«Introduction to arachnophobia
Arachnophobia and interpretation
If the arachnophobic itself fears the spider, the fear can easily turn into a real obsession when the animal is emphasized, and the phobia amplified immeasurably by the media and popular beliefs and legends which, in themselves, have no basis. any.
In all likelihood, arachnophobia is exaggerated to excess by some cultures: according to what emerges from an ancient belief - still considered - the soul can enter and leave the mouth during sleep under the guise of the spider.
In the art, some paintings depict giant spiders with the face of a woman: we have previously seen that the figure of the spider is somehow related to life (act of creation). In this regard, the spider woman symbolizes double opposite meanings: "human and beast, beauty and monstrosity, the real and the imaginary."
For other authors, arachnophobia expresses the allegory of the alienation of oneself towards the world; for still others, the fear of spiders is a simple attempt to involuntarily remove certain behaviors - unconsciously considered erroneous - of one's ego.
Psychological therapies
As we have seen, "arachnophobia claims an enormous number of victims. However, like all phobias and psychological diseases, therapy is possible. Since for many authors the fear of spiders is classified as a" simple phobia "( classification certainly carried out by non-arachnophobic people), there are no targeted, recognized and legitimate pharmacological treatments.
Common is the so-called in vivo exposure, behavioral therapy consisting in the close contact of the arachnophobic with the spider: the treatment, at first purely psychological and subsequently also carried out on a practical level, must be performed gradually, in order to drag the patient right to the limit of obsession, touching with hands the arachnid who, mockingly, stares at the victim.
Typically, the therapy begins by subjecting the arachnophobic to targeted questions about his fear, in order to extrapolate the reasons that induced it: most of the time, the patient is unable to give a precise and sure explanation to his fear. arachnophobia.
The next therapeutic phase consists in presenting photographs of spiders to the arachnophobic; the sessions continue showing real spiders, which separate them from the subject thanks to a glass. The last phase, the highest level of "danger" for the arachnophobic, as well as the most feared, consists in directly touching the spiders.
Generally, the treatment gives good results for a short period of time, therefore "booster" therapies are recommended in order to avoid further relapses.
Other authors seem to prefer other methods called "shock", consisting in the sudden exposure of the spider to the arachnophobic victim.
Reflections
Undoubtedly an irrational paradox, arachnophobia: the conscience and the intellect are no longer able to manage the phobic object. The problem itself is not represented by the fear of spiders: the spider, as already explained several times, is only a stratagem, a simple loophole towards which to pour anxiety and unconscious anguish. If the spider were a box full of fears, worries and restlessness, the arachnophobic would still fear the box: the problem is that the casing itself does not create fear, it does not unleash the damage, but it is the content that generates obsession The box is appearance: we must not stop at appearances, we must dig deeper, trying to find the reason around which everything revolves.
Some experts on the subject are convinced that arachnophobia has deep roots in childhood, the "tender age", a period of life in which mental strength is not yet consolidated and stable. The fears seen through the eyes of a child are magnified and emphasized: the inevitable consequence is the absolute inability to master it, generating a sense of permanent and unmanageable anguish. It is precisely at this moment that an apparently defensive mechanism involuntarily triggers in the head of the little arachnophobic, which consists in placing the responsibility for the anguish on the spider itself.
If psychological therapies are not used, arachnophobia, inexplicably, remains a nightmare that accompanies the unfortunate throughout his life.
To think that an old English proverb states: If you want love and success
let a spider run alive.
Who knows if the arachnophobics agree ...
