the fear factor

                                                             There was a time in life i used to run away from hospitals . Not literally , i still remember i ran out of the hospital fearing a tetanus toxoid injection with my parents and the nurse in pursuit . I was really scared of the needles and the syringes and the pain they entitled . I was maybe 7  years old then .  Many years later i still remember as  a postgraduate doctor once i injected myself the teatnus toxoid injection into the muscle struggling with one hand to balance the syringe . By then not because i was a doctor the "fear " of needles disappeared and was replaced by the realistic expectation that an injection will only entitle a "finite " amount of pain . Not the catastrophe that i thought it was ..

Being a radiologist helped of course but to tell the truth it is scary to go inside an MRI scanner . Because it really feels like going inside a burial casket with the machine around you . And many years back when the bore of magnet was smaller upto 10 percent of studies were terminated due to claustrophobia  ..These days with distracting teachniques like music things are definitely better  . But for me for curiosity had been inside the scanner and without the music distraction . Of course the overwhelming fear comes for a second but the moment the loud noises when the magnets get switched on i think about the amazing technology behind these  miracle machines . Then the " fear " turns to awe and the entire scan of twenty minutes passes by without any claustrophobia .

Having swam in the kovalam beach frequently the waves are always a thrill . But the feeling of getting swept by a wave especially when it breaks on you is not at all a pleasant feeling and is even fear provoking .  But inspite of the scary feeling knowing how not to fight it but gently ride on it helps a lot with the fear and panic .In short knowledge often helps in conquering fear  .

How do you handle a mother in law whom you dont like who is going to stay with you for a month  especially when she visits you when you have just given birth and helpless .  As a guy i dont have any suggestions for this" fear "  .  There too i knew like all fears most of them dont materialise .  And i told her 90 percent of fears including mother in laws dont materialise because lot of things can happen in between ...

And yes like most fears that too didnt materialise when the time came . Isnt it time we  started  not fearing fear ...