Contents
Hello, dear readers of the site! Arachnophobia is the panic fear of arthropods, i.e. spiders. This is a fairly common phobia, as most people on the planet experience, if not horror, then anxiety at the sight of them.
And today we will try to figure out why it occurs, by what symptoms it can be diagnosed. And also consider the methods by which it is possible to cope with it.
What is it like?
Arachnophobia affects a third of the women of the planet, and only a fifth of the men. Therefore, it is quite safe to say that it occupies a leading position among other phobias.
Those who simply try to avoid the company of arthropods or are frightened by their presence are not individuals with phobic disorders.
Such a reaction is quite natural, especially considering the fact that many do not understand the species, therefore, they cannot immediately understand whether a creature is poisonous in front of them, or not.
But if a person refuses to visit parks and is unable to even watch videos or photos with spiders, then we are talking directly about a phobia.
Another sign of its manifestation is the ability to exaggerate the size of the creature.
Have you heard the saying that fear has big eyes? This is how even a tiny house spider will seem scary and huge, capable of literally eating the owner of the house.
Symptoms
Behavioral
Arachnophobes suffer from insomnia, because they believe that in a dream a spider will climb into their ear, nose or even mouth and lay eggs with larvae there.
Which, of course, is very frightening in itself, in addition to the likely health complications that will necessarily be accompanied by acute pain.
And if you do not sleep at night, do not get enough sleep, the body will gradually be depleted. After all, he spends colossal resources during the day. One anxiety only takes away most of the energy, to say nothing of the work he does, other feelings.
In severe cases, they categorically refuse to leave their homes, because it is not known how much muck lurks on the street, in the grass, in the porches.
Sometimes there are hallucinations. That is, it seems to a person that he was attacked by hordes of arthropods and is trying to fight them off, shake them off.
From the outside, it looks like he’s gone crazy. His behavior frightens and poses a threat, both to his life and health, and to those around him, whom he can accidentally hurt at such a moment.
Somatic
With a panic attack, the fob has tachycardia, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and increased pressure. Also pain in the stomach, chest. It looks like he’s about to have a heart attack and die.
There is not enough air, because a person in a moment of panic can suffocate. Inhalation of carbon dioxide, which we release on exhalation, will help to bounce back on our own.
The fact is that due to superficial and frequent breaths, the level of oxygen in the blood becomes excessively high, which causes asphyxia.
Put your palms on your face and breathe in them for a couple of minutes, so you calm down and get rid of dizziness, preventing loss of consciousness.
In addition to the above symptoms, there is a tremor of the limbs, increased sweating. Arachnophobe loses control over himself, so he usually tries to run away, throw off a dangerous animal, in his opinion, and kill him.
Naturally, his actions are accompanied by screams, crying. The voice trembles, breaks, hands are not able to hold objects with which he seeks to slap the animal.
He runs the risk of getting into an unpleasant situation when he tries to hide, because he is unable to adequately perceive the surrounding reality. For example, get hit by a car, fall into a hatch, fall down a ladder, and so on.
After the panic attack ends, the fob experiences fatigue and shame, literally toxic. This only worsens the general condition and provokes the further development of the disorder.
Causes
Media
It is enough for an impressionable person who is already anxious, insecure and expecting danger at every step to see at least one video with the news that arthropods have climbed into someone’s ear, for example, which caused inflammation and the need for surgical intervention to start be terrified of them.
Especially if such a person reads statistics, how many in a dream a person accidentally swallows spiders that climb into his mouth in a dream, then the occurrence of a phobia is inevitable.
Genetic factor
German scientists from the Max Plang Institute for Cognitive and Brain Science conducted an experiment trying to find out the nature of the origin of arachnophobia.
They showed six-month-old children a series of pictures that depicted snakes, fish, flowers and, of course, spiders. With the help of special equipment, while monitoring the response to each stimulus.
As a result, it turned out that the pupils of babies increased intensely when they saw creatures that really pose a threat to humans, that is, snakes and arthropods.
