Fear and Phobias 1: Arachnophobia
Photo Credit: Daniel Catt
But spiders also have their good points, including getting rid of insects and cleaning up those insects that can make life even more difficult. The phobia may be caused by either having had a bad experience in or near a spider of by witnessing someone else's fear of spiders. The latter is called a phobia by contagion. It's a common concern for many people.
Behavioral treatments for those who find this phobia incapacitating is very helpful as is relaxation exercises while either thinking of spiders, looking at pictures of them or being in the same room as a spider.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: arachnaphobia, phobia, spiders, health and wellness
45 Comments:
I have a fear of spiders and also wasp, and my b/f cant understand. he thinks it is foolish because of my behavior, when i see them or they are around and i cant shake the fear i have he tells me to stand quiet and not run away from them. what can i do to shake this fear Lynn
I have always found spiders to be really creepy. Also when I was younger my older brother placed a spider on my chest when I was asleep. If there is a spider in my room am not sleeping in there, in the bathroom I'd probly wet myself first before making a attempt to go in. I quiver with even a glipse of them............
I have been bitten twice, once by a brown spider I have no idea what it was, and again by black widow in Las Vegas. I try not to be afraid but I can't help it. I'm ok with ones smaller than a dime but no bigger. Go figure.
I myself know the fear of spiders i can't even watch a movie about them .If i can get out of seeing anything about spiders i will do it .My mom said i was like this before i could walk or talk .So if you come up with a cure tell me . CAROL
Spiders sre cute little fellows, just do not surpprise the Brown Recluse (fiddle back) or the Black Widdow. Either can give one mean bite. Spiders are very esssntial in keeping dowm pesky insects.
Most spiders lay an egg every 21 to 25 days as the previous egg hatches about 100 off spring. I wrote a theises on egg cycles of the tropical Black Widdow spider. OBSERVE THEM for a CURE.
L.D. Cox, MD
Though I know how useful spiders are and how good they are at getting rid of mosquitoes and the like...doesn't matter to me. I'm so afraid of them I can't vacuum them up with the long hose attachment of my vacuum cleaner or hit them with a broom or shoe.
I am now very afraid of spiders. I was bit twice last April by a brown recluse in Oklahoma. They were terrible bites on the back of my legs. The worse pain I have ever been through yet! I was never afraid of spiders before this incedent. 25 years/female
I have been a house painter that sees plenty of spiders for 28 yrs. Never been bitten. Am sick of hearing people say that their doctor told them they have been bitten by a brown recluse.This spider dosen't even occur around here on the extreme East Coast! Spiders are great little predators that gobble up other insects that can cause disease like mosquitoes and flies. Overcome your fears through knowledge!
test
my phobia deveoped while we were living way back at my grandma's. Big brown spiders (often times pregy ones) would pop out of nowhere-landing on me, my bro, my cuzins. I guess that explain to this day we got this unusual fear of them. I can't stand them, even just lookin at pics. I sometimes think I can feel if there's a big spider in a room (funy n weird, but true), i can feel the hairs in my arms & neck prickle (small ones i can tolerate). I would never sleep in a room if ever i see one in there, or ask someone to kill it before I can finally feel at ease.
I hate spiders! I think they are just creepy and icky! I don't care how big or small. I hate them all! I can spot them from a mile away. They are so nasty with those eight legs! I hate them so much, I can't even kill them. No matter what size, shape, or color. I hate the thought of a spider. Just the thought of it gives me the creeps!
~Tanaira~
I am so scared to death of spiders, and it doesnt matter about the size. I cant be in the same room with them, cant squish them.....yuck. I run when I see them and my husband thinks Im crazy and doesnt understand this fear I have
I am 45 years old and still have a severe phobia of spiders. Being afraid or just not liking them is different then a phobia. I tell this to people who don't understand. When your heart races and you break out in tears and panic because you feel trap is not something you can control. My husband always tells people that I would jump off of a cliff to get away from a spider. I am very thankful to have a great husband that really understands it's a phobia. He is my number one spider killer.
Having had a severe spider phobia for many years, I think their is some sort of individual connection with them. As an example, I have noticed that at times I sense there is a spider near even though it is not visually confirmed, it's as if I can feel their horrible, spine-tingling vibes.
