Well its summer here in Australia and this year my snake phobia is worse than ever.
The fear is getting so bad that Im finding it very difficult to go out of the house on warm days and driving myself mad checking every noise I hear in the house.
Ive had a couple of bad experiences: like a week or 2 ago I heard the cat jump in through the kitchen window and make his hunting noise and when i went to check what he had it was a snake! A live deadly brown snake which he then took under my bed! I dragged it out with the rake and whacked it with a crow bar till it was dead but my nerves took days to recover!
Last year i saw a 5 foot brown on the front path and the year before my kid surprised what i think was the same snake shedding its skin in the side garden. When i was having some renovations done a small tiger snake tried to get through a hole in the plaster but got stuck on the gaffer tape id put over it (to keep snakes out!) - hey call me paranoid but ....
I now feel like Im underseige. The problem is these fears arent irrational (although obviously blown out of proportion to the danger) and I dont feel I can afford to relax my vigilance but Im a nervous wreck!
Just yesterday I was mowing the lawns(in a state of near panic) when I saw my kid go over to investigate a rustle in the garden! It was a blue tongue lizard - but it might not have been! He loves animals of all kinds but I thought he understood about the danger of snakes. How can I keep him safe without making him a paranoid wreck like me?
How can I deal with the hypervigilance when I feel I really do need to be constantly on the alert? And it has paid off in the past...
Sorry about the length of this post but this is ruining my life , I cant even relax and enjoy a cup of tea on the verandah without listening to every rustle, constantly scanning the area etc.
Its all I think about during daylight hours - thank god the buggers dont come out at night! -(picture of our blue tongue lizard follows, constantly mistaken for a snake!)
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