Arachnophobia, fear of spiders
Phobias are irrational fears of something concrete, in them the feared object is very diverse and one of the most popular are animals, in the past this response has helped us survive as a species: fear of wild or unknown beings released quite an adrenaline. However, when fear becomes extreme and a phobia develops, it can condition our whole life. Arachnophobia, one of the most common, is an example of animal phobia.
- Approximately 3 out of 10 people have an extreme fear of aa cnids; however.
- This type of phobia includes not only spiders.
- But also other aavids.
- Such as scorpions.
- Mites or ticks.
- So while most feel it for large.
- Robust spiders.
- Fear can spread or focus on small spiders or other types of acharides.
Animal phobias are considered specific or simple phobias and usually develop during childhood or adolescence, consist of an irrational fear, either by their nature or by the level of fear, which leads the person to avoid this object at all costs. manifestation of symptoms, there is great variability.
There are those who experience it in front of the animal, and other people can prove it at any time. In fact, thephobic stimulus does not need to be present; The mental image or associated stimuli are already causing fear.
Among the main symptoms of arachnophobia, as well as other phobias, are:
In addition, at the behavioral level, people with arachnophobia try to avoid these animals at all costs, try to stay away from areas inhabited by spiders or where there are signs of their presence, many try to prevent or eliminate their appearance.
Generally, animal phobias have their causes in traumatic experiences with the animal in question or by learning, inside the house there may be someone with a phobia of spiders and, implicitly or explicitly, the fear of that animal has been passed on to a child This fear is also genetically transmitted. However, this is not strictly necessary to develop a phobia.
In fact, arachnophobia consists of an irrational fear of these animals, or visceral rejection, this component of repugnance that characterizes arachnophobia has led experts to think that it may be a more evolutionary fear, a kind of privilege that helped us survive deadly stings and other unknown dangers.
For example, a study conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, says that arachnophobia has an innate and evolutionary origin, in this research the anxiety of babies was measured showing images of spiders and snakes, for this they analyzed the dilation of children’s pupils. This showed them how babies showed signs of anxiety, dilated their pupils, saw images of these animals, and did not do the same in the face of images of flowers or fish.
All phobias can be successfully treated. With the help of a professional psychologist, relaxation techniques can be learned that, in addition to alleviating symptoms, will support systematic desensitization. This technique consists of progressive exposure to the phobic object. Thus, initially, relaxation exercises would be performed in front of images of spiders, for example, until patients could remain calm in front of a living animal.
Beliefs about aacharides can also be worked on, usually ignorance causes fear to intensify. It is therefore very advantageous to have detailed information about the feared object. An exercise, for example, would be to gather information about the risk of bites, the role of these animals in nature, or the number of people dying in your area. due to acrenid poisoning.
Arachnophobia, because of its disgusting component, is one of the most difficult animal phobias to eliminate, this emotion is more instinctive and has nothing to do with reasoning, so it is difficult to get rid of it, however, psychological work can help a person reduce their negative thoughts and symptoms.