Arachnophobia – intense fear of spiders, scorpions and ticks

Why are people afraid of spiders? Is it possible to cure arachnophobia on your own? 3 main reasons that could lead to arachnophobia 5 steps that will help get rid of arachnophobia

Have you heard of arachnophobia? What is it and what are people who have this disease afraid of?

Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders that arises at the mere sight of them, anxiety about being in the same room with these insects. This fear is so strong that people try to fight it, but cannot do it on their own. They are afraid to even imagine that a spider will be nearby or touch their skin.

Horror grips a person to such an extent that he may experience attacks of panic attacks, nervous tics and numbness. There is a fear of going out and even talking about arachnophobia.

Causes

Often a phobia develops after contact with an arachnid.
Before you think about how to get rid of your fear of spiders, you need to understand what its causes are.

1. The most common factor influencing the development of a phobia is negative experiences in the past. In childhood, there could have been contact with an arachnid, which either scared me very much with its appearance or bitten me.
2. Genetic memory for fear of poisonous insects. Passed on from generation to generation, starting from distant ancestors.
3. Individual characteristics of the nervous system. People with low stress resistance and poor endurance are more susceptible to developing any phobias than others.
4. The example of parents who experience fears influences the fact that the child also develops them.
5. The fear is due to the fact that arachnids can be poisonous, and some of them can inflict a fatal bite. Essentially, it is an instinct of self-preservation.
6. The sudden appearance of an arachnid can cause great fear, especially if it is large, unknown in appearance, and appears on a person’s clothing. Even if he has not previously experienced such fear, after such an event, he will definitely manifest himself.

Hereditary factor and upbringing

In addition, there is a genetic predisposition to arachnophobia. Our distant ancestors, who lived in close contact with nature, knew that some spiders and other arthropod creatures were very dangerous, so they tried to stay away from them. As a result, their genetic code developed a subconscious fear of these creatures, which manifests itself in modern people.

Another reason for a pathological fear of spiders is heredity. If parents suffer from arachnophobia or any other phobia, then the risk of it developing in a child increases significantly. In addition, the upbringing of a child also has a great influence. If from childhood his parents instilled in him disgust and aversion to spiders and other insects, then over time these unpleasant emotions can develop into real fear.

Possible manifestations

If there is a mild stage of phobia, then at the sight of spiders a person will experience an anxious state and goosebumps will appear on the skin. With personal contact, physiological reactions will be more acute:

• tachycardia;
• paleness of the skin;
• trembling in the limbs;
• increased sweating;
• coldness in the extremities;
• slow reaction;
• pre-fainting state.

If arachnophobia is already in a fairly severe form and is chronic in nature, then the following manifestations will be observed:

• sharp dilation of the pupils;
• uncontrolled actions;
• panic attack;
• suffocating condition;
• the desire to destroy a clear threat;
• spontaneous urination.

You can suspect a person's fear of spiders by his inadequate reaction upon contact with them or attempts to kill them. Over time, such reactions turn into a manic syndrome, which affects the desire to find all representatives of a given species and destroy them.

I don’t experience great fear when I see arachnids; they seem disgusting to me. But my son generally loves all insects, sometimes he does not think about his own safety. Without a bit of fear, he picks up spiders.

For what reasons can a phobia appear?

Arachnophobia is a fairly common disease, so the question of what the fear of spiders is called is of interest to many. This is due to the fact that the number of urban residents is growing every year, and, as is known, this part of the population, due to rare contact with arthropods, is not always able to assess the degree of danger.

According to the well-known saying: “Fear has big eyes,” any spider seems huge and dangerous to arachnophobes. A person can be afraid of such animals at the genetic level. In his opinion, the arthropod moves too quickly, and the bite is sure to lead to death.

The occurrence of any phobia is preceded by certain events. Arachnophobia can develop in a person for several reasons:

• Unpleasant childhood memories of the first contact with an arthropod. Fear of spiders may appear due to an inadequate reaction of the parent to the sight of an arachnid. Many adults react with caution to arthropods, and also try to limit the child’s contact with any representatives of this class. As a result, the child develops a subconscious fear, which develops into a phobia with age.
• The second reason that may answer the question of why people are afraid of spiders is related to a person’s fear of contracting some viral disease. Due to the fact that many insects are capable of carrying various diseases, spiders are also considered a potential threat.
• If a person has previously been bitten by insects, then such an experience can leave a negative mark on the subconscious.
• Quite often, the sudden appearance of a spider can frighten even those who are calm about arthropods. Severe fear from such an encounter can also provoke spider phobia.

