Am I Arachnophobia??

Question

I've always been scared of spiders.

I can stand little ones, I just kill them and throw the dead body's out,

It's the BIG Spiders I have problems with, I cant see one...not even on TV, feel one, think about it, None of that. I see one and I freak out, I cant stand It. Is there any way to overcome it or something?

Answer 1

It sounds like you're a bit arachnophobic - but I agree with other responses that since the small ones don't bother you, your phobia isn't full blown. You shouldn't kill the small ones: they keep your place free of insects. Spiders do great good. You should, however, be aware of deadly spiders in your region; for example, the brown recluse can bring on death in parts of the USA. I have only seen them behind glass, but when I do see them, I study them closely ... just in case I ever see one on MY side of the glass.

Answer 2

Yes, but it isn't serious, it's a common enough problem.

You will have to confront a large spider to overcome your problem. Touch it, hold it, and you will realise it is no big deal.

Answer 3

You do, indeed, sound arachnophobic.  There's really only one way to overcome a phobia, in my experience, and that is to put yourself in a situation where you can safely face your fear.  I've heard of zoos that help people deal with their fears of snakes, spiders, and other creatures.  In their programs, you're (gradually!!) exposed to harmless varieties of these creatures, so that you can learn to deal with the REAL threats (the varieties that can actually HARM you) rather than simply experiencing a knee-jerk reaction to ANY creature of these groups.  I certainly wouldn't want to lose my caution of these animals, because obviously some ARE harmful, but to learn to appreciate the ones that are innocuous (and that's the VAST majority) takes time and effort.  

Perhaps you can locate a zoo around you that keeps an insect collection, and you can find out if they offer a similar experience.  Good luck!

Answer 4

No, even the little ones would freak you out

Answer 5

No youre not, otherwise you would go nuts even over little ones. Want to get over it? have someone catch a big one in a jar and hold the jar for an amount of time, until your comfortable. Then let the poor thing go, its more scared than you :) . Human learned behavior that can be undone.