Reply To: Spider phobia

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July 19, 2018 at 7:17 pm#26026
Jesse Jacobs
PSTEC User

    Hi Paul,

    Thank you for your continued advice and encouragement.

    As I was doing all this work last week I became curious how dangerous tarantulas really are. Did you know that they are fatally poisonous is actually just a myth? It is a common misconception. Their bite is the equivalent of a b-sting. Talk about a distorted belief!  😮

    https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=99263&page=1

    “The other myth that needs to be laid to rest is they can kill you with a poisonous bite. ‘No tarantulas have ever been known to kill anybody,’ he says. Some of them will bite if provoked, even the native species of the Southwest, but the wound generally feels like a bee sting and causes no lasting injury.’ ”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula

    “Though all tarantulas are venomous and some bites cause serious discomfort that might persist for several days, so far no bite has been reported to cause a human fatality. In general, the effects of the bites of all kinds of tarantula are not well known. While the bites of many species are known to be no worse than a wasp sting, accounts of bites by some species are reported to be very painful and to produce intense spasms that may recur over a period of several days.”

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    Isn’t that funny? Tarantulas were my phobia because my dad had some fearful reaction when I was between the ages of 2-4. In this case, challenging the accuracy of this belief is quite obvious. My phobia was just a contagious cognitive distortion. This may be occur with many phobias being based on an illusion. It is one thing to have an awareness or insight of the need to face the fear. I had tried to just face it before. It was not as simple as telling yourself not to be afraid, because of the habitual opposing resistance.

    What was astounding was the way the PSTEC CT’s put me in a mindset where I felt very comfortable staying with the feeling of fear. It felt like it was rewiring my neural pathways. I could see and feel the change happening before my eyes in my thoughts, feelings, and behavior. The way I physically think and feel has been transformed. Truly incredible!

    Thank you and Brian again for all your instruction and support. The forum has been invaluable!  :)

    Jesse