According to statistics, a fairly significant percentage of the population is afraid of spiders. This phenomenon is also facilitated by a large number of feature films in which the main characters are numerous spiders, sometimes of unnatural sizes.

Fighting methods

You need to try to imagine that the spider is not a monster, but a smiling, cute creature. He'll stop being so scary

Let's look at how to treat arachnophobia.

1. You need to use your imagination. Once you find yourself next to the spider, imagine that it is very far from you, that there is glass between you, you are indoors, and it is outdoors. Now think about what would happen if the spider ended up on another planet. Thus, you program yourself to the fact that fear is not as big as it seems, the spider is negligible.
2. Think about what memories the meeting with the spider will leave in your memory, and whether you will continue to experience anxiety. Therefore, when contacting an arachnid, it is better to imagine that this meeting has already passed, and you are in the distant future.
3. You can use another method. Try to visualize the situation. There is a spider in the room with you. Imagine that the entire environment is black and white. Now try to mentally enlarge the spider in size, and also paint it in bright colors. Once you do this, imagine as if it began to melt, decreased in size, and its color gradually began to fade. This will happen until there is no trace left of the frightening animal.
4. To make it easier to deal with your fear, you can depict it using plasticine or a drawing on paper. Draw a spider, and then destroy it by breaking the sculpted figurine or tearing a piece of paper with its image.
5. Realize that your fear is caused by a tiny creature that is quite defenseless in front of humans. Mentally imagine how easily you can slam it with your palm or crush it with your foot. Imagine how crushed your fear is.
6. If there is a need for drug therapy, the specialist will be able to prescribe:

• antidepressants that will help stabilize the psychological state and relieve emotional stress;
• beta blockers - will help cope with rapid heartbeat, fainting, trembling in the limbs;
• in the most severe cases - tranquilizers, but it is worth considering that they are addictive, so they must be used strictly under the supervision of a doctor.

Now you know what the fear of spiders is called, and what ways to combat it exist. Remember that many people experience this fear, but you need to learn how to confront it. It is unacceptable for some arachnid to poison your life with its existence.

Treatment of arachnophobia

Phobias can have different roots, but the physical symptoms differ little. When a person encounters a fear factor, he develops:

• cardiopalmus;
• increased heart rate;
• trembling in the limbs;
• heavy sweating;
• pupil dilation.

Typical symptoms also include the desire to run away from the scene or destroy the spider. In mild forms of the disorder, the listed signs are weakly expressed; in severe cases, a panic attack may develop.

Treatment of arachnophobia is an individual process. If the problem has not reached critical proportions, you can try to fight it yourself. Automotive training and temporary avoidance of spider habitats, studying the causes of fears and their gradual elimination will help.

In more serious cases, it is recommended to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist. The doctor will be able to correctly find the source of the fear of spiders and prescribe the necessary treatment. Most of this will be situational therapy. At the same time, a person will gain theoretical knowledge, master a new model of behavior and meet the cause of his fear.

For those who do not want to expose themselves to additional stress, arachnophobia treatment with hypnosis is suitable. This is a painless and comfortable method for treating phobias that gives excellent results. What is it? To get rid of the fear of spiders, the hypnotherapist puts the patient into a trance state, during which a path to his subconscious opens. The true causes of fears become available for elaboration, assessment and correction.

A person suffering from arachnophobia:

• receives new positive attitudes from the hypnotherapist;
• acquires a new way of thinking;
• strengthens the psyche;
• realizes the groundlessness of his fears.

He goes away from panic attacks associated with the appearance of spiders, and the unpleasant physical sensations when meeting them disappear. Since hypnosis allows you to get to the very core of the problem and change a person’s attitude towards the object of fear, arachnophobia goes away forever.

Common phobias associated with the fear of other animals: cynophobia (fear of dogs), ailurophobia (fear of cats), ophidiophobia (fear of snakes).

Translated from Greek, “arachnophobia” (ἀράχνη - spider) means fear of spiders. This is a special case of zoophobia - a mental disorder that is the fear of any animals.

Scientists say that many inhabitants of the planet, both men and women, suffer from a fear of spiders and various arachnid creatures, although this figure is higher among women. The phobia does not depend on age and social status. According to statistics, every fifth person is very afraid of spiders.

Arachnophobes experience uncontrollable horror upon any contact (visual or tactile) with a spider or a creature similar to one. Even talking and thinking about the object of fear causes a panic attack in the patient. He avoids watching TV shows about spiders, photographs and pictures of them. Even the sight of a dead spider and cobwebs makes the patient shiver.

