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Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, an abnormal fear of spiders and
sometimes other arachnids, such as scorpions and harvestmen. It is among
the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often
seem irrational to others (and sometimes to the sufferers themselves).
People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe
could harbor spiders or that has visible signs of their presence, such
as webs. If they see a spider they may not enter the general vicinity
until they have overcome the panic attack that is often associated with
their phobia. They may feel humiliated if such episodes happen in the
presence of peers or family members.
The fear of spiders can be treated by any of the general techniques
suggested for specific phobias.
Arachnophobia is, in many cases, the result of a traumatizing encounter
with spiders in one's early childhood, though the experience may not
be remembered[citation needed]. An evolutionary reason for the phobias,
such as arachnophobia, claustrophobia, fear of snakes or mice, etc.
remains unresolved. One view, especially held in evolutionary psychology,
is that the presence of venomous spiders led to the evolution of an
innate fear of spiders or made acquisition of a fear of spiders especially
easy. Like all traits, there is variability in the intensity of fears
of spiders, and those with more intense fears are classified as phobic.
Spiders, for instance, being relatively small, don’t fit the usual
criterion for a threat in the animal kingdom where size is a factor,
but most species are venomous (although many of the poisons produced
by these species having no effect on humans), and some are lethal. Arachnophobes
will spare no effort to make sure that their whereabouts are spider-free,
hence they would have had a reduced risk of being bitten in ancestral
environments. Therefore, arachnophobes may possess a slight advantage
over non-arachnophobes in terms of survival. However this theory is
undermined by the disproportional fear of spiders in comparison to other,
far more deadly creatures that were present during Homo sapiens' environment
of evolutionary adaptiveness.
The alternative view is that the dangers, such as from spiders, are
overrated and not sufficient to influence evolution. Instead, inheriting
phobias would have restrictive and debilitating effects upon survival,
rather than being an aid. For example, there are no deadly spiders native
to central and northern Europe that could exert an evolutionary pressure,
yet that is where the strongest fear for spiders began, suggesting cultural
learning. In contrast, many non-European cultures generally do not fear
spiders, and for some communities such as in Papua New Guinea and South
America (except Chile), spiders are included in traditional foods.
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Web Site
News:
We have now added a few advertisements to the site, We only
really recommend this site as we know they will not rip off
people, So please have no fear about clicking the links,
We have also added something about the Linden
Method Here
as it seems to get talked about a lot,
Good and bad but people should make their own minds up about
it.
The global community is what keeps phobics awareness
going. We are a completely member supported and driven community.
Dedicated volunteers work constantly to improve the site and
spread the word. The original founder of phobics awareness,
Paul launched the site on 21st of June 2002 with the help
of his partner and a few other people, Paul as now taken a
back seat and phobics awareness is now run by a number of
volunteers from all over the world, phobics awareness is a
non-profit organization dedicated to the global community,
Member involvement is a vital part of the growth and development
of phobics awareness. Simply put, we couldn't do it without
you
The Panic Puzzle Program is a comprehensive and affordable
set of resources with a single goal, to help you overcome
your anxiety and panic attacks and get you back to your life
with confidence and comfort as quickly as possible.
Phobics Awareness
Promote Your Page Too
I am a psychiatrist with over 30 years’
experience of working with agoraphobia and have written “Freedom
From Agoraphobia.” This is a program for overcoming
agoraphobia both for people who have the condition and for
therapists. In order to make its contents available to more
people, I shall be sending in the educational portions of
this book as articles free to subscribers to Phobics-Awareness.org.
Mark Eisenstadt, M.D.
Read More
Here
There are Thirteen articles now.
Read more about Agoraphobia written by one of our members
Here
We would like to welcome Steve Woods to the
site, I am the Hypnotist, Chinosis Coach and joint Director
of Positive Thoughts based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
I also spend a lot of time in Birmingham so have a business
base there, My qualifications are R.Hyp, R.Chi.C, S.N.H.S.
Dip(Hypnotherapy). I am a Member of the Academy of Hypnotic
Arts (M.A.H.A.).
Steve is going to help out with any Q&A you may have,
The Q&A will be on the
Forum
Under Hypnosis.
You can find Steve's site Here
New Book:
We though agoraphobics may be interested in this book.
Jack Madigan is, by many accounts, blessed. Thanks to his
legendary rock star father, he lives an enviable existence
in a once-glorious, but now crumbling, Boston town house with
his teenage son, Harlan. There's just one problem: Jack is
agoraphobic. While living on his dad's dwindling royalties
hasn't been easy, Jack and Harlan have bumbled along just
fine. Until the money runs out...and so does Jack's luck Read
More
click the banner below to visit
www.hypnoshop.com
Self Hypnosis is a powerful tool for making positive changes
within your life. Hypnosis has been used for centuries and
has been put to many great uses, helping millions of people
to stop smoking, lose weight, conquer fears and phobias, and
much more.
Relaxation Tapes & CD's
We are hoping to offer tapes and CD's very soon, The only
cost will be for postage and packing, We believe in trying
to keep the price as low as possible, You can find some CD's
on the forum
Storm Phobias
I know this time of year in the UK can be a worrying time
for people who suffer from storm phobias,
Especially thunder and lightning, I will be working on this
part of the site over the next few weeks, In the mean time
I've added a lightning detector so you can see where the storms
are, It refreshes every 60 seconds, You can find It Here
Also check out the Net Weather web site Here.
More about Storm Phobia Here
Books
The Driving Fear Program
The Driving Fear program is a self-help resource for those
with a fear of driving, or a driving related phobia such as
fear of highways or bridges. It includes articles on specific
coping techniques and a comprehensive e-book program in use
by clinicians and individuals worldwide.
Web Site Last Updated: 17.7.2010
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