Question

“All we have to fear is fear itself”. Have you ever had a fear that you have now overcome? Share your experience with your partner.

Answer 1

Directions:- Everyone has some or other fear that has been overcome. Think about one such experience from your life. It may be anything associated to activities that you now engage in with ease but were scared earlier. Driving, skating, public-speaking, participating in a competition or overcoming stage fear are some examples.

After you have found one such example from your life, recollect the reason it bothered or frightened you. Recollect the efforts you and/or other people put in to help you get rid of it. Discuss the detailed experience with your partner in the class. Also, discuss your feelings when you realised that you have overcome the fear entirely.

Answer 2

For a long time, my biggest fear was deep water. When I was about seven years old, I accidentally stepped off a secret drop-off at a nearby beach, slipping beneath the surface for a few terrifying seconds until my parents pulled me. That single event has left me scarred.

As I grew older, this fear bothered me a lot because it made me feel excluded. Whenever my friends held pool parties, went to water parks, or planned excursions to the beach, I would invent excuses to stay at home or simply sit on the sidelines monitoring everyone’s bags. I hated the feeling of being helpless in the water, and I hated the fact that a horrible childhood memory was controlling my social life and preventing me from having fun with the people I cared about.

Two summers ago, I decided I was done with being scared. I enrolled in adult beginner swimming lessons at a nearby community centre. Sarah, my instructor, was extremely gentle and didn’t force me headfirst. Instead, she spent the first three sessions just getting me comfortable blowing bubbles with my face in the water while holding on to the steps.

My best friend also worked hard to support me. They would come to the pool during open swim hours only to stand with me in the shallow end. They held my hands as I practised floating on my back, reminding me that my body was naturally buoyant and that they would not allow me to sink. It took weeks of practising these simple movements to rewrite the panic reaction in my brain.

On the last day of the swim course, Sarah instructed me to swim from the shallow end to the deep end, where I couldn't touch the bottom. As I swam past the five-foot sign, I had a quick flashback of that old, familiar dread. My stroke became choppy, and I had trouble breathing.

But instead of thrashing, I remembered my friend’s advice: trust my body. I focused entirely on the rhythm of my kicks and strokes, and before I knew it, my palm had touched the wall in the deep end. I turned around and floated gently on my back, looking up at the ceiling.

When I realized I was fully safe in the water over my head, a flood of euphoria washed over me. Overcoming that fear completely was like breaking free from an emotional prison. It was the feeling of profound relief, freedom, and self-reliance. Going to the pool is no longer a source of fear for me; it is just a place where I relax and have fun.