31/01/22 — essay

   

One thing I’m afraid to lose

 

Everyone is scared of losing something. Be it health, wealth, love or even a favourite plushy or comfort blanket from their childhood. No matter how brave or strong someone is, the fear of losing something or someone is always present — it is part of human nature after all. We get emotionally attached to things present in our lives. Most people would probably say that they are afraid to lose their family, that they cannot imagine losing their mom or dad or a sibling, because they mean the world to them. Others would be scared of losing their job or their home, as their life depends on it. While it may be unusual, I would have to say that the thing I’m afraid of losing the most is, quite honestly, myself or my love.

 

It must sound selfish, right? Am I not scared of my parents dying? Or my cat? Or losing my boyfriend? Of course I am. I have a lot of anxiety about those things happening, but I am aware that most of them are just a matter of time. Nothing is forever and everyone has a certain “expiration date”, so to say. We will all die sooner or later. Besides, when it comes to people, maintaining a relationship with some of them, even if they are family, can be quite harmful for you, and cutting them out of your life might turn out to be one of the better decisions you make. What it basically means is: you do not have to live with anyone else besides yourself. You can cut everyone off, but it is close to impossible to cut yourself off. What is in your mind stays with you, you cannot run or hide from it.

 

In the same way one might see sharing a cake, piece by piece, until there is no more left for oneself, I see myself, or my metaphorical heart: as a certain finite resource of love. Consequently, with every person I fall for, I care for, after losing them, there is less of me. Every person that left me still has a piece of me that I know I will never get back. It might be the lack of closure that makes me feel this way or being raised by people to whom I had to prove I was enough to get their love, like it was a prize, not something that is given unconditionally. The desire to never be like them, to care for and love everyone, so no one would feel like they were not enough, so they would never feel like I did, combined with the instilled idea that there is a finite amount of love in everyone is probably what this fear raised from.

 

That’s why, for me, losing myself would be tragic. And I’m not talking about losing myself to depression, anxiety or any other mental illness, however scary living with them is. Those things are fixable even with medication alone. However, the feeling of losing a part of yourself with every person you love is not as “easy” to get rid of. Despite the fact that my reasoning of this fear is closely related with mental illnesses and coping mechanisms left untreated, I do not see them as equal. But what is fear if not something subjective to everyone? 

 

Losing myself, either by having to prove myself to others or caring too much, is an awfully scary concept. Even though some people would say that it is just a feeling of being “burnt out”, and that everyone feels that way, it is not the same thing. I am familiar enough with both of those feelings to see how much they differ. That is why the one thing I’m afraid to lose is myself. Because there is no worse feeling than the lack of any feelings at all or the feeling of being unable to love.

 

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