Phobias are not fun!
A
phobia is an anxiety disorder involving excessive and persistent fear of a
situation or object. Exposure to the source of the fear triggers an immediate
anxiety response.
For a
long time, I struggled with a fear of flying—aerophobia. I
just knew the plane I’d be flying on would crash, just like the ones in the
movies I watched. Okay, so, yes, I stopped watching those kinds of flicks.
How did I overcome aerophobia? I cowgirled up and simply flew, trusted
God (lots of silent prayers and begging while in flight), and trusted that air
travel is the safest.
I’m also not a huge fan of large
crowds as they make me dizzy. Perhaps that’s not a phobia but more
uncomfortable because I go into crowds, whereas I refused to fly for a long
time.
Thank goodness as a writer, I don’t
struggle with bibliophobia—a fear of books. That would be more than
awkward.
Rita Runninghorse, the heroine
in my newest release, Broken Bondage, also has phobias. She suffers from
androphobia—fear of men, at least
one in particular—her abusive fiancé and back roads (the closest phobia I could
find is traveling—hodophobia.
Here’s why…
Robert pulled into light traffic and headed south on the Newport Highway, then called Sydney with an update.
When the call ended, he told Rita, “I’ll take you over the scenic route.”
“The scenic route?”
“Yeah, don’t you like them?”
“Not really. After one of Bowie’s
episodes, he took me on back roads for a makeup drive. All he’d wanted to do
was get physical with me. I’ve spent time after time fighting him off.
Trying to save every ounce of honor for our wedding night. I hated those drives.” And she hated Bowie.
“I’ll stay on the main roads then.”
“I appreciate it.” The only thing
that’d make Rita feel safe was to have Bowie Dark Cloud behind bars.
Abuse is never love.
Abuse, in this case, created the phobia.
I think with the right counseling, phobia sufferers can overcome their fears.
Do you struggle with phobias? If so, what help are you receiving?
Carmen’s Latest Book
Broken Bondage
A Road Trip to Redemption
Rita Runninghorse is about to marry the wrong guy. She has to get away from him. Now. She flees to a guest ranch in Eastern Washington State that offers a safe haven for women in need only to find the owner on a month-long speaking tour.
Robert Elliot has one thing on his mind: bronc riding. The
Indian National Finals Rodeo is within reach, and he’s not about to let
anything ruin his chances of going pro. Not even the woman he finds asleep in
the stall of their rankest horse.
When Rita’s fiancé discovers where she’s hiding out,
she takes Robert’s offer to go with him on the road and prays her fiancé gives
up the hunt. Saddled together, Rita and Robert must rely on each other as they
go on the road to keep her alive.
Grab
your copy now!
About Carmen
Carmen Peone is an award-winning author of Young Adult and Inspirational Western Romantic Suspense and lives with her husband in Northeast Washington and on the Colville Confederated Indian Reservation. With the love of history and the Western woman's lifestyle, she weaves threads of healing, hope, and horses, with threads of love, of course, into her stories.
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4 comments:
Carmen, thank you for being our guest this weekend at Romancing The Genres. I also share your large crowds condition as they also make me dizzy as do overhead fans.
Your Rite Runninghorse character looks to be a good role model for women who've been abused. Speaking up isn't always easy. She does and lets Robert know to stay on the main roads.
While I don't have a fear of crowds, large close crowds sometimes gives me anxity and I just want to leave, but not always. I guess it depends on the crowd.
At the airport standing in the endless winding TSA line I've gotten anxity and claustrophobia.
I was half way through the line. So I closed my eyes and did some deep breathing exercises. and that seemed to help
Thank you, Judith! Rita is a great role model who is easy to get to know and love. Thank you for taking the time to join us!
Diana, great advice! Thank you for taking the time to join us!
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