Childhood fears can be serious foes to battle.
I know what it's like to be frozen and powerless to fear... you may want to laugh, but the Daddy-long-legs spider had a terrifying grip over my life for far too many years.
I'm not quite sure when it all started, but the humble Mr. Long-Legs would cause major turmoil if it crossed my path. I still remember my poor mum having to catch and/or squash every single one before I could enter bedrooms and even toilets. You can imagine then what happened when one crawled right down my face once.
With this in mind, I've been sympathetic, yet extremely keen to see my youngest daughter's fear of 'all things medically related' conquered. Her fear started way back with an injection as a baby, and from that point on any person dressed in a white coat or a white sterile room would send her into a panic. I don't think her need for grommits, and two trampoline accidents needing glue and stitches helped either (here and here).
Anyway, our Doctors have been amazing over the last few years, making sure that her medical experiences have been as stress free as possible, allowing her to visit and just play with the toys, letting her hear her own heartbeat etc. I didn't think this would make much difference but I can honestly say that it has.
The GIANT fear has been striped back to what it really is... reality. Often in reality, the things we fear aren't so horrendous as we imagine them to be. They are like a pack of tiny chihuahuas with megaphones... scary to hear, until you know what they look like.
Yesterday we visited the Doctors once again for her pre-school injections, and although there were a few tears because of the pain (and red jelly bean juice dribbled down my top as she cried softly with her head snuggled into my chest), she made her Mamma super proud.
Unrealistic fears can be overcome with patience, support and prayer. I know this myself too, because Mr Daddy-long-legs doesn't scare me any more either.
Whitetails on the other hand...
I know what it's like to be frozen and powerless to fear... you may want to laugh, but the Daddy-long-legs spider had a terrifying grip over my life for far too many years.
I'm not quite sure when it all started, but the humble Mr. Long-Legs would cause major turmoil if it crossed my path. I still remember my poor mum having to catch and/or squash every single one before I could enter bedrooms and even toilets. You can imagine then what happened when one crawled right down my face once.
With this in mind, I've been sympathetic, yet extremely keen to see my youngest daughter's fear of 'all things medically related' conquered. Her fear started way back with an injection as a baby, and from that point on any person dressed in a white coat or a white sterile room would send her into a panic. I don't think her need for grommits, and two trampoline accidents needing glue and stitches helped either (here and here).
Anyway, our Doctors have been amazing over the last few years, making sure that her medical experiences have been as stress free as possible, allowing her to visit and just play with the toys, letting her hear her own heartbeat etc. I didn't think this would make much difference but I can honestly say that it has.
The GIANT fear has been striped back to what it really is... reality. Often in reality, the things we fear aren't so horrendous as we imagine them to be. They are like a pack of tiny chihuahuas with megaphones... scary to hear, until you know what they look like.
Yesterday we visited the Doctors once again for her pre-school injections, and although there were a few tears because of the pain (and red jelly bean juice dribbled down my top as she cried softly with her head snuggled into my chest), she made her Mamma super proud.
Unrealistic fears can be overcome with patience, support and prayer. I know this myself too, because Mr Daddy-long-legs doesn't scare me any more either.
Whitetails on the other hand...
After injection treats
