In At The Deep With Spider Fear
by Patricia Montgomery, LincsMag Writer.
Date: 06 January 2013
Does the very thought of a spider give you a fit of the collywobbles, bring you out in a cold sweat or have you hiding behind a wall of cushions?
If so you are not alone. Research shows that around 50 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men have arachnophobia (fear of spiders) to some degree. Most can pinpoint a time when they first had a bad experience of a spider; either as a child, perhaps in a tent or in a bath or having one placed inside clothing during youthful play. And when your fear is so bad a teacher tells you to get a doctor’s note to excuse you from an ‘A’ level biology exam in case you have to draw anything to do with spiders things have become pretty serious.
But that happened at school to Alison Day-Green of Hull, and the fear followed her through her adult life.
Fear Factor
Eventually she decided enough was enough and as a guide at The Deep in Hull, she found the fear was affecting her job. If she had to be close to an exhibit containing spiders she found it almost impossible to concentrate despite the glass barrier.
She said: “That was not good for my job. I recall one occasion when I ended up in tears and that is no way to carry on.
Alison also discovered the spider fear transferred to crabs and said: “I could not handle crabs in the children’s display area because they reminded me of spiders in some ways, probably to do with the number of legs and the fact they also move quite quickly.”
She also recalled that previously she could never watch programmes such as “I’m a celebrity” because spiders and other creepy-crawlies often formed part of the programme.
At home she would check the bed every night to make sure there was nothing under the covers and once after finding a spider in the bedroom had to sleep on the settee for a couple of nights because she could not settle.
Alison had seen cures offered and when she was offered a chance to attend a course at The Deep she decided it was something which must be done.
“I was pretty sceptical at first especially when I was told the cure involved deep relaxation techniques and that during the course I would still be aware of outside sounds and react to them.
The Deep’s Curator Katy Duke explained the physiology of spiders and explained how they behaved and the things she was saying made sense.
“Then a nurse who is qualified in hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques showed us how to swap negative subconscious feelings for more positive ones based on what we had learnt.”
Spider Visit
After the course the students had the chance to visit the spiders on display at The Deep and an opportunity to practice catching a British house spider in a stress-free manner.
During the course itself no spiders or pictures of them was used and the chance to meet and greet a spider at the end of the course was purely optional.
The trance state used in the course is a natural phenomenon which we all leave and enter many times a day. Have you been so absorbed in a book or TV programme that you have not been aware someone has been talking to you or driven your car safely on a familiar route and at journey’s end have no idea at all how you got there? That, put simply, is a trance state.
During the experience people are in an altered state of consciousness in which the emphasis is on being relaxed, safe and secure but at all times they will be aware of their surroundings and at the end of the course will have full recollection of everything that has happened.
Just where Alison’s fear came from is unclear but it has been a life-long thing until the course. “All my life I had been scared of spiders. It might have been something I picked up from my mother as she always had a fear of them and called my father to remove them.
“When the course started we were asked to rate our fear on a basis of 1 -10 and I said nine. By the end of the course it was down to four. Now the physical fear has gone and I don’t get goose bumps or feel panic when close to spiders.” said Alison. She added: “Afterwards people said they could not believe the change. Some folk on the course finished by being able to put a glass over a spider then slide a piece of paper underneath so the creature could be transferred outside.
“I could put the glass over one but I might have to get my husband to put the paper underneath to move it.
“But now I can do my job without worries and if I see a spider at home and it disappears I don’t spend hours or even days fretting about where it might be. Taking the course is one of the best decisions I have ever made.” said Alison.
