Post 9: Ghosts: Facing the fear

Ghosts are said unseen but they are feared by many. Though there hasn't been any evidence of their existence shown to the public people's fear of them doesn't change. In this generation many people are still afraid of them and to top it all up there is a phobia which we call Phasmophobia or the fear of ghosts.

In my experiences, I was once too afraid of ghosts because of my experiences as a child. I have this ability of seeing ghosts at the age of seven which made my childhood a little scary. I never told anyone my ability because I am afraid of what they would ghosts do to me if I point them out to other people. It has been a long time since I had those fears but getting to understand their mysteries made me overcome my fears of them.

In an article called Spooky stuff: Talking with children about ghosts, monsters and other childhood fears by Carrie Shrier, children under the age of seven had difficulty understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. This makes those ghost decorations, or the potential for the monster under the bed, seem much more scary. That is why parents must be helping their children cope their fears and help them understand the difference between fantasy and reality to help them overcome their fears.

"Another great way to help children work through fears is through children’s literature.  Reading about a character in a book who is facing their fears can give kids strategies to deal with their own." as Shrier mentioned, Children are getting more and more creative nowadays that is why their imaginations are far more advanced. Reading ghost stories, watching horror movies, and playing scary games related to their fears can help them overcome their fears of ghosts.

In another article called Phasmophobia- Fear of ghosts by Lisa Fritscher, Phasmophobia, or the fear of ghosts is a phobia that is pretty much hard to handle because the existence of ghosts are not yet proven by studies. This phobia is somewhat related to Thanatophobia also known as the fear of death . Cognitive talk therapy may be helpful in this type of therapy, the goal is to help the client understand the root of his fear and learn to change the thoughts and beliefs that cause the fear.

Fritscher also mentioned "Teaching coping skills can also be helpful in this situation. Breathing exercises, guided visualization and even biofeedback are methods that the client can learn to use to manage his own fear" helping someone overcome their fear takes time, a lot of effort, and a lot of talking. When it comes to ghosts, people needs much time overcoming fears because ghosts are one of the most feared creatures on earth and making them understand everything
about them is really hard.

Every single person are made with  corresponding fears. Nobody is born without a fear but it is possible to have nothing to fear when you overcome them all. Understanding your fear is the greatest solution into overcoming it. Ghosts can be frightening but we can make us understand that they are not to be afraid of because fear is just an element of curiousness and curiousness is needed to overcome those what you fear.