4 ms·

I used to be severely arachnophobic, but accidentally cured my fear through a prescription to propranolol which I was taking for general anxiety, not arachnopho

I used to be severely arachnophobic, but accidentally cured my fear through a prescription to propranolol which I was taking for general anxiety, not arachnophobia, but I've since learned it's been successfully used for treating arachnophobia along with other phobias. I was hiking with friends one day, then my friend pointed out there was a spider on my shoulder. I let it crawl on my finger, and then it dawned on me that I wasn't afraid of it at all. The feeling of no longer being afraid of something that I previously couldn't even be in the same room with was so thrilling I started seeking out spiders to handle. I've since learned a lot more about spiders in general, so I know now how to handle them in a safe way. I now have a pet Western black widow spider (which I never handle without gloves, and only handle to clean her enclosure), and delight in giving the spiders in my yard some water to drink during dry spells. I know phobias can't be rationalized away, but in the interest of giving you a reason to work on your phobia: spiders generally don't have any interest in hurting us. Even for the medically significant ones of North America, bites rarely kill -- a black widow hasn't killed anyone in a few decades out here, and antivenom is rarely used when patients seek treatment. It's pretty difficult to induce one to bite, since its venom is mainly for its prey. When endangered, their preference is to run, which makes sense, because biting won't be enough to incapacitate most things trying to eat you fast enough to save you when you're that small.

waltwalther 4y ago
Everything you have written is completely logical. My brain knows that most spiders are harmless, and have zero interest in humans, and that dying from a spider bite is rare. On one hand I think they are beautiful and fascinating, and on the other hand I am completely repulsed at the thought of a spider being in my house. Not only that, but if I see a spider before or while I am eating I am unable to eat. I know how irrational that is. We generally leave our porch light off so as not to attract bugs (because they are food for spiders), but recently it was left on for whatever reason. When my son opened the door a medium-sized wolf spider ran inside and stopped. Just as my son was about to step on it I noticed that it was a mother carrying many baby spiders on her back. Stepping on her could have been a disaster. I watched as he coaxed her into an empty cereal box. I was close enough to see her babies moving and shifting on her back. Once secured inside the box we had a choice to make. Set her free out in the yard somewhere or into the toilet. After a brief conversation we decided that a watery grave would prevent her offspring from entering our house in the future. Events like this take up too much space in my head. This is the only thing I am afraid of. I am not afraid of snakes and the usual other suspects. Just spiders. I am mostly unafraid of granddaddy longlegs spiders, and will sometimes liberate them, sans a leg or two, from feline captivity. Anyway, I do not even remember what my point was now..but your experience is certainly interesting to me as I have, at times, considered learning my way out of this fear I have. I really admire that you are now able to handle these little creatures and even enjoy them! I would love to feel unafraid instead of literally terrified. I am actually sweating now after recalling that spider incident above.
- vector_spaces 4y ago
  I feel for that poor wolf spider! I'm always jealous of folks who've had the experience of seeing a wolf spider mom with her babies. They're about as harmless as it gets for humans. But I get that it's more of a physiological response than a rational one, so no worries and no judgement for your response. This was an article I saw recently about treatment of phobias using propranolol https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/opinion/sunday/a-drug-to-cure-fear.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/opinion/sunday/a-drug-to-... Video about the clinic run by one of the researchers mentioned in that article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3G6kITdYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3G6kITdYk My email is on my profile, feel free to reach out if you end up exploring this further at all

waltwalther 4y ago

Everything you have written is completely logical. My brain knows that most spiders are harmless, and have zero interest in humans, and that dying from a spider bite is rare. On one hand I think they are beautiful and fascinating, and on the other hand I am completely repulsed at the thought of a spider being in my house. Not only that, but if I see a spider before or while I am eating I am unable to eat. I know how irrational that is. We generally leave our porch light off so as not to attract bugs (because they are food for spiders), but recently it was left on for whatever reason. When my son opened the door a medium-sized wolf spider ran inside and stopped. Just as my son was about to step on it I noticed that it was a mother carrying many baby spiders on her back. Stepping on her could have been a disaster. I watched as he coaxed her into an empty cereal box. I was close enough to see her babies moving and shifting on her back. Once secured inside the box we had a choice to make. Set her free out in the yard somewhere or into the toilet. After a brief conversation we decided that a watery grave would prevent her offspring from entering our house in the future. Events like this take up too much space in my head. This is the only thing I am afraid of. I am not afraid of snakes and the usual other suspects. Just spiders. I am mostly unafraid of granddaddy longlegs spiders, and will sometimes liberate them, sans a leg or two, from feline captivity. Anyway, I do not even remember what my point was now..but your experience is certainly interesting to me as I have, at times, considered learning my way out of this fear I have. I really admire that you are now able to handle these little creatures and even enjoy them! I would love to feel unafraid instead of literally terrified. I am actually sweating now after recalling that spider incident above.

vector_spaces 4y ago
I feel for that poor wolf spider! I'm always jealous of folks who've had the experience of seeing a wolf spider mom with her babies. They're about as harmless as it gets for humans. But I get that it's more of a physiological response than a rational one, so no worries and no judgement for your response. This was an article I saw recently about treatment of phobias using propranolol https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/opinion/sunday/a-drug-to-cure-fear.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/opinion/sunday/a-drug-to-... Video about the clinic run by one of the researchers mentioned in that article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3G6kITdYk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM3G6kITdYk My email is on my profile, feel free to reach out if you end up exploring this further at all