An old cabin in the woods.
Cozy, and wait.
What is that?
Is that a spider?
Agh.
The walls are covered with huge spiders.
Your quiet retreat is now
the perfect setting for a horror movie.
Fear paralyzes your body,
you can feel their creeping legs
crawling all across your skin.
Your chest starts to hurt.
You’re choking.
Arachnophobia is an anxiety disorder
that affects more than 420 million people
around the world.
That’s more than 6% of the global population.
If you're affected by this phobia,
you can experience a variety
of serious symptoms,
like a heart rate of over 100 bpm
tightness in the chest,
choking sensations,
dizziness, and disorientation.
To cope, you might arrange
your entire life trying to avoid
the source of this overwhelming fear.
But spiders are everywhere.
It’s almost impossible to avoid them.
In Wales, a 38-year-old doctor
was driving her car
when a large spider dropped
from the car’s sun visor onto her lap,
causing what she called
a “blind panic” episode.
She lost control of the wheel,
veered across the roadway,
and crashed into the vehicle
of an 87-year-old man
who later died in hospital.
The woman pleaded guilty
and argued in court
she had severe arachnophobia.
She was banned from driving for one year.
So, before trying to wildly escape
from that little creature,
assess your current surroundings
and respond in a calm, composed manner.
There are more than 40,000 known species
of spiders out there.
Most of them are venomous,
but only 2% can be dangerous to humans.
And only 30 species
have been responsible for human deaths.
Ok, it’s true.
On average seven people die
from spiders every year
just in the United States.
That’s seven times more
than people who die
from shark attacks.
I’ll give you that.
But the deadlier spiders
such as the black widow
and the brown recluse,
only bite if they feel threatened.
So be considerate and get out of their way.
After all, the best way to keep your
fear of spiders in check is to avoid them.
Stay away from areas where
spiders are known to inhabit
such as rocks and woodpiles,
and make sure they aren’t
right outside your home.
Although we can say
almost all spiders are carnivorous,
that’s exactly why we should be thankful.
They kill a lot of unwelcome,
disease-carrying pests,
like mosquitos and flies.
They also eat harmful fungus
and other creepy crawlies in your home.
Fortunately, treatments for arachnophobia
have very high success rates.
Between 75% to 95% of people
undergoing treatment
show a marked improvement
and are able to effectively cure this phobia.
The problem is that less than 20% of people
who fear spiders decide to seek out help.
Is it because real spiders are often used
in many of these treatments?
Maybe, but virtual reality exposure therapy
can also be used
with the same effectiveness.
There are new treatments available
that don’t even use pictures of spiders,
but rather, images with
spider-like characteristics.
Sure, everyone should want to rid
a paralyzing fear of creatures
that lurk everywhere
and are crucial for our environment.
But where did this fear
come from in the first place?
Scientists discovered our fear of spiders
could have an evolutionary origin.
They showed spider images
to 6-month-old babies
and found their pupils dilated
almost five times more than when
they were shown pictures of flowers.
Since the children were so young,
they couldn’t understand
what they were looking at,
or if it had any cultural meaning.
Therefore, scientists concluded
their stress response toward spiders
could be inherited genetically
instead of being culturally developed.
Ok.
So you've managed to handle yourself well.
You didn’t freak out,
you kept out of the spider's way,
and you’re now grateful
for its helpful services.
But you're still not able to find
the path back to your campsite,
and it's getting dark.
How will you survive lost
and alone in the forest?
Don't worry, we've got you covered
on How to Survive Alone in The Forest.
Remember to like and subscribe
for more survival tips,
here on How to Survive.