Arachnophobia

[Lollypop27]

Has anyone got over their fear of spiders? I’m petrified of them and it’s now starting to affect how l live. I’m on edge all of the time constantly looking around in case I see one. There was one in the house last week and when my husband tried to get it, it fell off the wall and went down the floorboards. Now I won’t walk upstairs alone and I’m petrified of going to bed alone so I sit up and wait for Dh to go up.

I’m so embarrassed by it. When I’m rational like now I’m okay but then I feel the anxiety in my chest and all rational thoughts go out of my head. When I see one I just get hysterical.

I did the course at London Zoo and it changed my life! Still don't love them but can handle myself now and put them outside. You have my utmost sympathy as I know how horrible it is to feel that way!

Where has this suddenly find from?

Spider season is almost upon us so I think you need to get a handle on this sooner rather than later....spiders are everywhere. They are an everyday creature

I am terrified too. I haven't really overcome any fear but I spray my house with Indoorex. Three times a year and I hardly ever get spiders in my house. If they do get in they die quickly. This has meant I can relax in my own home.

Yes but not completely. I've gone from raised heart rate, fight or flight adrenaline, having to leave the building, absolutely petrified about seeing one etc. to being just about OK with them. I still wouldn't want one on the wall in my bedroom but I saw a huge one in the hallway a few days ago and I managed to just go up to bed and slept perfectly well.

A turning point for me was being at an event (think village carnival) in the North where a chap was showing tarantulas. When I found out I nearly left the event but as the day went on I decided to go and chat to him (I think I knew this could be a useful opportunity) and by the time we'd been talking for ten minutes I was holding Maria the tarantula on my palm. The chap somehow made this all seem quite natural. (I can hear you think 'oh but you can't have been that scared of spiders to do that' - but believe me I was. My friends and family were in absolute disbelief about it.

Following this I just kept saying to myself 'if I can hold a tarantula I can cope with a house spider' and I've deliberately taken every opportunity to look closely at smaller spiders as if running my own programme of exposure therapy.

I still can't get closer than about 2ft to a big spider but I can cope and I no longer live in fear of them.

The chap I mentioned runs courses to get people over arachnophobia. If you're in the North I'll find the details and send them to you.

I think the key for me was getting really pissed off with myself and thinking 'enough's enough, this is absolutely ridiculous; I'm not going to let myself be life this any more'.

Thank you for the replies. It does seem to be worse this year than previous years. I came off citalopram this year after 8 years - this is the only anxiousness I’m feeling though and I really don’t want to go back in it because I have a fear of spiders.

It’s a weird one. I’m not scared of daddy longlegs, the spindlely ones or even if I see them in the garden. It’s just the black ones in the house. I’m down south near Bristol so I will look in to courses.