Arachnophobia
Posted by TruthCures on November 10, 2006
Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, an abnormal fear of spiders. It is among the most common of phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others (and sometimes to the sufferers themselves).
The fear of spiders can be treated by of the general techniques suggested for specific phobias.
Arachnophobia is, in many cases, the result of a traumatizing encounter with spiders in one’s early childhood, though the experience may not be remembered.
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shanoo said
I am a bit afraid of spiders as well… but my biggest problem is i am more afraid of killing it.. its sort of a dilemma, i dont want it there in my room and neither do i want to kill it!! same is with cockroaches as well.. eewww…my skins crawling already…
shweeeeeeet! said
that was cool..hehe..spiders are cute..yet im afraid of them..hehe..
TruthCures said
Ainthu said
Desensitising should be started as soon as possible.
Thebradshaw said
Just a quick question.
I am a severe arachnophobic and was looking on the internet for information to help alleviate some of the fear i feel due to my phobia. I believe it’s completely disrespectful and cruel to place a video of spiders on an arachnophobia site.
What is the logic to this? Don’t you believe most of the people looking at this site will be sufferers of this phobia? I’m not one to leave bad comments, but this is just ridiculous.
Matthew said
a spider just ran across my room.. it was pretty big.. say the palm of your hand? and i legged it downstairs.. i refuse to sleep in my bedroom tonight, so, i decided to look on the internet for arachnophobia cures.. and this site..well did not help.. the video just made me turn my PC off… and Thebradshaw, i agree with you 100%
Heather said
No way. I remember many encounters with spiders in early childhood. It has caused a severe phobia in me as an adult. I hate everything about them. Even as an adult, spiders really give me the creeps.
Lisa said
What’s to like? They are dirty, gross, 8 eyes and 8 legs. I’ll kill them every time. They will ruin your life.
Ted said
I don’t ever want to get close to a spider.
claire said
They are taking over my life! I just got into bed and I just happened to look up and right above my head was a spider sat in this horrible nest type web. It was so big I could see its fillings when it smilled at me! I called my other half in to catch it inside the pint glass I had got him, but he missed it. Im now sat down stairs on my own looking for somewhere safe to sleep for the night! I’d never hurt one, I just wish I could control my fear of them. Does any one know if those plug in repellers work at all?
Ashley (Ashers) said
I’m a severe arachnophobic, too. And when I saw that freaking video of the…arachnids- I can’t even say or type the name, because in my mind, for some reason, I think they’re going to all pop out of nowhere and just fall into my hair so I can’t get them out…
I had a really bad run in with a few spiders, and the last time, one fell off the ceiling when I was standing under it and bit me, and I’ve never been the same about them since then.
I have to take a flashlight before I go to sleep and check the nooks and crannies of my room just so I can sleep okay.
Don’t put a video of the creature we have phobias of on this website! Paradoxal, much!?
Sarah said
seriously! why do people keep insisting on putting up pictures and videos of spiders on websites that are helping to cure the fear???? It’s just brainless! I just saw what was on the video (I couldn’t watch it) and tears started flowing and now I feel very sick.
I don’t know why I fear spiders but putting up videos like that isn’t helping
AC said
“Help…….. I am afraid of all spiders because they are creepy and I don’t like the look of their appearance but thats not all, I also don’t like any creep crawlie or insect and I have been like that for a long time………
Roberta said
Can someone help me i live in constant fear of spiders everywhere i go im checkin an if c one i panic an im shakin please someone any good advice
Roberta said
Can someone help me i live in constant fear of spiders everywhere i go im checkin an if c one i panic an im shakin please someone any good advice i cant even bear to go in my room cos there one their nw
Arachnophobe_Blogger said
I blog about arachnophobia, doing independent reviews of helpful products etc, and we’d NEVER use an image of an arachnid on our blog – we don’t even use the “S”-word! I can’t believe how utterly insensitive people are towards us arachnophobes, makes them feel big and clever I guess… it’s a shame because some of the posts on this blog are pretty cool.
Alex said
Hi. Ok, I’m serverely arachnophobic. I had a huge huntsman spider in my pjs when I was little, and it couldn’t get out because there was elastic on the top and bottom of the pants so it was running up and down my leg. I also woke up with a spider on my face. Both of these happened before I was 5 years old. Well, it’s actually something I’d like to fix, because I go caving where there are big death holes in the ground, but I wouldn’t put it past me to do something stupid like flip out and fall down one of the holes because of a spider.
Is there any way to fix arachnophobia? Or am I going to be stuck with it forever…
David - a nudist said
My name is David and I too also have arachnophobia. Having said that, I believe that spiders may actually be helpful…provided they’re not poisonous or very big. I’m holding a small spider in my free hand and typing with my other hand. It might be a typical house spider, but it’s definitely in the family of comb-footers as comb-like bristles can be easily seen on its legs. Now, I know what you must be thinking…come to the point of this comment.
Right. My point is that holding a non-poisonous spider may be helping me deal with my arachnophobia. It’s because every time I hold one, I get emotional. The spider is drawing out my emotions and I strongly believe it may be, in the short-term at least, therapeutic. Think of spiders as short-term, eight-legged therapists, very small ones at that. It’s best to hold non-poisonous spiders as the alternative is quite obvious.
But, it will take a very long time before I can try this with larger spiders such as…say, tarantulas. I do want to try holding wolf spiders, but they’re too fast. I can never catch them to try therapy with. My ultimate goal for curing arachnophobia is to try and therapeutically hold the biggest spiders in the world…the giant bird-eating tarantulas…with a legspan the size of a dinner plate.
But, that’s just wishful thinking. I may never be comfortable enough to even hold a regular tarantula, much less one big enough to eat a bird. So, I guess I’ll just have to stick to holding these small spiders like the comb-footed one I’ve got now in my other hand.
lauren said
i never had a encouter with a spider i got arachnophobia from my mom i came to this site looking for help with my phobia of spiders becuse we had a wolf spider in our garage and yesterday my dad killed it and now we think it was a female carrying a sac of eggs im scared to death that maybe it was a female and it had baby i freaked out when i heard there was a wolf spider in the garage…..
Genevieve Newberry said
I have severe arachnophobia and I also am very skittish to even see photos of them. I squint my eyes while looking through these ‘cure arachnophobia’ sites because I’m afraid there will be a photo (so thanks!). ONCE I cured my fear. I was a camp counselor one summer responsible for ten 7-year-old girls. Once a week they’d get to visit the Nature Hut where they’d get to see and handle snakes, lizards, etc. and one giant tarantula. It took me the entire summer of seeing these little girls holding and petting the tarantula for me to finally hold it in my hand the last day of camp, because I knew I’d never get that chance again. I started out just being in the room with them, then quickly touching it, then petting it, and eventually holding it.
That was year ago now, and unless you somehow keep up your ‘fear conditioning’…you will become afraid again, as I have. I’ve recently had a bad run of spiders in my car. It’s pretty bad. I have to check my car before I get in, and I’m constantly thinking about it when I drive. Any sudden movement in the corner of my eye could be a spider, and I panic. I keep napkins handy in case nobody is in the car with me. I’m very scared of getting close enough to kill them but I have to get rid of them..they can’t be in the car with me. I feel like the only ‘cure’ is that whole conditioning thing…but I just don’t want to do it again! I have zero desire to force myself to look at or hold them ever. UGHHHH!!!