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Hypnosis Berlin

Hypnosis for Spider Phobia
Overcoming the Fear of Spiders

Perhaps it is their eight legs or the unusual body with many eyes that make most people shy away from spiders. In fact, arachnophobia is one of the most primal fears. It protects us from being stung by poisonous specimens. Even children rarely reach for spiders, and that is usually a good thing. Because even if there are hardly any poisonous spiders in our latitudes, the "cradle of mankind", the African savannah landscape, was certainly populated by these animals. So there were good reasons to be on the lookout. But how is it, then, that in countries, of all places, where a large number of spiders live, arachnophobia is much less widespread than in our country? Well, the answer is quite simple. We have no practice with spiders. We hardly ever encounter them, and we don't have to develop strategies to cope with our innate caution. So our fear can grow uncontrollably, and when a spider really does cross our path, the panic wants to unload with all its might.
Hypnosis for Spider Phobia - Overcoming the Fear of Spiders
Image: Hypnosis for Spider Phobia - Overcoming the Fear of Spiders

Spider phobia symptoms

How to recognize the fear of spiders (arachnophobia)

Even though sufferers are usually aware of it, arachnophobics react fearfully to spiders and arachnids to an exaggerated and inappropriate degree. Yet for most sufferers, there are several factors that exacerbate the symptoms: how close does a spider get to them, how fast does it move, how big is it, is it imagined or real? It is clear to them that the fear is not related to a real threat, and yet that is how it is experienced! Spider phobics endure fears that can increase to the point of mortal fear accompanied by strong flight reflexes or feelings of rigidity

Spider phobia manifests itself in people through different symptoms and reactions on a physical and psychological level:

Physical Symptoms
People with a fear of spiders react with strong physical symptoms. It is important to distinguish: it is not disgust! But a genuine real experienced fear. People who suffer from arachnophobia experience strong feelings of fear at the sight of spiders and often at the mere idea of spiders and arachnids. Physically, this fear manifests itself in rapid heartbeat, severe restlessness, tension, hot flashes, shortness of breath and feelings of panic.
Psychological Symptoms
Affected individuals often experience high levels of psychological distress. They describe paralyzing thoughts, fear of no longer having control, embarrassing behavior in the presence of others, fear of not escaping, fleeing or getting out of the situation with a spider. At the same time, even beyond a fearful situation of spiders, sufferers are often affected by paralyzing thoughts with circles of thought ("what if there is suddenly a spider?"). Insecurity can intensify and be accompanied by avoidance behavior.

Hypnosis for spider phobia

Unlike people who have no fear of spiders, it is always amazing where people with arachnophobia immediately discover spiders everywhere with a purposeful glance: in (un)known rooms, closets, chambers, basements, corners in rooms or toilets. This also makes clear how stressful a spider phobia can be. Affected people are often tense and first go into rooms to really make sure that there is no spider in them. This requires extra strength and energy, which can be very debilitating in the long run.

Spider phobia self test

Do I suffer from arachnophobia?

The following questions may be the first clues as to whether you suffer from arachnophobia:
  • 1

    Do you experience moments of fear when a spider suddenly comes too close to you or you think intensely about a spider near you?
  • 2

    Do you experience one or more of the following symptoms when you encounter a spider: - palpitations, dry mouth, restlessness, tightness in the chest, panic?
  • 3

    Are you afraid of losing control or being embarrassed when you encounter a spider?
  • 4

    Do you find it difficult to relax or fall asleep until you have checked that there are no spiders in your bedroom?
  • 5

    Do you seem to avoid certain places such as basements, unfamiliar rooms, attics, chambers, farms, parks, public restrooms, or outdoor places such as campgrounds?
If you can answer yes to one or more of these questions and feel restricted in your daily life and living, you should seek medical or therapeutic advice. You may have a spider phobia. Please note that questions are always asked broadly, so it is possible that people who are not affected by arachnophobia may also receive a positive result. Not everyone who has ever been frightened by a spider suffers from arachnophobia.

Spider phobia facts

Fear of spiders - widespread in the population

Spider phobia is one of the animal phobias that is most widespread in the population. This is also shown by the studies and the following graphs created from them in their own execution. The fear of spiders usually lands on the first places in the surveys.
28.08 %
of respondents said they were afraid of spiders, bugs.
39 %
of Austrians surveyed in 2014 said they were afraid of bugs, spiders and snakes.
28.1 %
of Germans surveyed in 2016 said they were afraid of spiders / bugs (1000 respondents aged 18 and over).

