^LOL that's excellently phrased Who said it? Locutus, at the risk of getting personal (no offense intended, though. I'm simply curious) : would that fear/worry of Altzheimer and loss of control be subconsciously connected with your Ozymandias signature? After all, the poem is about how all his powers couldn't keep him from getting completey forgotten. You might say he lost himself; and all of his essence was lost as well, safe for the statue, which will gradually turn to sand and be forgotten, too. I see certain parallels to losing oneself and one's powers to age/illness and Altzheimer. Don't answer it if you consider this too personal a question.
No, nothing so profound or personal, I'm afraid. I added the Ozymandias sig when the final few episodes of Breaking Bad were coming up, and they used the Shelley poem in a promo ad for the show (and as the title of the third to last episode). I've actually been meaning to change it, but I just haven't got around to it yet. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dpghfRBHE[/yt]
Do you take her up on taller and taller structures? I've found that a large multi-story above ground parking structure where you can see outside between the levels is a good place to get started (my friend had a fear of heights). We just drove around in his car and he could choose how many levels up he was willing to go and whether he could get out of the car near the ledge or not. Eventually he was able to get out on the rooftop.
^^ is there a way to treat that? My mom would rather spend 2 days on a bus than fly 1 hour. I'd be grateful for tips. (edited to add: unfortunately, we have no high buildings in our vicinity) Thanks for the explanation, Locutus. I knew only the poem and always considered it a bit frustrating. It's so sad that history remembers a lot of morons (Jack the ripper, Nero, the guys who killed Thales of Milet, the soldiers who set fire to the library in Alexandria, the french officers who shot at the sphinx with cannons, etc), but nobody recalls the really important people: who invented the wheel, the saw, chocolate, the cooking pot, sewing, music, writing? I don't know about your history lessons but in my time we had to learn the dates of every single battle of every single European war ever since ancient Greece. But nobody ever told us about the everyday life of people, how they interacted with each other, traded, migrated, intermarried. By following the motives of certain fairy tales you can reconstruct which peoples were in (peaceful) contact with each other over 3 continents. The development of humanity and culture are what history lessons should be about. Life, not death. Lol, sorry about that rant. You can propably tell I didn't have very interesting history teachers. Come to think of it - when I was a kid I had a fear of school. Got bullied a lot by the kids for being a teacher's spawn and by the teachers so that nobody would call them partial.
Have her talk to a psychiatrist and see if they can set up some form of exposure therapy if they think that's the way to go for her. A common treatment for acrophobia these days is to have the sufferer wear virtual reality goggles so they can experience the visual sensation of being up high while safe and sound within the doctor's office. Eventually, after the patient becomes more comfortable with that, they then transition to actual heights (which can start out as low as standing on a chair or as high as standing atop a building, depending on the severity of the phobia).
I'm like that. I not scared of flying (though I'll avoid a private passenger plane whenever possible) but I always enjoy the drive more.
As a homeowner, I'm also afraid (more or less constantly - welcome to my world ) of something going wrong with my home. The A/C or heater breaking, my nutbar of a next door neighbor finally snapping, that type of thing. But I'd consider it a fair trade, since I love owning my own home and would not want to go back to apartment life. There's always risks involved in owning one's own home but all in all, it's worth it. Plus it gives me a tax deduction for the interest. I actually would like to take this opportunity to advocate to everyone reading this (who is also a homeowner): GET A BACKUP GENERATOR. You won't regret it. It's like medical or life insurance - something you hope to God you never have to use, but it sure comes in handy.
Crickets Snakes Most insects Being fired from a job Becoming seriously ill Getting into an accident Rides that go upside down Not having enough money to live Family members deaths That I will never be married / have kids Growing old
You're afraid of dreaming? Dang... I can't relate to that. I take sleep meds and set my alarm to go off during times when I am most likely to be in REM sleep just so I can recall my dreams (you are usually only able to recall dreams when being awoken during REM sleep). I love sleeping and dreaming...and remembering my dreams. And lucid dreaming. I love when I have wild and crazy dreams. And I truly believe that the way your mind constructs dreams out of random images shines light into the subconscious. I keep a dream journal. Writing down my dreams helps me to see patterns, remember the dreams better, etc. Any particular reason you fear dreaming or do you mean specifically nightmares? I am just curious.
Move in next door to me! There's a gummy bear shop in the next street Thanks for the tips against fear of height! Fortunately, my mom is ok with chairs and ladders. She even hikes in the mountains (though she won't go near a cliff). The prob is that like most mothers she's hopelessly stubborn. No way I could get her anywhere near a psychologist. Many airports have a special training programme for people with a fear of flying and heights. Maybe I can get her to try that (but presumably I'd have to club her over the head first to get her there...)
I don't do it often. Only when it's a weekend and I can sleep as long as I want to. I wake up often in the night anyway because of other things so I wake up accidentally a lot while dreaming too. When I have to go to work during the week I don't wake up intentionally. Sorry if I made it sound like I am some sort of dream junkie. I get excited about the topic. But yeah I don't often intentionally do it. Just when I know I have all time in the world to sleep more.
It's just that I have no idea what I'll dream of so I am never very comfortable with it. I wish I could just lay down in bed and immediately wake up the next morning, fully rested. Although you're right, I am more afraid of nightmares (which actually I rarely have), as I have on occasion dreamed of pleasant things. It's the "not knowing" that floors me, more than anything else.
Wow... I love the not knowing! That's so interesting. I never thought someone wouldn't like dreaming! I'm the total opposite...if I close my eyes then wake up and it's morning and I have to go to work and I didn't remember any of my dreams I get so pissed off! I feel like my night was wasted or something. Either way, that must suck for you...because you do dream every night regardless of whether or not you remember it and you usually only remember dreams if you are awoken during one. You could possibly look online for ways to stay asleep longer to avoid waking up during REM sleep.