Getting Over Fears

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I have a fear of bugs... All of them. Not because they are disgusting, not because they're harmful or anything. I don't even know why.

To give you an idea, I was in a car, and there was a spider about the size of a speck that was crawling around on the headrest in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it fall off the headrest, and the blood rushed to my ears and i jumped up in my seat. If there's a mosquito in my room, I can't sleep. It's that bad.

How do you get over a fear like this? I'm tired of being so afraid all the time.

But spiders are awesome! And useful.
My entire windows are covered from the outside in spiderwebs. I don't open them to avoid ruining it.
Not only does it keep everything else out, but it also is a very interesting thing to do, observing the spiders. I sometimes sit in front of window and just watch the spiders do..whatever they happen to be doing.

I have irrational fears of for example flying and spiders. Last time I saw a spider in my room I thought I was going to have a heart attack. My heart was pounding, I started crying etc etc. When flying I pretty much get panic attacks (heart beating faster, sweating, restlessness, fear of impending doom etc). No idea how to get over it. If you ever figure it out, let me know.

The ancient parts of the brain tell us that spiders are vile, venemous monsters that are to be avoided.
True in some cases...

IMHO they are freaky and must be eliminated/avoided at all cost.

Same goes for a lot of other phobias (older brain/evolution causes the problem).

I'm trying to get over a fear of public transport. My psychiatrist is helping me. We have broken down the scary thing into managable small steps. I do a small step and rate my anxiety before doing it and while doing it. Then I repeat that step until I am confortable with it, and then move onto the next step, repeating the process.

These kinds of irrational fears can easily be mitigated by cognitive behavioral therapy.

I have a fear of snakes. I can watch movies that play with this fear though. I don't make the connection between an imaginary snake in movieland and a real snake in front of me.

I have a mortal fear of spiders and flying or being in water more than 2 feet above my head. I plan on fixing the latter two by forcing myself to fly (sure, I'll be stimming like crazy, but I want to get over my fear of flying) and learn to swim.

I know what you mean. It's hard to admit it, but I'm afraid of certain plants, and I have no realistic or reasonable answer as to why. I've had the phobia or fear all my life, and it's just a creepy feeling that the plant is going to "get me" or something. Particularly tropical plants with huge leaves cause this feeling. They say that usually fears like this, are caused by trauma as a small child, but as far as I remember (and as far as my mother knew), there was no trauma involving any plants. I don't talk about it, as of course people see me as a 45-year-old bodybuilder who can lift a car engine, and looks like he's afraid of nothing and no one, and could overpower any man or beast. So it's kind of embarrassing.

As I get older, I think it's certainly manageable (It doesn't stop me from doing necessary things when a big-leaf plant is nearby), but it's still bothersome in a way. I wish I knew how to conquer the fear so that it isn't there anymore, but the best I can do is to restrain the fear so as not to let it interfere with life & livelihood.

Charles

I have a fear of decaying animal matter, including/especially meat and dead insects. I feel it's ruining my life because they're everywhere! When I see it I freeze up and if someone I don't trust is approaching me with it (for example, my mum's bf) I run for my life. I have good reason to run because he purposely threatened me with prawns and dead cockroaches and even put them in my room. I haven't found any way to get over it myself, so I think the only way is some kind of therapy. I'm confronted with my fear almost every day and it has never gotten any better. My mum can remember one incident she thinks might have been the trauma.

I am afraid of snakes, legless lizards, worms, centipedes, millipedes, and all other things with no or lots of legs. I really don't see myself getting over these fears. I don't see myself evar holding a snake in my hand and having the snake slither around my fingers, like I have seen other people do. But then again, who knows. Exposure therapy seems to be the best method for getting over fears. I used to be horribly afraid of touching my eyeball, but once I got enough exposure therapy due to a severe eye inflammation involving constant probing of my eyeball by eberryone, I lost my fear completely, then got contacts that help me see bester.

Argh, I want to quote all of you! I can relate to all of you so well.

Yours intrigued me, though. I was the same way; I couldn't touch my eyeball of my life depended on it. Then I got contacts and I have to touch my eyes every day, so there's no escaping it. I still can't wash out my eye, though

I tried exposure therapy, but I probably didn't do it correctly. It wasn't really proper and I don't think I went gradually enough.