Has anyone been on a 'spider friendly' course at London/Edinburgh Zoo?

[Tolber]

I booked a place on one last year but now the day is nearly here I'm too scared to go.

I can't believe it'll work and have convinced myself it'll give me nightmares. An autumn of terror at all the fucking monsters that have already started invading my house seems preferable to doing the course right now. I feel so ridiculous. Is there anyone who's attended one of these courses who can reassure me that it might actually work and not just increase my phobia?

@BearFacedCheek that's really encouraging, thank you.

@Scentedjasmin obviously I could never lie on the floor of an old building, and no way would forced 'relaxation' work at the start of the session - what the hell were they thinking?! Which zoo was this at? I'm booked on at Edinburgh Zoo.

I did it about 15 years ago.
As someone else said it may have changed, but there were no spiders or pictures until right at the very end. And nothing is sprung on you. You're well warned in advance at each stage. The first stages were talking and group hypnosis (meditation really I'd say). I really liked the guy leading the course when I was there. That normally helps. He was great at putting people at ease.
We had 2 people I remember who were utterly terrified. One young woman sat sobbing and shaking being held by her mum even in the initial stages. By the end she had successfully put a glass over a large house spider and was holding the glass and cardboard up in front of her looking at it. She was still crying, but this time it wasn't just fear. She was so proud of herself. The other terrified man even managed to hold a tarantula. But he refused to hold the house spiders. Which is fair enough. I also find them worse than tarantulas.
I will admit though I am still scared of them. But not on the level I was. I still jump if I see one and get that shivery feeling. But I'm able to glass and paper it outside. Maybe scared is the wrong word. I still dislike them a lot and find them creepy and would still prefer they didn't invade my house!

I did the London zoo one years ago. It didn’t cure me, but it helped. Afterwards I was able to pick them up in a glass and relocate outside. There’s no pressure, and if you don’t feel able to go into the room with the spiders at the end of the session, they don’t force you. I found it quite cathartic being with a bunch of other arachnophobes!

Unfortunately for me the effect has worn off over the years, and I’m now pretty much back to square one.

@Tolber on my course they had a long session to start with the spider expert from the zoo. Basically everyone could say all their worst fears and he could on the whole rationalise them. There were a few crazy stories that he was like 'yeah that couldn't happen' 😂

We had a couple of tea breaks at different points so people could chat too.

The second part was the hypnosis/ relaxation session. Nothing too weird just really basic hypnosis I guess.. Most of us probably felt no different..at first.

Then they took us to the spider area at the zoo. There was no pressure to do anything, but obviously they encouraged us and like I said before there was only 1 person who couldn't do all the 'tests'....and tbh you could have told from the start she wasn't going to change. I think you have to really want to change.

Even reading your heading gave me a shiver. The very thought. Not surprised you've backed out.

I didn't know this was a thing. What a great idea. I'm sure they won't push you further than you are comfortable with.

I remember being told "flooding" is the best way to get over a phobia which basically means being put in a situation with the subject of your phobia where you can't escape it and can only wait until the fear subsides because apparently that adrenaline doesn't last. You will actually calm down. But fuck that! I'd have a heart attack long before the "calm down" bit happened.

@User100000000000000000001 thank you for that description of what happens, it's made me feel calmer. The idea of being able to talk about all my worst spider fears in that setting, with other arachnophobes and a kindly expert is almost appealing. I'm really going to try and get myself there.

I did it. There were people with a much bigger phobia than me there. Surprisingly a couple of young men in their 20s.

It's very interesting and I was impressed at the end by the people who could touch/hold the spiders. I couldn't.

I don't think it has helped me at all - but it obviously does work for some people.

@Viviennemary I haven't backed out, I'm still trying to go.

This phobia is debilitating, especially this time of year. I live alone so have to deal with spiders myself, though I have in the past asked a passing dog walker or my window cleaner to deal with one! I've had some absolutely horrendous times, which makes me feel so stupid but it's true. My latest strategy is Indorex but that way of killing them is particularly cruel and makes me feel shit. This has to change, plus the session is pretty expensive and there's no refund.

@YellowComb they say it doesn't help 20% of attendees. Did going make anything worse for you?

@Tolber Glad to have helped, if only a little.

It's so worth a try and I really hope it works for you like it did for me, and the others on my course.

I did it there 30 years ago with Robert Farago who I believe was the instigator. Best £60 I've ever spent. I still don't like them don't get me wrong but that visceral reaction has pretty much gone. I wasn't scared at all at the end when they do what they do and it's all at your pace. It's incredible it really is, I'd say just get yourself there somehow and do it xx

That's good. Give it a go. You've nothing to lose.

