[drummergirl6]

I know this may come off as a little strange but recently I seem to have developed a big phobia for spiders now I have always been creeped out by them but as of recent I find myself not being able to sleep due to the paranoia of them crawling around and maybe on me. It isn't over the tiny ones I mean I squish those but there have been some decent sizes ones in my house and Ive resorted to sleeping down stairs for almost a week on the sofa as I lost one in my room, and now I have found one downstairs and lost it I feel I have no where else to sleep. I fine myself looking for them and I know if I don't look then I will think they are there. This most likely seems stupid and it sounds stupid to me writing this, but I'm losing sleep over something so stupid and I feel I am developing some huge phobia and I wish I didn't, is there any way I may help fix this.

Thanks

[backpack2389]

A fear of spiders is not unnatural but, as with many concerns/problems/fears, it's not a serious issue until it begins impacting your life. And it definitely sounds like your fear has become a major problem, something that you might even need therapy for. One such therapy for phobias is a series of progressive exposures (appropriately dubbed "exposure therapy"). Basically you go through a series of small, gradual steps from thinking about spiders to looking at pictures of them to being near them and finally touching them.

If you don't feel you're to the point where you need therapy, perhaps you should just try to look at the situation practically. You have gone through your entire life thus far living around spiders and you are still alive, no worse for the wear. So what if one crawls on you while you sleep? Sure, it's creepy (makes a chill run up my spine), but that won't hurt you. Even if the spider actually bites you, at worst you'll likely only get a small, possibly itchy bump (unless you're allergic of course). I know I read a statistic that said the average person eats something like 5 spiders in their sleep every year. And, while that's gross, no one's dying of it. No one probably even notices it.

Everyone has spiders crawling on them, we're all eating spiders and we are also all functioning just fine (as were you until recently). But, if that perspective doesn't help and you continue to suffer from insomnia because of your fear, then you need to seek therapy. Lack of sleep is extremely unhealthy for body and brain and will no doubt only keep you from overcoming your fear... so get help.

[drummergirl6]

Thank you for your help I really appreciate it I do think maybe some form of therapy may help I will look into it again thank you for the reply it helped a lot

[save19251]

Phobias are a perception of the mind that relate to the primitive part of the brain of flight or fight. Usually they are brought on by some significant life event that becomes embedded in our subconscious mind. The main response to phobias is to avoid the subject of what we are most afraid of. So for instance, people with agoraphobia avoid going outside and people with clostrophobia avoid closed in spaces. You have arachnophobia (owever you spell it) which is fear of spiders so obviously there was an event somewhere in your past that triggered this.

The best way to deal with phobias is desensitization - which involves exposing yourself gradually to the thing that you are afraid of until you are no longer afraid of it. Learn about spiders and find out about what spiders are in your house. Most spiders are not venomous to humans, they just look scarey. Attend some counselling to go through the desensitization process to help you overcome your fear of spiders. If it is effecting your functionality and sleep, this is not a good thing. Get a pest controller to 'nuke' your house free of bugs and spiders. I hope this helps.