Signs You May Have Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia is a common phobia, meaning one has the fear of spiders. Many people suffer from this phobia; some to the point that it's a life-altering fear that controls a person's every day life.

When I was little, I had a terrible experience with a large spider in my bedroom that made a pretty significant impact in my life today. It sounds pathetic and stupid, but all it takes it one bad experience with something, and you can remember that certain thing for the rest of your life. Thanks to that certain encounter, I am absolutely terrified of spiders today. I have tried to overcome this fear, but I've had no success. Good luck to anybody who is going through the same situation, I honestly know how you feel. If anybody has any advice on how to overcome this fear, I'd love to hear about it. Arachnophobia has gotten to the point where it's a major part of my life, and I don't want it to control me anymore!

The following list includes some of the things I have experienced with my phobia. You may be able to relate to some of these things, or you might just laugh. Either way, here are some of the signs of arachnophobia.

I cannot stand to look at a spider in a picture, or a spider on TV. Even fake toy spiders terrify me. When I see one on TV or in a movie, I immediately close my eyes and wait until it disappears.

In the past, I've had some vivid nightmares about spiders, causing me to wake up drenched in sweat with my heart racing. Sometimes, these dreams are so real, I wake up with the feeling that spiders are crawling all over me, and this causes me to get out of bed and search through my blankets and sheets. Then, I'm terrified to get back into bed in fear that a spider is in there. This usually keeps me from going back to sleep, because I'll be up all night thinking about them.

If I see a spider anywhere in my house, I won't kill it myself. But I will stare at it to see if it crawls anywhere, and if it does move, I scream and throw a fit until someone else comes to kill it (usually my boyfriend), because I don't want to go anywhere near it. I even freak out when it's dead inside a napkin or on the bottom of a shoe.

If a spider is in the walkway or hanging from the ceiling where I want to walk, I won't even attempt to walk around it. Instead, I'll just wait it out until someone comes to kill it. There have been times a spider was in my bathroom, and I refused to go to the bathroom until it was killed. It doesn't even satisfy me if the spider crawls somewhere else, because you never know where it's going to pop out next. It could be underneath the toilet seat, just waiting for you to sit down.

If I ever feel something on me, I jump up and down, run around the house, and scream about it, trying to get it off, even if there is nothing there to begin with.

I shake my clothes and shoes out every time I get dressed. My worst fear is putting on a pair of jeans with a spider hiding inside.

I actually start crying if anyone puts a live spider near me, or threatens to put one near me.

I have gone as far to call an exterminator about spiders, even if I see just one in my house.

I don't like to look at anything that resembles a spider, such as a crab, tick, scorpion, etc.

I have black leather couches, and I'm always afraid that a spider could be hiding in them, and I would never see it because the spider blends in with the black of the couch. This often makes me cover the couch with a white comforter every time I want to sit down.

Even talking about spiders gives me the creeps, and writing this article gave me the feeling that spiders are crawling on me now...