Thursday, October 28, 2010
Arachnophobia: Fear of Arachnids
Ophildiophobia, the fear of snakes. Acrophobia, the fear of heights. Mysophobia, fear of germs and dirt. Anatidaephobia, the fear of a duck is watching you somewhere and somehow. These are some of the most common phobias that majority of the population have. Most of them got these phobias from past experiences, influences, or cultural values. For example, people with Ophidiophobia are afraid of snakes because of their past experiences from getting attacked by a snake, or they were influenced by their religion or parents that snakes are horrible and sin riddled creatures that should be avoided. Avoided because most snakes bite and are venomous such as the Anacondas or Vipers. My biggest phobia that has always been part of me is Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders and arachnids. I have always had this fear every since I was a young child, even though I don't remember how I got this phobia. All I know is that every time I am near a cobweb or a area where spiders are present, I tend feel uneasy, nervous and anxious; all symptoms of paranoia. Once I see a spider I have mini panic attacks until I calm down or the spider is out of my sight. This phobia is holding me back personally because I cannot get rid of a spider without stepping on it, smashing it or try lighting it on fire. Spiders are harmless creatures and do not attack unless threatened, but because of my phobia I always have a instinct of neutralizing it whenever I see one in my sight. In society, adults or older people are not afraid of such small creatures but for me I am afraid of them and it will make me look weak because of my phobia of being afraid of a spider. However, right now I am slowly overcoming this phobia by facing my fear of spiders and learning about them at the same time. Spiders are wonderful and interesting creatures, but because of my phobia I see them as terrifying and creepy crawlers, which one day I hope to overcome as an obstacle.
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Hey Andrew!
ReplyDeleteVery effective introduction! I agree with you that most fears are attained "from past experiences, influences, or cultural values". The easiest way of learning 'what to be scared of' would be through influences. For example we learn that poison, sharp teeth, and many legs are elements of something scary therefore we can automatically come to a conclusion that spiders and snakes are scary. It's interesting how you mentioned that adults are not scared of spiders. After I read that I thought to myself that maybe fears are also obtained and are differnt by generations. We currently live in a more sanitized generation in Canada therefore if we see small critters such as spiders we can be easily afraid. But if we look back to our parents' generation, seeing spiders around the house is not unusual and they would simply just kill it or even pick it up and toss it back outside.
It is good that you are able to go into so much detail on a specific fear such as this. Spiders are a common fear but are a defeatable one as well, the fact that you are taking effort to conquer this fear speaks volumes of your character. Good luck with your endeavour and know that you are never alone with your fears.
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ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a lot of courage because you can actually kill the spider and not run away from it like most people I know including myself. When I see a spider I refuse to go near it yet you are able to kill it; I think that action portrays you as a strong person rather than a weak one since many others are unable to kill the spider. Just a couple days ago I saw a spider climb up the wall beside my computer and I did not know what to do since everyone in the house was asleep already. In the end, since I had no other choice, I used a vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the spider away from my sight. In a way, I am horrified at my own actions because I did not have the courage to pick it up and release it outside of the house, resulting in a loss of life. Personally, I think that this action of removing the spider, alive or not, shows that we are slowly overcoming our fear of spiders since we are doing something about it. When I was younger, every time I saw a spider I would scream. I think that this is already a big improvement for myself. It is satisfying to know that I overcame this fear just a little.