Can Arachnophobia develop, rather than be inherent?

[Griffolion]

Hello all you scientifically minded Escapists.

So I'm spending the summer in Erie, PA, to be closer to my fiancee (I myself am British). We don't get much in the way of nasty spiders over in Britain, however America is home to a couple of nasty species.

I did some general research about Black Widows (what I read to be the most common "dangerous if messed with" spider, the brown recluse being second, but only for the south), how to identify one, how to deal with one, etc. And now almost every night I'm checking in and around my bed/shoes/clothes/whatever for these things. I can sometimes get quite scared to even go outside for fear that I run into one and it gets me, and drags my 200lb body back to its nest (may be exaggerating at this point).

Anyway, irrationality aside, does anyone know if arachnophobia can develop out of simply reading about them, rather than simply be naturally pre-disposed to a fear response from birth?

I hate spiders, seriously.

Off Topic:

Captcha is "in the air". Before seeing it, I had in my head the new Thirty Seconds to Mars single "Up in the Air". My next phobia question will be related to mind reading human verification systems.

 

[OneCatch]

Hello all you scientifically minded Escapists.

So I'm spending the summer in Erie, PA, to be closer to my fiancee (I myself am British). We don't get much in the way of nasty spiders over in Britain, however America is home to a couple of nasty species.

I did some general research about Black Widows (what I read to be the most common "dangerous if messed with" spider, the brown recluse being second, but only for the south), how to identify one, how to deal with one, etc. And now almost every night I'm checking in and around my bed/shoes/clothes/whatever for these things. I can sometimes get quite scared to even go outside for fear that I run into one and it gets me, and drags my 200lb body back to its nest (may be exaggerating at this point).

Anyway, irrationality aside, does anyone know if arachnophobia can develop out of simply reading about them, rather than simply be naturally pre-disposed to a fear response from birth?

I hate spiders, seriously.

Off Topic:

Captcha is "in the air". Before seeing it, I had in my head the new Thirty Seconds to Mars single "Up in the Air". My next phobia question will be related to mind reading human verification systems.

Something of an anecdote, but I never used to mind spiders. Then I ended up waking up with a gigantic one on my face, freaking the fuck out, and haven't liked them at all since.
A lot of phobias are traced back to some kind of stressful or traumatic incident, though it is usually in childhood. Guess I'm just a wuss.

 

[Tahaneira]

Depends. You may just be blowing the threat out of proportion rather than true arachnophobia. How did you react to spiders before you moved? Or to everyday spiders that aren't dangerous? If you're afraid of them too, then yeah, arachnophobia. But if not, then I'd say paranoia.

Of course, I'm not exactly a shrink.

 

[Johanthemonster666]

Hello all you scientifically minded Escapists.

So I'm spending the summer in Erie, PA, to be closer to my fiancee (I myself am British). We don't get much in the way of nasty spiders over in Britain, however America is home to a couple of nasty species.

I did some general research about Black Widows (what I read to be the most common "dangerous if messed with" spider, the brown recluse being second, but only for the south), how to identify one, how to deal with one, etc. And now almost every night I'm checking in and around my bed/shoes/clothes/whatever for these things. I can sometimes get quite scared to even go outside for fear that I run into one and it gets me, and drags my 200lb body back to its nest (may be exaggerating at this point).

Anyway, irrationality aside, does anyone know if arachnophobia can develop out of simply reading about them, rather than simply be naturally pre-disposed to a fear response from birth?

I hate spiders, seriously.

Off Topic:

Captcha is "in the air". Before seeing it, I had in my head the new Thirty Seconds to Mars single "Up in the Air". My next phobia question will be related to mind reading human verification systems.

To my limited knowledge of abnormal psychology (though phobias are quite normal and almost everyone has one)your fears develop over time based on experiences that frightened you but can be overcome in most cases. Phobias merely take this to exaggerated proportions, again it is possible to overcome even extreme ones with guidance/strategies/therapy that works for you. Sometimes OCD/anxiety disorders can throw a whole host of phobias your way (as my mom has experienced with her agoraphobia) and those conditions usually have a genetic component (though it doesn't mean it's inevitable unless certain conditions are met in your environment).

I think most fears are rational, and they don't necessarily impede our ability to live happy lives, but phobias are something I think people need to challenge as best they can. I don't think 'cave-man psychology' explains things like arachnophobia or our DNA programed us to fear them, but they make sense when we're bombarded by scary imagery/stories of them.

 

[bojackx]

Well I remember this show I was watching about phobias a while ago, and there was a guy who had a phobia of birds after he fell off a ladder when some birds came bursting out of a hole in his house. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if development of a phobia after a specific event was more common than just being born with the fear.

