UP..Clos’ED’ and personal!!

Claustrophobia noun an abnormal fear of being in enclosed or narrow places.
This is the dictionary meaning of the word claustrophobia.. it is fear of the physical places which are enclosed or narrow for example an elevator or a narrow tunnel...
It is always said that we know and understand those things which we have experienced, better than those that we have heard about or witnessed as a bystander. I can’t agree more.. I recently discovered that I suffer from a case of acute claustrophobia… It was a realization that hit me real hard… as the claustrophobia was of type B. Now one might wonder is there really a claustrophobia type B? never heard of isn’t it? Now all of us have heard of hepatitis B, diabetes type B but never claustrophobia type B(sounds horrible too!! L ). Clinically…NO.. there is no type B for claustrophobia…but I have invented one to fit my case in.
In my type of claustrophobia it is not the physical, enclosed spaces that matter… I may be in a very spacious hall or in an open playground but that does not mean I will not feel the fear running up my spine. Then one might wonder what kind of claustrophobia is this?? Well I am scared of closeted minds and narrow outlook of people and society in general…there I have spilt the beans!!
I often come across people who have a closed mindset..never open to new ideas or for that matter even to suggestions that might be better that their own fixated ideas… this is still tolerable as long as they do not expect others to follow their notions. There are individuals who insist that the ideas that they have are a benchmark and all the lowly and otherwise useless beings should follow them like the word of the Bible. Such individuals restrict the growth of innovative/creative thinking ability of people around them. In a worst case scenario they give rise to minds just like their own, “CLOSED”.
It may be possible that not all people are aware of the fact that they have closed minds. Those who think highly of their thoughts and opinions can never be aware of their short comings(for those who can’t abide doing a certain thing in a different way than what they have been following, the mere idea that their ways and means “may” have a fault is farfetched..in fact totally unbelievable).
This closed mindset wears different cloaks in views of different individuals… for some it is tradition and custom. These folks will never change certain ways in which things are done even if it means more convenience for themselves…specially people who cover adamant and narrow mindset under the cloak of tradition and customs. If their own convenience does not matter to them then definitely it is their own choice…but insisting that things happen in what they see as the right way at the cost of inconvenience to others is taking things a bit too far. This is where my type of claustrophobia fits in.. I get restless and irritated and intolerant around such individuals who have such narrow outlooks that nothing matters to them but their own ideas. No individual or thing stands a chance against their notions, whims and fancies!

Like I mentioned earlier on if the ideas and notions are fixed and they do not expect other individuals to follow it still things can be a little better. But in most cases that is not what it is. If someone tries to change the way the things are…making it better in most cases…they are looked down upon and ridiculed just because the process does not fit in the so called set of rules. This happens mostly in case of traditions. E.g., in India Saturday is considered inauspicious day(Though for me this day is a boon as I work). Most people can’t even think of buying cooking oil or any leather articles on a Saturday, forget about starting anything new or conducting an auspicious Pooja!! The moment someone(mostly someone like me) points out the logical disconnect of such misconceptions the matriarchs of the house pounce on me with accusations of being too wise for my shoes and being disrespectful towards our culture and traditions…but for me it means more claustrophobic situation where I get suffocated and the end result is a huge argument where I have always been defeated till date.. J
I could go on and on about this topic and my fears but then how much ever I write it will still fall short to describe the feeling of fear that I experience… but all in all I am sure there are a lot of people who can relate to this and mostly agree with me that there has to be a change but the challenge of changing the unchangeable is the greatest!! Signing off!