This gives reason to believe that spiderophobia manifests itself at the level of instincts. After all, such small children are not yet able to perceive information from adults.
And it’s unlikely that mom and dad told every subject from the first days how dangerous the world is, in particular reptiles and so on.
Lack of information
Most people do not distinguish between poisonous and non-poisonous species. As well as the behavior of each of them. Let’s say that not so many dangerous arthropods live on the territory of Russia.
And then, you have to work hard to find the same tarantula. Accordingly, residents of megacities have nothing to fear at all.
In addition, at the sight of this creature, people often think that he is about to jump, although they will never attack first, only in self-defense. And not everyone can jump.
So, lack of awareness usually provokes anxiety. When we don’t know what to expect, it’s only natural to be intimidated.
Therefore, one of the most effective ways to deal with fear is rationality. At such moments, you should “turn on” the brain, logic and try to scientifically confirm or refute your fantasies.
Education
In contrast to the previous evolutionary theory, there is another one that claims that the fear of spiders is an acquired reaction.
Scientists, again from Germany, guided by the data that arthropods are predators, most of which are deadly to humans, like, by the way, insects.
We decided to gather a group of people, inviting them to rank photos of animals that pose a threat according to the degree of feeling of horror or disgust. Among them were poisonous butterflies, beetles, wasps, bees, and spiders.
After all, if the genetic factor works, a person should be afraid of each proposed representative of the fauna almost equally. Considering that in ancient times people were practically defenseless in front of them, which is why they died more often than now.
But according to the results, it turned out that it was the spiders that were in the lead, they ranked the rest of the animals in a completely random way.
That is, it can be argued that arachnophobia appears directly under the influence of information that a person receives during his life about these creatures.
For example, their mother was afraid of them, and from childhood the baby watched how she reacted at the sight of even a tiny spider. For example, jumping on a chair and crying, calling for help.
Naturally, he will assume that all arthropods are dangerous, since an adult mother is so panicked, and will repeat after her, feeling horror.
Negative experience
If a person, especially at an early age, had a negative experience of meeting with representatives of this species of animals, then this could well affect his mental health. In particular the perception of spiders.
Especially considering the fact that they usually appear unexpectedly, when the child is completely unprepared for contact. And also becomes a victim of a bite.
Then the association will be deposited in his memory that the spider is painful. And subconsciously it will make itself felt every time you think about it.
Treatment
Psychotherapy
Phobias should definitely be treated, guided by the recommendations of a specialist. This means that it is imperative to go to an appointment with a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
At least in order to find out whether a phobic disorder really makes itself felt, or is it just fear, or is arachnophobia one of the symptoms of another mental illness.
The most commonly used are behavioral therapy, gestalt and hypnosis. The cognitive-behavioral approach implies direct contact of the fob with the object of his fear.
At first, for example, he simply learns to look without anxiety at photographs of spiders, then to be in the same room with them. And so gradually, step by step, he gets a new experience, devoid of horror and anxiety.
In the process of Gestalt therapy, it will become possible to realize one’s feelings and experiences. And also getting rid of the accumulated emotions that for some reason could not be noticed, recognized and released.
Hypnosis, on the other hand, allows you to program at the subconscious level for certain reactions, actions. You can inspire a person that arthropods cause him, if not tenderness, then at least just calmness.
Group work is also effective. People who have the same difficulties, in this case the fear of spiders, gather and discuss it, share their experiences.
This allows you to feel supported, because understanding that you are not alone in this world with your fear is really effective in terms of recovery.
In addition, other members of the group are in completely different states, someone has already overcome his phobia, someone has just started this struggle.
And advice, life stories have a healing effect, if only because they are perceived uncritically.
After all, they come from a person who was in the same conditions, and this gives motivation and hope that it is quite possible to cope with this disorder, you just need to make some efforts.
Psychiatry
In the case when somatic symptoms have intensified so much that they have brought a lot of health problems, medications will help. They have the right to write out a psychiatrist.
