Imagine yourself sailing on a storm-striken ship. Waves climbing higher than the vessel which you sail on. You realise, how helpless you are! You fear the worst and live that fear. Your imagination runs wild and ruins your thought
process. The ship continues to sail whereas you continue to squirm around in fear. You observe people around you who seem to be enjoying the tides. 'Crazy people' you think to yourself. Eventually, the ship sails safely to shore and you are relieved but surprised. Surprised at the fact that only few people had understood the potential catastrophe.
You gather courage and ask a co-sailor how he managed to enjoy the near death experience. To your amazement, he laughs at your question and suggests that the situation was never that bad.
That's what anxiety and fear do to a person. When these emotions team up with imagination, they are a deadly combination, aren't they?