What am I repeating here with my anxiety over nuances--and large factors, too

I don't have Dr. Bill's know-how, Wordwind, but I think it's a 'once bitten, twice shy' kind of response.

When we experience something traumatic, we become instantly programed beneath the level of consciousness to fear it.

Some time ago I read that visual stimuli travel thru 2 separate pathways, one pathway leads to an 'emotional' center in the so-called reptilian brain, and the other pathway leads to the cerebral center which processes information from the eyes.

The pathway to the eyes is somewhat longer. This is why irrational phobias, precipitated by a traumatic event, are so hard to erase.

The traumatic visual signal triggers an emotional response before the brain has a chance to deduce that the emotional response is irrational.

By the time the brain makes up its mind, the 'screech!' is already out of the bag.

This is why equestrians say if you are thrown from a horse, you must get right back on immediately. If you don't, you will perseverate endlessly about it, and you may never have the courage to mount a horse again.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I ran into an old friend who has ridden horses all his life. He told me he was thrown from a horse he had never ridden before and people rushed to his aid as he lay dazed on the ground.

He declined their assistance and immediately climbed back on the horse, knowing that if he didn't, he might never ride again. Even so, he said he was rattled by the experience for many months afterwards.