Fear of spiders manifests itself through a set of specific physical and mental symptoms:

• People try to avoid places where arthropods may live. He is afraid to enter basements, attics, dark and abandoned rooms, and dense thickets.
• When the patient sees a spider, he begins to panic; he feels a strong fear that is uncontrollable. He tries to leave the meeting place with the arthropod as quickly as possible. If it is impossible to escape, the person begins to scream, fuss, and wave his arms.
• When meeting an insect, regardless of its size and the degree of danger it poses, the patient experiences an irresistible desire to kill it immediately. Even small harmless spiders cause an attack of fear.
• A panic attack is accompanied by the following vegetative manifestations: rapid heartbeat, dizziness, shortness of breath, increased sweating, tremors of the limbs, pallor of the skin, weakness, nausea, disorientation.
• With a strong phobia, the patient may experience hysterics or loss of consciousness.

In the arsenal of psychotherapists, there are a number of quite effective techniques used to treat arachnophobia.

The essence of the method is that the psychotherapist influences the patient with the object of his fear. This happens gradually so that the patient’s psyche has time to adapt to such an impact. First, he is shown photographs and videos about spiders. After the patient can watch them calmly, without fear, he can proceed to contact with a live spider. First, the patient examines small spiders, gradually moving on to larger individuals, such as tarantulas.

There are even special computer programs that help fight arachnophobia. The program creates a virtual reality model where arthropods are present. With the help of this model, the patient’s behavior is corrected.

So, step by step, the psychotherapist helps the patient overcome the phobia. After successful treatment, some former arachnophobes experience so-called overcompensation - a psychological defense mechanism, which manifests itself in the fact that a person who has gotten rid of fear begins to actively contact the object of his fear. Therefore, people who have overcome arachnophobia sometimes have huge spiders in their homes, take care of them, admire them, and pick them up.

Cognitive therapy

The task of the psychotherapist is to convey to the patient the absurdity of his fears. He tells the patient about spiders, thereby showing that they are not as dangerous as they might seem. The more correct information is provided to the patient, the more likely he is to get rid of fear.

And, of course, it is very important that the patient works on himself, tries to change his attitude towards his fear. The specialist helps him with this. Very often, cognitive therapy is used in combination with behavioral therapy.

Psychoanalysis

The psychotherapist searches for the hidden causes of the phobia. He works with the patient's unconscious fears, thereby helping him get rid of them. The technique is quite effective, but requires a large number of sessions.

Hypnotherapy

The patient is put into hypnosis and their subconscious is worked with. The hypnotherapist removes the patient's negative beliefs from the subconscious, replacing them with positive suggestions.

The treatment method is selected based on the severity of the disease, its manifestations and the individual mental characteristics of the patient. In some cases, psychotherapy is supplemented with the use of sedatives.

If the symptoms are mild, a person can try to get rid of arachnophobia on their own. There are various methods for independent psychological work. With desire and due perseverance, the patient has every chance of overcoming the phobia.

Many arachnophobes, especially those who encounter spiders infrequently, rarely seek medical help. Since arachnids can only be found in nature, people simply try to visit forests, parks, squares less often - wherever there is a potential danger of seeing them.

Well, if the fear of spiders is too strong and interferes with normal life, then you cannot do without professional help. A psychotherapist can provide this. Depending on the cause of arachnophobia and the severity of the disorder, he will be able to select a treatment method.

For example, drug treatment for arachnophobia gives good results. Drugs are prescribed to relieve panic attacks, reduce anxiety levels and for general strengthening of the body. These are antidepressants, tranquilizers, sedatives, nootropics, vitamin complexes, and sometimes antipsychotics.

Along with drug treatment for fear of spiders, psychotherapy is also used. During a conversation with the patient, the doctor will be able to identify the source of the phobia, even if the person himself no longer remembers it, and eliminate it. It will also help you form a new model of behavior, recommended when encountering spiders, and teach you how to quickly recover from the consequences of an attack of arachnophobia.

The following psychotherapeutic methods can be used in the treatment of arachnophobia:

• Situational therapy. The essence of the method is to gradually prepare the patient to meet what causes him panic fear. First, the psychotherapist gives the patient information about spiders and explains why they should not be afraid of them. At the end of the conversation, the patient may have a short meeting with the object of his fear. Then the time of contact with the spider can gradually increase.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy. This method is effective in that the patient himself changes his idea of ​​the object of fear and, therefore, he has no reason to be afraid of spiders.
• Hypnosis. This is an effective and powerful psychotherapy technique that can also be used to overcome arachnophobia. The treatment regimen depends on how long the disorder has been developing and with what intensity it manifests itself.

