Cures for Arachnophobia

[Devils_Advocate]

I know there's a thread here discussing where fears of spiders (and other things) originate from, which touched on this topic. But this is meant to be primarily a topic for the idea of curing irrational phobias.

I have a severe, (almost literally) paralyzing fear of spiders.

My question is, what advice do you have on cures? I've heard 3 suggestions from a broad array of sources:

1. Learn a lot about spiders, then you'll be fine.

The problem with this is that I did learn a lot about spiders, and still know a lot about spiders. Furthermore, I know full well that my reactions are quite simply beyond irrational. However, this does not help me whatsoever.

2. Hypnosis.

Now I might not know a lot about hypnosis, but as far as I can tell, it's somewhere between Obama and Santa Clause in terms of BS. If I'm wrong on this, let me know, because if someone here can defend it, I'll look into it some more.

3. Spend lots and lots of time around spiders, with a shrink.

This seems the most logical option. However, if there's another (cheaper) option, I think I'd take that up first.

Curing my arachnophobia has become something of a personal crusade of mine. I was wondering if anyone here know of an option, besides the three above, that could help me with this. A rational, logical way to overcome a fear of irrational, illogical proportions.

[Myself]

It's not entirely irrational to have a fear of spiders. Some are poisonous, some deliver painful bites, and all are unwelcome houseguests. It's also disturbing to think of something small crawling on you or your food. When something poses a threat to you or is undesirable, fear can be a useful tool, as it increases adrenaline and alertness time to deal with the situation at hand.

All of this leads to a question. Are you too afraid of spiders to kill them when you need to? If you are, then you should focus on overcoming your fear of killing spiders, rather than a fear of arachnids in general.

Edited August 6, 2009 by Myself

[corristo]

It's not entirely irrational to have a fear of spiders. Some are poisonous, some deliver painful bites, and all are unwelcome houseguests. It's also disturbing to think of something small crawling on you or your food. When something poses a threat to you or is undesirable, fear can be a useful tool, as it increases adrenaline and alertness time to deal with the situation at hand.

All of this leads to a question. Are you too afraid of spiders to kill them when you need to? If you are, then you should focus on overcoming your fear of killing spiders, rather than a fear of arachnids in general.

I would say I suffer from a mild form of arachnaphobia. I don't get in sweats or anything like that but when I see one big or small I tend to have somewhat of a shoulder shudder. I think the way they move is what bothers me most frankly. Phobias are interesting because they usually do persist regardless of knowing yourself that the fear (to that extent) is irrational. Since my phobia is rather mild I usually just deal with it. Usually if I need to take care of a spider and I don't want to have "real" contact with it via a kleenex or some such I will grab some windex or some other kind of household chemical or even like Glade Air Freshener and spray it down so it dies and then I have no issue with "removing" it from the premises.

[Eiuol]

It's not entirely irrational to have a fear of spiders. Some are poisonous, some deliver painful bites, and all are unwelcome houseguests.

Wary of spiders, sure. But considering the size of a spider, there is nothing to fear. I'm not sure if there is any way to deal with a phobia without progressive exposure to the fear. Killing spiders to overcome a fear won't really do much, if anything it will reinforce an irrational fear because you are acknowledging the fear as legitimate and should be dealt with.

[DavidOdden]

Often, insect fears are based in actual experience, like getting stung as a child. Spiders, bees and scorpions can cause real pain (sometime death), and if you had an unpleasant experience as a child, it could easily cause you to automate a mental association of bugs and pain. There's a good chance that you know an objective fact about spiders that supports a fear (for example you know that some spider bites can cause serious pain or death, you know something about the disgusting way that they dispatch their victims, maybe a friend or even you found a strange painful spot where you were probably bitten by a spider). Plus, objectively speaking spiders have some of the ugliest, most threatening faces in the world. It's hard to overcome these facts by abstractly learning more about spiders. Remember, there are few truly harmless spiders.

If you care enough, I suggest throwing money at the problem. I would think that the goal should be to replace panic with simple rational fear, and that's what professionals are about.

[Maximus]

Get a Tarantula, and a terrarium. Observing and interacting with it may help assuage your fears of Arachnids. I've been severely bitten by a spider, but I think they are beautiful creatures.

[TheEgoist]

I suggest the "Marv treatment."

It's like throwing a kid in the pool so he isn't afraid of water anymore.

[Blinky]

Behavioral therapist or cognitive behavioral therapist would od somthing like this with you. And in fact it is very effective and doesn't take a lot of time (and thus money). You can try something like that on your own too. However there might be problems if you do not know how to proceed or if your fear is too big.

[The Wrath]

I remember discussing anti-phobia methods in college, and there was one method that stuck with me. I can't remember what it's called, but it's basically gradual desensitization.

Rather than immersing yourself in a vat of spiders, you start with something simple like looking at a picture of a spider. You may initially feel some amount of panic but, while you're looking at the picture, you force yourself to calm down. Breathe slowly and deeply, try not to shake, etc. Once you've gotten to where you can look at pictures without panicking, you move up the ladder and start spending time around a spider in a jar. Once you're comfortable with that, you bring them out into the real world with you.

The theory behind this is that it is physiologically impossible to be in a panicked state while you're body is relaxed. Because panic, by definition, induces physical symptoms then, once you make those symptoms go away, you are no longer in a panicked state. You may never like spiders (I know I don't), but this might be a good method to get over your paralyzing fear.

Also, as someone who has been personally hypnotized (for entertainment purposes), I can assure you that it is very real...so I wouldn't write that idea off. There is a video of me doing things that I would never do in my right mind, and I have absolutely no memory of it.