Arachniphobia

[Tessa]

I have a really bad fear of spiders is there anything I can do about this myself and what makes people create a fear?

[incitatus]

You can attempt to habituate yourself to spiders slowly. Approach them by degrees in a safe environment. Hypnotherapy can help, and there are many specialist phobia clinics. The important thing to remember is to always approach the phobic object in a safe environment. Phobias seem to sprig from experiences in early childhood, where one can be startled very easily, and this can build to fear. There is some evidence for phobic archetypes but this is not strong. Phobias can also be learned: if your parents exhibit fear of an object you are likely to too.

[beenee]

Well, even if you dont manage to get over your phobia completey, make sure you dont keep psychologicaly rewarding yourself to accept that spiders are harmful or dangerous. The last thing you want is to become paralyzed if, God forbid you do come across an arachnid in an unfamiliar environment. I have found (being a psychologist in training) that phobics are at times proud of their fears and subconciously relish reinforcing the perceived danger of the feared object. Give your self positive suggestions about spiders, or better still - consider them too frivilous an entity to even think about.

[good2skull]

I used to hate spiders, but in one particular house we had some the size of small kittens and as it's not good form to squish insects or arachnids I always used to do the old glass and beermat/piece of paper and out the window trick to remove them from the house. As a result I got used to being around them and now they dont bother me. I have a freind who moved house recently (from Gothenburg to Stockholm - a LONG way) and had become so attached to a spider that lived in the old house she brought it with her to the new one. I don't like them that much.