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Interesting, I have a friend who also have arachnophobia, but he loves Borderlands. I'll ask him about that. Have you thought of maybe using the game as a ther

Interesting, I have a friend who also have arachnophobia, but he loves Borderlands. I'll ask him about that. Have you thought of maybe using the game as a therapeutic means for trying to alleviate the problem? I've heard of treatment where they try to get the patients used to their phobia, until it goes away. So I'd suppose the game would be a good opportunity to do that virtually. Would that even make sense?

klausa 15y ago
I actually tried that - maybe you remember Doom 3 - they had this little heads with spiderlegs - I had similar reactions to those, but I managed to overcome this (not completely, as I still paused when it jumped out of nowhere, but for most part I could just play along). It's weird, because it's different for pretty much every game, and I can't put my finger on what makes me impossible to finish the game, and what in appearance of monsters makes it bearable. I think it might be that in Doom, those were (more or less) human heads with spiderlegs, and I was able to convince my brain that it's ok, those are just deformed humans I'm fighting. What might made Borderlands worse, was that those worms and spiders came out of nowhere. Five minutes earlier, I was shooting bandits and wolves (skags, or whatever they were called), then I go to new location, and BANG!, completely different enemies. And they looked totally different than what I fought before, whereas Doom spiders felt like they belong in the same world.
DanBC 15y ago
There's something called "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy" which is a carefully controlled exposure to the thing that causes fear, with a lot of thinking and feeling. Your example (Let's call him Bob, scared of spiders, and Ann, a therapist). Ann would explain that Bob is in a safe space, and there are no spiders, and that she's not going to bring any out. Then she'd ask him to think about a spider. She'd ask him what his "hot thought" was; what his "emotion" was; and she'd ask how strongly he felt those. Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". Ann would then ask him why he thought that. Is it a reasonable thought? There's some discussion about the probability of being bitten, and so what if you are, and etc. She then asks Bob how he feels, and if it's as strong. Hopefully it's not as strong. This continues each week; next week she draws a scribble (not even a spider) on a piece of paper; then a spider; then a picture of a spider; then a dead spider; then a live spider but in a sealed box; then a live spider in a box with the lid off; eventually building up to Bob being able to touch a live spider. Note that all the time Bob is in control of how much exposure to spiders he gets, and it's all very gently progressing. CBT is a very effective treatment for phobias. Compare this to "FACE YOUR FEARS" - Charles hates elevators, but he decides to face his fears. He goes to the mall. His palms start to get sweaty, his breathing gets faster, his heart beats harder. He's having an adrenaline reaction. He walks up to the elevator. He's really stressed now. He pushes the button to call the elevator. He waits. His stress and fear levels are pretty high now. The elevator arrives, and he gets in. It's small, and he's really panicked. The door closes, and the elevator starts moving with that little jerky clunky move they make. It goes up one floor. Charles is on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and is very uncomfortable. The doors open, and charles leaves the elevator. As he leaves relief -endorphins- flood through him. He sits, head in his hands, so pleased to be out of the elevator. All Charles has achieved is to strengthen his fear of elevators - now they're more scary because he's had a really unpleasant experience in one, and he was rewarded when he "escaped" the situation. Your idea of a virtual computer driven way to introduce people to something they fear is excellent, but only if done carefully.
- klausa 15y ago
  >Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". That's the weird (or is it common?) thing - I'm not afraid that they will hurt me or bite me - I realize that they are mostly harmless (at least where I live.). I just find them... repulsive. I don't know how to put it differently, I just think they're ugly and unpleasant.
  - DanBC 15y ago
    That's not weird. Very many people are repulsed by bugs for the same reason - bugs are just horrid. But, if you wanted to work on it you'd be able to get to point where you wouldn't freak out every time you saw a bug and it would only take a few weeks. There's probably something online to help guide you through it.
- FelixP 15y ago
  There was a really great piece in GQ a month or two ago on the use of CBT to treat PTSD for soldiers coming back from Iraq/Afghanistan. Long, but definitely worth the read. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201202/burning-man-sam-brown-jay-kirk-gq-february-2012 http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201202/burning-ma...
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klausa 15y ago

