Conducting a bit of a test.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Yorick
  • Start date Start date

Fear of spidery things?

  • I have no fear of spiders or arachnids.

    Votes: 31 44.3%
  • I have an irrational fear of spiders but not arachnids.

    Votes: 4 5.7%
  • I have an irrational fear of arachnids including spiders

    Votes: 16 22.9%
  • I have a rational fear of spiders but not arachnids

    Votes: 4 5.7%
  • I have a rational fear of arachnids including spiders

    Votes: 15 21.4%

  • Total voters
    70
Y

Yorick

Guest
I was reading my Psychology book this morning in preparation for my final, and came across the bit about phobias, and the book had this to say.

"People affected by phobias recognize that their fears are unreasonable, but they cannot control them. For example, a person with a spider phobia would find it impossible to ignore a picture of a spider, even though a photograph can't bite anyone"

Now, I know that I have a very very deep phobia of spiders. But not other arachnids. I can and have held scorpions, and even ticks don't bother me.

So here's my question.

How many of you are afraid of spiders (or arachnids), and is the fear rational or irrational?

- I will be breaking up the poll to list both spiders and arachnids, because of previously explained subject (myself) who fears one and not the other.
- When I say "rational" or "irrational", I mean, if you had a traumatic experience as a child where a spider bit your ****ing face, that's rational. If you are just plain afraid of them for no gorram reason, that's irrational.
- Believe it or not, this test does sort of matter to me, so honesty would be excellent.
- I'd appreciate people refraining from posting pictures in this thread. Links are all good. If you do post a picture I'll probably try to get one of the mods to change it or tar and feather you.


Thanks!
 
I have a rational fear of arachnids not including spiders. Where's that option?
They don't really bother me, but say if one was poisonous, i'd stay away obviously.
 
I have a rational fear of arachnids not including spiders. Where's that option?
They don't really bother me, but say if one was poisonous, i'd stay away obviously.

Really? That's interesting all in itself. I didn't list that option because my main interest is spiders. Obviously staying away from a poisonous one is instinctual, not so much a fear.
 
Irrational, I have no real reason other than the fact that the whole concept of a spider/arachnid makes my skin crawl. Same goes for moths.
 
I don't really understand phobias. Yeah, I'm scared of heights, but that's because it hurts to die. Looking at a picture of heights doesn't bother me though.

Spiders on the other hand - I've had a black widow on me as a kid, and I'm still not scared of them. Just a little tap and they are a shit stain with legs.

Do they creep me out? Hell yeah, they are some ugly, sneaky, intelligent little bastards

If I'm laying in bed and I see one crawling on my arm, I jump the **** up and do my best to annihilate it. They can bite, and they can be poisonous. Not only that but I'm ticklish.

I can understand being afraid of them, and yeah, I can even understand to be bothered by looking at a photo of one, because they are so freaky looking, but tell me, who here has to buy a new house because they saw a harmless spider in theirs? You've got irrational fear.
 
My fears are more psychological than actual, if that makes any sense. I.e. fear of failure, rather than fear of object.
 
I fear one bug. It's a small landlobster of sorts. Completly harmless. Have no idea what they are called in english, but i hate them. Don't really know why. Other bugs i have no problem with.
 
I can understand being afraid of them, and yeah, I can even understand to be bothered by looking at a photo of one, because they are so freaky looking, but tell me, who here has to buy a new house because they saw a harmless spider in theirs? You've got irrational fear.

No, I think that goes beyond irrational fear and branches into obsessive compulsive behavior. Someone like that would live in a small place and clean it ****ing RELIGIOUSLY.

But, it's like. I've been terrified of them as long as I could remember. For a long time I couldn't even kill them, I'd just stand there a and shake. In high school I took to lighting them on fire, but I did that with a lot of things. I have and will literally pay someone to go into the basement so I don't have to. If I do see a spider, whether I kill it or not, whether it's real or not, it makes me intensely paranoid, and I spend the rest of the day or 3 looking around expecting to see more everywhere. Sometimes finding one and killign it helps, but it ****s the hell out of my nerves.
 
