What is arachnophobia?
Arachnophobia or fear of spiders belongs to the so-called specific phobias of the animal phobia type. In Europe it is widespread and occurs mainly in women. This can be explained by the fact that boys, in contrast to girls, have often learned from an early age to deal with spiders or to suppress fear and disgust.
Spider phobics are aware that their fear of spiders is exaggerated – especially since none of the spiders native to Germany are really dangerous to humans. The native spiders in our temperate latitudes produce a venom that is quite weak for humans.
Thus, the bite of a cross spider hurts no more than a mosquito bite. Nevertheless, some people with arachnophobia face mortal fears when confronted with a spider.
How is arachnophobia treated?
Many sufferers come to terms with their fear of spiders by avoiding contact as much as possible. This avoidance strategy usually hardly affects the sufferers in their everyday lives. Therefore, only a few seek treatment.
Nevertheless, arachnophobia restricts the freedom of those affected. Some do not dare to go into the attic or basement. The fear of encountering spiders is a heavy burden in the long run.
Since it is a psychological disorder, therapeutic treatment is necessary. Therapy for arachnophobia has good chances of success. If the phobia is only mild, a few hours may be enough to conquer the fear.
For people with arachnophobia, for example, it is initially unimaginable to touch or hold a spider on the hand. With the help of a therapist, it is possible to gradually overcome this fear of spiders.
What are the causes?
Why some people develop arachnophobia is not yet clearly understood. A role may be played by the rapid, darting movements, lurking in hiding and sudden appearance, which seems unpredictable and thus threatening to people with arachnophobia.
In addition, spiders are predominantly associated with negative connotations in Europe. Their unusual appearance with six eyes and eight hairy legs makes the animals a popular main character for horror films. However, this alone is not enough to explain the origin of arachnophobia.
The fear of spiders is often learned. It usually develops in childhood. If the parents react fearfully to spiders, the children adopt the behavior.
Examination and diagnosis
Those who are not sure whether they suffer from arachnophobia have the option of taking tests on the Internet for a rough assessment. For self-assessment, for example, there is the Spider Phobia Questionnaire (SPF).
