Did you feel disgusted when you saw the Lord Of the Rings scene where Frodo was wrapped in a web by a gigantic spider? Did you feel a tingling sensation when Charlotte first appeared on her web? Is your least favorite hero, Spider-Man? If you answered yes to all of them, then you possibly have a bad case of Arachnophobia.
Having Arachnophobia or the fear of spiders could mean that you contracted that fear from your ancestors, and it was passed down to you, or you saw how other people with Arachnophobia acted and learned to do the same. But where you got it doesn’t really matter. If you want to get rid of your fear, you have to face them first.
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Arachnophobia is curable for Spider
If you’re reading this, you probably have Arachnophobia, or at least you think you do. Don’t worry if you’re unsure because the fear of spiders is one of the most common fears in the world. It affects 3 to 6.1 percent of the planet’s population, and you might be one of them.
The good news here is that this fear of spiders can be cured. There are multiple ways and treatments you can undergo to rid yourself of Arachnophobia. One such treatment is cognitive reframing, which will guide and help the individual to stop perceiving spiders as threats. Possible ways of doing this are to read spider facts that make them feel unthreatening.
Big ≠ Bad
You probably think that spiders are the worst and that the bigger it is, the worse it gets. And when you think of giant spiders, the tarantulas would usually come to mind. Having those large fangs and covered by those bristly hairs, you’ll get a gross tingly feeling just by thinking of them. But that’s just your fear talking. Tarantulas are actually harmless to humans.
Although Tarantulas can still bite you, only if you provoke them, they wouldn’t even think of harming humans. And if by some chance they did bite you, it’ll only have mild venom in it. Bee stings even cause more pain and harm to us compared to Tarantula venom.
Everywhere?!
If you’re asked to imagine where spiders live, you’d most likely mention places like the swamp or in dusty, underground basements, and you would probably be right. But spiders don’t live exclusively in those areas.
According to research, spiders are common enough that there is a spider within a 10 ft radius from us everywhere we go. Did you start frantically looking around for spiders? You don’t need to worry because the spiders are surprisingly just hiding in those dark crevices and giving you no attention at all.
Living Pesticide for Spider
You would think that spiders were only made to terrorize you and nothing else. That kind of sounds selfish, but people who have Arachnophobia think like that all the time. But we’re not here to judge you. We’re here to help you see spiders in a different light. Spiders have a role in this world, and it’s to eat other pests.
Did you know that a single spider can eat up more than 1000 insects in a year? Their favorite meals are cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes. These insects are known to be indoor pests and can even transmit diseases. Having good old spiders will prevent your house from pest infestations and be an alternative to pesticides, which cause harm to humans.
Takeaway
The fear of spiders has been around for hundreds of years. It most likely started when people discovered they could die when bit by one. But not all spiders are like that. Knowing the different species and their behaviors will help us understand them better and see them not as threats, but as fellow creatures we can live with.
