I have the fear and it is ruining my life. I know spiders are harmless little creatures, they play their part in life by helping out with the fly problem, and I don't hate them. This is a serious question guys...I don't want to go under hypnotism but I will if there is no other way.
Any ideas how I can conquer the fear?
2007-12-03 04:49:53 · 5 answers · asked by Black Star Deceiver 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Hypnotism probably won't cure your arachnophobia.
Arachnophobia is actually a very basic and primative fear for some reason (along with fear of heights, snakes, etc.) and is very hard to cure. Besides, there is no scientific evidence of hypnotism curing anything besides a fat wallet/
There are 2 ways of conquring the fear. a. learn as much about them as possible. This helps you reationalize the fear instead of saying "they are harmless creatures" you can say, wow, the spider that made that web must be a so-and-so and they only eat this-and-that. and their pincers can't even prick my skin.
b. is desensitization which will require the help of a licensed therapist and possibly a Psychiatrist, depending on how deep seated the fear is. If the fear is very deep, you may need medication to start this process. But basicly, you have a psychologist work with you to reduce your fear by slowly introducing spiders for varying amounts of time.
2007-12-03 05:43:44 · answer #1 · answered by tiger b 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I learned about something in a psychology class once where you expose yourself gradually to the thing you fear... I can't remember what the technique is called, but you would look at a picture of a spider if that's enough to scare you, then move on to something like a plastic spider. Maybe try one of those things where a little spider is encased in a resin mold (you can get them as pieces of jewelery or paperweights). Try getting someone who's not afraid of spiders to catch one in a container and maybe try watching a movie with it in the same room...
I'm not a psychologist or even close, so there may be more to it than that, but I like spiders, so I hope that can help :)
2007-12-03 05:07:30 · answer #2 · answered by ladybug 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i understand. I don't fear spiders, but i absolutely can't stand centipedes. Usually i just smash them quickly and my fear is gone. But seriously, just forget about them, there are far worst things to worry about. Chances are you will always fear them, which many people do. The key is not to eliminate the fear, but to control the fear. If you fear them but can control your reaction upon seeing one, then your good. If it's your house your worried about, call an exterminator once a month. Hypnotism may work but if it doesn't, then what? Just relax. Besides, the most dangerous animal in north america is the Whitetail deer, so forget about spiders.
2007-12-03 05:10:55 · answer #3 · answered by blah 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Know thine enemy! Every time you see a spider, remind yourself that it is not interested in you. Have a close look, even take a photo, then try to ID it and learn a bit about it. This demystifies them and you'll learn that humans are not spiders' prey. They want nothing from us. This is how I overcame my fear of spiders.
2016-04-07 05:50:13 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, many of us have some degree of alarm or discomfort around spiders - I found that an effective method of beating that was to learn about them. Real arachnophobia, like all phobias, though, is irrational, and not something that you can really beat using rational methods. I'm not sure that hypnosis would be all that helpful (I suspect that it's not as effective as popular mythology would have you believe), but I don't suppose it could hurt.
2007-12-03 05:16:34 · answer #5 · answered by John R 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