Basically, these are sedatives and tranquilizers, they can reduce the level of anxiety, aggressiveness, relaxing the nervous system.
If sleep is disturbed, which mainly occurs with obsessive thoughts about the animal getting into the throat, ear or nose, the doctor prescribes sleeping pills.
It is also effective for nightmares, which are sometimes so frightening that the fob is able to fall asleep only from exhaustion, trying not to even close his eyes so as not to see the terrible pictures that he dreamed again.
Antidepressants are prescribed for the development of depression, especially if it is accompanied by attempts to commit suicide, if only to quickly end the suffering and get rid of the fear and pain that follows it.
Depression appears against the background of constant anxiety, from loneliness and other deprivations that inevitably follow when trying to isolate.
After all, if an arachnophobe stops leaving his home, fearing to encounter arthropods on the street in his natural environment, he simply loses contact with the outside world.
Methods
It is possible to carry out independent work, which, in combination with treatment by qualified specialists, will give more effective results, and possibly speed up the process of recovery and release from tension.
Computer games and programs
Yes, computer games are not always about addiction, sometimes they really help a person feel better.
There are programs with which the fob interacts with the source of his horror, only in safe conditions. After all, it takes place in virtual reality.
- Arachnophobia Free (iOS devices only). In the first levels, a person encounters cute, cartoony spiders throughout his house, which he needs to deal with in different ways. As the tasks become more complex, their appearance also changes, becoming more realistic. And at the very end, the background of the game is replaced with an image from the camera. That is, it seems to the phob that a tarantula really runs in his room. This application is paid, but it is worth the money, if only because it does not have an entertaining, but a healing function. In addition, it was developed directly by psychiatrists.
- Itsy (virtual reality). The player sees funny and touching spiders in different costumes, which are becoming more and more. The task is to stay in place without running away, because these cute creatures gradually become more realistic, attacking from all sides.
Meditation
It is important to learn how to relax, concentrate on your inner feelings, experiencing peace and harmony. This is not easy, given how much stress a modern person is exposed to on a daily basis.
But it is very necessary, because the inability to relieve tension just provokes the development of most diseases, including mental disorders.
Meditative techniques show the most effective results for achieving relaxation.
The site contains a lot of ways in which you can take care of your health and peace of mind, just go to the «Meditation» section and you will get all the necessary information.
Now I want to introduce you to another application that will be a good helper in the fight against panic attacks — Flowy.
You will learn to control, track your breathing, because this is the first thing you need to do when panic occurs in order to return to normal.
The task is to breathe simultaneously with the cloud from the game, thus controlling the boat, which in no case can be drowned. Otherwise, you will have to start all over again.
By the way, you can also get statistics on how far you can progress, in which cases there are more errors, and so on.
Experimental treatment
In Amsterdam, a group of scientists have figured out how to get rid of arachnophobia in just one therapy. During which they simply inject a drug called propranolol.
It is a beta-blocker, and reduces bronchial tone, blood pressure, and heart rate. That is, a person in this state is calm, even if he has to contact the object of his fear.
45 people took part in the experiment itself, and voluntarily. They were divided into two subgroups, one of them was given a placebo, and the other was given propranolol directly.
As a result, it turned out that the first subgroup both experienced anxiety when thinking about spiders, and continued to experience it. While the second group quite calmly contacted the tarantula.
So far, this method of treatment is not practiced, but it is likely that in the future it will be used quite actively. After all, so far no side effects due to its use have been observed, research is ongoing.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Finally, we want to offer you an article on how to stop being afraid of cats.
After all, there are a huge number of phobic disorders, some of them respond, and some even make you laugh.
For example, did you know that there are people who firmly believe in the existence of ducks that follow them? Why can’t they even leave the house, because they are afraid of surveillance.
In general, stay with us by subscribing to updates!
And also share in the comments who and how copes with their stress when they come face to face with tarantulas and other frightening creatures.
Take care and be healthy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina