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    #1

    Phobias

    Well, after tonight's incident, I have decided to start the journey of trying to get myself over my phobia of bugs.
    And yes, I do mean phobia, not just a fear. And yes, all bugs. But only bugs.
    I'm no expert so I don't even know if I will be successful in doing this without a doctor but it is my understanding that you can use classical conditioning methods to get over a phobia. It takes time and with the severity of mine, it may take a very long time if it works at all.
    I will be starting with images, getting a treat with each one until I can handle those. Then I'll work my way to videos, being outside with them, and eventually, my worst nightmare... the insectarium. That place is like hell to me. I'm getting worked up just thinking about it.

    Anyways, if anyone has ever had to get over a fear or phobia and has any tips on how to go about this or even just how to stay calm when I start to panic (as panic attacks happen), please share.

    Also, prayers or good vibes or anything are appreciated.

    Please do not suggest "immersion therapy". Please.
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Phobias

    I was terrified of needles until I was into my 20s. I got my first tattoo and then I got hooked. Totally took my phobia away. I can go to the dentist, get my blood drawn every 3 months etc without any problems. I don't know if that's immersion. But it's my story on how I got over it.
    Satan is my spirit animal

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      #3
      Re: Phobias

      I'm not over mine.... So I'll not likely be very helpful, also... Not sure I wanna get over it.... Maybe I do spiders make such pretty webs, but they have way too many legs....
      http://catcrowsnow.blogspot.com/

      But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness.... Which could obviously only be redeemed by passing through the fiery inferno of my digestive tract.
      ~Jim Butcher

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        #4
        Re: Phobias

        Tbh wolves scare the c*** out of me... I really have no idea how to deal with it.

        AutumnFox - the only thing that comes to my head is trying to stay away from bugs and make them stay away from yout flat / apartment.
        "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



        Since I adore cats, I might write something strange or unusual in my comment.Cats are awesome!!! ^_^

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Phobias

          Originally posted by Maria de Luna View Post
          I'm not over mine.... So I'll not likely be very helpful, also... Not sure I wanna get over it.... Maybe I do spiders make such pretty webs, but they have way too many legs....
          I'm honestly afraid of getting over it but it's starting to interfere with my life. I'm almost scared of my own apartment...

          Originally posted by Gleb View Post
          Tbh wolves scare the c*** out of me... I really have no idea how to deal with it.

          AutumnFox - the only thing that comes to my head is trying to stay away from bugs and make them stay away from yout flat / apartment.
          I do try my best to keep them away but nothing I do is really working. I mean, it IS working some, but I can't seem to keep them out 100%. It's like 99.9% and that last .1% has me terrified. I need to try to find a way to get over it. Or at least bring it down to a more manageable fear where I do not have panic attacks.

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            #6
            Re: Phobias

            Originally posted by AutumnFox View Post
            I'm honestly afraid of getting over it but it's starting to interfere with my life. I'm almost scared of my own apartment...



            I do try my best to keep them away but nothing I do is really working. I mean, it IS working some, but I can't seem to keep them out 100%. It's like 99.9% and that last .1% has me terrified. I need to try to find a way to get over it. Or at least bring it down to a more manageable fear where I do not have panic attacks.
            I think bugs are rather disgusting than scary. But who am I to say?
            You can't stay away at 100% from them, of course. There is absolutely no reason for you to be afraid of them
            I don't know which species are in your area, but the only ones here where I live are ants, flies and very, very, very rarely- cockroaches running along the streets. But they come very rarely.
            Perhaps if you tell about the bugs you meet in your area of living it will help coming to a solution.
            "Fair means that everybody gets what they need. And the only way to get that is to make it happen yourself."



            Since I adore cats, I might write something strange or unusual in my comment.Cats are awesome!!! ^_^

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Phobias

              Start with the pretty ones. Butterflies, dragonflies, whatever is slightly more appealing. I had a pretty tough time with spiders. Major anxiety. Not quite a phobia but pretty damn bad. I've been working on it slowly. The first step was forcing myself to use our laundry room at our old apartments cause the ceiling was... literally... coated. With spiders. I researched the advantages. They kill other bugs. Woo. I started transporting them outside instead of killing them. Now I'm to the point where I can let them live in my basement. Or occasionally a corner. If they stay there. Cause most of them aren't poisonous around here and they take care of the other creepy-crawlies.
              We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

              I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
              It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
              Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
              -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

              Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

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                #8
                Re: Phobias

                I live in southern USA so there's all kinds of bugs. Everywhere. Everything. All over. Its awful. But the type makes no difference anymore. I'm terrified of them all, completely. Starting with butterflies may be the way to go as they are the only ones on a different level than all of the others, I'm less afraid of them. I don't think I could do such an extreme first step as you though, Shahaku. I'm starting small. Just pictures.