 

[sanquin]

All phobia's are 'developed', not inherited. There is no gene that tells you to be afraid of something as far as I know. Well, there is probably one for you for danger but that's different. All phobia's are 'learned' to someone over time. And this can happen at any time really, not just at an early age. Just like how you can get over any phobia at any age. (It just takes a lot more work to get rid of it than to get one.)

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

When I encountered a usual brown house spider in Britain, I knew they weren't dangerous at all, and could quite easily get rid of them. I would use the old trap them in a jar, slip cardboard underneath, let them loose outside technique. It's uncomfortable as I dislike the look of them, but I never shied away.

I just hate how spiders look, they are so tricksy, they look like they're going to get you any second. I think the most frightening thing is how poisonous they are. Like the Black Widow can cause paralysis, a brown recluse bite can mean your entire appendage can get amputated as a result. And those aren't even the worst bites!

-snip-

Oh man, I would literally die right then. Was it a poisonous one? What did you do, just flick it away and kill it?

It reminds me of that old James Bond film where someone tries to kill him by putting a Tarantula in his room, and he just stays really calm by letting it walk across his chest and then freaks out when it's at a safe distance.

-snip-

Well if I had a traumatic event, I certainly can't remember it. I think this may be more paranoia due to the amount of reading I've done on them.

 

[Zydrate]

Well sure.

I wouldn't have been afraid of Bees if it wasn't for me being stung as a child. Without that event in my life, I'd probably be able to shrug them off like most people.

I imagine people afraid of spiders might operate under the same experience.
Then again, spiders are creepy motherfuckers. They don't make me have a mini seizure like bees do but I tend to avoid them because I can never tell which ones are poisonous or not.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm pretty sure every phobia is developed, not 'inherited'.

 

[OneCatch]

-snip-

Oh man, I would literally die right then. Was it a poisonous one? What did you do, just flick it away and kill it?

Nah, it wasn't a poisonous one, I'm in the UK also. Twas one of these pricks:

Spoiler: spoilering in case of severe arachnophobes

About that size too.
I was in a kind of bunkbed that sat inside the arch of the room (attic bedroom). Vaulted over the side at about Mach 6 with one hand and threw the spider into the far corner of the room with the other. At about 5am.

But being a magnanimous and kindly deity, I caught the thing in a bowl (not a cup because it wouldn't bloody fit) and chucked it outside.

 

[teqrevisited]

Yes. I distinctly remember quite easily handling spiders when my age was in single digits. At some point in time I just decided I wouldn't go near them. It might've had something to do with the stories my grandad told me and my dad (He's scared of spiders too) of camel spiders when he was stationed in the desert during the war. He described them as being monsters the size of dinner plates that would scuttle over peoples faces as they slept.

There are other things that I could've gotten phobias of but didn't. I remember vaguely on a holiday in France deciding to grab a bee. The bee took offense and stung me square in the palm of my hand. If experiences were the sole causes of phobias then logically I should be scared of bees instead of spiders.

It seems strange to me that my fear of spiders has almost been passed down from 2 generations previous, though, when other family members' phobias haven't. My nan was terrified of thunderstorms and my mum is scared of birds and moths and none of those have rubbed off onto me.

Whatever the case: fuck spiders. Fuck them and the way they move their legs, fuck their ability to multiply by the million and fuck their eight, beady little black eyes that offer unblinking, soulless glimpses of the blackest depths of hell itself.

 

[Kolby Jack]

As an American who has lived in America for almost 24 years now, and who has gone on camping trips while in the Boy Scouts and hunting trips with my dad, I personally have never seen a black widow or a brown recluse. I have seen one or two non-pet tarantulas, but they don't tend to bother people as much as far as I'm aware. A ton of small spiders, like wolf spiders and the like, and some daddy long-legs (which I'm aware are not spiders, but I imagine freak out arachnophobes anyway), but nothing dangerous so far. It depends on where you live, really, but from my experience spiders aren't a huge deal. They tend to keep to themselves, and are easily killed unless they are those super-quick ones. I've never had one hide in my shoe either, which I've heard can happen.

It's the FUCKING cockroaches that get to me. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!! GO AWAY! DIE, ALL OF YOU! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!

 

[Silvanus]

I fucking hate spiders.


OT: I imagine they can be developed at any stage of life. I remember some of my earliest arachnophobic experiences were "waking dreams" in which I'd see oversized ones in my room, blocking my door.


I think it's entirely possible that I wasn't particularly phobic before those "waking dreams", and that my reaction developed afterwards. All anecdotal, of course.

(Side note: Oddly enough, it's not the "venomous" thing that gets to me. After all, I quite like the look of snakes & other venomous creatures).

