Arachnophobia: symptoms and remedies

Spiders pursue people everywhere: in apartments, houses, on the street. Women, doing cleaning, remove cobwebs from lamps and ceilings. She weaves little spiders. Even at the sight of them, many of the fair sex panic. What is the fear of spiders?

Most of us think that arthropods look rather unpleasant, and even people are afraid that there are many poisonous individuals among them.

People have various phobias. Some are afraid to die from any disease, others - to go crazy. But almost all are united by the fear of arachnids, in other words, arachnophobia. This is one of the special cases of so-called zoophobia. It is noted that this fear is the most common among many phobias.

The body structure of the arachnid is completely unlike the human. The insect has many paws, is distinguished by a large body and small head. A variety of body structure, size and color of this instance is amazing. These bloodsucking creatures attack their fellows and kill, pulling out all the juices. And this fact means that spiders are significantly distinguished by their ruthlessness among other insects.

People wonderfully fear spiders, as many of them are poisonous. If you are bitten by the most innocuous spider, big problems can arise. Even if the poison is not fatal, a dangerous infection can get into the wound. It turns out that even a large individual can die from the attack of a small insect.

They are able to appear suddenly. It is just that an individual can at any time see a very large spider or its unusual image, and at that very same moment he will become hysterical. All this happens because for many centuries, mankind has faced a sad experience.

Arachnophobia is often confused with disgust or rejection of something. Such feelings may develop in the interval of a certain time and at some point suddenly wake up. Panic attack with the fear of spiders happens with almost every person. No one is immune from it. And the danger of this condition is that a person can have a nervous breakdown or even a heart attack.

Then the sad case will lead to constant fear. Further painful, obsessive states can begin. After that, the subject will begin to fear various dark rooms (basements, attics) only because there may be spiders there.

And you can initially observe your well-being, and then draw conclusions.If you or your loved one has an unpleasant feeling at the sight of arthropods, then you should at least be alert. The following signs will help determine your phobia:

• heartbeat and pulse are increasing;
• there is an inexplicable desire to immediately kill the insect;
• an increase in fear, and it becomes uncontrollable;
• tremor of the hands and feet;
• fear develops into a panic attack;
• sweating;
• lethargy or sudden activity;
• the skin becomes purple or, on the contrary, pales.

If a person continues to behave inadequately, then he tries everywhere to find the nests of spiders and destroy them. Women usually begin to thoroughly clean and wash floors throughout the house. Some come to the point that they can spray a poisonous aerosol in all rooms if they notice a web. And she in arachnophobes causes a real panic.

Individuals suffering from this phobia, all the time talking about the danger of meeting with arthropods. Cases of spider attacks on humans are described. At the same time they show their overstimulation. And this suggests that you need to take measures that will save them from phobias of a given orientation. And initially it is necessary to identify the causes.

Research scientists have shown that arachnophobes in most cases can not explain the cause of their fears. Therefore, they have practically no power to keep their phobias, which arise only at the mere thought of arthropods, under control. But here it is necessary to separate arachnophobia from dislike.

Some people are squeamish by nature. They are annoyed by the very sight of spiders. At the sight of any insect, they want to look away, shake clothes or stomp their feet. Hostility is also an obsessive state, only it is expressed in a different form.

Apparently, this is due to the fact that arachnids are very different from humans by their appearance. Such hostility comes from time immemorial. When a person was forced to survive in the cruel world of nature, he had phobias associated with the preservation of the genus. Not all the creatures of the planet is connected with people with panic. The inhabitants of the seas and the depths do not cause such a strong aversion due to the fact that they are at a considerable distance from the human home.

Nothing can stop them before entering the house. There are cases when spiders attack people while they sleep in bed. Scientists have discovered that spiders are quite ancient inhabitants of the planet. Since the plague and other serious diseases, people have been convinced that insects are able to carry dangerous pathogens. And this is another staunchly developed reason to fear arthropods.

Spiders are destroyed only because they live on Earth. For some reason, it is believed that killing them is a bad omen. However, there is another version: if you kill the spider, you will be freed from all sins. Such contradictions not without reason exist among people.

