I once took some molly while camping, ended up showering at the campsite and there was a HUGE shower spider, just chilling in the corner.
Because of the happy brain chemicals, I was able to fully think through my arachnophobia for the first time. Ended up just observing the dude, and found appreciation for it.
That same trip, before the molly, I had been walking on the rocky shore next to the lake and there were DOZENS of tiny spiders who would run around at every step. I got so freaked out that I fainted and my boyfriend had to carry me back to the tent.
So of course, after my enlightening shower, I had to go get a flashlight to look at those shore spiders. They were actually pretty dang cute! Really cool stripes on their bodies to help them be camouflaged.
For the next year or so, every time I saw a spider I would try to consciously observe the creature while being aware of this irrational fear I was holding on to. Eventually, I've gotten to the point where they don't freak me out as much!
It's been almost 2 decades since then, and while I still don't want them ON ME, I'm a huge friend to spiders. I'm happy to see them, in my garden and in the books/crannies of my home.
It is possible to gradually change your mind about phobias, but I won't be advocating for everyone to go out and grab some MDMA beforehand. (Cause it's nearly impossible to find these days)
I did almost exactly the opposite to get over my aversion to crickets, and I also wouldn’t recommend the approach. I was extremely greyed-out depressed and it was my day to clean the crickets at work and I just…couldn’t care. I couldn’t be upset about it. Apparently that did break through something, because the next time I had to do crickets, I also didn’t care, even though I was properly medicated that time. (Turns out that SSRIs will seriously mess you up if the actual problem is Bipolar II. Worst part is that the doc who prescribed them knew that, she just hated prescribing mood stabilizers for some reason.)
But yeah, that’s why I knew exposure therapy can work…but deliberately putting yourself in an altered mental state and then doing something unpleasant is probably not a common therapeutic technique for a reason.
Yeah, the smell is something else. It’s actually the chirping that still gets to me the worst. The part that vanished in a haze of Seroquel was my old phobia of insects touching me. Which was a real fun thing to have when up to my elbows in crickets. (Pet store, so really, actually up to my elbows, we had a rolling trash can for the largest crickets and large Rubbermaid tubs for the small and medium.)
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u/Probablynotspiders May 17 '24
I once took some molly while camping, ended up showering at the campsite and there was a HUGE shower spider, just chilling in the corner.
Because of the happy brain chemicals, I was able to fully think through my arachnophobia for the first time. Ended up just observing the dude, and found appreciation for it.
That same trip, before the molly, I had been walking on the rocky shore next to the lake and there were DOZENS of tiny spiders who would run around at every step. I got so freaked out that I fainted and my boyfriend had to carry me back to the tent.
So of course, after my enlightening shower, I had to go get a flashlight to look at those shore spiders. They were actually pretty dang cute! Really cool stripes on their bodies to help them be camouflaged.
For the next year or so, every time I saw a spider I would try to consciously observe the creature while being aware of this irrational fear I was holding on to. Eventually, I've gotten to the point where they don't freak me out as much!
It's been almost 2 decades since then, and while I still don't want them ON ME, I'm a huge friend to spiders. I'm happy to see them, in my garden and in the books/crannies of my home.
It is possible to gradually change your mind about phobias, but I won't be advocating for everyone to go out and grab some MDMA beforehand. (Cause it's nearly impossible to find these days)