I was bit by a dog - how I overcame fear

Can you imagine harnessing the power of your worst nightmare to become stronger than ever? That's exactly what happened when I was bitten by a dog at 10 years old. I'll reveal how I turned this harrowing experience into a catalyst for growth, using techniques I didn't even know had a name. Stay tuned to uncover how I transformed anxiety into a superpower and learn how you can do the same.

So, picture this: I'm ten years old, playing football with my friend at our scout leader’s house. (p.s. I’m an eagle scout) The sun is shining, everything's going great. There we are, in the back yard, throwing this football back and forth and back and forth. The scout leader’s dog was in the backyard. Now, this dog wasn't aggressive or anything, but he was excited, probably thinking we were playing with him. As we kept throwing the ball back and forth, he started getting more and more worked up.

Next thing I know, I catch the ball, and BAM! The dog jumps up, knocking me to the ground and biting me right through my eyelid. It was terrifying. I took my foot and kicked the dog off of me. I thought, great, I just lost my eye. I couldn’t see, there was blood everywhere. In fact, all I cared about in that moment, was that my shirt was completely ripped up and it had blood all over it.

As I’m rushed to the hospital, the doctors were in amazement that the tooth of the dog, didn’t pierce my eye. However, the gash was big enough where I needed stitches.

I was a pretty calm and collected kid. Not much bothered me. I was still more worried about my shirt. I’m not sure why. The next day, the scout leader showed up with some shirts that said, “I’m not afraid of dogs” and “Dogs are my best friend.”

A very nice gesture, although, I think they were hoping we wouldn’t sue. Which of course we didn’t. But these shirts taught me something important about anxiety.

You see, when we have traumatic experiences in our life, we can either hold on to them, let them be part of our narrative for life, not move forward, always avoid the initial trigger….or we can head toward them with a new attitude.

This shirt that said, “I’m not afraid of dogs.” was just that. It was the opposite of what I was thinking. In fact, it was my goal to never be around another dog as long as I lived. The protection measures kick in telling me to be safe.

How I overcame my fear using exposure therapy

Without knowing what exposure therapy was all about, I slowly exposed myself to things that reminded me of that experience. I played football a bunch. I wore that shirt. I said how much I loved dogs. I took opportunities to pet a dog when I saw it. In fact, I had my own dog and would say, “I hope you bite me.” Right here, go for it.

I don’t know why I did it, but I knew it was helping me overcome this fear.

When it comes to facing anxiety, most of the time it’s dealing with the “what ifs” in the future. This is where we get stuck. We don’t know the future. We can’t always fix something we don’t know. But exposures work the same.

How can you expose yourself to the uncertainty of the future. Of the what if’s. A great way is using the “maybe, maybe not” phrases. I’m fully accepting that I don’t know and am willing to take the risk, that the thing could happen.

I’ve been around hundreds of dogs since my incident and not been bit again. If I choose to always avoid, my brain would tell me that I was only safe because I didn’t go near them.

Take this and run with it. What can I teach my brain today? Is it that I can handle hard things? I can keep moving forward even though I feel anxious? I don’t have to do the compulsion you want me to. I’m willing to feel uncomfortable for as long as it takes.

Maybe there are some things in your past that you could face again using exposure and response prevention. Maybe it’s something about the future. Either way, your job is to live life. That’s it. What does living life mean to you? It can’t be, I’m living life to never feel anxious again. That doesn’t work. It’s going with the flow. Embracing the future. Accepting the past.

What are you going to today to show that anxiety doesn’t control you! It’s time to change the narrative of what anxiety really means for your life.

There’s a video on the screen that I’d love for you to watch. Anxiety’s got nothing on you, show it that you’re the boss. Clickity, click, click.