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Vanquishing Irrational Fears, Phobias & Neuroses! ♥
in I Want... Life!, I Want... Change!23 Sep 2009 | 10 Comments
For the most part, I would like to believe that I have my shite together: I no longer wear coal-coloured eyeliner up to near my eyebrows on a daily basis (an accidental make-up experiment which I toyed with for at least six months!), can differentiate my left from my right, and have ceased to believe that The North Pole is a legitimate holiday destination. But throw a spider into my life equation, and I ABSOLUTELY and not-so-fabulously lose all of the slight wisdom or knowledge that I've cultivated over the past 22 years! I
n short, I am TERRIFIED of them. Petrified. The bizarre, check-under-your-bed-every-night breed of a fear of spiders. It's irrational, it's wasteful and it's ridiculous, but it's very real and something that I only acknowledged was an unhealthy habit after discussing my phobia with a friend, who looked at me thoughtfully before murmuring, ''wow. That's... intense. I can't imagine what that must be like to live wit.h.. a FEAR of something totally unnecessary.'' That, and the fact that after discovering one in my bedroom recently, I refused to re-enter it for four days and have slept on the couch ever since. Yes, FOUR days! And I know, it's MENTAL, right?! (But in my defense, Australian spiders aren't the wee, almost-friendly-in-hindsight types that I encountered growing up in New Zealand... they're of the large, sometimes poisonous, size-of-your-outstretched hand variety!)
At this point, it's probably necessary to explain that I'm not expecting a flurry of violins to descend into a sombre tune, as it IS a very trivial matter in comparison to a myriad of other world events - but all the same, a phobia can be a very debilitating and crippling experience, and it's something that a lot of people can harvest, whether it's an anxiety over public speaking, a terror induced by snakes or distress sustained through heights.
It's an aversion of the most extreme form, and although I'm sure that I will never be able to glance upon them fondly, I WOULD like to reach a point where I can glimpse at one from across the room without dissolving into a hysterical heap!
Do YOU harbour a neurosis that you'd like to confront, whether it's an apprehension of the dark, or a more unusual resentment, such as peas? (Don't laugh, I promise that I'm not joking about this! Alicia of Sea Of Ghosts informed me that she'd heard about this exact phobia exisiting!) Or, even better, do you have any advice on how to vanquish such repulsions?
♥
xoxo
P.S. A special thank-you must go to the all-around excellent Ms. Constantine, who has been a terrific help with my spider disasters over the past few days, and who gave me the idea for this topic! Thank-you immensely!
(Image thanks to Mark Andrew Webber.)
Comments (10)
I have the same same amount of fear when it comes to cockroaches! I HATE them! I used to live in Newcastle, which is a filthy hole just CRAWLING with the creepy bastards. There were a few occasions where i saw one in my room, so I went out to sleep on the lounge- but then i was paranoid that it would follow me and find me and crawl on my face.
*shudder*
That's something else I love about Melbourne: it seems to be a relatively cockroach free zone!
25 Sep 2009, simi, http://postcardsfromsimitopia.blogspot.com/
Fear is something I have started to accept. I've lived with this sort of thing for much of my life - wondering whether I should make a blog post about it now. Surely sharing our experiences can only be a good thing? I don't think your fear of spiders is totally unfounded - some of them CAN kill you. As long as you get to the stage where you can either remove them from your house safely or kill them brutally, you should be fine :)
25 Sep 2009, Fiend, www.fiendfiles.blogger.com
I adore your blog I've now added it to my links doll! Frequent reader ;-P
24 Sep 2009, Katie, http://musicamor.com/vinny/fuckhammer/blog/
Oh no! I would be terrified too! The brain is so powerful I really believe if you breathe and concentrate and try to calm yourself down you are more then capable of letting the spider out by yourself. Whether I could do it or not though.. As soon as it moved I'd be back in my state of panic. Sorry I can't help. Scary stuff!! Hypnotism maybe or something like that might work for you.
I did once read a story about a woman with a phobia of spiders who was trapped in her own house for days because there was a spider at the door. Oh my!!!!!
x
24 Sep 2009, Katie, http://musicamor.com/vinny/fuckhammer/blog/
Do you know when potatoes have been left in the pantry too long & they start to spud? I'm terrified of that. Yes, I really am scared of spudding potatoes. Hah I usually won't buy them just because I'm scared they'll start sprouting & I won't be able to throw them out because I'm afraid of touching them!
Ahh, talk about bizarre. I totally feel you on the phobia thing.
23 Sep 2009, Ayesha
I hear ya. I'm scared of spiders too. I then cruelly douse them in bug spray until they cannot become any more lifeless. I sometimes don't even bring myself to remove their corpses from the ground for fear they'll become alive again.
Gross huh?
When you find the secret to getting over your phobia let me know - I don't like people who tell me that touching/feeling/looking over and over at photos of mean spiders will help! I think that would make me worse!
23 Sep 2009, Kez, http://www.andsoiwasthinking.wordpress.com
Andrea - Oh, it's so nice to know that I'm NOT ALONE! Thank-you very much for your comment, and I totally know how you feel because I hate being like it too.. I'm hoping that by writing about it, it'll help ease my fear.. and hopefully make others think about their own, too!
Julie - Wow, that sounds fantastic! Let me know how you go with your progress, it sounds like something that I need! :p
Ms. Constantine - You were, you have been LEGENDARY! Thank-you so much. I knew somebody that had a bird fear once, too.. maybe hypnotherapy might be worth exploring? :)
23 Sep 2009, x Corrine/Frock & Roll x, www.frockandrollonline.com
Aw. I'm so glad I was of some help to you!
My fear of spiders isn't as extreme as yours but I can definitely relate! The Boy was just telling me about a girl he knows who was so afraid of birds she couldn't even look at pictures of them. She recently had hypnotherapy and can now look at birds but will still run away screaming if they get too close to her.
I have an unnatural fear of going on boats, being alone in the house, being chased, mice under my bed (I have no idea where this one came from!). You're not alone.
23 Sep 2009, Ms Constantine, http://cupcakesandmace.com
I know that there is actually a fobia related to mothers-in-law (no kidding).
I don't have aracnophobia but I terriffied of lizards, really bad.
For my thesis, my team and I are developing a 3D application to help the aracnophobia treatment. Phobia treatment is a very interesting topic and depending on the phobia can be a very lengthy process and our application helps expose the patient to a spider in a safe enviorment.
23 Sep 2009, Julie, http://juliettemaxwell.com
I have SO MANY of these. I compulsively check if doors are locked and I always check my phone (repeatedly) when I'm talking about someone in case I have accidentally dialled them somehow and they are listening in. I unplug nearly all my appliances before bed. I share your spider phobia. The list goes on. I hate being like this, and I'm working on it. :) Nice to know that others share my neuroses!
23 Sep 2009, Andrea, www.acatofimpossiblecolour.blogspot.com