 

[Frezzato]

I was helping my friend and his brother clear golden orb weaver spider webs [http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/spider-eating-bird.html#cr] (at night!) from my friend's front yard. The golden orb weaver spider is harmless, but kind of large and very creepy. As we moved along to a tree I suddenly imagined that the top of the tree (as in all of the branches) wasn't a tree at all but a very large spider, the size of a car. Took me a few hours to shake that thought. No arachnophobia for me yet. Now, roaches on the other hand....

It's the FUCKING cockroaches that get to me. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!! GO AWAY! DIE, ALL OF YOU! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!

Yeah, that about sums it up right there.

Oh right, in Florida we have these gigantic rain forest insects coming up from South America. One time I was working at night in this office complex and walked by a recycling bin on which the biggest fucking moth I had ever seen was resting. It was a little smaller than a Blu-ray case. I pretended not to see it and walked past it while whistling, hoping it wouldn't fly right onto my neck and down my shirt.

In that respect, Florida is a little like Australia, except no Drop Bears.

 

[sanquin]

-snip-

Well if I had a traumatic event, I certainly can't remember it. I think this may be more paranoia due to the amount of reading I've done on them.

It doesn't have to be traumatic. Seeing others being scared of things as a child can do it. (It's how I got my arachnophobia from my mother.) Reading a lot on the subject can cause it too. Anything that gives you signals that you should, or might be afraid of something can cause phobia's. Though it's probably impossible to pinpoint an exact moment when it started.

As for my phobia it might not entirely be arachnophobia. I'm scared of a lot of 'larger' insects and vertebrae. Smaller spiders don't scare me. And I'm less nervous around bees than around bumblebees. Then again I'm not at all afraid of millipede's, praying mantises and scorpions. So I dunno.

 

[Tahaneira]

-snip-

When I encountered a usual brown house spider in Britain, I knew they weren't dangerous at all, and could quite easily get rid of them. I would use the old trap them in a jar, slip cardboard underneath, let them loose outside technique. It's uncomfortable as I dislike the look of them, but I never shied away.

I just hate how spiders look, they are so tricksy, they look like they're going to get you any second. I think the most frightening thing is how poisonous they are. Like the Black Widow can cause paralysis, a brown recluse bite can mean your entire appendage can get amputated as a result. And those aren't even the worst bites!

I guess the point I'm trying to make is it may not actually be a phobia, just paranoia. You're afraid of poisonous spiders, and with good reason; their poison can kill you in any number of horrible ways. But if you currently run screaming from, say, daddy long legs or jumping spiders (startling, yes, but not dangerous; so far as I know, most in the US aren't fatally poisonous) then it's a phobia. Or maybe I'm missing the point.

They can still be freaky, though. I remember one time a friend of mine got smacked in the face by a jumping spider that missed its prey. Hilarious.

 

[FalloutJack]

Phobias are generally fear-reactions that override logic at every turn. You don't get born with it. You develop it at whatever age your mind goes through a moment where instead of crushing it or just giving it space, you go OH SHIT SPIDER! and back off. That is, some latent revulsion or fear of being bitten or other event involving spiders puts you entirely off them to the point where in a taring contest, they basically win. You can't be born with arachnophobia. You can only have it for as long as you've remembered because of something that happened when you were a baby.

So yeah, it can develop from reading about it if you obsess too much. I have a minor phobia of being pulled into the ocean by a giant squid. I saw scientific research on them and realized that anybody in the presence of one - thus, in its element - is rightly fucked. I'd also read/seen Sphere, which didn't help. So, for a while, because I thought I got grabbed in the water while at the beach one time, I had this concern, even though it's logically bullshit.

 

[uzo]

Whatever the case: fuck spiders. Fuck them and the way they move their legs, fuck their ability to multiply by the million and fuck their eight, beady little black eyes that offer unblinking, soulless glimpses of the blackest depths of hell itself.

... Now, if we could get Samuel L Jackson to say that, it would be awesome.

OT; spiders don't particularly bother me - I grew up surrounded by `em in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Funnel webs, hunstmen, redbacks, white tails, you name it. None of that pansy black widow shit though. Hell, if I was afraid of spiders (or any bug for that matter) I would have been a nervous, shell-shocked wreck by the time I hit primary school.

I presume arachnophobia can be developed from some traumatic experience.

I think a lot of people here are under estimating the effect of a phobia however. It's not just 'urgh I freaking hate spiders!', it's an overwhelming, illogical sense of abject TERROR. A phobia is a paralysing, incapacitating fear. Like dig a hole with your fingernails in solid cement to hide fear, not just 'eww'.

 

[RaNDM G]

The most important thing to know about spiders is that they are just as afraid of you as you are of them. They're shy and content with sticking in one corner of a house.

The only ones you'll need to worry about are Black Widows, but the most they'll do is make you sick. They're only dangerous to kids, geezers, and people with allergies.

 

[Something Amyss]

All phobias can develop. You were probably not, despite the song, born that way. >.>