Arachnophobia is a fear of arachnids, particularly spiders.

People suffering from this phobia can experience different levels of anxiety.  Being in a place where spiders may or do exist can often make them feel uneasy, with sweating palms and laboured breathing. For some; just looking at a book with spiders can cause emotional outbursts and heart palpitations.

Arachnophobia affects 3.5-6.1 percent of the population!

Treatment can vary from hypnosis to the more commonly used “exposure therapy”. The latter begins with teaching the person relaxation techniques before progressing on to introduce the individual to either real or model spiders. A recent and much more modern method includes using Virtual Reality technology.