The effectiveness of treatment with psychotherapeutic methods is so high that some former arachnophobes, after completing the course, even keep spiders as pets.

Living with a phobia is unpleasant and difficult. If you are one of the arachnophobes and want to get rid of your disorder forever, contact the psychology center of Irakli Pozharisky, who will be able to provide qualified assistance in combating your problem.

From a psychological point of view, a phobia never arises without reason. The intense feeling of fear that a person experiences in front of an object, animal or situation cannot be explained logically. It is absolutely difficult for a person to pull himself together and return to a normal state, while he will not be able to explain why he reacts this way to certain factors.

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Genetic predisposition. Fear appears against the background of experience accumulated from generation to generation.

Social influence. The society in which a person grows and matures inevitably leaves its mark on the psychological state of a person. Fear can be imposed by accepted social customs.

Injury. A phobia occurs in a person after he has been in a traumatic situation or been exposed to danger. The event that led to fear can be either physical or psychological.

1. Genetic predisposition. Fear appears against the background of experience accumulated from generation to generation.
2. Social influence. The society in which a person grows and matures inevitably leaves its mark on the psychological state of a person. Fear can be imposed by accepted social customs.
3. Injury. A phobia occurs in a person after he has been in a traumatic situation or been exposed to danger. The event that led to fear can be either physical or psychological.

Should you really be afraid of spiders?

If you believe medical statistics, about five thousand people die every year from the bites of these arthropods. And we are talking only about registered cases. Based on such statistics, anyone, even the healthiest person, will feel fear towards these animals. But, nevertheless, it should be noted that in our country most spiders are absolutely harmless. But even those who are capable of harming a person will never do it first. And they attack only in case of a direct threat.

How to get rid of a phobia

Since arachnophobia has a psychological origin, you can get rid of this disease with the help of mental exercises, self-hypnosis and unconventional methods of treatment.

Familiarize yourself with the types of spiders and also learn more about keeping spiders at home.

Medications

They are used extremely rarely; they are indicated for use in extreme cases of panic that can cause harm to health.

Drug therapy is aimed at relieving the physical manifestations of panic attacks and includes the following medications:

• tranquilizers such as Lorazepam and Phenozepam;
• antidepressants (imipramine);
• nootropics, also known as neurometabolic stimulants (Glycine, Phenibut).

Antidepressants increase the activity of the hormone serotonin during the transmission of nerve impulses and stimulate brain activity. Nootropics stabilize the functioning of the brain, protecting it from the harmful effects of excess stress.

Tranquilizers reduce anxiety by stabilizing autonomic disorders.

Hypnotic sessions

This is an effective psychotherapy that works on people with a high level of suggestibility. Hypnosis puts a person into a state similar to sleep, eliminates conditioned reflexes and helps reprogram behavior to constructive ones.

A competent therapist, using hypnosis, is able to create a positive experience of communication with the object of a phobia in a patient and strengthen his self-confidence.

Important! If you suffer from a fear of spiders, avoid watching horror films that encourage this condition.

Subsequent encounters with spiders for those who have undergone hypnosis sessions do not cause anxiety and concern, since irrational fears are destroyed.

How many people have arachnophobia?

According to statistics, up to 5% of the world's population suffers from arachnophobia. Moreover, women and children are more susceptible to this phobia than men. In addition, for those suffering from arachnophobia, irresistible fear can be caused not only by the observation of these animals and contact with them, but also by seeing a picture of a spider, any art like a pencil drawing of a spider, or even the very thought of it. There is also a correlation between the degree of intensity of fear and the size of the arthropod: the larger it is, the stronger the fear. Like other types of phobias, arachnophobia is acquired.

Methods to overcome your fear of spiders

The only way to help overcome your fear of spiders is through psychological therapy. There is no need to take any pharmacological medications. The most popular method among psychologists is behavioral therapy. It is based on the patient’s gradual rapprochement with the source of his fears. Therapy is carried out exclusively under the supervision of a specialist. If the patient experiences a panic attack, the procedure is stopped immediately.

Arachnophobia can be cured in this way by bringing the patient closer to both real, living insects and by showing their images in photos or videos. It's better to start with the last one. But it is worth considering that this method will not give the same effect as getting closer to the real object of fear.

Treatment of arachnophobia - technique

An excellent indicator of the effectiveness of the method will be the ability of a patient suffering from fear to touch a spider without showing obvious signs of arachnophobia.

Some psychologists use the method of hypnotherapy. This method is one of the safest, but does not always give the desired effect.