Would You Partake In A Study Like This?

[CARRINGTON]

Ok I am sure some of you know I am TERRIFIED of spiders big or small it does not matter I am terrified of them. I am afraid when they show up in a book that I have to hurry and turn the page because I fear it will leave the book, if one is in the house I make my husband kill it and if he is not home I do not go near that room until he comes home to kill it, there was a spider between me and the door to leave the bathroom so I waited three hours in the tub for my husband to get home and kill it, I will NOT watch them in any movie if they are in a movie I look away until the scene is over (I will not watch 8-legged freaks, etc.), if a professor shows a picture of them I look away, I avoid attics and sheds because I know spiders like it in there and I try to avoid basements to the best of my ability and if I go in one the only thing I am thinking is how fast can I get out of here before a spider comes after me. Background is I was bitten when I was little by I am not sure what kind of spider and my hand swelled up really big and then a red line began to go up my arm so I was rushed to the ER where they confirmed I was bitten by a poisonous spider and that the red line meant poison was in my body so they tried to start an IV with medicine in it but my veins in my arm were starting close in and an IV was put in my head.

 

OK so back to this study: I was in my abnormal psychology class and I sit in the front row every class period and he showed a picture of a spider when talking about specific anxiety disorders and I looked away and didn't take my notes until he changed the slide. Nothing was said and I have no idea what was written on that slide but as class ended and I was getting my things together he approached me and asked if I was afraid of spiders and I told him yes and he asked me to tell him more about it (he is a licensed psychiatrist who specializes in mental disorders and has written some books one being the text book for my class), so I told him the above things and he wanted to know if I would partake in a study where I would come face to face with a spider (a tarantula) in a room and go as slow as need be until I am not afraid of them (he said this could take weeks or months of doing this before I saw results). I am just so afraid of spiders I don't know if I could do it. What about you guys would you partake in a study where you had to face your fear face to face? Why or why not?

[Jay]

I have the same fear as you. I cannot even get close to a spider. I was leaving for work and there was a spider on the door jam to the garage. I could not go through with it there but I was able to get something long enough to kill it without getting too close.

I would NOT participate in anything to do with spiders. They just freak me out too much

[Mobezilla]

I would honestly.. I have a huge fear of bugs (moths, roaches, no idea why) and I used to love bugs when I was little. I have no idea why I'm so deathly afraid now, and wish I could do something to fix it.

[Elyse]

Yes, I would. My Dad was terrified of all dogs (even puppies). They would bark and snarl at him all the time. 

When Suka was brought into that little waiting room, he didn't do any of those things. He just smelled everyone, wagged his tail, and lied down to be petted. 
We truly think Suka cured my Dad's fear of dogs, because now he isn't scared of them anymore. 

[BlueWolf]

Yes I would. If something like that has such a big influence on your life then maybe it'll be a good idea to do something about it. I dislike spiders but that's because they can run and hide while I still know they are SOMEWHERE in the room. Tarantulas are everything but that. They're big, you can't loose then, they don't just jump and run around and are very calm and laid back animals.

[mydiamond]

No I definitely wouldn't I am afraid of snails. Mere mental image of them when I wrote "snail" in the previous sentence actually made my hands tremble. Right now I don't feel the need to face my fear because that fear simply doesn't disrupt my life so I chickened out but I do think I should. You should, too. Especially because it sounds like your phobia actually disrupts your life  Exposure therapy is tough and obviously scary but I heard it works 70% of the time. Fat chance there. Good luck

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

I would try to , I mean we can all say yes I would but if you've not been thru what u have its hard to judge how we'd actually feel but likes been said if it's having such a huge impact on your life where you had to sit in a bath for hours then I would give it ago , I mean what if whilst stuck in the bathroom something happened that made your house catch fire you'd be stuck and that's a scary thought

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

Yes, I would. My Dad was terrified of all dogs (even puppies). They would bark and snarl at him all the time.

When Suka was brought into that little waiting room, he didn't do any of those things. He just smelled everyone, wagged his tail, and lied down to be petted.

We truly think Suka cured my Dad's fear of dogs, because now he isn't scared of them anymore.

my brother got knocked off his bike and bitten by a white gsd. He was then scared of big dogs. Till i got storm and he saw him grow up. He said the other day he cuddled a white gsd the same as the one that attacked him. Thanks to storm he says

[Storm Angel n Auroras Mum]

I cant stand spiders and massive ones i wont gp near. But my daughters scared and i have to remove them for her. So i be brave mummy. However i did have an asthma attack one day. A large spider landed on my bare arm!

[CARRINGTON]

I feel it may be beneficial as spiders do effect my life but I am so worried that if I go and see one I will have a complete meltdown and break down. He said the first step would be to bring the spider in a cage into the room where it would stay until I was ready for the next step which would be him taking it out and holding it and keep moving through phases until I am able to be one on one with it. I just fear I will have a huge breakdown and look like an idiot over a spider that is in a cage

[mydiamond]

I feel it may be beneficial as spiders do effect my life but I am so worried that if I go and see one I will have a complete meltdown and break down. He said the first step would be to bring the spider in a cage into the room where it would stay until I was ready for the next step which would be him taking it out and holding it and keep moving through phases until I am able to be one on one with it. I just fear I will have a huge breakdown and look like an idiot over a spider that is in a cage

 

I believe you won't be the only student with animal phobia there? Don't worry then. Everyone will experience that very same melt down and because of that, it won't be such an embarrassing thing I wonder why did the professor told you what you're gonna do before you decided to join though. It will scare you before you even try =\ but I do believe you should give this one a try. 

