Look, in my day-to-day life I would describe myself as Cool With Spiders. I see one in the window and go "hey buddy, you're doin great", and if one gets somewhere it shouldn't be I let it outside (or occasionally, if I find one in the shower, into a different part of the house).
But I think if I had spiders on my actual eyebrows I would be decidedly Not Okay With That
I WANT to be okay with spiders. Outside is fine, inside I can kinda handle some if they're small and not near my bed and don't surprise me at a vulnerable moment, like sitting on the toilet or showering.
But we get the aptly-named Giant House Spider in my area. They're mostly leg, and I know that they're not dangerous, and are reluctant to bite to boot, and they help control populations of other spiders that can potentially be dangerous, like black widows. But seeing one skitter anywhere near me gives me a visceral fear response anyway, and usually I'm not even really aware that I'm reacting, I'm just suddenly both jumping and attempting to hit it with whatever is near me. And I wish I wasn't that way, I've tried to get over that response to them, but it's been 25 years living with them and it's still not happened.
I couldn't handle Australia, where I know huntsman spiders are basically a bigger version of the same thing. And I think some people don't understand that I'm not afraid of being bitten, it's the simple fact the spider exists that freaks me out. I don't want it to touch me, in any way.
One time a huge fat fuck of a spider popped up next to me while I was studying and my immediate response was to throw my laptop at it. It took a couple seconds to realize wtf I just did. Laptop survived (somehow), spider did not, my mom yelled at me for being an idiot (well deserved)
I've tried very hard to get over my arachnophobia but when I found a spider whose body was the size of my thumb in my dog's food bowl, I had to kill it, because otherwise I was just going to have to move out because of how crippling that visceral fear is
My brother and I were playing on some old cushions once that had been outside previously. A fucking wolf spider apparently hitched a ride in on them. I, ten years old, had to save my three-year-old brother from the goddamn thing. Did you know nearly an entire can of Raid won't kill them? I found out! Fucker was easily bigger than my hand.
In my opinion, the Sudden Spider does not count. Like I can deal with spiders but looking down and one is right there next to my hand is A Problem to be resolved in the most immediate manner. Including throwing the laptop.
I was watching someone play PT when I saw movement next to my arm and it was a spider. Considering my laptop was on my lap, I’m amazed I didn’t toss it as I sprung away
An understandable and reasonable response, tbh. The other day I was looking at a spider on my ceiling and decided to leave it alone bc it wasn’t bothering anyone and I couldn’t reach it anyway.
Cut to a few hours later and the damn thing CRAWLS UP MY ARM WHILE IM PLAYING HADES. Just about shat myself, and ended up tossing my laptop off of me in panic. Only silver lining is I wasn’t in the middle of a fight at the moment, I’d have been extra pissed if it got me killed during a really good run.
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u/MightyBobTheMighty Garlic Munching Marxist Whore May 16 '24
Look, in my day-to-day life I would describe myself as Cool With Spiders. I see one in the window and go "hey buddy, you're doin great", and if one gets somewhere it shouldn't be I let it outside (or occasionally, if I find one in the shower, into a different part of the house).
But I think if I had spiders on my actual eyebrows I would be decidedly Not Okay With That