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Phobias are often defined as feelings of excessive fear of something that tends to make no sense. Whether it's in places, situations, objects, to living things. You may hear someone who has a phobia of heights, dark rooms, or confined spaces more often. Well, did you know that there are people who have phobia of spiders?
What is spider phobia?
Arachnophobia or spider phobia is an anxiety disorder that results in a person experiencing excessive fear of spiders. In general, there are probably many people who prefer to avoid spiders because they feel disgusted, afraid of being bitten, until they are considered poisonous.
However, the normal fear of spiders is different from the fear of a person with a phobia. A person with arachnophobia would never ever touch a spider. Never mind touching, just seeing they might have run away scared.
People who have a spider phobia are also reluctant to do any activity that risks encountering spiders. For example camping in the open, going down to the basement, or entering a storage shed which is sure to be full of cobwebs. This fear will always haunt people with arachnophobia wherever they are.
What are the symptoms of spider phobia?
Just like other phobias, people with arachnophobia will also show several signs and symptoms when dealing directly with spiders, such as:
- Uncontrolled bouts of fear, anxiety, and panic at the thought of spiders
- Experiencing excessive fear when seeing spiders, even preferring to scream or flee to safety
- Trembling all over
- A cold sweat
- Heart palpitations
- Chest tightness and difficulty breathing
- Nausea
- Dizzy
- Fainting
People with spider phobia cannot deal with spiders alone. They will depend on others when they see the spider, or prefer to leave rather than have to deal with the spider. Some of the places that reminded them of spiders would also be avoided.
This is of course different from the amusement of spiders in general. You may not have the sweating, palpitations, let alone nausea and shortness of breath as in a person with a phobia of spiders.
What caused it?
Source: Daily Records
The most common causes of arachnophobia are trauma or bad experiences that occurred in the past. For example, having been bitten by a spider until it was injured, had an accident caused by a spider, witnessed other people having bad things with spiders, and various other scary situations related to spiders.
On the other hand, many theories from experts relate this phobia of spiders to a cultural background. The reason is, there are certain areas that believe that spiders are dangerous and deadly animals that should be avoided. Eventually there is a growing fear of spiders in a person.
How to handle it?
Types of phobias are divided into two, namely specific phobias and complex phobias. Now, this spider phobia falls into the category of specific phobias, so it is more often treated using cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or cognitive behavioral therapy is therapy that focuses on controlling negative suggestions or thoughts about spiders, then slowly replacing them with suggestions or other thoughts that make more sense.
To optimize the process, there are two main techniques used, namely cognitive reframing and systematic desensitization. Cognitive reframing is a method that helps you change the way you view spiders so that you don't think of them as being scary anymore. Meanwhile, systematic desensitization is a relaxation technique that aims to manage fear well.
You may also be advised to do regular breathing exercises and yoga at home. If necessary, the doctor can give you an antidepressant to relieve symptoms of spider phobia at some point in time. It is important to remember that this drug is not a long-term treatment, but rather a treatment given when people with arachnophobia are unable to control their symptoms.
You can get over your spider phobia by consulting a therapist or a phobia specialist. That way, your phobia can be overcome properly.
