The Walking Dead, Survival Rule Of The Week: It will NOT be easy
By Liam O'Leary
1) It will probably pit you against your greatest fears.
What are you afraid of? It’s an important question, because, I’m willing to bet, at some point in a zombie apocalypse, you will be forced to encounter that thing to survive. Now, I’m not talking things like clowns or aliens (Though, you may encounter clowns in the apocalypse, to be honest) but, things like dogs, fire, large crowds, bodies of water, or, as we saw on this week’s episode of The Walking Dead, tight spaces.
In my book, The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Pardon the plug), I have a rule called “Claustrophobia Saves”. While claustrophobia obviously didn’t help Carol, the basic idea of that rule was that, if you’re a person who already has a heightened fear of tight, enclosed places, you’re more likely to avoid them in the apocalypse, which ends up being a good policy, as being in such a place with a zombie (Or worse, multiple zombies) would be extremely dangerous.
And, this can kind of work with other fears, too. If you’re already afraid of large crowds, you’d be a step ahead of many people when the zombie virus hits (See my Things To Avoid — City Edition list for more details).
Conversely, the apocalypse can also force you to face your fears. Let me give you an example: You may have something like aquaphobia (A fear of bodies of water). Well, there may come a time where your only escape from a herd of zombies may be to swim to safety. As powerful as that fear of the river/lake/pool that you have to cross may be, you’ll know that those zombies will tear you apart if they catch you, and may force you to have to confront that fear, whether you’re ready to or not, in order to survive.
But, that’s just one example. For all I know, you may have to dig through a dusty, spider-filled garage to find keys to the only car available to escape a herd. My point is: There’s a good chance that, whatever it is you fear, whether you like it or not, whether you can deal with it not, the zombie apocalypse may force you to face it, or else get eaten alive.