Don’t Fear the Creeper – That was the title Michael gave to his program about how to help with fear of animals and nature. We humans come fully equipped to respond to nature with wonder, gratitude, amazement – and sometimes with fear and revulsion. Our brain and body can warn us of danger, but if that alarm system overreacts, we may come to fear things that are not really dangerous. That is especially true for spiders and snakes, but we can become afraid of lots of things in nature.
Michael talked about how those fears can get started and how we can decrease fears of things in nature. What can we do to become less afraid? Michael drew on his career as a Psychological Associate to give some answers. The rationale for what’s called “exposure therapy” is that gently, gradually confronting what we fear in a safe context lessens the fear. Michael suggested multiple ways to deal with these fears, many captured in a list of helpful strategies for dealing with fear and anxiety. 

View the program on Facebook Live https://fb.watch/bR_kguo8EL/