Fear of spiders and its causes. Modern methods of psychology that allow you to get rid of the voiced phobia. Arachnophobia is a pathology that overtakes people with a fear of spiders. A voiced insect, if you do not take into account karakurt and tarantulas, rarely causes significant harm to humans. However, arachnophobes are horrified at the mere sight of spiders, which is not an adequate response to arachnid representatives of the fauna.
The causes of arachnophobia
The prerequisites for the emergence of any fear always have a specific nature of education. The causes of arachnophobia can look like this, making people afraid of spiders:
- Genetic predisposition … People with a weak nervous system often pass this trait on to their offspring. In addition to mental illness, it is possible in this case to inherit increased anxiety and nervousness from the older generation of the family. Arachnophobic parents can control behavior in front of their child, but on the subconscious genetic memory he will also be afraid of spiders.
- Physical disgust … The voiced insect can be called an attractive object with a very big stretch. Many people disdain cockroaches and spiders, so they try to minimize contact with them. It is the eyes of the arthropod that are especially frightening to observers of spiders, which have a rather peculiar structure.
- Bad experiences in the past … A spider can appear in front of a person so suddenly that it will send the poor fellow into a state of shock. Descending at a cosmic speed along its web, the arthropod predator sometimes frightens impressionable individuals, forming in them arachnophobia in the future.
- Copying parenting behavior … Many children repeat with precision all the actions of their dads and mothers. At the same time, they think on the principle that if an adult is afraid of spiders, then you should stay away from them.
- Geographic factor … Some regions are simply teeming with rather large arthropod predators. Some of them can harm a person, so in these places they are more afraid of flying on an airplane and firearms.
- Disinformation … For some reason, many people believe that all spiders are poisonous. However, this is not at all true, because most pets cannot harm a person in any way.
- Watching horror movies … If you do not take into account the positive films in the style of "Spider-Man" and "Charlotte's Web", the cinema loves to terrify the viewer by demonstrating arthropod mutants. The described animals in the films "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "The Lord of the Rings." Return of the King "and" Attack of the Spiders ".
- Famous TV shows … Some on-screen projects contain elements of testing the mental strength of participants with the help of large spiders. In the same "Fort Boyard" was asked to enter the room, which was filled with arthropods, to complete the next task.
The formation of fear of spiders does not arise out of the blue for some unknown reason. By itself, he cannot be the first to attack a person if he is not disturbed at the same time. Consequently, the horror of the voiced representatives of the fauna is absolutely groundless and irrational.
Manifestations of fear of spiders in humans
When faced with any factor of fear, the following reactions of a person to stress begin to come into play:
- Increased blood pressure … People tend to react rather violently to what scares them. In some cases, the arachnophobe responds so actively to the appearance of a spider in his field of vision that he falls into a state of stupor. After the first wave of numbness, it simply becomes one pulsating vein in the sphere of the emerging life situation.
- Fear of some images … In some cases, an arachnophobe is unpleasant to observe any type of spider on paper. Without even going into details, potential arthropod lovers will not be able to see even a picture depicting an object that is unpleasant for them.
- Refusal to visit the terrarium … In this rather exotic place, it is impossible to get rid of the contemplation of exotic species of insects, reptiles and animals. An arachnophobe, with all his pronounced antipathy to arthropods, will not go to their demonstration, even for free and under pain of death torture.
Rating of the most frightening spiders
Arachnophobes are afraid of almost all arthropods, but there are top five most dangerous animals of this class:
- Steppe black widow (karakurt) … The animal itself does not look intimidating, because it is only 2 centimeters long. However, the poison of karakurt has incredible toxicity, therefore, without qualified assistance, the victim leaves this light on the fifth day after the bite. It should also be remembered that only females of this type of spider pose a danger to human life.
- Brown Hermit … The second name of this poisonous animal is the violin spider. It is found mainly in northern Mexico and the southern regions of the United States. The Hermit's poison is dangerous in that it causes necrosis of human soft tissues, literally corroding them almost to the bones.
- Sydney spider … Such an animal loves to explore the home of the inhabitants of Australia. His bite is very dangerous for people, but they are always ready for such an attack. An antidote serum has long been created against the aggressive arthropod, which is available to every Australian.
- Brazilian spider … The inhabitants of the sunny country are not by hearsay familiar with this fauna. He attacks with many energetic jumps, which can be called lightning jumps. Especially the Brazilian spider should be feared by children and people with weakened immunity, because when such an arthropod bites, potent toxins enter the human body.
- Tarantula … An ornamental representative of a similar subspecies of arthropods is rather large and frightening. The bite of such a spider causes such severe swelling that it is better not to intersect with a tarantula either on Wikipedia or in real life.
The most common spider myths
It is from idle speculation that the lion's share of all gossip existing in a person arises. Among the most popular false information about spiders, the following horror stories should be highlighted:
- Laying eggs under the skin of humans … In this case, arthropod predators are confused with some species of wasps, which, with the help of their sting, are capable of performing voiced manipulations. Spiders value their offspring so much that they will not lay eggs in dangerous areas.
