Spider Phobia ????

jellytot · 24-08-2009, 02:19 AM

Can A Spider Phobia Be Treated ???
And if so how ?
Does anyone have any advice .
I am litrally terrified of spiders .
Its got to the point where even the word gives me chills,
last night there was a spider in the loo but I didnt notice it and when i moved the door it was there and I just froze . it took me an hour to sort out my head and get rid of it ..
again tonight there were another 2 on my landing .
and I had a massive panic attack and passed out !
I am so scared of them I get night terrors because of them !
And I have started to hallucinate them ....
they are really starting to mess up my life every time i leave my room i am terrified .
please if anyone knows anything about any thing i can do instead of having to take a sleeping tablet. I would be so so greatful :D
<3

Wonderland. · 24-08-2009, 02:33 AM

Yeah they can be treated, I think they do like exposure therapy with you which is like you come up with some goals together ranging from the least scary thing to do with spiders (like see a picture of one) to the most scary thing to do with spiders (hold one) and then they teach you relaxation techniques and then you do each stage at your own pace. I think thats how they do it but I could be wrong. You should speak to your doctor about it especially as its making you have panic attacks and hallucinations and stuff.

Amy x

jellytot · 24-08-2009, 03:14 AM

yer i was thinking of asking my doctor about anything that could help as its starting to effect life loads!
terrified !!!!! :(

zowie · 24-08-2009, 12:44 PM

I have exactly the same problem. I've been told that hypnosis can be really helpful, and can even eradicate phobias all together. x

sherlock holmes · 24-08-2009, 12:52 PM

Yeah they can be treated, basically how AmyShammy said. Definately speak to your doctor about it.

whirlpools · 24-08-2009, 12:58 PM

Agrees with the above ^ worth speaking to your doctor, it can be treated. On a practical, "what can I do now?" level, you can buy spider catchers on eBay that mean you can catch them without getting close to them (please be aware that some of the pictures on eBay show spiders - not real ones but still a bit scary). xxx

I.Heart.And · 24-08-2009, 11:19 PM

Yeah it can be treated by hypnotherapy or desensitization, there are probably other methods too of treating phobia's. Ask your GP to point you in the right direction.
My psychiatrist was going to help treat my phobia of snakes by using a photo of one in a book. (I don't know if he planned to introduce a boa constrictor to the session by the end of the course of treatment because I left the area before we started)

susieannah · 25-08-2009, 10:52 AM

I'm so the same, it used to be mainly just spiders, but has now spread to bugs. I end up in floods of tears and/or panicking at any bugs or spiders. It's horrible. Sorry to hijack your thread there, I wanted you to know you aren't alone! Plus I may take some of the ideas from here!

jellytot · 28-08-2009, 11:11 PM

thanks guys !!!!
I spoke to my cpn about it and she said shes happy to help me with it I am not sure how but she said shes gona sort it ! and it can be sorted out shes also gona work through my transport phobia too !!! :D

inblack · 30-08-2009, 05:33 AM

Definitely talk to your doctor.

I wish I could give more advice, but unforunately I have the same problem. At least you're not alone. I think a spider phobia is not extremely uncommon....maybe our reaction is a little more than some but yeah. Like I said I've been struggling with a lot of the same things recently.

I moved into a place that gets a lot of bugs (thank god I'm moving!) and jsut tonight as I was pakcing one was crawling in my clothes and I freaked out so bad. I also have been getting panic attacks and starting to hallucinate them. Didn't help that my idiot boyfriend practicaly yells at me "what the ****" when I freak out. I feel so hurt by his insensitivity...I hate how he can't even realize how much of a problem this is for me.

Anyway....it was that incident which made me click on this the instant I saw it. Anyway, my mom apparnetly used to be the same way and was just as terrified as I am now and as you have descirbed and after getting older and having to deal with the situations repeatedly she now handles herself around them really well and isn't totally freaked anymore by most of them. She still hates the really big ones but she can handle getting rid of them with a vaccum or something. So I guess its possible we will learn to deal better in the years to come.

It really doesn't seem like it to me...but she insists. Again though, I understand the problems it causes, and if you can talk to someoen like a professional who might be able to help, then definitely do that.

bleeding black · 30-08-2009, 05:53 AM

I've actually read that some phobias, including spider phobias can be present at birth, that they have a genetic component.

I'm spider phobic too, though mine hasn't gotten as out of hand as hallucinations etc. Definitely speak some more with you psych person about it, they may be able to do some desensitization with you, or get you in contact with someone who can.

Take care