Were you previously an arachnophobe?

[BillsSpider]

Not me, I've been fascinated by arachnids since childhood. At age 10 I was collecting scorpions and tarantulas in the wild and terrifying my mother

 

[Matt Man]

nope

 

[RoachCoach]

Yes, I was. In my case, I was bitten by a house spider when I was very little. I was, and am, always very interested in small critters, which I grabbed without hesitation. Being tired of this irrational fear of spiders, I purchased a B. emilia as my first. This cured my phobia.



Not everything is a life or death situation. I have a 'fear' of hot stoves, even though I know putting my hand on one will not end my life. Most people have a healthy fear of spiders, that is, they will not touch them to avoid unpleasant experiences (from a small unpleasant pinch from a house spider, to a life-threatening experience from a black widow bit). Also, if you know that some spiders are dangerous, but you don't know which ones are, it would be best to careful around all of them.

Irrational fear, I think, stems mostly from misinformation and lack of knowledge. But I am not a psychiatrist

Man, I gotta admit. I could have used your demeanor about 30 years ago when my mom got scared and hacked a racer to death in front of me and my brother thinking it was some venomous monster snake. BUT, I would likely not have the love and protection I do for most native snakes as I do now. I would like to think most people can empathize with animals that just want to survive, even if they intrude into territories. Then I got bit by milk snake upon milk snake and a few tens of water snakes before I realized they don't want me near them. It's me. It's me that is the problem, not them.

 

[Almadabes]

Fascinated and scared as a child.
Not like crippling fear or anything - just tried to avoid touching them but I would often stare for a long time.

I'm not "scared" per say anymore - but I respect my tarantulas' space as best I can.
I just try not to put myself in a position to be bit or haired.

 

[Swamps]

I was an extreme arachnophobe for 18/19 years of my life. If I even thought about the word "spider" for too long, I would panic (I wish I was exaggerating). I was certain I had those intense phobias that couldn't be treated. Couldn't see photos, drawings, IRL, anything; couldn't talk about them for long periods of time, etc. Not exactly sure how, but I ended up stumbling upon people who shared their journeys of raising spiders on various platforms. Eventually, I decided that I really liked jumping spiders and began desensitizing myself to those guys. My relationship with spiders turned from fear to respect and curiosity. I could finally watch the Pisauridae spiders in my front yard frolic without booking back into my house.

This all happened in a matter of two months. I got my first spider three months into my "phobia recovery", a Phidippus regius (my pfp). Of course, my intense fear just now subsiding, so I still get a little anxious in certain situations. My biggest issue now is dead spiders. The "death curl" style nature and such of dead spiders brings back the fear a little bit. It was a nightmare trying to remove my Phidippus after she died of old age.

I'm confident I could handle a lot of spider-related things now but since I'm not really keen on harming spiders, I don't think I'll get over the fear of dead spiders any time soon.

 

[Aiden4]

I used to yes but watch a ton of YouTube led me to keeping jumping spiders and now a tarantula. My older sibling used to even cry at the sight of spider but now they are also have gotten over their fear

 

[Neonblizzard]

Nope, always found them fascinating tbh. As for why people are terrified of them, blame the media, I live in the UK, there is not a single species of spider here that has medically significant venom yet every year the gutter press here go on like Steatoda nobilis or Segestria florentina are going to shank your family half to death and then defecate in the wounds for the lulz.

Lmaoo that's exactly what it's like!

FALSE WIDOW IS IN YOUR HOUSE LOOKING AT YOUR SLEEPING BABY! AND ITS COMING OUT OF YOUR TAX MONEY!!

 

[brachysaurus]

I was an extreme arachnophobe for 18/19 years of my life. If I even thought about the word "spider" for too long, I would panic (I wish I was exaggerating). I was certain I had those intense phobias that couldn't be treated. Couldn't see photos, drawings, IRL, anything; couldn't talk about them for long periods of time, etc. Not exactly sure how, but I ended up stumbling upon people who shared their journeys of raising spiders on various platforms. Eventually, I decided that I really liked jumping spiders and began desensitizing myself to those guys. My relationship with spiders turned from fear to respect and curiosity. I could finally watch the Pisauridae spiders in my front yard frolic without booking back into my house.

This all happened in a matter of two months. I got my first spider three months into my "phobia recovery", a Phidippus regius (my pfp). Of course, my intense fear just now subsiding, so I still get a little anxious in certain situations. My biggest issue now is dead spiders. The "death curl" style nature and such of dead spiders brings back the fear a little bit. It was a nightmare trying to remove my Phidippus after she died of old age.

