Chapter 1 of 5

Irrational fears

Sparrow's nest

Amruta KanekarJul 1, 20263 min read
Sparrow's nest

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When I was young I was scared of a lot of things. Most of my fears from my childhood were irrational. I had no need to fear some of the things from my childhood. There was no justification or explanation why I was scared of them. One of my such irrational fears was the nest of sparrows.

Sparrows build the nest with things that are easily available for them. They use dried leaves, sticks, grass, dried grass, hay to build their nests. Surprisingly sparrows nest also looks like them. It is brown and spotted just like the sparrow. Now I know that the nest serves as a perfect camouflage for the Sparrow and the young offsprings. But when I was young I was petrified of the sparrow's nest and I don't know why.

I think I was 4 years old when I discovered the sparrow's nest for the very first time. I saw a sparrow's nest at one of the shops near my house. It was built between the roof and the door of the shop. I saw it. I did not know what it was. It gave me creeps. Immediately got scared and I ran away from there. I went home and told my mother that I saw something which scared me. I describe it to her but I did not know that it was sparrow's nest. My mother also could not understand what it was. She told me not to visit that shop if I am scared. I followed her instructions.

Letter I went outside with my mother because she wanted to buy groceries. We went to some other shop and there to I noticed the same thing. I showed it to my mother that this is the object that scared me. My mother saw it and told me that it is a sparrow's nest. She also said that there is nothing to be afraid of. It is where the mother Sparrow and baby sparrows will be. It is their home. This explanation did not work. I was still scared. But at least now I knew which object is scaring me.

After that it became my habit to spot the sparrow's nest everywhere. Wherever I would go my eyes would start searching for the sparrow's nest - the object that is making me petrified. I would search for it and I would spot it somewhere. I would see it and my heart would start beating faster. My breathing would become shallow. I would start sweating. This went on for several years. I tried a lot of things but I could not get rid of this fear. I was scared of the sparrows nest for at least five or six years.

By the time I had turned 10 I had gotten rid of most of my fears by them. Just how I suddenly what scared of the sparrow's nest I got rid of that fear suddenly as well. The day before I was scared of it and the day after I was not scared of it. I still did not know what made me get rid of it but I was not afraid of that anymore. When I was 10 I would see a sparrow's nest and would not run away from there. My heart would beat normally. My breathing would be normal. I would not be scared of the sparrowsiness. Unknowingly I had overcome my irrational fear.

What's your take on overcoming childhood fears?

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Comments7
Raadhica WasanJul 13, 2026

I enjoyed reading this because it felt genuine and relatable. Many people experience similar emotions but don’t always express them openly. Thanks for putting your thoughts into words so clearly.

Nila de EvelynJul 5, 2026

Sometimes they thing we fear has no meaning but only we know how anxious and how the fear will feel like a punch in the gut.

Awantika MishraJul 5, 2026

this was a heartfelt reflection on childhood fear it showed how irrational fear feel overwhelming yet time and experience helps us overcome

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Amruta Kanekar

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Amruta Kanekar

Pharma professional, blogger, photographer, freelancer, free thinker

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