Spider phobia causes

The origins of arachnophobia

This evolutionary approach explains why we humans are wary of spiders, but it does not provide an explanation for true arachnophobia. There are a number of very good explanations in psychology. There is talk of fear of the unpredictable, fear of the creeping, black - almost a religious fear, and then there is also learned behavior. The socially inherited phobia, so to speak. What, however, is the reason why some people develop a fear of spiders and others do not, has not yet been sufficiently clarified. It is up for discussion whether it is due to the fast, unpredictable and unpredictable movements, the being hidden where we cannot see it and with what we are surprised out of nowhere - for spider phobics an absolutely threatening situation. Probably you do not care where your spider phobia comes from. The important thing is that Hypnosis Berlin helps you to lose your arachnophobia. If you want, we can find out together where the fear comes from, but it is not a prerequisite for working with hypnosis to find out the causes in detail in the past.

Spider phobia consequences

What consequences can the fear of spiders have?

Spider phobia begins relatively early in young people in childhood and adolescence and yet usually remains undiagnosed. It is important to treat this fear as early as possible so that it does not solidify and become chronic in adulthood.
The longer a spider phobia persists and remains untreated, the greater the suffering of those affected. Confidence and hope to change something decrease, affected people feel helpless and visibly at the mercy of a spider.

The consequences of arachnophobia include:
  • Affected persons are clearly restricted and impaired in their everyday life.
  • There is enormous suffering even in normal situations such as a walk in the woods or a stay in a meadow. For many, even going to bed is associated with a great expenditure of energy, because first everything must be searched for spiders and arachnids.
  • The perception of spider phobics is usually intensified - here, too, a great expenditure of energy is required to permanently scan and check rooms and corners for spiders. The perception of stress and feelings of tension are increased as a result.
  • Increased feelings of insecurity and fear may be evident in private and professional life.
  • Marked avoidance behavior: Avoidance of certain situations and places in nature, basements, chambers, attics, etc.
  • Increased risk of "self-therapy or self-medication" to relax.

Spider phobia and secondary conditions

In extreme cases, arachnophobia can also bring about secondary conditions: Anxiety attacks, panic disorders and also depression are possible. Due to increased stress and feelings of tension, spider phobics also tend to exhaustion, as such an expenditure of energy for permanent control is difficult to maintain in the long run.

Spider phobia hypnosis treatment

Treating the fear of spiders with hypnosis

You may have thought about doing something about your arachnophobia a few times, but then decided against it. For fear of confrontation, for example. Hypnotherapy is not confrontation therapy. I will not put a tarantula on your hand to make you lose your fear, nor will we spend hours searching your subconscious for the trigger of the fear. In hypnosis you will first of all sit very relaxed in my chair. No spider far and wide, only your calm breath and my voice. Very slowly you will make contact with your subconscious mind and when this connection is stable, there will be a space for your fear of spiders. Now you may imagine a pretty specimen of the genus Arachnida or you may remember your first traumatic encounters with spiders. Whatever your unconscious mind suggests to relieve you of your fear will be effective without causing you emotional distress.

Hypnosis can help you with spider phobia if...

You feel disgusted when you see a spider, take a glove, catch you and put you in the fresh air? That's fine and definitely not a spider phobia. Even if you briefly cry out because a spider unexpectedly crosses your path, this is perfectly normal and does not require treatment. However, if you no longer go to the basement because there are spiders there, or perhaps there just might be, if you can no longer enter your balcony or buy yucca palms for fear of spiders, then the phobia restricts your actions and the more it does so, the larger the space it takes up. So very slowly your life becomes dominated by the spider phobia. Not by the spider, but by the fear of it. At the latest now it is necessary that you get rid of your arachnophobia with the help of hypnosis Berlin.

More Information

Hypnosis Appointment Booking

  • The first hypnosis session usually lasts 120 minutes and includes getting to know each other, a detailed anamnesis and your first hypnosis.
    After booking an appointment in the online calendar, you will receive detailed information about your hypnosis session by email and will receive the hypnosis e-book free of charge when you book the first session. Follow-up appointments usually last 90 - 120 minutes, depending on the current situation and the resulting needs.
    You can find detailed information about the prices under Hypnosis Prices.
  • Smaller topics and issues can sometimes be solved in one session. In particular, hypnosis for smoking cessation takes place in one intensive session. More complex issues that accompany people longer are treated in four sessions on average. Hypnotherapy is to be understood as a short therapy. There are also exceptions where I support clients over several years at their express request.
  • Usually clients come for a follow-up appointment at an interval of 1 to 4 weeks. I have had very good experiences with a session interval of 1 to 2 weeks. I would like to emphasize here that in my experience this depends on the topic and the client.
  • Under the following link you can select and book your appointment yourself in the online calendar: Make an Appointment.
  • You will receive an invoice for each session. This does NOT show any fee codes of the GebüH and does not contain any diagnoses. The session is to be paid privately at the end of the session in cash or with EC card. The practice does NOT bill public and private insurances.
  • You can find more questions and answers in the Hypnosis FAQ section - frequently asked questions about hypnosis.

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