What is your worst fear? Spiders, The Dark, Clowns even? A sample of thirty was taken from students and faculty of Chittenango high school on their fears and phobias to see what is most common around this area. Why do we fear what we do and why are they so common as fears? Before we get to the data, what is a fear? Oxford dictionary defines a fear as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”
Fears and phobias can be difficult to find their origin. Some know why or when theirs started and others have no idea. What caused these fears, and why are they different? When asked, the most common responses from students were ‘always’ or ‘childhood’. When teachers were asked, most cited a specific incident that caused it, or they too answered with that they’ve always had their fears. Fears originate from somewhere, whether it’s learned from others, the media, or a specific incident, it has an origin. Some fears are even genetic with them being passed down from parent to child, or from the parent indirectly teaching their child to fear it. Most interviewees had some idea where their fear started with twenty-two of the thirty knowing why they have their fear. Another reason for why someone may fear something is because of traumatic experiences, especially in childhood. From getting bitten or attacked by an animal or getting stuck playing hide and seek are prevalent in the origins of fears.
A survey was conducted at Chittenango High School. Students and teachers were asked what their worst fears were, as well as when their fears started. The data showed that students tend to fear spiders and the dark the most. For teachers, some of the most common fears were snakes, heights, and drowning. Out of both faculty and students heights and drowning were feared the most with spiders and snakes being a close second. With the data there were quite a few outliers of three people claiming to be fearless and one person scared of colliding with a deer while driving, a usual drive in New York. Others were scared of many different things such as the dark, wasps, stink bugs, small spaces, failure and one who is scared of metal.
But what are the names behind the fears? Ophidiophobia—the intense and irrational fear of snakes—was one of the most common fears we’ve found that staff at Chittenango High School have. Is it really irrational to be scared of snakes? It’s actually quite justified depending on where you live! In Central New York, there are only 3 venomous snakes that are found. The Timber Rattlesnake, the Massasauga Rattlesnake, and the Northern Copperhead. These snakes are the only poisonous snakes around Syracuse—though uncommon to encounter. Most snakes in New York are actually harmless, as long as you leave them alone they won’t want to interact with you. Remember to keep your distance as almost all snakes will bite when threatened.
You know what other crawly creature gets a lot of hate? Spiders! Arachnophobia—the fear of spiders—tends to be a common fear not only in Syracuse but around the world. With spiders living almost on every continent besides Antarctica there are so many kinds of species that are around, many bite and some are venomous. In New York there is only one venomous spider that is native, the yellow sack spider. Even then their venom in most cases will not cause serious harm, unlike the venom from black widows.
Though not a common fear found in our study, Galeophobia—the intense and irrational fear of sharks—is more commonly found around coastlines. Are sharks actually scary though? Almost all shark species are harmless to humans. Shark attacks are almost always an accident! It’s important to note that shark attacks are extremely rare! It’s around 15 to 30 times more likely that a falling coconut will kill you than a shark attack will! Falling coconuts kill around 150 people per year, while shark attacks kill about 5 to 10 people annually. Mosquitoes, cows, lightning, and even vending machines kill more people per year than sharks do! Great Whites are considered the most aggressive species of sharks, with tiger sharks and bull sharks following. Even Great Whites mistake boats for their food, as they sometimes confuse the silhouette of a boat with a seal. They hunt by launching themselves upwards toward the silhouette from underneath it. Sharks in general are really curious creatures, and will check out things that are new to them, they don’t know any better! They are wild animals! And sharks—especially the more aggressive species—will fight back if they feel threatened! Not every shark is as aggressive and ‘scary’ as the great white, though. Take lemon sharks for example. Lemon sharks can get overprotective when ‘their’ diver—whom they’d seen often enough to recognize and form an emotional connection to—pets another shark! Isn’t that cute? They’re kind of like puppies in a way. Also not a fear we encountered in the study was the fear of needles, also known as trypanophobia. It tends to start in childhood and gradually one will stop fearing them after exposures but several people still are terrified. Nausea and panicking can be a response to the fear of needles but some have such an adverse reaction to the needles that they will faint.
