Esoterica > Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Arachnophobia (Spider Phobia)

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Pashalis:
I have a rather strong spider phobia, several minutes ago a rather big spider appeared on my wall to the right of me.
first she was disappearing from my sight wich stressed me out very much, then I went to call my grandma to take care of her (wich I always do in such cases), but she was sleeping so I went back and thought of what I could do.

I couldn't find the spider anymore and that stressed me even more.
then I found her on a different place and absorbed her into the vacuum cleaner wich needed much conquest.
I struggled to get any closer to the spider and the run away instinkt was very strong.
but I had to do it becouse otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep in my bed (it was in my bedroom).
the fact that she was in another place when I saw her the last time makes me axious that there were actually two spiders and the other one is still running arround :O :O

but anyways what I would like to know is why so many people have such a strong Phobia against Spiders ?
what could be the origin of this Phobia ?
normally I can't even watch them and when they move the Phobia goes up.

well in my case there could be two reasons why I am so afraid of Spiders.
there were two rather strange happenings in my childhood wich could be the reason for this Phobia.
I'll elaborate on those incidents tommorrow.

cassandra:
My grandmother lived in the country and was never a big fan of cleaning or cooking (even her oven had cobwebs). On one evening a HUGE one was on the wall, which I squished with a newspaper. I opened the door to go upstairs, and there was another (husband?), almost the size of my hand, black and hairy.
A week later another did a dance all around me, like it knew I was sacred. Someone was having a laugh behind the scenes.
And yes, I hate the way they they move, the way they'd eat their own children. I'd better stop or somehow another will show up.
"But they won't harm you!" :mad:

Pashalis:

--- Quote from: Pashalis on January 03, 2012, 11:38:43 PM ---well in my case there could be two reasons why I am so afraid of Spiders.
there were two rather strange happenings in my childhood wich could be the reason for this Phobia.
I'll elaborate on those incidents tommorrow.

--- End quote ---

when I was a kid I was in Greece for holiday with my parents and my brother.
one day we were at a place with a big tap with a diameter of several inches and a relatively long neck.
somebody decided (I don't remember who but I guess my father) to test the tap if water comes out.
so the tap was opened and all a sudden a huge spider jumped out of the neck of the tap.
then to the left a rat appeared and the spider and the rat began to fight. the sight was simply fascinating but also quite scary.
the spider and the rat fought for a while and in the end the spider won and the rat went away.
spooky.  I still get goosepimples when I think about it  :shock:

the other incident was at home here in germany. I think it was in summer. I was outside when all a sudden a huge spider ( bigger then myself) appeared not very far away suddenly I realized that all the surrounding was covered in huge spiderwebs. all rooms I could see with my eyes were complitly covered with big spiderwebs. the Spider began to run into my direction, scared as hell I began to run away from her through our terrace into our living room then into the bedroom of my mother and then finally into the bathroom were I closed myself in. all the while I was running the Spider was relativly near behind trying to ketch me OSIT.
what then happened I don't really know anymore but I think the Spider came through the keyhole into the bath.

till this day I don't really know what this incident was. all I know is that it felt very real. I think it is possible that it was a bleed through from another reality or something like this. or a very vivid dream.........

Edit: spelling

Gonzo:
I'm confused with the second story where you say a "huge spider ( bigger then myself) appeared not very far away" and then you said you thought the spider came through the keyhole in the bath.  I've never seen a spider as large as a kid, let alone one that can shrink itself to fit through a keyhole. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you wrote, this story has dream like qualities to it.  Could this memory actually have been a dream?

I had an intense fear of spiders when I was young, although I wouldn't consider it intense enough to be considered a phobia.  Our cottage had a small outhouse that had spiders in every corner.  Each time we went to the cottage, I would avoid the outhouse as long as possible, as I feared there would be a spider under the toilet seat that would bite me, or worse, grab me an pull me down into the hole.

I ended up getting desensitized to spiders by initially playing with daddy long legs, a non-biting spider that I would let walk over my hands.  I then moved to letting small spiders walk over me and eventually the intensity of the fear disappeared.  However, I still have a strong fear of walking into a large spider web and having the spider bite me in the face.  Even thinking about it gets my heart rate up.  I can't imagine desensitizing myself by intentionally walking into spit webs or allowing spiders to walk on my face, so I understand if the thought of desensitization is terrifying for you. However, have you tried to take some of the intensity of fear down through desensitization?

Gonzo

transientP:
Phashalis,


--- Quote ---but anyways what I would like to know is why so many people have such a strong Phobia against Spiders ?
what could be the origin of this Phobia ?
--- End quote ---

i tend to think that because spiders don't have "faces" that people can understand / gain insight into the mood of the creature / try to foresee what it might do next, it makes the animal very unpredictable.
also, they move in ways and rhythms that are foreign to us.
but i know that's just one factor.. maybe the possibility of it being poisonous is another factor.
most people can't tell which spiders are poisonous just by looking at them.

i do know that part of Exposure Therapy for severe arachnophobia is learning to discern which spiders are poisonous and which aren't, in addition to slowly being exposed to them in order to familiarize and reduce fear.

just some thoughts..

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