Arachnophobia
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| F40.2 | Specific (isolated) phobias Animal phobias |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
Arachnophobia (from ancient Greek ἀράχνη arachne , German 'spider' , and φόβος phobos , German 'fear' ), also arachnophobia , describes an anxiety disorder in humans in which there is an excessive fear of spiders or arachnids in general . People with this phobia perceive the image of a spider earlier, longer and thus more dominantly than unaffected.
Affected people rate the following things significantly higher than a non- phobic control group :
- the likelihood of being bitten by spiders;
- the extent of the injuries caused thereby;
- the rational justifiability of their fear.
These negative expectations can also be triggered in isolation from the presence of spiders as a phobic stimulus .
causes
The cause of this anxiety disorder following statement is often provided: "The more an animal or object from the human appearance is different, the more intense, more frequent and more widespread is fear." In the animal kingdom , however, there are many life forms that still far deviate more from the human appearance, but are less subject to phobias. Another reason for arachnophobia is seen in the fact that spiders are sometimes suddenly and unexpectedly noticed close to the body. In addition, their fast and unpredictable way of locomotion - in relation to body size - is blamed for fear of spiders in some species.
Another theory says that the dangerousness of certain arachnids , less of the animals actually referred to as spiders , could have promoted arachnophobic behavior for humans in the course of human evolution. After all, even today between 1,000 and 5,000 people die from scorpion stings every year . Even if such animals do not pose a threat to humans in most regions and cultures, such behavior patterns could be genetically fixed and thus be preserved.
Finally, spider fear could also be simply a learned behavior . A toddler orients itself in many expressions of life to its own parents and other close caregivers . If one of these people has arachnophobia, the child experiences this fear and learns that spiders are dangerous. Arachnophobia as a learned behavior is supported by the observation that it is only widespread in certain regions of the world. In the case of primitive peoples , however, it is virtually unknown.
According to a twin study at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2003, however, there are genetic connections.
treatment
As with all phobias, behavior therapy has proven itself as a therapy against arachnophobia that affects quality of life ; Forms of exposure therapy come first . The patient is confronted directly with his or her fear and the fearful object, i.e. the spider. He deals with the spider directly, which goes up to touching tarantulas or animals of similar size. It is important to persevere, i.e. to live through the fearful situation. Dodging can make the phobia even worse. There are always former phobics who keep spiders as pets after successful therapy ( overcompensation of fear).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ We see what we fear. Press release. University of Mannheim, January 2, 2014, accessed on January 16, 2020 .
- ↑ M. K Jones, S. Whitmont, RG Menzies: Danger expectancies and insight in spider phobia . In: Anxiety . tape 2 , no. 4 , 1996, pp. 179-185 , PMID 9160620 .
- ↑ Anna Seidel, Dirk Neumann: Arachnophobia - fear of spiders . Information about the program Planet Wissen . The Body Eater Invasion , October 30, 2012; Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ↑ Cambodia's crawling snack . tagesspiegel.de, September 4, 2006; Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ↑ John M. Hettema, MD, PhD; Peter Annas, PhD; Michael C. Neale, PhD; et al .: A Twin Study of the Genetics of Fear Conditioning. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003; 60 (7): 702-708. doi: 10.1001 / archpsyc.60.7.702 .
- ↑ Exposure Therapy . Definition, forms, goals, procedures. depressionen-depression.net; Retrieved June 30, 2013.
