How I overcome my fear of spiders

How I overcome my fear of spiders

A wave of skepticism meanders through my body. I close my eyes and slow down my breathing, determined to give John a fair chance. His voice is gentle and weighs me in a state of calm. After a few minutes he begins with his singing: "From this point on you will be calm, relaxed and relaxed in the presence of spiders." I try to take up his words, internalize them, really believe them.

"You have control," he continues. "They are calm, relaxed and relaxed in the presence of spiders." His words come in various incarnations, but always assure me that I will remain calm, relaxed and relaxed "in the presence of spiders.

This hypnotherapy is not like the television programs in which a viewer dances like a chicken when someone calls "soup". I feel stunned and relaxed, but I am very aware of my surroundings: I lie in a large room with about 20 other spider phubons, the eyes closed against the light, in deep hope that the clinical hynotherapist John Clifford will know what he is doing.

The afternoon had started that we had all gathered in a theater. John and the spider expert of the London Zoo, Dave Clarke, told us what we can expect from the four -hour session. They explained that, yes, it seems to be a farce that a lifelong fear could be wiped out in one afternoon, but that it has proven to be effective in thousands of people.

I was officially there to check the Rough Guides program. I was unofficially prepared for the world tour of Atlas and Boots. I knew that I would hike in the Amazon, camp in Colombia and explore Venezuela. I was not allowed to spoil the trip of my fear of spiders - and so I signed up with atypical optimism for the "Friendly Spider Program" in the London Zoo.

Alt = ““ “Span Class =" Media-Credit "> Atlas & Boots Handling of the Vibrant Maggie in London Zoo, March 2014

After the introduction, we had a "bonding" group session in which we explained what spiders freaked out ("as they crawl so quickly", "their furry legs", "so many legs", "their black bodies" and so on). John carefully wrote down all the reasons. After that, Dave took the coat and explained a few facts about spiders, emphasizing the fact that they always run away from people. He carried out their habits and motivations in detail and essentially tried to "humanize" them.

After a refreshment break, the group hypnosis session came, which causes me why I lie on the floor with 20 strangers and try to believe that I would stay calm, relaxed and relaxed in the presence of spiders. After half an hour, John tells us that we should imagine our fear as a heavy black cloud. He asks us to introduce us to how it floats higher and higher in the sky until it is finally powdered in our thoughts. If we rise from hypnosis, we are all a bit embarrassed, complicit with our quiet doubts.

Then the actual test comes. We go to the zoo's bugs department to meet some spiders first-hand. I touch a few house spiders and still feel shiver over my back. I then try the capture and release. I have never caught and released a spider before and instead decided to suck them up with a vacuum cleaner. I pass the test, but wonder if it is only because I have the emergency ceiling of the spider attendants.

After that, Maggie, the bird's spider of the zoo, is presented to me. I keep them with little difficulty. You see bird spiders are not really spider -like at all. They are big and slow, and they are the faster house spiders that really let me freak out.

I leave the session with two thoughts. On the one hand, I handled real spiders without freaking out. On the other hand, could I really "heal" in one afternoon? I try to remember what John told us at the meeting: If we see a spider, it is of course, surprised to react surprised, but then the peace would occur and override our initial reaction.

"We will see", I thought partly doubtfully, sometimes hopeful.

we are coiling a year before and I can confidently say that I am healed. I lifted a spider in my living room and deposited outside, framed from the shoulder of a colleague, fell asleep with a crawling in the corner of the room and casually showered with one nearby. I can hardly believe it, but I'm healed. My only wish is that I have a similar session for general creepy crawling animals. In a strange dichotomy, I stay calm with spiders, be it house spinning in the UK or bird spiders in Colombia ...

... but still freaking out of bugs almost any other kind.

When I'm back in London, I may be looking for John for another session.

FRIENDLY-Spider-Programmerwaxen = £ 135 ZSL member = £ 121.50 (10 % discount) Concessions = £ 94.50 (30 % discount) zsl.org/experiences/friendly-spider-programs

Mission statement: Atlas & Boots

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