Facing your fears
Mary Croft,
14th Nov 2019
Tags:
Life
Blog
Anxiety
Stress
TV
I love this time of year. The leaves are changing colour every day, I am constantly cuddled by my blanket, and I can eat soup for lunch and watch the fireworks light up the sky.
But more importantly, I get to count down the days until ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here!’
I love this show. Whoever came up with the idea of watching people live in the middle of a jingle, and constantly face their fears through entertaining challenges, is a genius.
It is interesting how most of the celebrities have to face their fears at some point in the jungle. It might be heights, spiders, small spaces, water, or maybe even a rogue turkey. But at some point, they all become vulnerable and the viewers see a part of their identity that they would usually conceal.
Ben faces his biggest fear: snakes.
There is an amazing YouTube channel called ‘Intro Outro’, and in one of their videos, we see Ben facing his biggest fear: snakes.
As he holds the snakes, he says, “So much adrenalin going on right now, but I feel good... I think’. Although Ben is terrified at first, afterwards, he feels freedom.
I could never go into the jungle. I would jump at anything and everything, especially spiders.
However, I can relate to them because I went through a stage where I let anxiety rule who I was and what I did.
Fear completely controlled my life.
I was at university, and out of nowhere, I began to have panic attacks whenever travelled. It would take twice as long to get out of my door, and sometimes, I wouldn’t even be able to leave the house. Fear completely controlled my life.
Some of my friends convinced me to book a holiday with them to Copenhagen, and I was genuinely really excited to go because I love seeing new places. But when we got to the airport, I suddenly felt it. Fear.
It became harder to breathe, and my mind kept telling me ‘what if…’. I kept moving, but everyone around me was smiling and laughing, and I just wanted to cry and hide.
I sat in my seat for about a minute while people were still getting on the plane, but then I started apologising to my friends. I was ready to get up and ask to get off the plane.
You [God] Make Me Brave.
But then a song started playing in my headphones, a song I had never heard before, which was weird because this was a playlist I created.
The song was ‘You Make Me Brave’ by Amanda Cook. These are the lyrics:
“You make me brave
no fear can hinder now the love that made a way…
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the promises you made”
It was like in an instant I felt peace. I still felt a little uneasy and nervous, but it was no longer the dominant focus in my mind.
I actually felt good.
The last people got on the plane, and the doors shut. We started moving, and before we knew it, we were in the air. And I was ok. I actually felt good.
It was like the feeling you get when you lose something, and you’re running around to try find it. And then suddenly you see it, and all your muscles relax.
I do still have fears, and sometimes get held back by anxiety. But I know that ultimately, God would never go back on a promise, and He is in control.
I can’t wait to watch this year’s season of ‘I’m a celebrity’, and cheer on those facing their fears!
