Between Dark and Daylight | Day 29 of 30-DAY #BLOGGING CHALLENGE - Part 3

Situations arise in every individual's life that affect them deeply. For each person, the events are personal. Some may even be extremely disturbing. This is the topic I'm addressing today as part of Day 29 of the 30-day Blogging Challenge (Part 3). The specific question is: What scares do you have from the past, physically or mentally? Sometimes a person may have one or more, or a series of scares that may have occurred during childhood, young adult age, and then in adulthood. For me, I'm fortunate in that my two scares didn't happen at the same time.

I've recounted this particular scare more than once in various articles. One year as a child we returned to visit our family for a holidays. They lived in the rural part of the state. The house they lived in was an old fashioned wood-framed structure. With only three bedrooms, there was not enough space to accommodate several families.

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So our sleeping arrangement seemed like fun at the time. We decided to have a slumber party where my cousins and I would sleep on the floor.

Night arrived. We readied for bed. Everyone fell asleep. I'm a light sleeper, so I was startled when I felt something near my nose.

You wouldn't believe my panic when my eyes opened and saw a giant spider on my face. It may not have been a giant, but to a child it was. And it had extra long legs. I screamed so loud, I woke everyone from their sleep.

My aunt rushed over to me to see what was happening. She brushed the spider from my face and tried to calm me. I couldn't stop screaming. I didn't move. She flung the cover from my body, grabbed my arms and lifted me off the floor. I was still screaming.

Why didn't I jump up or brush the spider from my face? That was the question they all asked. The truth is couldn't move. I was paralyzed.

When we returned home, my parents consulted a doctor. He said I had a phobia.

The diagnosis was Arachnophobia...the fear of spiders. And it's a very real condition. He said it was a strong possibility with age, I'd get over it.

This never happened. Fast forward to adulthood. To this day, I still have this fear.

This phobia I feel I can control somewhat. The fact that I don't place myself in a position to encounter arachnids helps. Second, I've redirected my phobia to digital art to depict the animals in a way that seems distant.

However, the scares that I can't control are my dreams and nightmares.

Dreaming is a part of being human. I have heard that there exists some people who never dream. This is extraordinary. I've always understood that dreaming is universal. The state of consciousness we're in while sleep, though, can vary.

^{Free Image by KELLEPICS at Pixabay}

As a teen, I began experiencing sustained periods of dreaming while asleep. I would experience in a single episode dreams that seem to cover extended periods of time in my life. Moving from one event to the next with different characters, scenarios, and outcomes was a nightly occurrence. It was emotionally draining.

The fact these dreams continue, often repeating over the years, has been upsetting. Often, the dream will continue where they previously ended.

The reason I remember so vividly is that when they first started to occur, I'd write down as much as I could remember immediately upon waking. I started journaling at an early age other events in my life. With my dream, I made sure to note the date, time, conditions, events, people involved, situations, and resolutions, if any.

Often, the dreams would entail monsters chasing me. I could barely move my feet while everyone else left me in the dust. No one stopped to help me keep up. I had to find my own way to safety.

As an adult, the dreams haven't diminished.