over their phobia.
If you want to read more on this I'd suggest "Human Instinct" by Robert Winston ... a fascinating read!
What your talking about is reinforcement of an already instilled belief which is a very valid thing indeed. You get burned by fire and you then fear fire, which is a good thing but if you focus on the fire and your fear of it, you can put yourself into a cycle of fear and become phobic beyond reason.
However, how come we are fearful of things that we've never come across or seen? Such as snakes or the bogeyman or whatever? Also, how do we recognize these scary things ... that's where the amygdala comes into play. It also comes into play in the reinforcement stage too, so if you fear something all the time or out of proportion, you become phobic.
The suggestions you have for dealing with fears are quite valid indeed ... you are trying to override the instinct and use the rational part of the mind to work the problem. It's one of the best techniques but relies on the subject actually wanting to get over their phobia.
If you want to read more on this I'd suggest "Human Instinct" by Robert Winston ... a fascinating read!
thanks m8 , as for the things we,ve never encountered before...your talking in a one life context,this aint the place for this conversation i know but im talking about a much longer time span and perhaps touching on the subject of instinct.
moving on.....
a good friend of mine once wrote"that which a person can confront,he can handle. the first step of handling anything is gaining an ability to face it."
although im kinda cagey about confronting the five escaped BIG CATS that are roaming loose over here.i **** you not! :shock:
moving on.....
a good friend of mine once wrote"that which a person can confront,he can handle. the first step of handling anything is gaining an ability to face it."
although im kinda cagey about confronting the five escaped BIG CATS that are roaming loose over here.i **** you not! :shock:
Don't forget that day old chicks will react in panic if you let a shadow of a raptor fall across them.
We are animals and still have the instinctive fears we had in the early days of our evolution.These fears had a very strong survival purpose and are thus deeply embedded in our subconscious.
Take away the normal buffers of our soft modern lifestyle and expose ourselves to "nature" again and it not surprising that the old defences rise to the surface.
I bet womble has benefited by the experience.Sh*tty to go through but very satisfying to have have faced a fundemental fear and overcome it.
We are animals and still have the instinctive fears we had in the early days of our evolution.These fears had a very strong survival purpose and are thus deeply embedded in our subconscious.
Take away the normal buffers of our soft modern lifestyle and expose ourselves to "nature" again and it not surprising that the old defences rise to the surface.
I bet womble has benefited by the experience.Sh*tty to go through but very satisfying to have have faced a fundemental fear and overcome it.
Pull up a sandbag...........
When I was in the army we did some adventure training in Kenya, "hill walking" in the Abadare mountains. On our murderous walks we slept out in the middle of the ulu under ponchos.
A fire had to be maintained all night to ward off lions and whoever was on stag borrowed our Kenyan guide's 303.
However, when two of the guys were on stag, a lioness crept into our camp and had her head UNDER the basha I was sharing before they had time to chuck a thunderflash to scare her off.
I had a job getting back to sleep!!
UK woods are spooky places too though. I was once stalked by a hedgehog whilst on stag in Thetford.
When I was in the army we did some adventure training in Kenya, "hill walking" in the Abadare mountains. On our murderous walks we slept out in the middle of the ulu under ponchos.
A fire had to be maintained all night to ward off lions and whoever was on stag borrowed our Kenyan guide's 303.
However, when two of the guys were on stag, a lioness crept into our camp and had her head UNDER the basha I was sharing before they had time to chuck a thunderflash to scare her off.
I had a job getting back to sleep!!
UK woods are spooky places too though. I was once stalked by a hedgehog whilst on stag in Thetford.
hmmm id have been up the rest of the night making spears and climbing a tall tree.[i know they can climb,but its harder when a pointy stick is poking you in the face]
truly a pants filling moment m8.
truly a pants filling moment m8.
The year before we went to Kenya a Welsh soldier had been dragged out of his camp by a lion while in his sleeping bag. He curled up at the bottom of his doss bag, zipped it up and played dead.
He was moved some distance but then left, unharmed.
THAT would be a pants-filling moment!
The hedgehog really did sound man-sized when approaching our harbour area. My trigger finger was itching like mad. It came right up to my position.
Then, with the help of my mucker, we picked it up and placed it in one of the sleeping guy's shell scrapes..... to much tittering and giggling.
He was moved some distance but then left, unharmed.
THAT would be a pants-filling moment!
The hedgehog really did sound man-sized when approaching our harbour area. My trigger finger was itching like mad. It came right up to my position.
Then, with the help of my mucker, we picked it up and placed it in one of the sleeping guy's shell scrapes..... to much tittering and giggling.
steven andrews said:The hedgehog really did sound man-sized when approaching our harbour area. My trigger finger was itching like mad. It came right up to my position.
Then, with the help of my mucker, we picked it up and placed it in one of the sleeping guy's shell scrapes..... to much tittering and giggling.
): :rolmao:
Not all the fears are caused by our own imaginations etc either!
When I was younger my brother DID NOT like having a younger brother. He'd had all the attention for 5 years and suddenly Dad had a new toy!
He did his best to scare the bejeezas out of my with all kinds of pranks - spiders in the bed, playing poltergeist, you name it. Needless to say I started sleeping with a light on.
It wasn't until I found out that being on the highest hill in Kent we had THE best view of the various meteor showers in October/November. Then I discovered how cute and furry bats were and the night became a place of wonder and excitment.
I LOVE the woods at night. Badger watching, bat spotting, owl watching, you name it.
It's strange when you become 'one with the night and nature' and wild animals think 'where the hell did HE come from!?'.
To quote from one of the many cult vampire films 'Let the night become our playground for we have nothing to fear but ourselves...'
When I was younger my brother DID NOT like having a younger brother. He'd had all the attention for 5 years and suddenly Dad had a new toy!
He did his best to scare the bejeezas out of my with all kinds of pranks - spiders in the bed, playing poltergeist, you name it. Needless to say I started sleeping with a light on.
It wasn't until I found out that being on the highest hill in Kent we had THE best view of the various meteor showers in October/November. Then I discovered how cute and furry bats were and the night became a place of wonder and excitment.
I LOVE the woods at night. Badger watching, bat spotting, owl watching, you name it.
It's strange when you become 'one with the night and nature' and wild animals think 'where the hell did HE come from!?'.
To quote from one of the many cult vampire films 'Let the night become our playground for we have nothing to fear but ourselves...'
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