I wasn’t born with a fear of choking. In fact, quite the opposite. I was always an eager eater, willing to try anything at least once. Lima beans and eggs never made it to the second bite, but otherwise, I nurtured a rather varied palate.
However, not all mental issues stem from genetics or brain chemistry. Some people develop anxieties and phobias because of lived experiences. They associate an event with a consequence, so they avoid the recurrence of the event at all costs.
It makes sense because, as humans, we’re rather consequence-averse.
You know, like most of us avoid jumping out of airplanes because we prefer to see our three-dimensional selves in the mirror.
We also avoid stepping out into the street in front of moving box trucks, and when we see a poisonous snake, we instinctively back the fuck up.
We’re endowed with highly complex brains that make intricate connections between experiences and perceptions. Sometimes, an experience can trigger anxiety about an unrelated activity or stimulus.
I’m neither a doctor nor a scientist, but even they don’t fully understand how our brains function, so I figure I’m just as qualified as anyone to make suppositions about our…