مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت الف

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

FEARS AND PHOBIAS

Susanne ran through the dark as unseen hands reached out to grab her.

Who ran through the dark? Susanne ran through the dark. Who reached out to grab her?

Unseen hands reached out to grab her.

Hungry zombies were behind her.

Who was behind her? Hungry zombies were behind her.

When they eventually caught her, their teeth would sink into her shoulder.

What would they do when they caught her? Their teeth would sink into her shoulder.

And Susanne would scream herself awake from this recurring zombie nightmare.

What would Susanne do? Susanne would scream herself awake. Who would scream herself awake? Susanne would scream herself awake.

Like many people with phobias, Susanne’s fear of zombies was rooted in her childhood.

Was Susanne’s fear of zombies rooted in her childhood? Yes, Susanne’s fear of zombies was rooted in her childhood.

At the age of five, Susanne’s grandfather died.

Who died? Susanne’s grandfather died. How old was Susanne? Susanne was five.

Being so young, she had trouble understanding death.

Did Susanne understand her grandfather’s death? No, Susanne had trouble understanding her grandfather’s death.

The funeral was only open to adults, so she wasn’t able to attend and get closure on his passing.

Did Susanne get closure? No, Susanne didn’t get closure. Did she attend the funeral? No, she didn’t attend the funeral.

Not long after the funeral, her family took a vacation.

What did Susanne’s family do after the funeral? Her family took a vacation after the funeral.

Left alone in the hotel room at night, she watched the iconic zombie film, Night of the Living Dead.

Which movie did she see? She saw the Night of the Living Dead. Have you seen the Night of the Living Dead?

In this movie from the 60’s, the dead come back to life to eat the living.

What do the dead do in this movie? In this movie, the dead come back to life to eat the living.

When is this movie from? This movie is from the 60’s.

This traumatized Susanne so much that she regularly had zombie nightmares for most of her life.

Did this traumatize Susanne? Yes, this traumatized Susanne. Who did this traumatize? This traumatized Susanne.

This didn’t just affect her sleep.

Did this just affect her sleep? No, this didn’t just affect her sleep.

She began to fear zombies in the day as well. Once, at the age of seven, a motorcyclist hit the car she was riding in.

What happened when she was seven? When she was seven, a motorcyclist hit the car she was riding in.

The rider smashed into the car and against Susanne’s window.

Who smashed into the car? The rider smashed into the car.

As she looked at the bloodied rider begging for help, she broke down into tears. She was sure he was a zombie.

Did the rider beg for help? Yes, the rider begged for help. What did Susanne do? She broke down into tears. Why did she break down into tears? She was sure he was a zombie.

As she became an adult the nightmares continued, and in some ways they became worse, as zombies became more and more common in pop culture.

Did her nightmares continue? Yes, her nightmares continued. What became more and more common in pop culture? Zombies became more and more common in pop culture.

If a zombie show or movie came on TV, Susanne would hyperventilate and have to leave the room.

Who would hyperventilate? Susanne would hyperventilate. Would Susanne have to leave the room? Yes, Susanne would have to leave the room.

If it was a rental video, she would not be able to sleep just thinking that the DVD was in the house.

As Susanne got older a therapist helped her understand that her fear of zombies, was really a much more common fear of death.

What was her fear of zombies really about? Her fear of zombies was really a fear of death.

The zombie movie she saw soon after her grandfather died confused her young mind into equating death with zombies.

Did she equate death with zombies? Yes, she equated death with zombies.

With the help of the therapist, Susanne started to slowly face her fears.

Did she quickly face her fears or slowly face her fears? She slowly faced her fears. Who slowly faced her fears? Susanne slowly faced her fears.

First she worked on just having a zombie video in her house.

What did she work on first? First she worked on just having a zombie video in her house.

Then she worked her way up to actually watching a zombie movie without having a nightmare.

What did she work her way up to next? Then she worked her way up to actually watching a zombie movie without having a nightmare.

Finally she started to write zombie short stories as a form of therapy.

What did she write? She wrote zombie short stories.

This process of slowly facing her fears has mostly stopped the nightmares and allows her to live a more normal life.

Has this process completely stopped the nightmares or mostly stopped the nightmares? This process has mostly stopped the nightmares. Does it allow her to live a normal life? Yes, it allows her to live a more normal life.