Dealing With Arachnophobia

[ElumFan]

I have a very special problem when playing video games, call me a wuss, but I have aracnophobia. Aracnophobia is mainly the fear of any type of spider. And how can this
be such a big problem while playing video games? Well let me fill you in...

My fear of spiders is pretty big, I often have to turn down games I love just because a few areas involve battles with huge tarantulas or something in the likes. I just hate this fear, I've turned down games like Rayman 2 (Which I REALLY like) just because of it. My
anarcphobia has been haunting me since I was six, and I want to find out a way of
conquering it. I've tried everything, but not a single thing calms the fear down to
a respectable level.

Have any of you guys had this type of trouble? I need your help, (even if you think I'm a wuss) because I want to be able to beat the aracnophobia and continue playing the games
I like that have maybe 3 areas with huge spiders in them. I understand I suck, and that I'm a big pansy, wussy, whatever. But I'd just like some help. Anything's appreciated. (Aside from "Shut your eyes (It never works)" or "WUSS XD")

[skillya_glowi]

Think of the fact that it's not an actual spider. Unfortunately that only works for video games.
I'm arachnophobic too but not that much. Funny thing is when I was little I used to actually like spiders. Yeah...

[Strike Witch]

It's Arachnophobia, not Anarcphobia.

[Disgruntled Intern]

Go buy Earth Defense Force 2017.

If a screen full of monster truck-sized jumping spiders won't help you conquer your phobia, nothing will.

[Alf Shall Rise]

I can see why spiders freak you out, I was once attacked by an army of baby spiders. But remember that don't exactly do much harm. That's excluding tarantulas, but sometimes they can become pets as well. I hated spiders myself, until I didn't see them for over a year. If you see a spider in a video game or a movie, just think that they're only either textured renders or sprites; they're not real. If you see a spider in real life, if it's outside just plainly step away from it. Avoid it if it freaks you out. I bet it'll stalk you. And if it's in your house and creeps you out, don't kill it right away. It might be there because there are some flies or whatnot ravaging around your house.

Now are just instructions actually. To actually conquer your fear of spiders, think that the spider is obviously afraid of you. You're a giant compared to it; it's as afraid of you as you are to it. Maybe even more. And that you're much more powerful than a spider. But obviously you're really scared of spiders, and this is the only advice I have. Hope it helped just a bit.

[Bullet Magnet]

That is really perplexing. I don't have any proper phobias, and I certainly can't appreciate how a two-dimensional representation of such a fear can instil the same strength reaction.

Especially this particular one. I myself lean somewhat towards the opposite, arachnophilia.

The only method that has been experimentally demonstrated to cure phobias is desensitisation. In other words, you must regularly expose yourself to the object of your fear for as long as you can bear, but increasing each time, until you can at least tolerate it.

Another fantastic method is to study spiders in excruciating detail. Learning about that which you fear will certainly help you to deal with it.

And once you've done all that, get a pet tarantula. If anything with put your phobia to bed once and for all, it is that.

[Disgruntled Intern]

I never had a full blown phobia, but spiders definitely gave me the willies for most of my life.

Someone actually offered the same advice as yours, BM, and I'm now the proud papa of a lovely Goliath Tarantula named Thompson.

He still gives me the creeps when he makes sudden movements, but generally speaking I've grown to love and appreciate spiders.

Their grace alone makes them amazing creatures.

[Bullet Magnet]

I had a giant house spider in my bedroom called Big Eric. He turned up one night and continued to roam free in my room for a couple of years. He woke me up some nights as he scurried over plastic bags and other noisy detritus.

[Facsimile]

A fear going through to a video game is pretty strange... Especially cartoony ones like Rayman.
Good luck with that.

[mudling]

You guys are dicks :P
Um, try and think that it's not real, but I mean that doesn't stop other games from creeping people out when they're not real, hell, I got freak out in Masseffect, some guy appeared right behind me out of nowhere, I think it was a Rachni.
Try seeing a councillor, I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with you, but their are speacilists who's feild is in phobias.
Anyways, goodluck.
Is it just spiders, or spider like creatures?

