I appreciate what they do for our environment. I appreciate how bees pollinate flowers, and I absolutely love honey. I appreciate how wasps are predators for crop pests. The problem is, I’m terrified of them- more so wasps than bees. Thinking about being around a wasp, or several, literally gives me chills. When I’m actually around them, I just seize up and can’t really think about anything except keeping an eye on it and getting away if it comes too close.
I’ve tried learning about them, and I’ve tried thinking rationally about it. I know that they won’t bother me if I don’t bother them, and I’ve heard that they’re probably more afraid of us than we are of them. In the moment, it doesn’t really work out very well, and I have cried before when wasps have landed on me (though I did manage to stay still). If it was a switch I could turn on and off, I would gladly turn and keep it off.
It’s ridiculous and embarrassing, not to mention it takes the fun out of being outside and near places where there are wasps and bees. I want to start my own garden, but I haven’t, for obvious reasons. So, how can I overcome this phobia?