- The myth of the camel killer spider … Several years ago, Internet resources literally exploded with sensational news regarding a 30-centimeter creature, which was also called a saltpug. According to some people, such a spider even provoked the death of a serviceman who was in Iraq. However, this information does not correspond to the truth, because their speed of movement, size and degree of danger are greatly exaggerated.
- The venom of any spider is deadly … Some alarmists believe that the same tarantula is capable of killing both a large animal and a person. In the same film about the adventures of James Bond, a similar case is colorfully described. However, the directors forgot to clarify the fact that the subspecies of arthropods indicated by them often stings no more dangerous than the same wasp or bumblebee.
Famous arachnophobic personalities
Quite a few articles in the tabloid press have been written about the whims of some stars. However, in addition to the painful reactions to their popularity, some public people have their own fears of spiders:
- Justin Timberlake … His fear of sharks is understandable, because it is inherent in many people. However, the singer's phobias do not end there. In one of the hotels during a concert tour, Justin saw a spider, after which he raised the entire hotel staff to their feet. The show business star explained her panic by the fact that she could not get rid of an uninvited arthropod guest on her own.
- Tobey Maguire … The protagonist of the famous Spider-Man movie is very afraid of heights and extreme jumps in the air. However, it was spiders that became his greatest fear, which did not prevent him from fulfilling one of his most successful roles.
- Kirsten Dunst … Partner Tobey Maguire also shares a fear of arthropods with him. Spider-Man's girlfriend literally believes that the described animals lie in wait for her everywhere in order to attack.
- Eva Mendes … The Ghost Rider and The Cleaner star is desperate to deal with her phobia. However, even hypnosis sessions did not help the actress to cope with acute attacks of arachnophobia.
- Anna Snatkina … The heroine of many domestic TV series considers spiders to be the most terrible animals on earth. Anna realized her fear of arthropods as a child, when she went to her grandmother in the village. According to the actress's recollections, the whole area where she stayed with a relative was simply overflowing with spiders.
- Rupert Grint … The red-haired Ron Weasley, one of the main characters of the epic "Harry Potter", quite reliably played the scene where he faces his main fear - a giant spider. However, it is not only on the screen that Rupert shows his horror at the sight of the described arthropod predator. The actor does not go to bed until he has carefully searched his home in search of lurking spiders.
- Nina Dobrev … The actress, who is remembered by her fans for the TV series The Vampire Diaries, enjoys swimming, snowboarding and climbing. However, for all her courage, she is scared to death of spiders, which she does not hide before the public.
Ways to Deal with Fear of Spiders
The causes of arachnophobia in most cases are subject to self-correction. Fear of spiders can be really destroyed with the help of simple manipulations, even at home.
Independent work on your fears with arachnophobia
In any case, a person is able to coordinate the state of his nervous system. When asked how to get rid of arachnophobia, he can try the following methods of treating a similar mental illness:
- Fixation of internal sensations … In the depths of your soul, you need to concentrate on the problem that has arisen, which prevents you from focusing on existing life problems. The basis for the treatment of arachnophobia lies solely in the fact of realizing in oneself a deviation in behavior from generally accepted norms.
- Excursion to the terrarium … Nothing can help you deal with your inner fears more than directly attacking them. Some spiders have a rather aggressive appearance, but at the same time they do not have the ability to fatally sting a person. A guide with extensive experience in this field is able to explain to the terrarium visitor that all his initial assumptions were wrong.
- Buying a pet … Not in every case, a cat, dog or hamster will become a panacea for all arachnophobic ailments. A person with a voiced problem can get a spider for himself, if at the same time he does not live alone and does not suffer from certain mental illnesses.
Very often, fear is based on an unstable psychological platform of a weak-minded person. Conclusions in this confluence of circumstances suggest themselves, because in the struggle for your happiness you must use all the methods, if they do not contradict human morality.
Help of a psychotherapist to eliminate arachnophobia
Self-activity does not in all cases help a person who is in trouble and decided to eliminate his problems with the help of specialists. With the peculiar reactions of people to spiders, they will be helped by the following methods of influencing their psyche, which are recommended by psychotherapists:
- Confrontational therapy … With this technique, the patient gets full contact with the frightening factor. The fear of spiders is destroyed by communicating with them. To begin with, the visual perception of the object is established, which causes arachnophobia. After getting used to spiders, the specialist invites his ward to touch the arthropod predator to form tactile contact.
- Video shock … With this method, when treatment of arachnophobia is necessary, you can follow the least resistance path to solve the voiced problem. Experts recommend first watching aggressive films about spiders, and then getting acquainted with funny compositions with the same arthropods. The same Uncle Shnyuk from Luntik is more likely to cause a smile than a panic attack of fear among viewers of any generation.
- Sedatives … There is no need to puzzle over the question of how to deal with the fear of insects, if its solution is obvious and accessible to everyone. Chamomile and mint tea, brewed overnight, sometimes promotes greater relaxation of a person than alcohol. In some cases, you can take non-herbal sedatives only after consulting a competent psychotherapist.
How to deal with arachnophobia - watch the video:
You do not need to puzzle over the problem of how to get rid of the fear of spiders, but you just need to act and free yourself from it. The animals described in the article are more likely to avoid contact with a person than to show aggression towards him.