Interesting. So I guess you're not an avid camper.

this fun fact will probably disturb several people
These are based in fact, but may be slightly inaccurate - I've heard that there are generally hundreds of spiders within 15 feet of any person at any given time. Oh, and they can also feel your heart beat from that distance.
 
That's sounds intressting, im not sure about the hundreds thou...

heh when i read that post my eyes did draw to the ceiling:P

I read that theres like 3 spiderlegs in your average chocolatebar. :O
 
my little brother swears that people eat an average of like 100 spiders per year or something like that. He claims they crawl in your mouth when you sleep.

I highly doubt either of these things
 
Interesting. So I guess you're not an avid camper.

I've only been camping once, but it's interesting in that a place where I "could" run into spiders doesn't bother me. Like I lived in Florida for a year which is much more tropical than where I am in Massachusetts, and it wasn't really a worry of mine when I was going there.

They are ****ing huge down there though.

But, yeah, I would still probably go camping.

my little brother swears that people eat an average of like 100 spiders per year or something like that. He claims they crawl in your mouth when you sleep.

I can't speak for the others, but this one I know is false. It's been debunked a few dozen times.
 
I am not really afraid of spiders, but this American guy kept sending me plastic toy spiders varying sizes. He usually sent them as a sideproduct of some other stuff, including candy :D One day I got this big packet expecting something tasty to be inside. But there was only this one big hairy spider toy. I was too afraid to touch it for several days, it was just there in the floor of my appartment, still in its box.

spiders.jpg

Also, some time ago, before finding out about Yorick's (irrational) fear of spiders, I teased him with this:

sadpuppy.gif
 
I find insects to be extremely cool-looking, especially up close. Their life-cycle and habits fascinate me to some degree.

However, outside of pictures I cannot stand them. It's not an irrational fear... I just hate them. :(

yeah. They just bug the shit out of me. That's why they call it that.
 
I don't really care. They're just insects, you're bigger than them, kill 'em.
If all else fails, shoot it.
 
I'm not quite sure if your definition of rational/irrational is correct. Isn't it all about your reaction to your fear?

Like, having a rational fear of spiders would mean you would be scared if you saw one in real life but not if it's just a picture or video because you know there isn't any real threat. And having an irrational fear would mean you're just scared of them, whether it's real or not.
 
Where's the 'I love spiders and all insects other than Daddy Long Legs and Wasps.' option?
 
I have an innate fear and derision for any creature that doesn't have a full internal skeleton. So yes, I have an irrational fear of arachnids and spiders.
 
I'm not quite sure if your definition of rational/irrational is correct. Isn't it all about your reaction to your fear?

Like, having a rational fear of spiders would mean you would be scared if you saw one in real life but not if it's just a picture or video because you know there isn't any real threat. And having an irrational fear would mean you're just scared of them, whether it's real or not.

Probably, but I'm not curious about reaction, I'm curious about reasoning.
 
Irrational. I'd probably pass out if I wake up with one on me anywhere.
 
Irrational. I'll get freaked out if anything's in my room, crawling around on the ground or floor, but I can look at a picture just fine, even though any arachnid is kind of gross. I have a problem with killing them, though, so I either just move them with cup to paper and put them outside or let them be--if I can't see them they don't bother me.
 
I voted rational but actually ick no keep em away OH GOD IT'S ON MY no wait that's my toenail.
 
Rational fear of them. They bite, and are scary looking.
 
I don't really understand phobias. Yeah, I'm scared of heights, but that's because it hurts to die. Looking at a picture of heights doesn't bother me though.

Spiders on the other hand - I've had a black widow on me as a kid, and I'm still not scared of them. Just a little tap and they are a shit stain with legs.

Do they creep me out? Hell yeah, they are some ugly, sneaky, intelligent little bastards

If I'm laying in bed and I see one crawling on my arm, I jump the **** up and do my best to annihilate it. They can bite, and they can be poisonous. Not only that but I'm ticklish.

