With today being Halloween, it seems only natural to talk about fear.  I have lots of fears, but so does every human being.  You don’t have to be a survivor of rape or genocide or a natural disaster to have fears.  My fears may look different than of someone without large amounts of trauma littering in their past, but I bet most of what scares us stems from the same areas… the lack of faith in people, the desire to be loved, the unknown of death.

Personally, there’s one fear in particular that I find immensely embarrassing because I consider myself to be a very independent person. I have an intense fear of doctors.  In my mind, there is no logical reason why I should be afraid of a medical doctor who I know is just there to help me.  Yes, in the midst of my trafficking situation, I was abused by doctors and so one might think that was the connection.  But if that was the line of thought, then by the same deduction I should also be afraid of construction workers, politicians, accountants, mechanics, lawyers, forestry workers, computer techs, stock brokers, restaurant managers, professors…

Perhaps the most frustrating part is that I can’t explain away my terror.  I simply just don’t understand it.  I would honestly rather face a rabid dog than enter an exam room.  I’d rather stand in front of a room of 1,000 to give a speech than call up a medical office to schedule an appointment.  It terrifies me like a child and I hate it and I don’t understand it and I want it to go away. I can’t give up on it.

We all have fears, I’ve already said that.  If I’ve learned anything from trying to make a new life, it’s that I can’t let fear control me.  When I got out and ran, I was plagued with thoughts of being found, killed and  humiliated if my trafficker ever found me. I was terrified that this whole new space of goodness around me would come crumbling down the day he’d inevitably arrive.  Something happened though.  Each day would pass and I would still be alive– exhausted, but alive.  I realized this fear was draining me of much opportunity to start fresh and I had to let it go.  I had to find a way to move on.

I made a “Spook Chart” and I want you to make one too. (Yes, it sounds like a 1st Grade craft project, but bare with me.) In your journal, on a napkin, on the computer, wherever, write out the 5 columns below. Under “Your Feeling” rate on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) how big this fear is.  Under “You Rationale”, rate how rational you think this fear is, and under “Friend’s Rationale” how you think a loved one would rate it.

There are NO right or wrong answers here.  Sometimes my friend’s numbers are higher than mine, sometimes they’re the same.  Sometimes I think the fear is rational, sometimes it’s not.  What’s most important about this exercise is that you’re naming what the fear is and processing through it.  AND, if there ever comes a time when you can fill in the last column, then rejoice!  “Moving on” doesn’t mean that you’re no longer scared, it just means that you’d decide this fear is no longer going to have a hold over your life.

You or I may never have a “move on” date for some of our fears and that’s OK.  People say a certain level of fear can be healthy.  I just know that I’ve got some “healthy” still to be working towards.

May this blog serve as an education to those who do not yet know or understand the atrocities of trafficking and may it serve as an encouragement to those who understand it all too well.