I REALLY need to get my spider phobia sorted, but how?

[Bumperliouzzzzzz]

Today I was driving to the supermarket, window down, and I saw out of the corner of my eye a spider hanging down from a thread, swinging in the breeze and threatening to fall onto my arm.

Yelling 'oh fuck oh fuck' I managed to pull over and stop and slide into the passenger seat (I was on my own) and the spider wound his way up the thread. I'm afraid to say that I then closed the window, probably squashing it.

It was a small spider, not a money one, even I can cope with those, but one of those brown ones with big bodies and jointy legs IYKWIM. Fortunately I could stop safely but in another situation I could have done a lot of damage and I can't in all honesty say how I would have reacted (i.e. putting safety before a fecking spider).

For years I have said that I don't want to do anything about it, too scared to even try, but recently I have got to the stage where I think I really need to do something about it. And I certainly don't want to pass it on to my children (may be too late with DD. She is scared of most things that move, and was even before she would have seen me with a spider) Anyone had successful treatment for arachnophobia? I know London Zoo do some sort of programme, though it is expensive. Anyone tried it?

I was in the passenger seat of our old mini and practically crawled onto DHs knee (driving) to get away from a small spider i spotted above me.

Apparently flooding therapy is very effective. But I would start with a small bathful to begin with.

I think flooding would be too extreme for me

A friend looked into the London Zoo one for me

I got sent information about it and it made me freak out even more

"By the end of the day you will be able to have your picture taken holding Rosie, our Mexican red-kneed tarantula" (Or something like that, anyway - it was years ago)

NO FUCKING WAY

IKWYM, though... I need to sort it out too. Am a bit better than I was pre-DC. They've toughened me up a bit (don't want to pass it on etc)

See the thought of holding a tarantula scares me less than one of those hideous garden spiders. There's no logic to it

I think for me it's not just about the spiders, it's being made jump by spiders. We sometimes get those spindly ones that like to hang around in the bathroom. They are usually fine as they don't really move, and I'm with them just being there. Though one had the temerity to start abseiling down while I was in the shower. I'm afraid he too paid the price.

I 'm the opposite

Can handle the garden ones (you know, the brown ones with fat bodies and little legs) because they STAY IN THE GARDEN

I get seriously panicky around end of August-October when you get the mahoosice fuck-off house ones

The thought of holding a tarantula makes me want to puke. Seriously

Tarantula better than those quick house one with the elbows and knees and boots...

I am so bad there was an article on the BBC website a few months ago i couldn't read because it was right next to another article with a piccy of a spider on it. And whatever you do DO NOT CLICK ON HOPEFORTHEBEST'S PROFILE....

Of course I had to click...
Yes, the house spiders...we went to MIL's last summer (September) and there were three huge ones, one was, I kid you not, 10 cm in diameter and you could hear it walking on the kitchen floor.

Haven't been to MIL's since.

OK, this is not a thread to tell me all of your worst spider incidents! It's a thread to tell me how to get help!

i hate spiders when i put my coat on the other day when i was on my way to work it was in my coat sleve just shook my sleeve and got out.hope it didnt lay eggs,.

Hello Bumper!

My DD2 has this quite extremely and it's quite difficult to manage - especially as she's a biologist! No rhyme or reason to it, I don't have it myself so haven't passed it on. She just goes uncontrollably to pieces when she sees one.

I have a very good friend with the same problem, and he has many years experience of dealing with it. He gave me some good advice which has worked for him to the point of being able to manage the phobia, though never comfortable with the things.

Start with a drawing of a spider, can be a cute googly-eyed spider if you like. However it must bring the fear on (so use a picture of a real spider if the cute one doesn't bring on your fear.) When you feel that panicky reaction start, make yourself keep looking at the picture. It will be uncomfortable, but you must keep it up, until the fear subsides. You must keep it up until you become indifferent - and a little beyond indifferent, bored in fact.(Apparently the body can only maintain the adrenaline/panic mode for a certain amount of time.) Next time do it again, until you have no reaction with that picture, and then progress by stages through things that DO bring on the panic again, until you can manage each one (all the way up to a real spider, in a box or something, brought by a sympathetic DP

CBT is the way to go, I think

Graded exposure, as explained in the previous post

I am too chickenshit to do it, though