Arachnophobia

[Varren]

I know a lot of people are scared of spiders, but is it just me, that whether a spider is alive or dead, I just can't bring myself to go within 5 meters of the thing or to even step on or touch the place that I've seen it crawling around on?

[mistystarshine]

I know how you feel. I really hate spiders, and even though I hate them, I can never bring myself to kill them. I really hate how they look, even though they're good for the environment.

[4EverMe]

Hey you all!
My fear of spiders was a 'learned fear.' All through growing up, my Mom would freak out over them. As for myself, when I was around 7 plus years old, I liked to do the tomboy things. First, my Dad was stationed in the Navy in Corpus Christi, TX (which translates into 'Body of Christ.' btw).Anyway there were a steady stream of those cute, fluffy caterpillars. My Mom would give us kids coolwhip containers with holes poked in the lids. I'd literally fill mine with em. A buncha squirmin caterpillars of all different colors-some striped. Anyway, so back to the subject: A big resounding spiders!!

One particular day when I was around 9, i decided to entrap spiders in my special container. My Mom freaked out when she got off of work and I was SO excited to show her my new found wonders of the 8-legged kind! She wasn't too happy. Later, throughout my growing years, I developed my own arachnid fears. LOL! The thing that got me rattled were the BIG spiders. The long legs. Ugh! The LEGS!! Gettin over it.

[RedTeardrops]

Don't worry, i'm exactly the same, even if it's the smallest spider i can't be in the same room as it incase it crawls onto me. My mum says i'm so pathetic, haha. But it's just the massive legs that freak me out, ugh so creepy!

[Shybugg]

My phobia did not begin til i was 8. Before that i would kill them for my mom. Not little ones, big BC spiders the size of tarantulas! You could HEAR these suckers coming.
The day my phobia began started like any other. I woke up, yawned, stretched......and something dropped into my mouth! I panicked and sat up, spitting the something out. It bit me before it left my mouth. It was a HUGE brown hairy spider!!!! It got up from the floor where it struck the wall and slid down, and tried to disappear behind my dresser. I beat that thing to a pulp.
A few days later, I started to feel really sick and my face swelled up on my right side, where I had been bitten. Fearing my stepfathers reaction, I hid being sick until i ended up with blood poisoning from the infected spider bite.
I am now so freaked out by spiders that I almost go catatonic when I see one.
Lucky for me, my new cat likes to EAT them. I just wish he would stop doing it in front of ME!
Ok, my story has been told, and NOW I have the heebee geebees, sheesh!!

[Melibellz13117]

I am absolutely horrified at spiders. Any arachnids actually. If I see one I freeze up in utter fear and I have to have someone get rid of it, even if it's already dead. I am always afraid that they are going to gang up and eat me alive or something. I even have nightmares about them. My family makes fun of me but I just can't get over the fear.