The Fear of Spiders

The Fear of Spiders
As amusing as it may sound to many people,
Arachnophobia--the fear of spiders, is a traumatizing
reality for millions of Americans and people worldwide.

If you or someone you know personally has this phobia, then
it should be brewing in your mind to find the answers that
bring freedom from this evil web of fear.

Even though to the phobic it may seem impossible at first,
the fear of spiders, like most fears, can most certainly be
overcome.

There are a variety of treatments, exercises, and therapies
that can help and the World Wide
Web...oops...sorry...offers a vast array of resources and
material that can be of assistance.

Most phobias are established to have developed from a
traumatizing childhood experience that grew with the phobic
so that it eventually becomes a part of him. At times when
traumatizing childhood experiences cannot be established,
psychologists were known to venture into the realm of
reincarnation and past life regression.

Phobia is not the same as "fear". A "fear" is a sense of
impending danger or evil established by inherent logics and
reasoning or by gut instinct. A "phobia" on the other hand
is an inflated and disproportionate perception of reality.

Some researchers theorized that spiders were once a threat
to the human race somewhere in evolutionary history and
that panic attacks resulting from phobias were a defense
mechanism that could save the life of persons. Such
theories, however, have no solid foundations.

Is the fear of spiders rational? Almost everyone would
agree that the answer to that question is a resounding
"no". It is in fact, somewhat "mystical". An arachnophobe
would be dreadfully afraid of a spider that is really
harmless, and poisonous spiders are not really a threat if
seen.

Experts agree that knowing more about your phobia helps you
overcome it since most phobias grow out of fear of the
unknown. Following are some "fun" facts about spiders.

The fear of spiders actually has its roots deep in Greek
mythology. "Arachnophobia" comes from the Greek words,
"arachne", meaning "spider", and "phobos", meaning "a
fear". Arachne was a beautiful Greek maiden. She studied
weaving under Athena, and had extraordinary skill. When her
skills were later recognized, she denied any training given
by Athena. Athena turned herself into a bitter, old lady.
She approached Arachne, and tricked her into a weaving
contest. Arachne wove portraits of the gods performing evil
deeds. Athena and Arachne finished their weaving in an
extremely short amount of time, but Arachne's work was much
finer than Athena's. Athena was furious that a mere mortal
had beaten her in a weaving contest and had portrayed the
gods in a disrespectful way. Overcome with rage, she beat
Arachne to the ground. Arachne was so upset, she hanged
herself. Athena realized what she had done, regretted her
actions, and sprinkled a magic liquid onto Arachne, turning
her into a spider, so she could keep her weaving skills.

The feared tarantula isn't poisonous. A tarantula's bite
can be painful, but it isn't any more dangerous than a bee
sting.

Under a spider's abdomen, near the rear, are tiny stubs
called spinnerets. The spider uses its legs to pull liquid
silk made in its abdomen from the spinnerets. The silk
hardens as it stretches. Since silk is made out of protein,
a spider eats the used silk of an old web before spinning a
new one.

On an American one-dollar bill, there is an owl in the
upper left-hand corner of the "1" encased in the "shield"
and a spider hidden in the front upper right-hand corner.

Most spiders belong to the orb weaver spider family, Family
Aranidae. This is pronounced "A Rainy Day."

In the 1960s, animal behavior researchers studied the
effects of various substances on spiders. When spiders were
fed flies that had been injected with caffeine, they spun
very "nervous" webs. When spiders ate flies injected with
LSD, they spun webs with wild, abstract patterns. Spiders
that were given sedatives fell asleep before completing
their webs.

Horseshoe crabs and spiders are actually close relatives.
The horseshoe crab belongs to the large group of
invertebrates (animals without backbones) called
Arthropods. This group also includes lobsters, crabs,
insects, spiders, and scorpions. Even though it looks
crab-like, with a hard shell and claws, the horseshoe crab
is more closely related to scorpions and spiders than to
crabs.

Many cultures believe that spiders bring good luck. The
spider was popular with the Romans, who had a favorite
mascot in the shape of a precious stone upon which a spider
was engraved. Also they were fond of carrying little
spiders of gold or silver, or any of the fortunate metals,
to bring good luck in anything to do with trade.

Spider silk can stretch up to 50 percent of its original
length. A strand of spider silk the width of a pencil could
stop a Boeing 747 in flight.

On average, people fear spiders more than they fear dying.
However, statistically, you are more likely to be killed by
a champagne cork than by the bite of a poisonous spider.

We'd probably all be dead without spiders. Their sheer
number makes spiders vital in maintaining the balance of
nature. Because they structure insect communities wherever
they occur, spiders play a vital role in the terrestrial
food chain. Without all those hungry spiders, insect
populations would explode, food crops would be decimated,
and ecological balances ravaged. Humans would probably
starve within a matter of months--if they hadn't already
succumbed to various insect-borne diseases. No spider,
incidentally, has been found to transmit disease.

Spider venom can be used to treat certain neurological and
mental disorders. A research group in Utah has isolated
components from the venom of many species of North American
spiders, which may help reduce brain damage following
strokes.

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Patrick Carpen is the designer, owner, and author of the
website http://fearofspiders.infobay.ws . He is an internet
entrepreneur who helps the average user better understand
the workings of the internet in addition to providing high
quality content on selected topics.