Another weekend is about to begin! I promised I am going to share another epiphany about the conference I attended last weekend (Click here incase you missed the first conference epiphany). I am here to fulfill my promise (lol). So, after the conference ended, we networked and I made a new friend that helped me in taking some beautiful pictures. After some minutes of networking, I had to leave. Getting to the road, I stood for minutes while motorcycles passed by me but I just couldn’t board motorcycle so I kept waiting for a tricycle. While waiting, another lady who also attended the conference walked up to me to ask for directions, I replied and advised her to board motorcycle or tricycle (Keke). While she was still with me, a motorcycle rider halted, because she was heading towards my destination so we negotiated price with the rider for two passenger-riders and the rider agreed. The lady asked me if I will like to stay at the middle, I said she should board the motorcycle first, I will sit behind her.
In less than one minute on the motorcycle, I became really afraid, my co-passenger rider noticed, told the motorcycle rider to move a bit slow but we boarded an Hausa guy motorcycle, they don’t move slowly! We kept moving and my heart was practically out of my chest cause I was so afraid, tears were streaming down my face. The joy and relief that filled my soul when we finally alighted from the motorcycle was unexplainable, I just said ‘Thank you Holy Spirit’ cause while on the motorcycle I kept praying that God should please just let me alight safely and He did it! When my transit partner and I settled into another bus heading towards Oshodi, I thanked her for her concern and told her that I have motorcyclophobia, fear of motorcycle and she graciously understood.

The truth is, for most people that have phobia for one thing or another there is usually something that triggered that phobia. I narrated to my transit partner that I had accident on motorcycle when the motorcycle rider had epileptic seizure while riding and I was the passenger-rider. It was an experience that I can’t explain how I survived the accident unhurt. However, my motorcyclophobia actually started since childhood with cyclophobia when I had collision with a bicycle rider and I was really wounded. After, I had shared my reason of cyclophobia with my transit partner, she then shared that she also have vehophobia. She is afraid of vehicles in motion because she once had a terrible road accident and she was the only survivor and that is why she didn’t learn how to drive or see herself driving in the nearest future.
This made me realize that having phobia for a particular thing doesn’t make me weak but being open about it to embrace help when needed is strength. Life deals with us differently, leaving us with different scars and stars but for whatever it is, don’t be shy or form ‘Super Man’ to let people know you need help. I could have told my transit partner that I prefer to stay at the middle on the motorcycle and she would have agreed, thereby helping me in that situation.
So, what do you have phobia for? What is the initiating experience for your phobia? You can share with us via the comment box or you use the email section (at the first page). The first approach to overcoming phobia is to be open about it. You never can tell, help for your phobia may unveil when you courageously reveal the phobia. Leak your phobia, I just leaked mine.