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Arachnophobia, an unreasonable fear of spiders, affects approximately 50% of women and 25% of men in the US. It can limit a person’s behavior and cause a fight or flight reaction, even to harmless spiders. Treatment involves desensitization, including virtual reality images of spiders.
Miss Muffet, as she sat down to have a leisurely lunch, was unaware that she was about to suffer from one of the most common phobias in the Western world. The appearance of the spider that scares Miss Muffet should come as no surprise to the number of people who actually suffer from moderate to severe arachnophobia, which is an unreasonable fear of spiders. In fact, in the United States, approximately 50% of women and 25% of men report some degree of arachnophobia, so Miss Muffet is in good company.
All phobias represent an unreasonable fear of something. In truth, very few spiders are dangerous to humans. For the person suffering from arachnophobia, it doesn’t matter to logically tell the person that they are not in danger. The arachnophobe generally cannot listen to reason or logic on the matter, and even the most innocent Daddy Long Legs can elicit a fight or flight reaction. In arachnophobia, danger is perceived if a spider is seen or suspected to be present, even if there is no real danger.
People with arachnophobia may also fear other types of arachnids, such as scorpions, or may have an overwhelming fear of all insects. Arachnophobia can unfortunately limit a person’s behavior. If you fear spiders intensely, you may not want to go anywhere where you might encounter one. This means that camping trips or visits to the woods may be out of the question altogether.
Another problem for arachnophobic sufferers is that spiders commonly live in homes. Suddenly being confronted with your greatest fear dangling from a window or bathroom wall can be a difficult encounter. Those with extreme arachnophobia may feel completely paralyzed by such an encounter and be unable to move or approach the spider.
Some of us have a mild fear of spiders, expressed by a sense of increased fear around spiders, or “the creeps” if we have to remove a spider from our home. In many cases, a better understanding of spiders can allay any mild fears of spiders. Although arachnophobia requires real treatment, there is hope for arachnophobics who want to recover from this phobia.
Treatment for most phobias focuses on desensitization. People write about their fear, look at the objects they fear, and learn to turn off their fight/flight response. In some cases, doctors are now using virtual reality images of spiders so that patients can interact with “virtually” real spiders and thus reduce their arachnophobia. While the process takes time, most people with arachnophobia can learn to overcome their irrational fears of spiders. People with only a mild fear of spiders may never seek treatment unless the fear seriously affects their daily lives.
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