Do you have a phobia or a suggestion about how to overcome a phobia

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Miri

Guest
#1
#1
Hi does anyone have a phobia or know how to overcome them.

I HATE SPIDERS !! made worse by several spider encounters of the unpleasant kind over the years.

We don't have venomous spiders in the UK, but the house spiders can have leg spans as big as your palm.

For example a while back I was getting ready for work one morning, I pulled on my trousers and felt a sharp scratch above my knee. Wondering what it was I reached down into my trouser leg and felt something crinkley like a piece of flimsy plastic maybe. Anyway I pulled my hand away to see what it was and aaaaargh, yuk, disgusting eeek, in my hand was a hugh spider aaaaaaaaaargh !!!!! Words cannot even begin to describe the sheer panic. Anyway I dropped it on the floor and jumped onto the bed and examined my leg to find a red raised lump, kind of like an insect bite.

People say house spiders can't bite you because their jaws are too small to pierce human skin, but this one did and it was massive. yuk yuk, double yuk - I can't believe I touched it!!!

While waiting to see if my leg might drop off, I nervously peered over the edge of the bed for several minutes trying to find it, but I never did find out where it went. Suffice to say I was late for work and now I hate spiders even more than before!

Are there any men out there who don't like spiders or is it a woman thing?
 
dliz

dliz

Filipino Room/Forum Moderator
#2
Jun 13, 2012
1,004
8
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#2
i have a phobia with snails and leeches! o.o whenever i see a snail or leech i try to put some salt or some muriatic acid! hahaha...
 
PopClick

PopClick

Senior Member
#3
Aug 12, 2011
4,056
138
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#3
Well, Miri, I do have a suggestion actually. This is going to be a bit of a long story, sorry.

I used to have a fear of water. It was more like an unnatural reflex, actually, but every time my face got wet (even in the shower), I would jerk my head out of the water. I could NOT stop myself. It was unavoidable, like pulling your hand away when you touch a hot pan. And I thought I could get over it, by "getting used to it". So I would try my best to hold my head under the shower, but every single time, I couldn't stop myself... I couldn't keep my face in the water. And I wasn't even able to stay longer and longer amounts of time under the water, either. It was actually only getting worse. And worse. :D

So, I told God, "I can't do anything about this. I'm only making it worse. If You want it gone, You're going to have to take it from me. I'm giving it up to You, completely." (I'm paraphrasing that, actually... it's been a couple of years.)

I'm ashamed to say, though, that I was actually surprised when it left. Completely. But it did. I've been swimming a lot of times since then, and it's gone. And it's stayed gone.

I hope this helps!
 
O

OFM

Guest
#4
#4
my fear i was adopted at age 4 but in foster care i was punished by being put in a dark locked empty closet i now sleep with a lit prayer candle at night i need the little light.so in that way i am afraid of the dark....
but being a former marine i could be out in the dark all the time i do not know how,any way too get over this i do not know.
any ideas on getting over this open too any suggestions.
 
dliz

dliz

Filipino Room/Forum Moderator
#5
Jun 13, 2012
1,004
8
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#5
OFM said:
my fear i was adopted at age 4 but in foster care i was punished by being put in a dark locked empty closet i now sleep with a lit prayer candle at night i need the little light.so in that way i am afraid of the dark....
but being a former marine i could be out in the dark all the time i do not know how,any way too get over this i do not know.
any ideas on getting over this open too any suggestions.
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I'm sorry to hear that OFM. It must have been a terrible experience for you. Usually patients with Post traumatic syndrome would undergo a therapeutic treatment called desensitization.It is a therapeutic treatment that would help you overcome your phobias. They usually teach you relaxation techniques first in order to control your fears and you will be exposed on your phobia frequently until you will learn to get over it. Always remember, if we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ we can overcome anything.
 
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chu_huifen

Guest
#6
#6
I afraid for highest place, so I don't like to ride roller coaster or went to highest place. It's happen cause I see someone suicide with jump beside me when I was child at Monas when I visit this place for the first time with my grandpa. I love high place actually but when I see someone suicide from 30 floor, I just shocked
 
RedTent

RedTent

Banned
#7
Oct 31, 2011
8,200
182
0
#7
It was WWII, I was operating an overhead crane, building ships. My little cab I climbed down into was 80ft up. A huge beetle landed on my back!!! I hope no one noticed that blouse waving out my cab.

