Name: How to Overcome a Fear of Spider Quickly
Uploaded: 2020-03-18T18:11:41.000Z
Duration: 7 min 56 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Adverbs of degree

Even though they’re a fraction of our size, seeing those eight-legged terrors scuttle

Arachnophobia is the actual diagnosis of an “unreasonable” fear of spiders; but I

Wouldn’t you just love to put your fear behind you?

Even for people who aren’t full-blown arachnophobes, suppressing the shudder of disgust most of

us feel when we see a spider would take a long time.

It turns out that a study done by Israeli scientists found a way to reduce the fear

We’re all familiar with the Marvel comic book hero Spider Man, right?

He “can do whatever a spider can” – he can climb walls and shoot webs out of his

wrists; he can swing from those webs and trap bad guys in them.

Spider Man continues to be the cornerstone of childhood for kids, and a treasured memory

So what does Peter Parker have to do with that experiment I mentioned earlier?

The scientists split participants into 2 groups: a control group and an “intervention”

The intervention group was made up of people who had a huge fear of spiders.

The control group consisted of people who didn’t really feel one way or the other

Both groups did the same survey before and after watching Spider Man movie clips, which

gave researchers an idea of how familiar participants were with comic book heroes, and their reactions

The control group was only shown the first 7 seconds of the opening credits of the movie,

which was full of familiar colors and images from Marvel.

They also would’ve caught a glimpse of the instantly-recognizable Marvel logo at the

The intervention group, on the other hand, watched 7 seconds of a scene from the movie.

The scene showed a birds-eye view of a busy office, and then focused on a spider in its

web, presumably hanging from the ceiling or in a corner.

A woman’s voice is heard saying something to the effect of “I guess the research is

How could this short, 7-second scene reduce the fear of spiders in the intervention group

It has to do with something called exposure therapy.

Simply put, this is forcing someone to face what it is that freaks them out.

For example, if you’re scared of elevators, riding in one would be a hefty dose of exposure

By the way, the control group didn’t report any therapeutic effects from just watching

The key to exposure therapy is baby steps, and that’s why the clip the intervention

group saw was only 7 seconds long; the intervention group also wasn’t in the same room as a

real spider, nor did they stand next to a real spider’s cage, or hold one.

All they got was a very short visual of the arachnid in its web.

Perhaps the next step in the exposure therapy in this scenario would be watching a longer

clip of a spider in its natural outdoor habitat; then progressing to seeing a spider in person,

and so on, until they eventually overcome their fear.

The other key to the success of this experiment was associating the feared object – the

spider – with something positive: the superhero.

This was also the first study to use comic book heroes as the positive object.

Plus, watching a movie, or even movie clips, is a fun and positive activity!

There are other methods you can try to conquer your fear of spiders, or at least control

that anxiety you probably feel when you see one.

Deep breathing (and the magic way to do it) Taking a few deep, full breaths always helps

relieve anxiety, and slow your heartrate.

If you see a spider, don’t jump into immediate action – slow down.

Take some deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Plug one nostril, and breathe all the way in through the other nostril.

Hold it for a couple seconds, and then plug the opposite nostril.

Now let all the air out in a controlled manner through the nostril that is now open and repeat,

Sit down and think about what you would actually do if you saw a spider; and more importantly,

It may help you to write these steps down.

Go over them in your mind for a day or so before you actually put them into action.

For example, if you see a spider, you could slowly approach it, scoop it into a jar with

a flip-flop, spatula, or other flat object, and dump it outside away from your house.

Tapping This is a method of visualization and anxiety

relief where you tap certain points on your body, such as your forehead or temple, while

talking about and explaining your fear out loud.

You’ll follow your explanations with positive, affirming phrases that will make you feel

confident and strong, such as, “I am strong enough to face that spider.”

The points on your body that are tapped are changed through the exercise.

Many videos using this relaxation method can be found online.

That’s what I would do if I saw a spider!

Well, not really, that’s call arson, but the thought of such an extreme action is funny!

My point is, try to find some humor in your fear of spiders.

Ask yourself silly questions: Does the spider go home to his wife and kids and say, “Well,

it’s been another successful day of scaring the humans!”

That’s a corny example, and I like those, but you get the idea.

If you can laugh about it, you might find that your fear is lessened, or at least that

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How to Overcome a Fear of Spider Quickly

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