Arachnophobia or fear of spiders. One out of every ten people in the world suffers from this fear. But why? None of the known spiders around us are biting or venomous. So why do we get chills down our spines when we see them?
Why is this fear born in us when we see spiders?
According to experts, this fear is not only about spiders, but also about insects and animals close to them, such as snakes, bats etc. And those of us who are afraid of any of the above listed animals are also afraid of other insects, reptiles, etc. Let's learn more about arachnophobia today.
From spiders to spider webs: where is the fear?
Fear of spiders and fear of spider webs both fall under the same phobia. Got it right. Speaking of arachnophobia. It is a more focused fear than many other phobias, which can develop in anyone. It doesn't have to be real spiders, but as a sufferer of arachnophobia, just seeing webs can lead to the fear of spiders being around.
This fear is born from the combination of two Greek words named 'Arachne' and 'Phobos'. Over the course of time, humans have developed an innate fear of various harmful animals. Like this snake, which was once poisonous, is still so. But seeing even a non-venomous snake around will make your body tremble with fear. Why is that? Because, you know, your body's DNA knows that snakes are poisonous. A lot of instinctive reactions come out of you.
The same happens with spiders. Arachnophobia begins with the thought of poison from spiders, illness from poison. Quite naturally. So, you don't have to be bitten by a spider to be afraid of spiders. Nature has already instilled in you that spiders are scary. From there you become a victim of arachnophobia.
A study was conducted in Germany based on this theory. Children are shown fish, flowers, snakes, spiders etc. And it can be seen that the shape of children's eyeballs is changing during spiders and snakes. They are afraid. But this fear is created in them without seeing the spider before.
However, in addition to fear, annoyance and discomfort can also cause arachnophobia. Do you just fear the spider and move away from that place or drive the spider away? Many people are forced to leave their homes due to this fear. The interesting thing is that today it seems to be just a fear, but this fear helped mankind to survive at one time. Today, many spiders have poisonous liquid to attack humans, but they do not have sharp and long stings to inject it into the human body. Of the world's 63,000 species of spiders, only 2 percent are poisonous to humans.
And yes, apart from these, your environment can also create arachnophobia in you. Parents, why don't you fear what people around you fear? Even if you have no previous experience, you can become a victim of this primitive phobia!
Do you have arachnophobia?
It is okay to be a little afraid of spiders. It is human instinct. But it is possible to clearly understand the symptoms of the fear that has attacked you as a severe phobia.
If your fear of arachnophobia increases physically, you:
- dizziness
- Digestive problems
- Nausea
- sweating
- Shaking hands and feet
- shortness of breath
- Increased heart rate
- crying
etc. you can see in yourself. Not only that, when arachnophobia develops a person avoids places where there are spiders to combat this fear. Can't concentrate on any work. He was kind of forced to go far away from social affairs.
How to reduce fear?
A few things can help you in a very positive way to reduce this overwhelming fear of spiders. In addition to minor problems, if you find that arachnophobia causes you to be afraid to go out, unable to work, wakes up at night, or has occasional bouts of anxiety, you should:
1) Talk to the doctor. Doctors do not want to prescribe any medicine because of this fear. But he brought the fear to bearable level by counseling.
2) Like many other phobias, you can gradually overcome the fear through therapy. Virtual reality therapy works quite well in this regard. Repeated face-to-face exposure to spiders also reduces arachnophobia.
Interestingly, the Spiderman movie has also helped many arachnophobia sufferers overcome their fear of spiders. So it's hard to say exactly how your fear of spiders will go away. But since it all depends on how you see the spider, counseling or therapy or any other means, there is no doubt that you need to change that!
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