I'm having a freak out re phobia

[Mummabear04]

I have an awful phobia of snakes. Always have and it's not just a don't like them, I have a severe reaction even since i was a child. DD had a zoo visit her school today and she said she held a snake and had it round her neck. DH had washed the kids (hair and all) before I got home from work as it was due a wash and now has gone out to the gym. I never let on to my kids about my phobia, I hide it from them and basically everyone else i can because it is so terrifying and i just mostly cant talk about it, no one understands anyway. I held it together but now the kids are in bed I'm freaking about about the clothes in the clothes basket that have touched the snake, I'm scared there's snake dna that's been transferred to the sofa when DD was sitting on it pre bath from her hair. I'm waiting on DH coming home to put all the contaminated clothes in the washing machine. I don't even know what to do about the sofa.

I know I sound mad but I am so bloody stressed about this and I feel absolutely not in control of my anxiety about it. I hesitated about posting because I'm even terrified of hearing more information about snakes and more so to hear people's stories about them. I just want to cry. I don't even think my post is AIBU but I don't know what to do. I feel sick to my stomach.

People can be arseholes about phobias, annoying as by definition they are irrational.

Yours does sound extreme by most measures as most wouldn't be afraid of contamination by the source of their phobia unless there was something deeper like OCD involved? Is there?

I'm fucking terrified of flying but I can see planes, be in the airport, watch planes on TV. I can even watch plane crashes in films and I'm mostly ok.

Could you seek therapy for the extremeness of the post-reaction? Get some coping strategies?

Snakes shed their skin in one go, they don't shed dna continuously in skin and hair and dander like we do. Nothing is contaminated. They come back from nursery with more germs than they'd get from holding a snake. After a bath, even a forensic exam couldn't tell they've held one.

OP you really should get some help with this phobia because you ARE going to end up passing it to your kids if its this severe.

I'm the same with spiders, I really need to go on one of these phobia courses for it, but they fucking terrify me. It's the legs, I think and the way they move. Luckily my kids just laugh at me and get rid of them but my youngest is starting to get scared of them and I know it's my fault but the bastards just come out of nowhere and surprise you!

I completely understand - my DH has the same phobia and it is one of those that just seems to be more heightened than others. He would be similar to you, although maybe not the DNA on the clothes and sofa. It does affect our life though - where to holiday, how to arrange our garden, where to go for walks. I’m sorry you’re feeling this way and hope you get some peace when your DH comes home.

I'm honestly too scared to face dealing with it. I don't want to even think about it let alone have to confront it. I just hide it away and luckily it doesn't cause a problem too much. I can watch cartoon snakes on tv and if I real one pops up on the screen I just look away. I've had this since I can even remember but my parents did nothing about it, just brushed it off as a kid thing, even let my DB have a toy rubber snake. I don't have OCD I just have an awful awful phobia.