I can understand being afraid of them, and yeah, I can even understand to be bothered by looking at a photo of one, because they are so freaky looking, but tell me, who here has to buy a new house because they saw a harmless spider in theirs? You've got irrational fear.

This.
 
my little brother swears that people eat an average of like 100 spiders per year or something like that. He claims they crawl in your mouth when you sleep.

I first heard this years ago and when it was told to me the number was 5.

If I recall correctly, this bit of info was fabricated just to see how far misinformation could spread via the internet...and boy did it spread.

That being said, I don't fear them, I just kill them when I see them like any other bug because I don't like getting bites from them. I don't freak out, I just calmly lead them onto a nearby sheet of paper or tissue and kill them from there.

There isn't anything I'll actually bump into in this world that I'm truly afraid of (had to qualify that because I'm pretty sure I'd be f*cking scared of a lion if an angry/hungry one was dropped in front of me).

Also - Heights are AWESOME.
 
If I do see a spider, whether I kill it or not, whether it's real or not, it makes me intensely paranoid, and I spend the rest of the day or 3 looking around expecting to see more everywhere. Sometimes finding one and killign it helps, but it ****s the hell out of my nerves.

This.


Last week when my room had all those dozens and dozens of spiders in it, even after I cleaned the place out (with some psychological support from my family lol) I couldnt sleep in there, because every little itch or tingle on my body was a spider on me. Of course, they werent, but even now, days later, I still think there is a spider on me once in awhile.


And im just talking about little, near-microscopic ones. If I see more than one normal sized spider in my room, i clear the **** out and tell my brother to kill them. One I can handle, but when they gang up, I'm outta there.
 
I hate big spiders, especially tarrantulas (sp?). Once when I was about to tidy up the window-sill in the study I saw a massive spider sitting there and I just froze with fear. I think small spiders can be quite cute, though.
 
I have an irrational fear of arachnids including spiders just because the thing really ****ing creep me out :|
 
I have a rational fear of arachnids including spiders. Wouldnt call it a fear probably just a uncomfortable feeling.
 
I've only been camping once, but it's interesting in that a place where I "could" run into spiders doesn't bother me. Like I lived in Florida for a year which is much more tropical than where I am in Massachusetts, and it wasn't really a worry of mine when I was going there.

They are ****ing huge down there though.
Yeah, I've seen normal house spiders about as big as my hand before here in Florida.

Spiders only bother me when they are on me, but this is merely because anything will bite if it's scared, and I don't study arachnids enough to know what's dangerous or what's not. I don't like them when they crawl on me in the middle of the night, or when they dirty up the room with cobwebs, so I still flush them down the toilet or squish them when I can. I think that's common for most people though. I don't know if that's considered arachnid phobia or not, so I won't vote until Yorick sees this post. I've known some real arachind phobics, and they nearly pass out at the though of a spider. I wouldn't say this is me.

As for fears and phobias, I have no fear really other than the fear of failure, or the fear of losing those close to me when I'm away.
 
Yeah, I've seen normal house spiders about as big as my hand before here in Florida.

Yeah that sounds about right. I lived just outside of Orlando, in Winter Park, for a year, and they used to freak me the hell out. My cat could tell they bothered me and always alerted me to their presence, haha.

Spiders only bother me when they are on me, but this is merely because anything will bite if it's scared, and I don't study arachnids enough to know what's dangerous or what's not. I don't like them when they crawl on me in the middle of the night, or when they dirty up the room with cobwebs, so I still flush them down the toilet or squish them when I can. I think that's common for most people though. I don't know if that's considered arachnid phobia or not, so I won't vote until Yorick sees this post. I've known some real arachind phobics, and they nearly pass out at the though of a spider. I wouldn't say this is me.

No, I wouldn't consider that a phobia. I mean, it's a matter of self-preservation. I live kind of in a wooded area which is different from the city I grew up in, and we have ticks out here. If I find one on me the natural reaction is to remove it because it could have disease. I wouldn't consider it a phobia.

I mean like an unnatural fear. Like I'm not afraid of spiders because they could be poisonous. I'm not sure what it is. They're just terrifying mother****ers.
 
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