I am a secret sufferer of Ornithophobia – the fear of birds, but I recently came to know about it. I am still researching it, trying to gather as much information as possible to cope with it for the next years of my life.
So as mentioned before, I have Ornithophobia. I may not say it is medically claimed by a professional, but I get panicked and have a racing heartbeat when I encounter birds, especially pigeons. I fear all the birds, but the most prominent are pigeons.
I do remember things clearly. My father had put up a bird feeder in my window, and those creatures used to munch on the food by rushing into it. I would get freaked out by their loud flutter. I asked my dad to get rid of that thing and get my window covered by a nice net. But it was my mother who refused to do it as she would think that a room with closed or sealed windows would become a breeding ground for germs and diseases. She would always want the sunshine to enter the house. I managed a few days after that, but then the birds started entering the room and sitting on the ceiling fans. I had already feared birds till then, and then such acts would chill down my spine. I would rush out of my room, shouting, and my mom would not like it. My family used to think that I was “overreacting” to silly things. But only I knew what I felt. That’s how phobias curse us. Things that are silly or absolutely normal for others make us shout and scream and panicked with fear.
One unfortunate day, the faculty assigned me a place just next to the window at my classes. I tried not to look or pay attention towards the window until there wasn’t anything waiting for me. And, things went just the way they shouldn’t. A pigeon landed inside. Another followed. They began flapping their wings and fighting. That’s it! That’s when I stood up, shouting and disturbing the whole class. The pigeons kept on fighting, and I kept on shouting. My faculty always kept the windows closed from that day and made me sit on the first bench to avoid that situation.
I still fear birds and pigeons, become extremely cautious and full of emotions, and have a thumping heart whenever I hear even their sound or flapping of wings.
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