Loss of control

Have any scary nightmares? Share them with us!
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gagaplex
Posts: 245
Joined: Wed Oct 09, 2013 10:32 am

Loss of control

Post by gagaplex »

When I was younger, I occassionally had nightmares that were about a loss of control.
For example, my father drives a bit... quickly, typically. We also went on hiking holidays every now and then, in the mountains.
So it's not too surprising that some of my dreams featured us in the car, with my father losing control and us all going over some nasty cliff or something (always waking up before the impact, of course...).
This, of course, is about loss of control twice over: First, I had no control over how my father was driving. Even if - in my dream - I or somebody else told him to slow down or be careful, he wouldn't listen for some bizarre reason; like he was manic or something. So there's already a lack of control there, not being in the driving seat is a bit scary in itself. And then the obvious total loss of control when we went over the cliff.
I think it's that fear of loss of control that is the main reason for me still feeling a bit queesy about airplanes. There's a particular stress associated with knowing that you could do nothing to try and save yourself or others if something were to go wrong. Driving around in cars (even with yourself in the driver's seat) is far more dangerous statistically? Well, the reptile part of my brain (or whichever) just says "statistics be damned" to that, I guess. The lack of control is scary, even if it's objectively safer.
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matt
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:48 am

Re: Loss of control

Post by matt »

To some extent, I think "control" is an illusion - at least the level of control that I'd like to have. So much in life is outside our control! That's something my shrink was saying with Retro/Grade. I can't control the other game releases that came out at the same time, I can't control the amount of advertising support we get from other companies, and the list goes on and on. I certainly can blame myself for all of those things though - even though maybe I shouldn't...
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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sunsetbrew
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:55 am

Re: Loss of control

Post by sunsetbrew »

matt wrote:To some extent, I think "control" is an illusion - at least the level of control that I'd like to have.
One thing I have been learning from your forum is that the most common fears involve loss of control or the feeling of helplessness. Surrendering to the evil seems to be a major trend in the stories.
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