Of course, it is precisely arachnophobia that people with an unstable mental state can suffer. Maybe in childhood a man experienced more than one stressful situation. Negative experience remained in the subconscious and is now being chosen outside. This individual may suffer from various phobias, but they are quite far from his vision. And the presence of a huge spider could awaken old fears in his soul, which immediately came together and embodied in arachnophobia.

People suffering from constant fatigue or nerve overload are also prone to arachnophobia. These manifestations of the body expresses its fatigue.Therefore, you first need to identify the true cause of the phobia, and then draw any conclusions. Impressionable people, once confronted with frightening information about spiders, can come up with various stories that will scare them. They are even able to believe in these tales themselves and convince them of other people.

On the basis of their own fantasies, arachnophobes can carefully consider each specific case associated with the life of spiders. As a result, this part of people will look for danger in every corner of their room, thereby developing their phobia to enormous proportions.

Children do not realize that the spider can cause harm. But they always focus on the behavior of adults. And if a child sees the fear of parents at the sight of an insect, he “repeats” their behavior. It can be said that arachnophobia is transmitted according to the behavioral trait of loved ones, from generation to generation.

Here you need to make one reservation. A person with a stable psyche is not able to dwell on the problem for a long time. He can switch to positive emotions and forget about fear for a while. When an individual is happy, he does not pay attention to the danger, especially when it is not so specificized by anything in his mind.

And people with a tendency to obsessive states and neuroses can experience daily stress when thinking about the danger of spiders. Every day, it can only increase and eventually lead to a phobia. Arachnophobes prone to neurosis. Some believe that neuroses are inherited and it is impossible to get rid of them. Is it so?

Experts say that if a child born in a family where there are people with neurosis is placed in another family, where all its members have a stable psyche, then this child will grow up healthy. And this fact confirms once again that all phobias and neurotic states are not inherited, but are acquired. And if phobias do not arise out of “out of nowhere”, then it can be said with precision that they can and should be disposed of.

People faced with specific cases of spider bites, involuntarily begin to think about this problem. In Central Asia karakurt are found. The bite of these specimens is in most cases fatal to both humans and animals. Before going to bed, the shepherds stretch a long string of pure sheepskin around the bed.

This behavior has developed since the time when man began to realize that this type of insect is dangerous. Various stories related to the attack of this particular category of spiders on humans were transmitted from mouth to mouth.

In hot countries, there are species that can almost instantly kill a person. Bananas brought from eastern countries have long been loved by many of us. They are sold in every store. And almost no one thinks that buying bananas can lead to sad consequences.

In a favorite exotic delicacy often found banana spiders. These creatures live in palm trees and lay eggs on the peel of bananas. The poison of this reptile is ten times stronger than that of a karakurt or a black widow. There are many cases where people died from the bite of a banana spider far beyond its habitat only because today bananas are spread all over the world.

It is therefore not surprising that people initially have a fear of death bite. Fear also appears from a small-sized arthropod species. Theoretically, they can crawl into a person’s dwelling at any moment and through any, most miserable hole, and the consequences of an invasion would be unpredictable. Horror causes the so-called surprise effect. That he is able to lead to panic.

In addition, on the wide screens of cinemas there are numerous films with the participation of various types of arthropods, which are eaten before the eyes of the crowd. And it also contributes to the spread of persistent hysteria around this type of insect.

It should be noted that it will be difficult to overcome arachnophobia unilaterally. Here a comprehensive approach is needed. The suffering person is simply obliged to independently want to get rid of the phobia. Then the specialist will be able to help all available methods.

It is possible to get rid of the fear of spiders in a medical way only as a last resort, precisely when the disease has already become neglected. The severe nature of the course of the disease leads to extensive symptoms. When panic attacks are prescribed by a doctor nootropics, antidepressants (SSRI group), tranquilizers.

In other, less severe cases, other methods of psychotherapy are used. They are gentle and help in future to avoid relapses. The only condition: the specialist must be highly qualified. We list some techniques.

