Irrational Fear?

[mark and marley]

My teachers never made the mistake of insisting I go anywhere high again.


Gale

my teachers never made that mistake again either!

[CustomChevyGuy]

i can understand being scared of something, im not totally into scorpions and spiders, but snakes aren't a problem for me.

my mom's excuse growing up was that I couldn't have a snake because grandma would never come to visit. so after i graduated from college and had my own place, i got a Pinky, and then a few months later I got Mr. Stubbs.

i used to have people over to my place all the time. most of them loved pinky, and they would pass him around for an hour or two at a time (unless he just fed). i usually asked to make sure it wouldnt freak anyone out first...

[AkHerps]

It is also amazing what children(who grow up to be adults) can learn from their parents.

I am absolutely petrified of wasps. I jumped out of a moving vehicle because one flew in the window. I was only stung a couple times as a child and I don't remember it being that bad, but yet I still have a ridiculous irrational fear of them.

I visited my mom a couple days ago for my birthday, and she saw a wasp and completely flipped her lid, screamed and ran out of the room.

I looked at her, looked at myself, and was like, so this is where I got it from!!

I had grown up my entire life learning to fear them because she feared them.

[Jay_Bunny]

I get it all the time. I work in a Petsmart and there are people who will see the reptile habitats and purposefully walk all the way to the other side of the store, just to get past them.

I am of the belief that a fear of snakes is learned. I've had kids come up to the reptile habitats and want to look inside and their mothers steer them in the other direction spouting off how scary snakes are and how they will eat them. I think it is really sad. I get so excited when kids want to see the reptiles and want to learn. I gladly take out the lizards and snakes and hold them for them to touch and they ask me questions. But when you get those parents that just freak out if I even mention the word snake, the opportunity to teach those children and let them experience reptiles goes right out the door. I think fear of something like that is simply ignorance and an unwillingness to try something new.

[DennisB]

yeah, my brother will run out of the house if my BP is on my arm or out of its cage

[Johan]

when in my area of the U.S there are black widows and brown recluse spiders outside that can do much more damage.
THoughts?

Sounds like someone has a phobia of spiders . The chance of one of those doing anything to you is so small---walking down the sidewalk is more dangerous. Just saying most people have irrational fears of things

[Anya]

Sounds like someone has a phobia of spiders . The chance of one of those doing anything to you is so small---walking down the sidewalk is more dangerous. Just saying most people have irrational fears of things

However, you'd have to go a lot farther to be bitten by a poisonous snake than a poisonous spider. I have several friends who have been bitten by recluses and had to be hospitalized. I wouldn't call that an irrational fear, if it's actually fairly likely to happen (in our area). I live in the country, and just putting your foot in a boot could get you sent to the er. It's really not such a little thing.