Held hostage by fear

THE EDITOR, Sir:

EVERY TIME I approach the Hope Road/Waterloo Road intersection, my heart starts to beat a little faster. As I draw nearer, I brace myself and clench my fists in anticipation of an attack.

Will I be told about my parents today? Will someone peer through the glass, trying to look up my skirt? Or will there be an attempt to open my car door?

If we drop our guard for a second and drive with our windows down, our doors unlocked, and look away, we could end up being the next victim. This continuous hypervigilance is not healthy for us, physically or mentally.

I reflect on the recent video in which a young woman was begging and pleading to be let out of a taxi that was hurtling through traffic as the driver tried to escape a policeman. She was heard saying that she had gone through a similar ordeal before.

Fear and anxiety have their place in normal human experience, but it seems as if our current state of affairs has us trapped in the panic room, waiting, anticipating, seemingly cowering as we hold our breath wondering what will happen next. We cannot continue like this. JHANILLE A. BROOKS Licensed Associate Counselling Psychologist