I'm confident I could handle a lot of spider-related things now but since I'm not really keen on harming spiders, I don't think I'll get over the fear of dead spiders any time soon.

I already stated it in my intro post, but this sounds VERY similar to my own situation. I had such severe arachnophobia that simply seeing photos/videos of them on tv (ESPECIALLY on a screen closer to me like a laptop/phone) would make my heart pound so much it bordered on physically painful sometimes. BIgger spiders around the house would make me freeze, sweat profusely, go into a legitimate panic attack which would not subside if said spider disappeared and I didn't know where it was. Awful, awful feeling. Definitely the one fear I've had that classifies as a phobia that affected my daily living.

However, at least six months ago I started slowly watching more and more videos of pet keepers (not just the big name people, but any random video of someone simply feeding it or whatever) and gradually I grew less petrified of watching them on-screen without having to use my hand to cover part of the screen for my own comfort. In addition to that, I learned more and more about them and their behaviors. Seeing people respectfully move their tarantulas with paintbrushes/feed them with tongs/etc. really helped that irrational fear of feeling like any spider I see is just gonna latch onto my face or immediately skitter up my body or whatever.

Ironically, I was way desensitized to tarantulas first before jumping spiders. With the latter, it'd be the super close shots of their big ol' eyes that would just trigger that god awful unsettled/anxious feeling. I've since been desensitized to them as well, though I admit a few jumper species with bigger front eyes than others will give me a fleeting moment of anxiety. Same with other true spiders, especially something like an ogre-faced spider. BUT, the discomfort is extremely brief and certainly nothing compared to how I used to be.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I already stated it in my intro post, but this sounds VERY similar to my own situation. I had such severe arachnophobia that simply seeing photos/videos of them on tv (ESPECIALLY on a screen closer to me like a laptop/phone) would make my heart pound so much it bordered on physically painful sometimes. BIgger spiders around the house would make me freeze, sweat profusely, go into a legitimate panic attack which would not subside if said spider disappeared and I didn't know where it was. Awful, awful feeling. Definitely the one fear I've had that classifies as a phobia that affected my daily living.

However, at least six months ago I started slowly watching more and more videos of pet keepers (not just the big name people, but any random video of someone simply feeding it or whatever) and gradually I grew less petrified of watching them on-screen without having to use my hand to cover part of the screen for my own comfort. In addition to that, I learned more and more about them and their behaviors. Seeing people respectfully move their tarantulas with paintbrushes/feed them with tongs/etc. really helped that irrational fear of feeling like any spider I see is just gonna latch onto my face or immediately skitter up my body or whatever.

Ironically, I was way desensitized to tarantulas first before jumping spiders. With the latter, it'd be the super close shots of their big ol' eyes that would just trigger that god awful unsettled/anxious feeling. I've since been desensitized to them as well, though I admit a few jumper species with bigger front eyes than others will give me a fleeting moment of anxiety. Same with other true spiders, especially something like an ogre-faced spider. BUT, the discomfort is extremely brief and certainly nothing compared to how I used to be.

I think that a lot of it is that we as humans tend to fear what we don't understand. And especially when you're a kid, it's easy to learn to be afraid of something from watching a friend or relative with a phobia overreact when they see something they're afraid of. Like you, learning about these animals over time really helped me conquer my fear.

 

[IronMaiden]

Nah, I used too pick up ants and throw them on garden spider webs and watch them feed as a kid. I think they were orb weavers??

 

[Accepted]

When I was around ten years old, I went into the garage to toss something in the garbage, which was hanging on the wall. I opened the lid and there sat a large spider, startling the living daylights out of me. I've been scared of spiders since then.

It also didn't help having my foot chased by a wolf spider while on the loo

Anyway, 30+ years later, I became fascinated by them, albeit still afraid, and now I own my first one, a GBB. We bought her almost a week ago.

 

[waynerowley]

I was not an arachnophobe before keeping Ts, but my wife was/is. She claims I've spent the last year before finally getting one brainwashing her! But get this - she's the one who finally persuaded me to get one, and she worries about it (now them) constantly. Are they feeding well, is the moisture right, will it moult okay... . She still claims to be an arachnophobe, but her friends now disagree with that... especially as I keep the Ts in the bedroom!!

 

[Swamps]

I already stated it in my intro post, but this sounds VERY similar to my own situation. I had such severe arachnophobia that simply seeing photos/videos of them on tv (ESPECIALLY on a screen closer to me like a laptop/phone) would make my heart pound so much it bordered on physically painful sometimes. BIgger spiders around the house would make me freeze, sweat profusely, go into a legitimate panic attack which would not subside if said spider disappeared and I didn't know where it was. Awful, awful feeling. Definitely the one fear I've had that classifies as a phobia that affected my daily living.

