> Even if this was true for neurotypicals (which it isn't) it wouldn't be true for neurodivergent folk.

Interesting take, are you neurodivergent? "Masking" is basically a "get over it" approach that the parent talks about. It is exhausting, to the point that neurodivergent people wil preemptively bail out of situations if they don't feel up for it. Tools associated with stocism can be helpful for neurodivergent people when they're used to support their needs rather than diminish them, in my experience.

let's say you are very afraid of heights. let's also say that your toddler climbed out a window and is now playing on the edge of the roof. you're just going to watch, or worse, hide your eyes?

you replied to a comment that cited "survival", so to argue against it you need to also cite surviving, or not surviving in the case you bring up.

Eslaught didn't mention survival, so Noman-land's rebuttal doesn't cover all cases of dread. I'm more trying to help him understand than directly refute his misdirected point. The feeling of dread isn't about how you react to it, but rather that the typical outcome is negative.

I actually have pretty bad height vertigo. I can suppress it but it takes almost all my attention. In your hypothetical I expect I would suppress it and grab the child. This vertigo is anxiety, not dread; the outcome is almost always neutral or positive, not negative.

A scenario that might induce dread is being forced to jump off a 30ft ledge. Even if you know how to fall well there's still significant risk of injury, and either way it's going to hurt. Learning to fall better might help, but the more important thing is to _avoid that situation in the first place_.