As a child I remember early one morning talking to my dad as he was sitting up in bed before arising and we just were having a lazy little daughter/father conversation.....all of sudden I saw something dark, large and fast out of the corner of my eye....I looked over and there was a gigantic wolf spider of epic proportions skittering quickly across the bed clothes...ahhhhhhhhhhhh I hate them! The only good spider is a dead spider. I kill them with boiling hot water....I throw it on them if they are within throwing distance. That is a for certain victory and they don't get to escape, because if they do you wonder where they went and if they are holding a grudge....I know, I know...it's crazy.....I told my hubby if anything every happened to him, I would have to remarry just to enlist another spider killer!
i'm absolutely horrified of spiders. when riding in the passenger seat of my dad's car a few weeks ago i spotted a spider on the visor and dove right out of my shoes and into the back seat. also, if there's a spider in my bedroom i won't sleep in there - even after somebody's killed it for me. it's like i can feel all his buddies getting ready to pounce on me in my sleep for killing their friend. i can't kill spiders either, no matter how big or small - i can't even look at pictures. i was home tutored in high school and flat out refused to do the arachnid chapter because the pictures creeped me out that much. i don't care how useful they are, they're down right scary to me.
Spiders are fine outside. Inside, they're unpredictable (aside from, for sure, any spider walking across the ceiling WILL decide to descend onto the bed) and up close, they're fascinating but very other-world. I try not to kill them, and take them out where they belong. But sometimes I have to do the violence. I hate killing things, but *shudder*.
Brown recluse spiders are on the east coast. I know someone who was bitten by one and nearly died. I won't describe the photos of her leg, but it would make a strong man blanche. The spider apparently came in a shipment of clothing from South America. Fortunately this is extremely rare here.
On a lighter note... when I lived in Wash. DC I came home one day to find the biggest spider I had ever seen dead on my kitchen floor. It was so big it would not go up my electric broom sweeper. Not being able to go near it, I just swept it under the fridge, and I supposeit was still there when I moved out a couple of years later.
I, too, understand every word typed before me. As a child, the fear was overwhelming (in Ark. where there are plenty of critters) - my aunt gave me a teddy bear and said if I would name him "Spider", I would quit dreaming bad dreams about them. As an adult, I still was fearful - my husband ( a physician) was the designated killer and I usually demanded a 'death certificate- signed' before going on.He bought me a bug-vacuum (actually 2-one upstairs, one down). Finally, I DECIDED to get over it and started by watching a t.v. program (like on Discovery) and found the creatures very beautiful and amazing. Yes, I kill them - no, I don't feel bad for doing so. Non-understanding mates need to read these notes from others.
All spiders are fatal because you kill yourself trying to get away.
In response to the comment at 4:48, the spider that came in the clothes shipment was most likely a Chilean recluse spider. There are 10 species of brown recluse native to the US. None of them are found from Virginia on north. The brown recluse does live as far east as central Georgia, the western edge of North Carolina, the panhandle of Florida, and a tiny portion of western South Carolina, but it doesn't live anywhere along the coastal areas from Florida to Maine. To see a map of the range of the recluse spiders in the US, visit this website - http://www.srv.net/~dkv/hobospider/
necromap.jpg. The person who was bitten by the Chilean spider was just very unlucky. Now, black widow spiders on the east coast are a whole other story! ;-)
My mother was bitten by a brown recluse she acquired on the docks. She almost lost her leg and was deathly ill for a number of days.
The irony was that we always teased her about her fear of spiders until that incident...after that, we thought maybe she had some sort of psychic knowledge that a little brown spider would nearly kill her.
I'm not afraid of spiders, but I try to stay out of places where they live, too. No sense pushing my luck.
if only those brown recluse spiders could read and realize they couldn't possibly be on the east coast
FEAR is one of the GREATEST TOOLS, Nature has deployed in the EVOLUTION OF MAN through the animal kindom. We all use it every day at home, work and leisure. It is an instinct hidden in our genes and conserved throughout the process of evolution for survival. When, one fears a spider, then, of course, the spider's life is saved, unless one unnecessarily pounces on it. Unless, the creepy creatures creep in your home/work/leisure place to disrupt your life,one should just enjoy seeing them and let them live, as we have also been allowed to let live so far. One should see the similarities of creepy creatures with our own selves, e.g., food, work (all creatures are instinctively working always), protection of themselves and progeny, etc. Ancient Indian wisdom declares, VASUDEV KUTUMBKAM: All living beings are one family, and being on top of the evolutionary tree, MAN must give protection to lower beings (one must convince one's mind that there is nothing to fear), as man himself seeks protection from God. Dr. R.C YashRoy
I'm 56 yrs. old and I too have a phobia with all spiders, big or small. I've had this phobia all my life. I seem to have some sort of connection with spiders because they seem to find me everywhere I go. For many years I couldn't kill one, but now I can when there is no one else around to do it. Thank goodness my husband understands my phobia and he is the greatest spider killer. I can't look at pictures or movies about spiders either. My grown daughter is also afraid of spiders and I'm afraid she got that way by seeing my fear. I wish I could overcome this fear.....
