(June 4, 2013 at 12:30 am)Rahul Wrote: I'm positive that hell doesn't exist. With me, my fear of hell dissipated before I realized I couldn't believe in god any longer. I'm not sure I could have been brave enough to admit to myself god was bs if I still had a fear of hell. The idea of still believing in the possibility of hell while deconverting at the same time sounds horrifying. It's fucking child abuse that is lasting way beyond childhood.
If you were brought up from your early childhood on with a fear of hell, it is very likely that this will remain for you for a very long time.
Ever heared of the "Little Albert experiment"?
That was conducted in 1920 with the goal of achieving more knowlege over how our fears come to be.
A infant child was shown various differen animals to observe an play arround with. But a certain animal was always given to him whilest a very loud and disturbing sound was played in the background. This resulted in the child being affraid of the animal even when the noise which was usualy played when the animal was given to him was not played.
Childhood fears can be created through things which are sometimes not even harmfull. Or a person can as a result of havingbhad expierences which created created phobias react very overexaturated towards situations which to that personresemble that situation.
Holocaust survivers are often affraid of dogs, barbwire ,uniforms and sometimes even people who speak german.
Bullying victims are affraid of situations resemble a bullying situation, like being verbaly or physicaly assaulted repeatedly by the same individual or group.
My vertigo was caused through an accident I had as a child - yet the heights I fear are mostly not even dangerous.
As horrible as it may sound, you will probably have to get use to flashbacks in which you suddently feel the fear of hell again. You will unfortunatly have to find a way to deal with it.
