StormborneLore

Tag: resilience

  • Facing Fear: How I Conquered My Phobias One Step at a Time

    Facing Fear: How I Conquered My Phobias One Step at a Time

    A person walking on a rickety bridge over a mountainous landscape with the title 'Facing Fear' and subtitle about conquering phobias.
    An illustration depicting the journey of conquering fear, showcasing a figure walking on a precarious bridge against a backdrop of mountains.

    What Is Fear?
    Fear is our most ancient survival tool a natural response to danger, real or imagined. But sometimes, fear outstays its welcome. It whispers that we can’t… until we believe it.

    For some, fear is an occasional visitor. For others, it’s a daily shadow phobias, anxiety, panic attacks. I’ve lived with those shadows.

    But I’ve also walked through them.

    My Fears And How I Faced Them
    I’ve been fortunate. Not because I had no fear but because life gave me the opportunity to learn how to manage it.

    A climber ascending a rocky cliff in Staffordshire, wearing protective gear and focused on the climb.
    A climber scaling a rock face, representing the journey of overcoming the fear of heights.

    🌉 Fear of Heights
    I learned to rock climb in Staffordshire and Wales.

    I faced my limits on a rickety old bridge in Bavaria, and still crossed it.

    I even abseiled down rockfaces and braved a Tyrolean traverse in Pembrokeshire the kind that would once leave me frozen.

    A woman sitting on a plane, looking pensive and anxious while gazing out the window, with text overlay about fear of travel and claustrophobia.
    A woman on a plane grappling with her fear of travel and claustrophobia, reflecting on her journey.

    ✈️ Fear of Travel & Claustrophobia
    I boarded a plane to Gran Canaria despite the panic bubbling beneath the surface.

    Tight, enclosed spaces were once unbearable. But with support, I found my breath and moved through them.

    🏞️ Agoraphobia
    Being outdoors, especially alone or in open spaces, used to trigger spirals of panic.

    Over time and with exposure, grounding techniques, and support I reclaimed those spaces.

    🧠 How?
    Anxiety groups helped me understand my fear, not just fight it.

    Tactics like grounding, breathwork, visualization, and controlled exposure allowed me to manage reactions and regain control.

    Support networks reminded me I wasn’t alone.

    Fear Doesn’t Vanish But You Can Walk With It
    I haven’t eliminated fear. But I’ve redefined my relationship with it.

    Fear still shows up sometimes before a challenge, a new trip, or a difficult day.

    But now, I meet it with tools, not terror.

    I share this not because I’ve ‘won’, but because you can too. Fear doesn’t make you weak. Facing it makes you brave.

    Final Words
    Whether your fear is public speaking, flying, crowded places, or the dark know this:

    You are not broken.
    You are not alone.
    You are not weak.

    You are learning.
    And healing.
    And growing.

    Every time you show up despite fear, you win something back.

    If you’re struggling, reach out. Speak to someone. Join a support group. Try one small thing.

    You’ve already survived everything life has thrown at you. That’s proof of your strength.

    An illustration featuring a vibrant red dragon and a muscular black wolf wearing a golden shoulder strap, with both characters positioned against a colorful background. Text in the image expresses gratitude for reading and encourages liking and following the creator 'StormborneLore.'
    A powerful illustration featuring a fierce red dragon and a majestic black wolf figure, symbolizing strength and resilience.

  • The Bitter Berry

    The Bitter Berry

    Isolation

    The punishment was isolation not exile, not quite. Taranis, though still only a babe by the tribe’s reckoning, was watched but not spoken to. No brothers played with him. No mother’s lullaby wrapped him in comfort. He was to be observed, not nurtured. Fed, but not spoken to. Cared for, but not loved.

    It was said the elders feared what he would become. A child with glowing hands who healed a broken mind just as easily break others, they whispered.

    And so, silence fell over him like a second skin.

    But the boy the boy did not stop being hungry.

    On the third day of his confinement, Taranis wandered just beyond the shadow of the chief’s hut.
    He was old enough to walk, too young to know danger. And he was hungry.

    He saw berries.

    They gleamed with dew, small and red like droplets of blood upon the brambles. They looked like the ones Nyx used to give him in summer. He plucked them, popped one in his mouth, and smiled.

    Within minutes, the world tilted.

    Taranis clutched his belly, his body shaking. His legs gave way as a cry tore from his throat not of pain alone, but of betrayal.


    The world blurred. The air thickened. He vomited violently and collapsed into the underbrush.

    From the edge of the village, Nyx saw the fall.

    “FATHER!” she screamed, racing ahead before any guards stop her. “Taranis! Taranis!”

    Conan came running, as did Lore and Boldolph, the great black wolf. Lore scooped the child into his arms, his skin already burning with fever again, his lips pale and trembling.

    “What’s he done?” Lore cried.

    “Berries,” said Morrigan softly from the tree line. “The bitter kind. Poisonous to children.”

    Nyx was sobbing now, her hands over her mouth. “He didn’t know. He was hungry. He was hungry and no one fed him.”

    Father turned to the elders, fury flashing in his eyes.

    The elders said nothing.

    That night, the laws were rewritten.

    Taranis would not be left alone again. He would still be watched, still be studied but never again forgotten.

    Because even a stormborn child needs more than destiny to survive.

    He needs kindness.
    He needs love.
    And above all…

    He needs to eat.

    © StormborneLore. Written by Emma for StormborneLore. Not for reproduction. All rights reserved.