The Challenge

"Poonam, go and get the matchbox from the kitchen," shouted her mother as the power was off and a candle had to be lit before the power back up was on. "Poonam, Poonam, what are you doing? Are you getting it or not?" Her mom kept asking. But Poonam did not respond nor came to the drawing-room. Her mother was wondering why there was no response from Poonam. She gets up from the sofa chair and went up to the kitchen and fetched the matchbox, lit the candle and peeped into Poonam's room only to find her covered with a blanket from head to toe and pretending to be asleep. No, no nothing like a prank from her side. Her mother knew it was her phobia about the darkness that prevents her from moving around if the lights go off. She even had a phobia about the night, being alone and looking at the night sky too. So it is a very difficult situation she was into.      

Phobias in lay man's language are absurd fear that has no meaning. But clinically phobias do erupt due to underlying factors that may be clinical or otherwise. So, she as a child, the youngster has been going through hell. Visiting a psychologist and counselling comes with many connotations and misinterpretations by all and sundry. So it becomes a vicious cycle which only the sufferers understand.

Poonam's parents tried all means to help her overcome these irrational fears but worried and anxious parents relied upon many books and finally, they decided Poonam would take Psychology as a subject in college. That was a great breakthrough that did wonders.

Poonam started her classes in college and there her realisation came into forte. She understood the root cause of her fears. As a young child, she and her brothers were told a story by their maternal aunt who was given the duty of disciplining them to eat well and behave well by their mother, who adopted a simple method of showing trees and flickering lights at a distance telling them it was the place where ghosts live. Actually, the aunt wanted to scare them so that they would finish their dinner and go to sleep on time. She might have done it for a simple reason but the effect was too deep-rooted and difficult to delete. Their uncle too had shown the night sky and spoken about ghosts so the result again was scare and fear.

Once Poonam learnt that phobias are irrational fears that could be overcome with effort nothing could stop her. She started meditation, mild medication prescribed, and a lot of will power that helped her to overcome the fears and be happy. She religiously followed some tips that were taught in from her textbooks in college and practised them punctually thereby setting a trend in her subconscious mind that helped in overcoming these fears consciously. Now she is able to help others with counselling tips if such issues persist in their minds. This is indeed a really worthy self-discovery.