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                  #9
                  Re: Phobias

                  I didn't have a choice. I needed clean clothes. And I was about five months pregnant. I wasn't dragging them all the way to the laundry mat. Dragonflies are also pretty decent. You could find some cool bug cartoons, rather than real pics. Google bug cartoons and just scroll through for awhile each day until that's not so hard. Then regular bug pics. Etc. Maybe when you go to looking at real bug pics you could print out some of the cartoon ones your used to and put them around the house. On the fridge, the mirror, the door, above your bed.
                  We are what we are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is good and evil among every kind of people. It's the evil among us who rule now. -Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood

                  I wondered if he could ever understand that it was a blessing, not a sin, to be graced with more than one love.
                  It could be complicated; of course it could be complicated. And it opened one up to the possibility of more pain and loss.
                  Still, it was a blessing I would never relinquish. Love, genuine love, was always a cause for joy.
                  -Jacqueline Carey, Naamah's Curse

                  Service to your fellows is the root of peace.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Phobias

                    First of all, congrats on deciding to work on your phobia!! Second, I used to have an intense fear of going to the dentist. He could barely work on me because I would be so anxious. It essentially just took a lot of exposure for me to get past it. Eventually I realized that the dentist may be uncomfortable, but it's not some kind of life threatening nightmare. I still don't enjoy the dentist, persay, but I don't shake like a puppy and cry the whole time.

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                      #11
                      Re: Phobias

                      Bugs are my fear too. I'm also afraid of heights. I am especially afraid of spiders. They scare me to death. I have to get my dad to get any bug in my room. I am getting a little better with stinkbugs. The only bugs i'm not afraid of are ants, butterflies, and moths.
                      Anubisa

                      Dedicated and devoted to Lord Anubis and Lady Bast. A follower of the path of Egyptian Wicca.

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                        #12
                        Re: Phobias

                        Thanks for the support, everyone! My boyfriend will be helping me. Regulating rewards and making sure I don't have a panic attack. I'm a little worried the conditioning method we will be using will backfire. My psyc professor did say that was possible. With classical conditioning you get a reward for doing something good, essentially. I'm afraid that instead of associating the bugs with the good treat, it will go the other way and I will become afraid of candy. I could be over thinking this. I'm really nervous.

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                          #13
                          Re: Phobias

                          Originally posted by AutumnFox View Post
                          Thanks for the support, everyone! My boyfriend will be helping me. Regulating rewards and making sure I don't have a panic attack. I'm a little worried the conditioning method we will be using will backfire. My psyc professor did say that was possible. With classical conditioning you get a reward for doing something good, essentially. I'm afraid that instead of associating the bugs with the good treat, it will go the other way and I will become afraid of candy. I could be over thinking this. I'm really nervous.
                          Sending you the best! Good luck with everything Maybe you should only try a specific kind of candy as a reward, that way, in case it does backfire, you'll only be afraid of that kind of candy, not just candy in general.

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                            #14
                            Re: Phobias

                            Torey will kill me for saying this, but he had a borderline phobia of lots of different bugs for a long time. Still struggles with cockroaches, but he's getting there. We do some silly little things at home like naming the bugs in our house, which adds an element of fun and engagement that can underride the fear. I've also heard that keeping a bug as a pet can be a good final step in overcoming these things.

                            Originally posted by AutumnFox View Post
                            Thanks for the support, everyone! My boyfriend will be helping me. Regulating rewards and making sure I don't have a panic attack. I'm a little worried the conditioning method we will be using will backfire. My psyc professor did say that was possible. With classical conditioning you get a reward for doing something good, essentially. I'm afraid that instead of associating the bugs with the good treat, it will go the other way and I will become afraid of candy. I could be over thinking this. I'm really nervous.
                            This depends entirely on the balance of your pleasant stimuli versus the noxious stimuli. In counter-conditioning (which is what you are actually doing... using positive reinforcement for counter-conditioning, rather than classical conditioning, which is Pavlov's Dog learning to salivate at the ring of a bell) the idea is that the pleasant stimuli is of higher value than the noxious/aversive stimuli... so as long as your reward is bigger than your stimulus you should be fine. Keeping in mind that it is easier to start with a teeny tiny stimulus and work up than to start with a huge reward which then needs to be downgraded. The idea is that in the beginning you aim to reward the LACK of fear, rather than the fear itself. So don't start with a live bug that makes you freak out and eat candy while freaking out... that is actually counterproductive and not what you are trying to do. Start with something tiny and non-panic inducing like thinking about bugs and link that with candy. Then work up from there. If you do it too fast or if the freak out is bigger than the pleasure of the candy, then it will backfire.

                            If you are really keen, get a clicker for dog training and clicker-train yourself. It makes counter-conditioning a little bit easier and will form a bridge so that if you see a bug while you don't have candy on you, you can still click and get the psychological benefit. Start off sitting down with a little bag of candy and click+treat, click+treat, click+treat. That click is your ticket to something pleasant and becomes part of the reinforcement process. They actually do use clicker training in people, though I don't know if they specifically use it in treating phobias. It's possible that they also call it something else... because it's weird to think that you can train humans the same way you train dogs lol.

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                              #15
                              Re: Phobias

                              I have lots of things that scare me. I think it's natural to be scared. It's the body own way to survive. Right?
                              I am still afraid of needles and surgeries. Sometimes I am still afraid of dark.

                              But I decided to work on my phobia. One way to work against it is to "enjoy" it. Either way, it might destroy you.

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