However, at least six months ago I started slowly watching more and more videos of pet keepers (not just the big name people, but any random video of someone simply feeding it or whatever) and gradually I grew less petrified of watching them on-screen without having to use my hand to cover part of the screen for my own comfort. In addition to that, I learned more and more about them and their behaviors. Seeing people respectfully move their tarantulas with paintbrushes/feed them with tongs/etc. really helped that irrational fear of feeling like any spider I see is just gonna latch onto my face or immediately skitter up my body or whatever.

Ironically, I was way desensitized to tarantulas first before jumping spiders. With the latter, it'd be the super close shots of their big ol' eyes that would just trigger that god awful unsettled/anxious feeling. I've since been desensitized to them as well, though I admit a few jumper species with bigger front eyes than others will give me a fleeting moment of anxiety. Same with other true spiders, especially something like an ogre-faced spider. BUT, the discomfort is extremely brief and certainly nothing compared to how I used to be.

I had a massive issue with the legs. I realized I still have a little bit of a fear of the legs now, but not toward my T's or Jumpers, just house spiders. The other day at work, a spider descended from the ceiling onto our main hub desk and it brought back that panicky feeling, not as bad, but I still reverted back to freezing up and getting chills. It's interesting to see what species desensitized others because I was NOT ready for T's when I was looking for Jumper breeders. My interest was in true spiders: jumper, wolf, ogre, trapdoor, nursery (a personal favorite), etc. I couldn't stand T's because I just hated the molting process. Jumpers were fine, but seeing 5" of spider coming out of an older skin would make my skin crawl. I'm used to it now.

I will say, there's always a learning curve with T's, but coming from an arachnophobe background, I feel there is even more of a curve. Yes, most of my fear is gone, but do you know fast I nearly pissed myself finally seeing how speedy Psalmopoeus Irminias are? Videos and texts don't do them justice. Luckily, my Irminia decided to sit still for a moment which gave me time to breathe and calm down the anxiousness from the fear.

 

[brachysaurus]

I had a massive issue with the legs. I realized I still have a little bit of a fear of the legs now, but not toward my T's or Jumpers, just house spiders. The other day at work, a spider descended from the ceiling onto our main hub desk and it brought back that panicky feeling, not as bad, but I still reverted back to freezing up and getting chills. It's interesting to see what species desensitized others because I was NOT ready for T's when I was looking for Jumper breeders. My interest was in true spiders: jumper, wolf, ogre, trapdoor, nursery (a personal favorite), etc. I couldn't stand T's because I just hated the molting process. Jumpers were fine, but seeing 5" of spider coming out of an older skin would make my skin crawl. I'm used to it now.

I will say, there's always a learning curve with T's, but coming from an arachnophobe background, I feel there is even more of a curve. Yes, most of my fear is gone, but do you know fast I nearly pissed myself finally seeing how speedy Psalmopoeus Irminias are? Videos and texts don't do them justice. Luckily, my Irminia decided to sit still for a moment which gave me time to breathe and calm down the anxiousness from the fear.

Legs have been an issue for me in the past too. As I began learning more and more about them, I realized I was unsettled by the leggy appearance of house spiders more than tarantulas. With the latter, I suppose it's mainly their size that understandably is intimidating from an arachnophobe's perspective when it's already 8-legged.

With jumpers and I suppose any spider in general, I could not stand when they bolted or suddenly moved. The leg movement would freak me out and the startle response I'd feel from it would be physically painful (I startle very easily). I do understand now though, that in the peak of my phobia, it was definitely the irrational fear that they'd bolt around this way and that or go straight for my foot then up my body for no reason because I obviously didn't know anything about their behavior other than the irrational anxiety-generated thoughts I'd feel. Obviously I see them bolt and all that, but it was the illogical idea of it intentionally bolting to crawl on me.

As someone mentioned above too, I definitely know it's cause of the influence of how "normal" it is to be scared of a spider because of how it's often portrayed.

And yeah, the physiological response to what's left of your fear definitely is not fun to deal with. I can't imagine having been in your situation, I'd probably feel like I was having a heart attack, haha. As far as tarantulas are concerned, I'd only want one. Seeing people be a bit bored/turned off from a slow growing, usually calmer, Brachypelma for an example is admittedly a bit odd to me, but I suppose that's because my own personal comfort level is owning just one. Being slow to grow and existing as a "pet rock/hole" is perfectly fine with me as I learn. (and I am not intending any disrespect or insult to those who are simply not as interested in species like that, nor do I see anything wrong with it or something else. Don't want it misinterpreted as such.)