Phobia help?

Discussion in 'Brainbent' started by ChelG, Jul 11, 2018.

  1. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Snails can do cute better. I don't know how, though.
     
  2. Birdy

    Birdy so long

    Because you’re not afraid of them
     
  3. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Well, yeah, but it doesn't really make sense to me that I'm not.
     
  4. Lazarae

    Lazarae The tide pod of art

    I'm scared of spiders but not scorpions. They're both arachnids, and scorpions have more dangerous varieties than spiders. And yet I tend to think they're cute, while spides give me crawlies. Phobies don't always make sense.

    I've got some advice/some rules I follow for at-home exposure therapy, since I'm doing something similar for my spider fear if you'd like. Of course, it's stuff that works for me, grain of salt, so on.
     
    • Agree x 2
  5. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    That could be useful.
     
  6. Lazarae

    Lazarae The tide pod of art

    Ok first is that it's not replacement for actual exposure therapy with a professional, but I have found it pretty useful.

    I've tried to build up positive associations; if I can't stand looking at pictures of big hairy spides I'll look at the little ones that wear water drops on their head, or cartoon spiders on days where I'm having a hard time dealing with the idea of spiders in general. (Digger has an oracular banana slug as a minor character. Might be others)

    Take it slow. If you can only look at one picture before freaking out, stop there. If you start to get really uncomfortable but haven't completely freaked out, stop. I've set myself off because hey, I'm not shit flipping yet maybe I can keep going only to push myself into an anxiety attack, and it set me back pretty badly.

    I like to read articles on cool shit to do with spiders that have one or two small/medium pictures. It not being image heavy means I'm less likely to freak out as I am from looking at a gallery, and it helps with the positive associations thing. Also the images tend to be specific enough to not always set me off. My interest is mainly in spider silk so I look at lots of spide butts, which set me off less than their faces do.

    Figure out what's guaranteed to NOPE you out and save it for an advanced technique. I avoid black widows because they're kind of a problem around here and I've got some personal bad experiences with them. So when I go looking for stuff I make sure they're not in the gallery or used as an example (I have an image hider extension, so if reading an article I'll hide images and search for 'black widow'), unless I'm either self-destructing (0/10 do not recommend) which I shouldn't do, or feeling really good about things.

    And using similar things that don't freak you out also helps! I've discovered some scorpions that move very closely to spiders, but they're close enough to the scorp side of things that it's not an immediate no, so I'll watch videos of them instead of actual spiders. If snails and sea slugs are easier for you to deal with then starting there, or defaulting back on days where you're just not up for the deep end, can help.
     
    • Useful x 1
  7. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Spider butts are cute ^_^ I read Digger years ago and I loved it. I remember the slug was funny but I was super grossed out by the idea in their backstory of beer being made in open vats outdoors. I don't even drink beer to begin with, but eeeuuurgh for multiple reasons. Ew.
     
  8. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Apart from the skin texture, the weird bulge on their backs icks me out. What is that? I don't wanna Google because it'll just bring up pictures.
     
  9. Birdy

    Birdy so long

    internal shell
     
    • Agree x 1
  10. Aondeug

    Aondeug Cringe Annoying Ass Female Lobster

    Are you talking about the mantel? It contains their genitals and breathing hole. There's like this little hole there that opens and closes as they breathe! And yeah it has an internal shell too because slugs and snails are actually basically the same sorts of creatures. Just one has a far more developed shell.
     
  11. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    Okay, this is sort of cute but again it's making me feel terrible for ever having killed snails. I never did deliberately but when I lived with my parents we'd walk the dogs at night without a torch and sometimes there would be a horrible crunchy feeling under my feet :(
     
    • Witnessed x 2
  12. ChelG

    ChelG Well-Known Member

    I wonder if part of it is that I'm mostly a very tactile person. I like to experience things through touching them, so when I see something gross, I can't avoid thinking about how gross touching it would be.
     
    • Witnessed x 1
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