People who have seen or experienced events connected to Bigfoot truly come from every walk of life. There doesn't seem to be any one thing in common. It can happen to anyone… A man hunting at his deer lease, to the woman driving home from work late at night. It can happen at any age and at any time of night or day. I have worked with nurses, lawyers, teachers, oil field workers, truckers, carpenters, expert guides, engineers, and people in the military, mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, and more. It doesn’t seem to matter who they are, or what they do… OR whether they believed or didn’t believe in the existence of this creature.
I have talked to hunters and outdoors people that have spent all their lives in a particular area who have told me they have never seen or heard anything out of the ordinary. These people, of course, have the most difficult time accepting that these creatures exist when they come face to face with a living, breathing hairy giant.
One such witness, from Texas, told me he never even entertained the possibility that Bigfoot existed. After his terrifying sighting he was physically sick for days. He had to question everything he believed in. It has taken him months to come to terms with it. Before his sighting, his big concern, while out doing his job, was stepping on a rattlesnake… Now he is looking behind every tree. He is coping but it has changed everything in regards to his job. Fortunately for him he has a supportive boss and co-workers that have backed him and revealed they too had experiences in the same location. He was taken seriously and this factor has helped him deal with his life-changing event.
Another, a nurse, told me that she thought Bigfoot was a joke, and not even on her radar. When she pulled over early one morning to stretch her legs, and wake herself up, she never expected what she saw. And after her encounter she sped away, only to go a few miles before having to stop and vomit. That’s how profoundly affected she was.
It might be that witnesses have very little in common before the sighting, but not After….
Many people never tell a soul what they have witnessed for years. One witness from Oklahoma had absolutely no intention of ever filing a report. He didn’t even tell his hunting partner the day it happened. He worked for the Department of Defense and said it took him 6 months to process what he’d seen. He decided to write the story for this grandchildren and he locked it in a safe. He only shared it after his grown son asked him directly if he’d ever had an experience.
Sometimes those that do talk about their sightings report being laughed at, or called liars by their own family members, and closest friends. My personal belief is that only 1/3 of sightings get reported for this reason. Many professional people don’t want their names used publicly out of fear it will affect their positions within their community, or they could even lose their security clearances and put their jobs at risk. Others are scared that if they file a report, strangers are going to knock on their door with a camera crew and put them on the evening news, or worse…multiple men in jacked-up trucks and camo will arrive with guns blazing to hunting it down!
Symptoms commonly reported after a close sighting:
- Nightmares and insomnia
- Fear of the dark
- Fear of the woods (day or night), they no longer feel at peace in the woods or safe.
- Loss of interest or avoidance in their favorite outside activity (hunting, fishing, hiking, biking)
- Flashbacks or repeated “playing of the video” in their mind, or haunted by the face or eyes of the creature.
- Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Some may experience alienation if they are not believed by those closest to them.
- Some begin questioning their sanity, or their grasp on reality and what they believe to be true.
After their sighting witness can feel so vulnerable. They tell me they can never look at the world the same way, or be in their beloved woods in the same way. It really depends on the make-up of the individual, and the nature of their sighting. It is one thing to see a Bigfoot at 100 yards as it’s walking away, and totally another when it’s 8 feet away and standing it’s ground. (And yes, I have worked with individuals who have been 8 feet away and screamed at.)
For some people it takes months or years to deal with what they have witnessed. I have worked with some people who waited 20 or more years to tell their story. They have told me they wish it had never happened. They didn't ask for the experience and most have said they never, ever want to see another one of them. If that doesn’t tell you something about the nature of these encounters, and the ‘massive individuals’ these people are seeing…What will?
So witnesses may not have much in common to start with, but afterwards, it’s different. THEY are different. I pray they have a good support system of people in their lives. If not, I hope they will find those of us in the Bigfoot community who believe them and can help them through their encounter.
All of them look out at the world differently knowing… There is a creature ‘out there’ that is definitely not….. US.
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