[Wil]

Spiders give me the creeps, as do other long‐legged arthropods like crane flies and harvestmen. Some of the stories in this thread make me want to barf. I don’t know why. Maybe I actually fear eating them.

The idea of a spider making noise as it crawls over plastic bags I find particularly repulsive. I can imagine lying there at night hearing the thing. Ewwww.

What’s strange is that I’m much calmer when an actual spider appears than I am with pictures and stories of them. But a spider creature in a video game, I doubt I’d have any problem with that.

[ElumFan]

Is it just spiders, or spider like creatures?

Just spiders, plain old spiders. If it says anything I don't get freaked about creatures like them, and in Oddworld I actually thought the Paramites (Supposedbly spider like creatures) were awesome.

[Bullet Magnet]

Aw, come on, Max. You'd have loved Eric if you had just gotten to know him.

Before he had hundreds of babies with some trollop and died.


So, ElumFan, how do you feel about this guy? No more a spider than a scorpion or tick.

[Wil]

I do love an Eric, but he has the normal number of legs.

Yes. That’s right. I am podist.

I suspect ‘pedist’, but that might give an altogether wrong impression.

[ElumFan]

So, ElumFan, how do you feel about this guy? No more a spider than a scorpion or tick.

Cringed and quivered a bit

[Jordan]

I don't like spiders and I never have. Funnily enough, the smaller they are, the more they freak me out. The only game I've ever played involving spiders is Tomb Raider 2, which has a whole level dedicated to the little bastards.

[Oddey]

Trust me I'm worse than you.

My advice is just try to imagine it's not there and you're about 1000 times as big as the real thing. I don't actually do that to cope with my fears in games. Normally I just go berserk and shoot/swing at whatever I'm scared of... Yeah try that.

[Wings of Fire]

We could go psychoanalytical here, your fear of spiders is due to sexual frustration.

More sex = Less spiders.

[Fuzzle Guy]

I have a horrible fear of them. I try to save anything. If I see a mosquito, rather than kill it I catch it in a glass and throw it out the window. Pretty much anything I'll try to save. But one fell off of my ceiling and onto my bed when I was trying to get to sleep once, and I could see this massive black thing crawlign across my cream bedsheets. Normally I would have tried to get rid of it with a glass or something, but I was so terrified I crushed it with my hands protected by my quilt. Then jut tm make sure I repeatedly punched it.

I hate Spiders, Can't stand them. But it's only Spiders I can't stand. I've held turrantulas (sp?) and all sorts, but it's the Spiders you'll find in your house, on a web or what not that I can't stand.

My Mum managed to conquer her fear of them by getting rid of ones she found with her bare hands (As opposed to a glass). Eventually her fear was completely gone. I don't know, maybe subconciously she realised that there was nothing to be scared of.

---

On youtube I once found a clip of the worlds biggest Spider. A Bird eating Spider but he was more like a Daddy-Long legs in appearance. His legs were like those thick solid plastic straws, or knitting needels. And his body, good greif. Despite it being alot like a big Spider, which I'm not scared of, that one scared me. Imagine finding that in your bath?

----

On the topic of getting a pet, obviously the tarantular won't do anything for me, as I'm not scared of them, but my Uncle catches the biggest Spiders he can find and keeps them in a tank. I suppose that would help me. But I'd be too scared if I woke up in the morning and found he wasn't there. Sometimes if I know there's a Spider in my room, I wake up in the morning and he's gone, I refuse to sleep in my room till it's found. The only time I've never really refused to be in a room is when I was watching Jonathan Ross. My dad was mocking me for my fear of spiders so I felt I have to stick it through or I would never hear the end of it from him.

That and I am a massive Jonathan Ross fan lol.

And if I were one of those chickens in Disgruntled Intern's picture, I would be shitting myself.

[mudling]

It's actually cochroaches that realy scare me of the bugs, and locusts, arggh, mosquitos and flies... and maggots, flies...
But spiders not so much, maybe it's cause they have hair

[Disgruntled Intern]

So, ElumFan, how do you feel about this guy? No more a spider than a scorpion or tick.