[Removed #5]

What you all are discussing is in the realm of "irrational fears" and thank the gods, I'm light on those.  Coming face to face with a mountain lion or a bear - okay, I'd be afraid (also have to change pants when I got home) but they can do significant damage, not really irrational to be afraid.  Obviously we have snakes - kill the ones I don't recognize or that are poisonous, chase the rest; spiders - keep a can of raid handy for the black widows that like the hot places that you can't see into; most of the rest of the "life" down here is unobtrusive.

While it wasn't here, I was on the desert one time and woke up with a good sized tarantula who'd decided that my body heat was better than wandering around - a quick shake of the blanket sent him flying and then he disappeared.

I understand the irrational fears - and I know that they're all to real to the people who have them - I wasn't trying to make light of you or them.

To answer the question, if it were me - yes, I'd take part in the study, especially in the realm of irrational fear.

[Emma]

I think you should. 

 

I'm ridiculously scared of heights to the point where I feel the need to get back down on solid ground asap and if that means attempting to fling yourself over the edge of what your standing on then so be it.  However, I still go on rollercoasters with my family (up to a point anyway) and just have to fight the urge to leap out.  You can't let yourself be ruled by your fears. 

 

That said my 16 year old sent me dozens of texts the other day asking when I was coming home (I was out with friends for the day), turned out there was an insect in the house that could of possibly been a bee, so he ran to the bathroom and locked himself inside until an adult returned.  by this time it was hours later and on a very hot day too.  The insect had long gone, and he was hot and thirsty.  If he had just faced up to his fear then he would of been much better off in the long run, lol.

[CARRINGTON]

I believe you won't be the only student with animal phobia there? Don't worry then. Everyone will experience that very same melt down and because of that, it won't be such an embarrassing thing I wonder why did the professor told you what you're gonna do before you decided to join though. It will scare you before you even try =\ but I do believe you should give this one a try.

It is done individually so I would be the only one in the room at that time. I just know I would freak out and possibly have a panic attack. I am not 100% sure if he was truthful as it wasn't anything like that in our book we read and the research I did on the Internet. He may have said it so I would agree to take the study? Not sure. All I know is I will probably have a HUGE meltdown, but it does count for extra credit and if I took a later psychology course it would count as a completed research project that would be documented so they would know I had in fact completed it. I wonder if being that worked up and that afraid is a good idea during pregnancy?

[CARRINGTON]

I believe you won't be the only student with animal phobia there? Don't worry then. Everyone will experience that very same melt down and because of that, it won't be such an embarrassing thing I wonder why did the professor told you what you're gonna do before you decided to join though. It will scare you before you even try =\ but I do believe you should give this one a try.

It is done individually so I would be the only one in the room at that time. I just know I would freak out and possibly have a panic attack. I am not 100% sure if he was truthful as it wasn't anything like that in our book we read and the research I did on the Internet. He may have said it so I would agree to take the study? Not sure. All I know is I will probably have a HUGE meltdown, but it does count for extra credit and if I took a later psychology course it would count as a completed research project that would be documented so they would know I had in fact completed it. I wonder if being that worked up and that afraid is a good idea during pregnancy?

[Elyse]

It is done individually so I would be the only one in the room at that time. I just know I would freak out and possibly have a panic attack. I am not 100% sure if he was truthful as it wasn't anything like that in our book we read and the research I did on the Internet. He may have said it so I would agree to take the study? Not sure. All I know is I will probably have a HUGE meltdown, but it does count for extra credit and if I took a later psychology course it would count as a completed research project that would be documented so they would know I had in fact completed it. I wonder if being that worked up and that afraid is a good idea during pregnancy?

 

You should mention that your pregnant; that may skew the results of the study. (I've heard pregnant women can be more emotional, etc).

I've heard of studies like those - it works in real life too. It's called cognitive behavioural therapy, and can be used to treat phobias. 

[sarahjng]

I would say go for it, although perhaps you could ask if you could start a little easier.  As its not just live spiders that bother you perhaps you could start with pictures and work your way up to a real one.

I totally sympathize, before I had kids I was terrified of spiders, jump across the room,  scream the whole bit. As my kids got older I decided I didn't want them scared as well so I grit my teeth and smiled and pretended they were fun little things (!$@#&@$) it took a while ( ok a looong while lol)  but a few years later we actually bought our first tarantula,  it's strange, I was still nervous of the little ones, but the big ones didn't bother me at all.

We ended up with a grand total of 32,  I handled most of them, lol NO ONE handled golly,  our goliath bird eating spider, he was HUGE ! , Anyway,  I think this is something you need to do for you, it will change your life, no more opening a newspaper or magazine and feeling your heart stutter, no more being frozen with fear at a shape on the wall.

 

Go for it !