I’ve been studying Christian meditation. It is like filling up with God completely, like sitting in a light that is pure goodness and intelligence; listening. I sometimes sit with a prayer shawl I have when I do this. Does wonderful things.
 
JimJimmers

JimJimmers

Senior Member
#8
Apr 26, 2012
2,592
76
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#8
RedTent said:
It was WWII, I was operating an overhead crane, building ships. My little cab I climbed down into was 80ft up. A huge beetle landed on my back!!! I hope no one noticed that blouse waving out my cab.

I’ve been studying Christian meditation. It is like filling up with God completely, like sitting in a light that is pure goodness and intelligence; listening. I sometimes sit with a prayer shawl I have when I do this. Does wonderful things.
Click to expand...

Not to de-rail the thread, but that is awesome that you operated a crane during WW2. :)


 
D

Daniel94

Guest
#9
#9
I have plenty of fears, but the only one I would consider a phobia would be my fear of heights. I will face my fear to a point, but I am still scared out of my mind of heights. One time I would never ever in a million years face is going across the swinging bridge at Grandfather Mountain....


The 228-foot suspension bridge spans an 80-foot chasm at more than one mile in elevation.

Bridges and heights do not go well together.
 
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OFM

Guest
#10
#10
i love hieghts and very much high places.
 
O

OFM

Guest
#11
#11
chu_huifen said:
I afraid for highest place, so I don't like to ride roller coaster or went to highest place. It's happen cause I see someone suicide with jump beside me when I was child at Monas when I visit this place for the first time with my grandpa. I love high place actually but when I see someone suicide from 30 floor, I just shocked
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sorry u had too see that and go through that.
 
B

basschick

Guest
#12
#12
You asked if any men are afraid of spiders and I instantly thought of my boyfriend when he was helping us move.
He was carrying a large box and I was helping arrange stuff in the storage unit so he'd have a place to put it. Suddenly he saw a spider pretty close to his face and started spazzing out! Keep in mind, this was in Alaska where it's too cold for very large bugs. This thing was pretty small...
"Honey? Honey. There's a spider, Honey. Get the spider. Kill the spider, Honey. Honey? HONEY?! GET.THE.SPIDER. HONEY, PLEASE!!"
It was so funny! LOL! He's a big guy that bench presses like 350 pounds... To see him freaking out over something smaller than a coin made it so I couldn't help but laugh! I did end up taking care of the spider, but I still give him grief about it :p
 
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wwjd_kilden

Guest
#13
#13
to the OP: I used to be terrified of spiders myself, but for some reason, the more scared others are of something, the less scared I am.

This is my experience
I was at school and some girls in the locker room were screaming , I went in to see what is was all about, and there was a tiny spider on the wall.
I figured "well, with no guys around I guess I have to be the guy" (I was very boy-ish at this time), so I picked it up and placed it outdoors.

I haven't been scared since !

(So, maybe find a friend who is more scared of them than you and then "save" her from it?)
 
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Fractal_Curve

Guest
#14
#14
Right, I'm the correct person to ask!

For the past twenty years, I have been terrified of spiders to the point of being unable to stay in the same room as one. I was conditioned this way by my mother. Everytime she saw a spider, she would freak out. That kind of conditioning is very difficult to overcome, but it can be done. The key is mind control. You have to KNOW that the fear is completely irrational. It's not enough just to keep telling yourself this, you have to believe it. If you don't, you will not overcome the fear.

Once you know that your fear is nonsensical, then you can begin to overcome it. I did it by going into a pet shop and holding the biggest, ugliest spider I could find! I just got the guy to get it out onto his hand and allowed it to walk on to my palm.

After that, once you see a house spider, you'll just sort of laugh at it. Now I grab them and take them outside. :)

My other slight fears disappeared with my spider phobia too. Bees, moths, craneflies etc...

I FEAR NOTHING! :D
 
dliz

dliz

Filipino Room/Forum Moderator
#15
Jun 13, 2012
1,004
8
38
#15
Fractal_Curve said:
Right, I'm the correct person to ask!