I’ve posted about it before. I went to London Zoo and it was fabulous. Absolutely
revolutionary- I’ll still get DH to de-spider if he’s around, but otherwise I can do it. Before the course I once managed to trap a spider in the kitchen but was so upset I couldn’t go back into the room to use the kettle until he came home 2 days later. Recently there was one in our living room, and I was able to put baby DD down in the Moses basket, go and find a cup, come back, and remove it.

The volunteers were so patient. I sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed, but I never felt any pressure from anyone to do anything I didn’t feel comfortable with. They were so kind!

Lifelong arachnophobe here. I did the London zoo course 20 odd years ago, and took my young daughter a couple of years ago.
It was as described by PP, just lots of talking at the start, no pictures, some myth busting etc. Then the hypnosis/meditation, then the opportunity to see/handle house spiders and a tarantula if you want to. There's no pressure but almost everyone at least has a go once they see others doing it.
It worked amazingly well on the day for my daughter, she held loads of spiders, but the effect has worn off a bit for her now.
I will always have that little shiver of fear inside if I see one unexpectedly, but I can totally hide it now to the point that my DD has no idea, I can catch and release them with a glass, hold tarantulas and even handle big house spiders for long periods.
Definitely give it a go, it was life changing for me, and many others. Good luck!

Yes I did at London Zoo. It's natural to feel scared of going - you are going to face a fear after all. But they run the course to help people, they aren't going to spring any surprises or put you in harm.
It's no exaggeration to say it transformed my life. I wouldn't say I like spiders now. But I can be near them, I can move one from inside to outside at arms length, whereas before the sight of one made me panic.

I used to be terrified. Even of the spindly ones because they can get quite big. But when I learned that the spindilies (or cellar spiders) can kill the big ones I started letting them stay. I watched one take down a full size daddy longlegs and felt utter relief.
I’m a lone parent and my daughter is scared of them so there's only me to deal with it if a big spider appears (she had also now come to accept spindly ones). I've found that telling her to go into another room or upstairs allows me to squeal quietly while I suck them up with my Dyson hoover attachment. Then I check the cylinder. Always dead. Then emptied into the outside bin.

The first bit was in a lecture hall and it was a very nice man talking about them and busting myths etc. it was fine, no pictures. Then we went to a hall and lay down on the floor with cushions for a guided meditation (no mention of spiders). Then we went to the bug enclosure. There were people hysterical before going in to the first part who were handling spiders by the end. But the actual exposure part was very gentle. No pressure, everything very safe and slow. You weren't confronted with them in any way and didn't have to go near anything you didn't want to. I held a tarantula!

It means 20% of people find the fear comes back, nobody was screaming and running out of there. Literally every single person left that enclosure with a reduced fear of spiders. Unfortunately you have to reinforce the work by exposure and by the time the next autumn comes round some people will find the fear has come back.

At London zoo the meditation was nowhere near the spider enclosure.

I did the course at London Zoo this year. It hasn't cured me but it has helped enormously.
Please go - even just talking to other people who feel the same way will help you feel better about it.
Like you, I struggled to write or even say the word. Googling the course was impossible so my friend booked it all for me. There is absolutely no visual exposure to spiders in any format unless you are happy to do so. Everything is optional.

There were a couple of people on my course who were severely phobic and the volunteers were incredibly reassuring and supportive. One girl in particular was shaking, crying and looked utterly terrified and that was before we'd even started. I spoke to her at the end of the day and she was completely cured. It was astonishing.
I would say I went from feeling 8/10 terror, panic and physical revulsion to maybe 4/10 distaste and slight anxiety. I could enter a room knowing a spider was there now and if necessary I could catch it in a cup and put it outside. I can look at them and think, I don't like you but you're just being a spider and I'm in control of this situation. The terror has gone.
Please go. It's changed my life.

It's really sad that creatures have to die just because of your fear :(

I did it! As everyone else says there's no "surprise spiders". They are well aware of how debilitating a phobia is. I found it very helpful. I was still scared of spiders but was able to catch them in a glass and put them outside. It was life changing!

You do have to keep reinforcing it though. I've been away from the UK for years now and don't think I could catch a spider.

I did it years ago, and it was excellent. I'm still not a fan of the really huge house spiders, but the course made such a difference and I no longer dread autumn. I've got a photo of me holding a tarantula from the course: never dreamed I'd manage that! Highly recommend the experience.

I realised I was scared of spiders because growing up my parents had raised me to try and pick them up and take them out of the house. When I started killing them the phobia went away as I realised it didn’t matter how big they were - I was bigger.

I don’t kill them any more (that was a phase when I was a teen) and just tend to leave them to it.