Arachnophobia (Spider Phobia)

[Heimdallr]

I don't have a fear of spiders. I realized that they were around because their was food available i.e. other, equally frightening bugs which I was happy that the spiders were their to do their work. If you've ever seen a silverfish, you'll know that their are worse things than spiders around so I was just fine with spiders being there to take care of the even creepier bugs. I've had to be the one to take care of a few spiders too, and while I've used boots or tissue paper to snuff out the terror, if I was alone I would usually leave the spider alone.

I do have an interesting piece of data to share regarding phobias. One of my worst phobias, from as long as I can remember, is heights. It was actually quite strong when I was younger, I would have panic attacks just climbing up a ladder. But over the last few years, I don't feel the fear anymore. I have to use ladders with my job on a daily basis and I noticed that that feeling of panic was gone. The only thing I can attribute this shift to was that doing the EE program has cured me of acrophobia, or if not cured it has greatly diminished the effect. It's hard to explain how much that has helped me, but to notice the fear no longer there was stunning and I can only see EE as being the cause.

I don't know if anyone else doing the program has noticed any loss of phobia or not, but I can report it in my case so maybe it's something that can help with arachnophobia. My other powerful phobia is snakes, but I thankfully don't have any of those where I'm at so I can't really test that fear to see if it's still as strong as it was when I was younger. But I thought I'd share my experience with one of my phobias suddenly going away. It sure has helped me.

[loreta]

Me too I am afraid of spiders but I try to control my fear. One good thing to do this is reading about them, you can read Jean-Henri Fabre. Reading about spiders and insects gives another perspective of the thing. When I see a spider at home (I live in the country so we have spiders) I take a glass jar and put this on the spider. Immediately the spider will fall in the jar. You take a piece of paper and put it on the top of the jar, go outside and free the spider. I try not to kill spiders, they are very important for the Eco system. No spiders no food for birds. 

Spiders are beautiful, strange, mysterious, different. This mystery and this difference is maybe what afraid us. 

[Foxx]

It was a very big spider several meters I guess.
from what I can remember, it could be possible that she tried to, or entered the bathroom through the keyhole. so it is possible that she had the ability to change her size.
but this part I can't remember very good anymore.

the thing is that I can't really remember what happened before and after this .
but I'm quite convinced that it was not a dream while I was sleeping at night.
I was outside the house during the day and then it happened. maybe it was a vivid daydream or  a reality bleed through . all I know is that it was very real to me.

the thing is that we actually don't have a keyhole in the bathroom door. but again this part is not very clear in my memory anymore.
our brain can twist actual happenings throughout time so I'm not very sure what happened in this last part .

So wait, you saw an actual spider several meters in size as far as you're aware, and not in a dream??  I'd say that'd be a scary event, whether it was bleed-through or what!  Perhaps it was symbolic, though, and your memory is reinterpreting something that happened in the past?  Or an overlay memory for something else?  Considering the fact that you don't have a keyhole in the bathroom and that you remember it coming through there and that you don't remember what happened before and after, I'm wondering if it's an overlay for whatever the memory really was (especially coming through the keyhole, symbolically).  I certainly don't know though, and don't want to discount your experience.  I'm not aware of any spiders that big that exist in western knowledge, but I haven't looked thoroughly and, obviously, it's possible they exist anyway or came through a "window".

Personally, I had bad arachnophobia when I was a child.  It's reduced overtime and I don't worry so much about spiders that I know can't hurt me, though in general I do feel some fear if they crawl on me or "invade my space".  I guess, specifically, daddy longlegs don't worry me so much, but other ones do a bit, generally with my fear response being proportional to size and proximity.  I try and avoid killing them these days and value them for eating other bugs that I may not be very fond of.  If I encountered one that was several meters, though--that'd be a problem!

One of my caretakers recently related a story to me from when I was younger about how my (possibly psychopathic) father used to intentionally scare me with stories of spiders and how they could/would get me in my room, or some other such abusive nonsense.  I'm not sure if the fear came first, or his abuse.

[Vulcan59]

For the record, check this story out about spiders.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/246291-Tarantulas-Invade-Assam-Town-Kill-Two

[Graalsword]

Me too, but it is not only spiders but insects in general, even some insects more than spiders. And in general, insects, rats and reptiles, I dislike all of them a lot.