I live in California and there are a lot of spiders around here. I am one of those people who are scared to death of spiders. I try to make my husband understand that I'm not just scared of them, I am petrified. I guess ordinary people have a hard time differentiating between not liking, being typically scared and having phobia. I have extreme phobia. I am always thinking of spiders. I have to check my shower every morning before I walk in, I have to check my bedroom before I walk in, I inspect my cubicle before I start working, I have to inspect my car before I get in. I make sure I do not brush up on the side of my home when going to get in my car, especially in the morning. When I see a spider, I not only see a creepy crawly, I see the thing in 3-D. It is very hard to explain. It's like I'm looking at the through a magnifing glass. My heart starts pounding and I feel like I'm going to have a heart attck. I know somewhere down the line I must've had a really bad experience w/spiders which I can't remember. I have tried to get over my fears by doing outdoor activities but to no avail. I still do outdoor stuff but the minute I see a spider I immediately go into survival mode (scared to death). I can totally relate to people who say they are scared. Nobody wakes up one morning and says I will have phobia of spiders today. I really wish I could get over my fear.
I have a fear, or rather a really weird thing happen when asleep, that I hope someone can clear up.
Sometimes I'll be sleeping in bed with hubby and I swear I see a spider right in front of my face ... it is always a dark to black spider. I jump out of bed freaking out and then turn on the light immediately and swear there is a spider there, but, once the lights are on, there is nothing there.
My hubby wakes up and he asks what is wrong and I say there is a spider, he says there is not, then I turn off the light. Sometimes I know I have done this and other times he tells me I have done this and I have no recollection of it happening.
I am afraid of spiders, I have my husband kill every one of them before I will sit on our deck; or, if I can kill it with my shoe and it's on the ground I will, but, I'm always afraid that the spider will jump on me, or, if I miss killing it, it will jump on my leg or into my hair.
Someone please explain this to me as to why I have this as I would really like to know.
Wendi
Sadly, the real sickness is not the arachnophobia that many of you describe, but the mistaken, unfortunate and perverted belief that you can deal with your fear by cruelly and thoughtlessly destroying every spider that you encounter. Why don't you protect yourself from YOURSELF by dealing with your anxiety in a healthy, humane, positive and productive manner?
i took over 25 benadryls and started to see spiders all over the place i havent selpt much since then my body itches non stop and pain...i think there is spiders all over me even when i tell myself there not on me i what should i do?
To anonymous above this comment:
Please call a doctor as soon as possible and be sure to disclose the number of Benadryl taken as well as the time span in which you took them.
I saw a spider in my room once, I ran and screamed and cried. I gave it a good dose of hair spray and then burned it with a curling iron. As the hideous creature dragged itself towards a crack in the baseboard, I ran for the door and nearly trampled my wife.
hey uh what is the name of the fear of making regretable decisions
I never had a problem with spiders, for many years. Then one morning, I went outside to get a pair of socks off the clothesline. I was in a hurry, and forgot to shake them out.
As I was putting a sock on my right foot, there was a sudden sensation of pain, like a bee sting but much more intense. I yanked the sock off, expecting to see a hornet! Instead, there was this odd looking spider, about the size of a quarter. It was a reddish orange color, with a white abdomen and an elongated body.
It left a nasty mark on the top of my foot that lasted more then a year.
Since then, I've seen others of this species in the yard. YES, I kill them! Sorry, but I pay the taxes here, not them.
I am terrified of spiders!!!And have been for years.I literally start to panic at even the thought of a spider being on or near me. It is kind of incapacitating at times, and it severely affects my life. Like someone else mentioned, if there is a spider in my bedroom, I refuse to sleep there. Even after it is killed.One night,recently,I took a shower at about 2:30(am) to try and relax aftera very long day, and while I was drying off, I happened to look in the mirror and notice a huge spider on the cieling,right above me. And I mean huge, it was at least the size of a silver dollar, with out the legs, just his body size. I woke my b/f up, and he was mad at me until he saw it. It even scared him, and even though after I woke him and went downstairs, and he told me it was dead, I still ended up pacing around my kitchen for like and hour and a half, practically pulling my hair out. I don't think I slept in my room for a week.That was just one of the many incidents that have happened to me.Any time my hair brushes my arm or leg(or even a string from my clothes, I automatically think it's a spider, and start to panic. I have even had several occassions where I thought a spider was in my pant leg, and I ended up stripping my pants off, and shaking my body off and my hair out, just in case. It is very nervewracking and embarassing for me, and everyone always teases me about it. My b/f has stopped teasing me so much,m because he has seen that I actually do start having a panic attack, and usually end up crying. He has recently been just trying to help me calm down by hugging me and just dealing with it. I hate having this phobia, because it severely affects my life. I wish there was ssomething I could do to help this, but I just keep suffering with this all the time. Stefanie
I too have a horrible fear of spiders. It has been this way my whole life. It doesn't matter what kind, what size, and so on--they all creap me out! I actually just now had a spider encounter--I was putting dishes away and one jumped out. I tried to go get something to smoosh it and it jumped and disappeared. Now I have the heeby jeebies--I feel like I have them crawling on me. I definitely don't want to go back in the kitchen, and now I feel like I need to re-wash all of those dishes it was by. I wish there was something I could do to get rid of this fear, but it seems I cannot get it out of my mind. I think I might go take another shower--maybe that will eliminate the creepy crawlies I feel going up and down my back. I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one with an extreme fear of the eight legged freaks!!!
