Dear Devyn,

I love insects, but—between you and me—I’m a little scared of spiders. I’ve been nervous around them ever since I was a kitten.

I talked about our fears with my friend Paul Strand. He’s a psychologist at Washington State University.

He told me that anxiety about insects or spiders is common. Some people even have phobias of them. That’s an intense fear that causes distress.

Many common fears involve things that were probably dangerous to our ancestors—like snakes, the dark, heights and social rejection.

Strand told me that being afraid of insects is similar.

“It’s almost like a double whammy,” he said. … » More …

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