Veronika Mudrak
It doesn’t matter who we are - we all fear something. It might be something that can actually pose a real danger to our livelihood, or something entirely non-threatening. But, what are the most common fears that people have? Why do people have such fears? And, most importantly, how do you fight those fears?
One of the most common fears is the fear of needles and/or injections. Officially, this fear is called trypanophobia. Most people are not thrilled about getting an extra hole in their bodies. The sensation of being poked by a syringe can also be quite painful. Unfortunately, a lot of medical procedures, such as blood tests and vaccines, involve needles. As a person who struggles with a fear of syringes, I advise you to try and take your attention away from the needle. Try to fill your head with something different - maybe think about how your day went, or try to remember something funny. Try to think about absolutely anything but needles. Talking to someone as you receive an injection also helps - you can try talking to the nurse or to your parents. Another piece of advice I can give is to focus on your breathing. If you are feeling anxious, try to focus on the way you breathe (I know that everyone shoving breathing exercise down your throat is annoying, but this does help, so maybe you should try it for once).
Another common fear is the fear of flying (or aviophobia). A lot of people get extremely anxious when they have to fly in a plane for a variety of reasons: some think the plane is going to break and everyone on it would die, some think terrorists are going to take over the plane and shoot everyone… Some people find the thought of going to the airport itself scary as well. Now, you need to understand that a very small percentage of people die from a cause related to airplanes. In fact, it is a lot more probable you are going to get run over by a bus, then find yourself in a plane crash. It is a lot more common for different terrorist organizations to target subways, so if you are specifically afraid of terrorist attacks, you should avoid metros as well. I would say the best way to ease the anxiety over flying is to distract yourself. For example, you may download some light-hearted movies to watch during the flight.
The fear of spiders (also known as arachnophobia) is a fear, that a lot of people struggle with. It seems that people are afraid of spiders no matter their size. I want to say that this fear is something we actually need. We need to remember, that there are species of spiders that can be extremely dangerous to humans. Luckily, such species don’t live all around the world, just in the countries with a warmer climate. Luckily, Poland doesn’t have any venomous spiders, but, if you do live in a country with dangerous species of spiders, you probably should be a little bit cautious. You shouldn’t be afraid of the little non-poisonous spiders, though. They are ten times more frightened by your presence. Spiders are also very useful - they catch little insects, which is vital for maintaining the food chain. They also serve as prey to other animals, such as birds and lizards.
All in all, I would like to mention that fears are important for our survival. You shouldn’t go and touch every spider you see or pick up those mystery syringes you find on the street, but you also shouldn’t faint at the sight of a needle or a plane. Overall, fears might be quite limiting, but they also are quite useful.
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