It’s often said that some fears are ‘hard-wired’ and some we learn. For example most babies do not automatically fear public speaking (a fear which has to wait to be learnt later!) but they may have innate hard wired fears of, say, spiders and snakes and heights. This article: More evidence that fear of snakes is hard wired seems to show evidence that some fears are innate.

But there is a difference between healthy respect and a phobia. The man I helped over come a snake phobia (a snippet is shown here on YouTube) had a morbid fear of snakes to the extent that even seeing them on TV would send him fleeing from the room. Yet using the rewind technique (see: Phobias: Strange yet simple; terrible yet treatable) I helped him feel relaxed and comfortable (but still healthily wary) of snakes.

So even hard wired fears can become morbid or ‘exaggerated’ and therefore can be modified and turned into healthy respect. Hard wired responses can be adapted by us infinitely flexible humans. Putting ones head in a lions mouth (uncommon knowledge cannot condone such behavior) you would think would be a hard wired fear but many have overcome this fear in the name of old-style circus entertainment.

Must dash I’ve just noticed a long, tangled serpentine mass to the left of my peripheral vision-whew it’s just an extension lead!

Mark