• The method of confrontation implies a collision of a patient with a phobia (with its embodiment). Pictures of spiders are put before a person, but live specimens in special terrariums are best suited for this purpose. Together with the doctor, arachnophobe examines arthropods and learns to manage their fear. As soon as the situation begins to level off, the patient is transferred to the tactile perception of these insects. So gradually comes the realization that bastards can not do much harm, and develop an adequate attitude towards them.
• In modern society, various gadgets have become widespread. With the help of them you can play computer games, where the main characters will be the nastiest spiders that need to be destroyed. Gradually, the person will get used to the image of insects and cease to be afraid.
• Approximately the same method was developed in Russia. Only here a special virtual program is used. Arachnofobu proposed to take a difficult path to combat spiders in the virtual world. This technique works well on the psyche of a person who is afraid of insects. She helps manage your fears.

People with very strong nerves practically do not suffer from phobias of various directions. However, they have weaknesses. As a result of severe stress, they may acquire signs of a condition in which they will begin to experience fear. Such individuals can be advised to overcome their fears with the following exercises.

• Turn to the practice of meditation. Constant exercises in silence will help to relax and then establish inner harmony.
• You need to stop fighting obsessive thoughts. Yes, they come to your mind, but you need to have the courage to accept them, to accept their existence. The more you think that negative thoughts need to be driven away from you, the less they will come to your mind.
• Let your nervous system rest. Stop responding to unpleasant situations. Some people specifically look for information to tickle their nerves. Refuse negative news (at least for a while). It is best to go away from home and stay in silence.
• Understand one thing: intrusive thoughts and intuitions have nothing in common. You should know that nothing bad will happen to you, even if you stop thinking through your steps 10 days ahead and predict events.
• If you can’t immediately get rid of obsessive thoughts, write them down on paper and reread after a while. Rereading your fears, you will understand how absurd they are.
• As soon as you realize that thinking about the bad is a useless exercise, start replacing your fears with sober and rational reasoning. Think about the fact that the probability of the execution of the most terrible fears is very small.
• Always face your fears. Do not run away from them and hide. If you are afraid of spiders, then force yourself to remove the cobwebs in the apartment or watch the small domestic insects. You will understand that your alarms were in vain.
• Actively relax. Such methods include meditation, repetition of affirmations, physical training. These exercises will reduce brain activity, which leads to obsessive states.

You must understand that there are enough methods that help fight phobias. Any of them can be cured by dissociation. This word means complete abstraction from the events.

To defeat fear, you must completely mentally “break away” from the object of your phobia. To do this, try to make your brain experience different emotions about the same event, depending on the environment. A huge spider with shaggy legs scares much more than a small, barely noticeable spider under your feet. In order to stop being afraid of both, imagine how a huge spider gradually loses its size and turns into a completely small, harmless spider.

To cope with a phobia easily, do not exaggerate the reality. There are no places near you where large spider specimens are found.. If your fear is played out in winter, then think about the fact that any spider will freeze along a snowy road until it reaches your threshold. And summer will come again soon. So, before the warm season comes, you have nothing to fear.

You should always find such options that will help "push" your obsessive states. Tell yourself this: "I will think about it tomorrow, and today I feel good." Approximately this is the method of zooming events.

Imagine a spider that is 5-7 meters away from you. Then move this distance away. What do you see? Spider has significantly decreased in size. Now imagine how you are watching him through the window. He gradually crawls away on his business and completely disappears from your sight.

Remember that your fear is momentary. Spend dissociation in time. Think about the fact that tomorrow at the same time you may not remember your phobia, as you will be at a concert. In large halls, arthropods are not found. In addition, for your pleasure will play a whole orchestra.

Just try to move the moment of fear to the time when the concert will go. Tomorrow you will have no time for a phobia, and you probably don’t remember that today your own thoughts frightened you.

And also try to perform independently the exercise "Arthropod destruction". Proceed as follows.

• Make a spider figurine out of paper or plasticine. Paint it, attach as many feet as possible.
• Then place it on the table in front of your gaze. and focus on this object attention. You may be in a panic.
• Move all your fear into a spider stick figure.. Secure it there. Realize that in response to your actions, the spider could not do anything. It turns out that he is defenseless before you.
• Then with force, applying all the senses, crush and destroy the artificial insect.

How to treat arachnophobia, see the following video.