What is that, a wind scorpion/sun spider?

I had to deal with those bastards when I worked out at the Kraft Foods plant. They didn't get as big as the 'camel spiders' I've seen pictures of, but they still had a nasty bite.

I think they're fucking disgusting.

[Bullet Magnet]

I don't think I'll ever be able to appreciate this wanton hatred for arthropods. I find them utterly fascinating.

[Zerox]

Sunscorpion FTW (What BM posted).

I like spiders, it's like sharks, people just fear them unreasonably, considering what they have to fear from us. I don't really like harvestmen/wolf spidery type size things much (I like to look at them, but for some reason I'd rather not touch them. That annoys me), but I don't mind smaller ones like garden/money spiders, and I held a tarantula once and...it felt rather nice, actually. So I don't mind really big or small, just inbetween...O.o

[OANST]

Anarcphobia Playing Games

You're afraid of anarchy in video games? Interesting.

[Disgruntled Intern]

I don't think I'll ever be able to appreciate this wanton hatred for arthropods. I find them utterly fascinating.

I only hate the mini-camel spiders when they zoom out from under my file cabinet and onto my foot.

You know what they say...Fear leads to hatred.

[T-nex]

That is really perplexing. I don't have any proper phobias, and I certainly can't appreciate how a two-dimensional representation of such a fear can instil the same strength reaction.

Especially this particular one. I myself lean somewhat towards the opposite, arachnophilia.

The only method that has been experimentally demonstrated to cure phobias is desensitisation. In other words, you must regularly expose yourself to the object of your fear for as long as you can bear, but increasing each time, until you can at least tolerate it.

Another fantastic method is to study spiders in excruciating detail. Learning about that which you fear will certainly help you to deal with it.

And once you've done all that, get a pet tarantula. If anything with put your phobia to bed once and for all, it is that.

This post makes so much sense

It's true. I used to be deadly creeped out by spiders.... But then I started reading about them, and watching documentaries about them. It really fascinated me. I began to understand what wonderful creatures they are in fact, and how spiderweb isn't creepy at all :P

I love how they let the wind carry their web, so they can travel very long distances.

I have no fear touching them now or anything, but that's because I know that Denmark doesn't really have poisonous spiders. If I was in another country, I'd keep my hands away, but I still like observing them.

So study them, and learn that they truly aren't dangerous in any way



I used to have nightmares about Lizardmen with spiderweb on they faces... And mine too... And the whole world being covered in web O.o Really yucky.

[Wil]

I don’t hate any arthropods. I also used to be fascinated by them, back in the days when they known to me only as ‘minibeasts’, hehe. They are awesome, but still some of them give me irrational creeps and freak‐outs. I still value their lives.

Sometimes I’ve had to rescue creatures from people who fear them and wouldn’t mind killing them. Once I swapped hammocks with someone because there was a moth in the room. To be fair it was one big‐arse moth with a bum that looked like a sting, but I thought it was adorable. A few days later I laughed so hard at his reaction when I pointed out that a stick insect was traversing his leg. Thailand was fun.

p.s. I think this thread doesn’t deserve to be tucked away in NOG, so it’s moving to OT.

[mudling]

Well I used to protect all living things, but gave up, my parents continued their anti-rat, cockroach, spider, snake campaign. Quite Ironic, my mum gets extremly frightened of it, but she'd kill it without second thought without a second chance.
Anyways, did you know the movie Aracnophobia was made without killing a single spider? They cut wholes in the shoes and put chips under them, so it sounds like they're getting squashed. Yes, I actually used to read fantail wrappers.

[Wings of Fire]

my parents continued their anti-rat, cockroach, spider, snake campaign.

Your mum kills snakes? Thats seriously screwed up.

[Disgruntled Intern]

Your mum kills snakes? Thats seriously screwed up.

Bad luck, too.

If she'd leave the snakes alone they'd gladly and efficiently take care of the rats. Your mom is dumb.