For the past twenty years, I have been terrified of spiders to the point of being unable to stay in the same room as one. I was conditioned this way by my mother. Everytime she saw a spider, she would freak out. That kind of conditioning is very difficult to overcome, but it can be done. The key is mind control. You have to KNOW that the fear is completely irrational. It's not enough just to keep telling yourself this, you have to believe it. If you don't, you will not overcome the fear.

Once you know that your fear is nonsensical, then you can begin to overcome it. I did it by going into a pet shop and holding the biggest, ugliest spider I could find! I just got the guy to get it out onto his hand and allowed it to walk on to my palm.

After that, once you see a house spider, you'll just sort of laugh at it. Now I grab them and take them outside. :)

My other slight fears disappeared with my spider phobia too. Bees, moths, craneflies etc...

I FEAR NOTHING! :D
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okay i'm much more afraid of you snake! haha. Btw, I hate bees! I was once ambushed and stung by a jerk bee in my right arm while i was on my way to review class. The pain was so intense that I screamed out so loud and people were giving me odd looks. They prolly think i have gone out of wits.Thank goodness, i didn't get any allergic reactions except having a swollen arm.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#16
#16
How folks thanks for the comments,

fractal / wwjd- I actually dont mind the small spiders its the big ones! I don't have a problem with snakes, (snakes are kind of cool), mice (my friend had some domesticated white mice and I use to look after them when she went on holiday), crane flies, worms, wood lice, other bugs generally I am fine with - but large spiders are just yuk!!

A relative use to have pet taruntulas which did not bother me either, but they never moved and were in a glass case. I think the problem with the giant house spiders here in the UK, is their unpredictability and the way they stalk their prayer, they sort of run after it and pounce on it. If you see one and stamp your feet to scare it away, they run towards you, probably due to the vibrations, they aren't scared of nothing !!! double yuk, and they run really quick. The thought of one of them crawling over me is just about enough to send me wibble.

A couple of pictures for you :-(






If you think I'm going to pick one of these us and let it walk all over me - no, no way, absolutely not... did I say nooooooo.
 
W

wwjd_kilden

Guest
#17
#17
eeeek!

Wow, I didn't know there were such large spiders that far north.

Pretty on the picture, but i doubt I'd pet it :p
 
F

Fractal_Curve

Guest
#18
#18
Miri said:
How folks thanks for the comments,

fractal / wwjd- I actually dont mind the small spiders its the big ones! I don't have a problem with snakes, (snakes are kind of cool), mice (my friend had some domesticated white mice and I use to look after them when she went on holiday), crane flies, worms, wood lice, other bugs generally I am fine with - but large spiders are just yuk!!

A relative use to have pet taruntulas which did not bother me either, but they never moved and were in a glass case. I think the problem with the giant house spiders here in the UK, is their unpredictability and the way they stalk their prayer, they sort of run after it and pounce on it. If you see one and stamp your feet to scare it away, they run towards you, probably due to the vibrations, they aren't scared of nothing !!! double yuk, and they run really quick. The thought of one of them crawling over me is just about enough to send me wibble.


If you think I'm going to pick one of these us and let it walk all over me - no, no way, absolutely not... did I say nooooooo.
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See? That's the thing! All of the things you've listed above are excuses. I know, I used them myself! Think to yourself...are you really scared of it because it's fast? Probably not. Are you scared of it because of how it hunts? I doubt it. Are you scared of it because of its size? Unlikely, it's actually tiny.

You're scared of it because that's how you're conditioned. This is what you need to acknowledge. and kind of drum into yourself.
 
M

Miri

Guest
#20
#20
OFM said:
my fear i was adopted at age 4 but in foster care i was punished by being put in a dark locked empty closet i now sleep with a lit prayer candle at night i need the little light.so in that way i am afraid of the dark....
but being a former marine i could be out in the dark all the time i do not know how,any way too get over this i do not know.
any ideas on getting over this open too any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
I was brought up in foster care also, although I lived with an Aunt. I think children in this position do tend to be more vulnerable generally. God though has done a great work of helping me to overcome various issues, which I have put behind me.

But I STILL DONT LIKE SPIDERS AAAARRRRRGH. :)
 
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