I actually tried that - maybe you remember Doom 3 - they had this little heads with spiderlegs - I had similar reactions to those, but I managed to overcome this (not completely, as I still paused when it jumped out of nowhere, but for most part I could just play along). It's weird, because it's different for pretty much every game, and I can't put my finger on what makes me impossible to finish the game, and what in appearance of monsters makes it bearable. I think it might be that in Doom, those were (more or less) human heads with spiderlegs, and I was able to convince my brain that it's ok, those are just deformed humans I'm fighting. What might made Borderlands worse, was that those worms and spiders came out of nowhere. Five minutes earlier, I was shooting bandits and wolves (skags, or whatever they were called), then I go to new location, and BANG!, completely different enemies. And they looked totally different than what I fought before, whereas Doom spiders felt like they belong in the same world.

DanBC 15y ago

There's something called "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy" which is a carefully controlled exposure to the thing that causes fear, with a lot of thinking and feeling. Your example (Let's call him Bob, scared of spiders, and Ann, a therapist). Ann would explain that Bob is in a safe space, and there are no spiders, and that she's not going to bring any out. Then she'd ask him to think about a spider. She'd ask him what his "hot thought" was; what his "emotion" was; and she'd ask how strongly he felt those. Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". Ann would then ask him why he thought that. Is it a reasonable thought? There's some discussion about the probability of being bitten, and so what if you are, and etc. She then asks Bob how he feels, and if it's as strong. Hopefully it's not as strong. This continues each week; next week she draws a scribble (not even a spider) on a piece of paper; then a spider; then a picture of a spider; then a dead spider; then a live spider but in a sealed box; then a live spider in a box with the lid off; eventually building up to Bob being able to touch a live spider. Note that all the time Bob is in control of how much exposure to spiders he gets, and it's all very gently progressing. CBT is a very effective treatment for phobias. Compare this to "FACE YOUR FEARS" - Charles hates elevators, but he decides to face his fears. He goes to the mall. His palms start to get sweaty, his breathing gets faster, his heart beats harder. He's having an adrenaline reaction. He walks up to the elevator. He's really stressed now. He pushes the button to call the elevator. He waits. His stress and fear levels are pretty high now. The elevator arrives, and he gets in. It's small, and he's really panicked. The door closes, and the elevator starts moving with that little jerky clunky move they make. It goes up one floor. Charles is on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and is very uncomfortable. The doors open, and charles leaves the elevator. As he leaves relief -endorphins- flood through him. He sits, head in his hands, so pleased to be out of the elevator. All Charles has achieved is to strengthen his fear of elevators - now they're more scary because he's had a really unpleasant experience in one, and he was rewarded when he "escaped" the situation. Your idea of a virtual computer driven way to introduce people to something they fear is excellent, but only if done carefully.

klausa 15y ago
>Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". That's the weird (or is it common?) thing - I'm not afraid that they will hurt me or bite me - I realize that they are mostly harmless (at least where I live.). I just find them... repulsive. I don't know how to put it differently, I just think they're ugly and unpleasant.
- DanBC 15y ago
  That's not weird. Very many people are repulsed by bugs for the same reason - bugs are just horrid. But, if you wanted to work on it you'd be able to get to point where you wouldn't freak out every time you saw a bug and it would only take a few weeks. There's probably something online to help guide you through it.
FelixP 15y ago
There was a really great piece in GQ a month or two ago on the use of CBT to treat PTSD for soldiers coming back from Iraq/Afghanistan. Long, but definitely worth the read. http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201202/burning-man-sam-brown-jay-kirk-gq-february-2012 http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201202/burning-ma...

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