Nightmares

palmtree67

First of all, I have severe arachnophobia. Rationally, I know most spiders are harmless, but something takes over my brain and my body when I see one........I totally freak out, I can't help it. They are little pieces of death, wrapped in scarey......

So, a couple of weeks ago we were holidaying in Jamaica and.......a frickin HUGE spider ( legs and body together, it was the size of my palm) crawled out from under the visor of the car we were in and headed towards me ( I was in the back seat ) along the roof. The driver tried to grab it, it dropped and scurried under the seat.

Well, I lost it! I was screaming, crying, out of my seatbelt, half into the back window of the car, trying to open the car door to jump out. My man threw his arm over me to keep me from jumping out of the moving car!

Fast forward - I am having terrible nightmares almost every night about spiders. Last night, the spider in my dream was exactly like the Jamaican one, only bright orange. ( ????? )

I'm exhausted. Truly, truly tired.

palmtree67

Help.

AudeSapere

I don't think I've ever had a nightmare about spiders but I might start now after reading your post.

I cannot help you as I'm trying to prevent my own terror at the moment.

I feel for you. I really do. But hopefully someone else will have advice and suggestions for you.

-Aude.

Heaven

I am fascinated by bugs and snakes and frogs and toads and salamanders and lizards. I love to watch jumping spiders. In Canada, I think our biggest spider is the dock spider.

My Dad and I rescued a bunch of snakes from a pile of old roofing shingles that were tossed onto my grandfather's property after one of his grandkids had his roof redone but didn't dispose of the shingles properly. Most were garter snakes but there was one bright green snake which I believe is called the Smooth Green Snake. It was neat!

Smooth Green Snake

I used to have nightmares about snakes under my wallpaper but that's when I was little. Now that I know the Watchtower is bogus, I don't have night terrors anymore about demons or floods or the ground cracking open either.

It's all in your head Palm. It's all in how you look at them. However, if you have this kind of phobia, maybe some hypnotherapy would be something to consider.

palmtree67

For the first time, I am starting to think of some kind of therapy for this.

I mean, I nearly jumped out of a moving vehicle. Not good.

nugget

when your phobia makes you try to jump out of a moving vehicle and then gives you PSTD it is time to seek professional help. I think most people would have been freaked by a spider that big but you need to get control of your fear.

You poor thing nothing like suicide attempt to spoil a good holiday.

Nickolas

I am not afraid of spiders but if one as big as what you describe was scurrying around in the space beneath my car seat, I'd be a little rattled, too. I wouldn't want to jump out of the car until it was stationary, and then I'd get a stick to push it outside. Thing is, the odds of this ever, ever happening again to you are very, very small. Be consoled that you are safe where you are now.

Fear of spiders is not uncommon. Same category as fear of snakes. It goes to how our brains are hard wired as part of our survival mechanism, and that is why rationalisation doesn't work. Therapy would be a good idea, if only to give you the courage to confront your phobia and defeat it forever. Then you can throw a party. I'll bring the dip.

miseryloveselders

I knew a white dude with numerous spider tattoos. IF you didn't know him, you'd think he did prison time, or was a nazi-skin. Truth was, he never did time, and wasn't racist. He really did at one point have arachnophobia when he was younger, and it was so traumatic to him that when he finally overcame it, he got tatted up with webs.

Me personally, I'm a little irritated and nervous by certain bugs. Its funny because some bugs I think are absolutely cool and fascinating. Other bugs seem so creepy to me. One morning several years ago, I got up to take a whiz, and the lights were off. I handled my business, and then went to wash my hands. I turned on the water, and I felt something strange between my toes. So I flipped on the light, and there was this huge thousand legger between my big toe and middle toe. It was trapped and appeared to be looking up at me. I freaked out man, and it got loose, and I didn't even have the nerve to simply step on it. I had to grab some toilet paper to smash it and flush it down the toilet. Something about all those legs is creepy. I feel the same way with spiders too. Something about them makes me have to smash them with a shoe. On the other hand when I come across a Praying Mantis, to me there is nothing cooler than them. Love that bug. I love how they have no fear of humans either. You can pick him up, or sit down beside him, and he looks at you as if he's saying, "wsup."

Nickolas

On the other hand when I come across a Praying Mantis, to me there is nothing cooler than them. Love that bug. I love how they have no fear of humans either. You can pick him up, or sit down beside him, and he looks at you as if he's saying, "wsup."

And they have no qualms about eating anything that moves, including their own. When he's looking up at you he's sizing you up and wondering how you'd taste.

Heaven

Without spiders, we'd have a real problem with bugs in this world. Perhaps it would be good to discuss a little bit about them and why you feel so fearful, Palm. Spiders are beneficial.

Benefits to humans- In addition to reducing local disease-carrying insects, spiders provide humans with other medical benefits. Spider venom is used in neurological research and may prevent permanent brain damage in stroke victims. The silk produced by spiders is used in many optical devices including laboratory instruments.

Nightmares

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