See No, Hear No, Fear No Spiders

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.

H.P. Lovecraft

I like to think of October as the most haunted time of the year and the month that contains my favorite holiday, Halloween. This whole month is about listening to scary podcasts, watching horror movies, and decorating our places to tap into a darker side of our being.

Fear is an essential part of the human experience and is part of a system designed to keep us safe. However, we don’t spend our days running from mammoths or fighting for hunting grounds. Most of us don’t have to deal with actual threats to our lives and deprive this system of stimulation.

Given this lack of stimulation, our minds get creative and turn the most mundane things into threats. There are phobias for pretty much anything you can imagine. While I can understand fears like arachnophobia, fear of spiders, Arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the rough of your mouth is a bit hard to grasp.

In the infographic that follows, you will find some interesting facts about fear in honor of this most frightening time of year.

Matt Lawson, MA, NCC, LPC

Matt Lawson, MA, NCC, LPC

Hi, I'm Matt, and I'm a counselor who helps people achieve optimal health. I currently offer counseling services here at Chicago Compass Counseling and specialize in eSports and video game addiction. If you're interested, you can read more about me on my about page.