I have a deadly fear of spiders. Right nowI'm 12 years old and a few days ago I was sitting near my computer desk watching videos when I felt something crawling on my hand, I left it alone thinking it was nothing but then I felt it starting to crawl between my fingers. I moved my hand and saw a spider that was the size of a quarter on my hand. I sprayed that Roach Aid stuff all over the room and had to sleep in my sister's room. I now have such a fear of spiders that I think I have them crawling all over me. Since I live in Texas I have a chance of being bitten by a Brown Recluse. Once I saw the bites from that spider I can't sleep anymore. I cry when I see pictures of them. Please help
ii have a big fear of spiders and my house alwaiiz has spiders and its really getting to a point where ii am sick of being scared but ii dont know how to get rid of my phobia:(
Please help me...
i am freakishly afraid of spiders. i want 2 torture them and when i see one i go bananas. what should i do to make me better... my dad thinks im a sissy girl loser.. im gonna turture them... and when i see a spider i squirm and quiver.. please help
they are the weridest an uglyest creatures on earth
I can't even see a picture of a spider without becoming short of breath. I KNOW that spiders are beneficial and important. It's not ignorance that makes me afraid. I know it's irrational to be afraid but I just can't see one without freaking out.
i'm too phobia of spiders.My heart pounding when i see them crawling with hairy legs. i could die if i be near them. At my house there are a lot of spiders until i feel so scered to go to toilet-the home of big spiders. My doctor gave me atenolol to reduce my heart rate.I really hate spiders..
i have the ultimate fear of spiders...i will cringe and my heartbeat will start racing if i see a picture of one...it hasnt gotten to the point where i can't touch a pitura of a spider or a piece of paper covering the picture. even the would spider creeps me out..i scream whenever i see a picture or it shows up on tv
I'm not sure how long I've been afraid of spiders. Every time I see a spider I start screaming and I'm usually on the verge of tears. The last time it happened I started to hyperventilate really bad. I don't think it was even that big but to me it seemed like it was huge. I don't mind pictures or movies about them though. Also, I heard that you are always within 6 feet of one. Sometimes I'm afraid to sleep at night because I'm afraid a spider will fall on my head and crawl into my mouth while I'm still awake. Help!
Actually, it's within 3 feet.
We also eat an average of 7 a year in our sleep.
I admit, I have extreme arachnaphobia. It is difficult for people who do not have this fear to understand that it is a completely irrational, unreasonable fear. If i think of a spider, see a picture of a spider, hear the word 'spider', I become gripped with fear. If I actually see a spider (Dead or alive) I hyperventilate, scream, cry, run, and generally fall into hysterics. Very embarrassing! It is a completely debilitating fear. I often wake up scraming beacuse of a dream about a spider, or I 'see'spiders running across me in my bed, or I 'see' spiders spinning their web above my head whilst I'm sleeping. It's a very real fear.
I feel very relieved to know I am not the only crazy one out there. I have a VERY bad phobia with spiders and can relate to all these blogs. Especially the one that says she knows there is one around before one is visible. This happens to me EVERY time. I will have this intuition that one is near...and there always is! Maybe its called spidey sense..lol. But seriously, this fear has overcome me since I was a child and I would pay any dollar amount to overcome it.
Everytime one is close to me..or creeps up out of no where...my heart races VERY fast..i start sweating..crying in a panic....and look like a crazy woman. Just last night I was driving home and had my windows open...I had a feeling they might crawl in my window..and THEN 2 DID!!! I freaked out and abruptly stopped the car and ran out screaming..other drivers where probably thinking I was on crack or something. Once I was able to contain it out of the car I smashed it out of fear with a newspaper and threw it on the ground. GETS WORSE...I'm driving home..still scratching my arms and thinking they are in my hair...until I see ANOTHER one on my dash board! I'm in the turn lane driving still keep in mind...I put the car in park and grab the closest thing to me...my wallet..and smash it...crying histerically....and leave the waller on my dash til the next morning. It took me at least an hour to cool down.
So many times spiders have dropped down on my while I was sleeping or crawled on me...I too cannot kill them unless put in a do or die situation like driving...I cannot even vacuum up with an extender or shoe..I feel like they will crawl out or crawl on my arm. I read another blogger and agreed that after i kill them, I fear their friends will come back for retaliation...it sounds crazy ..I know they have small brains but it still is a very bad phobia I need help with. Any suggestions?
Post a Comment