ARACHNOPHOBIA

To me arachnophobia means being completely and utterly lost of any rational thought other than, run and hide. Arachnophobia means feeling hot and sweaty, having clammy hands, and having all the hair on my body standing on end. The dictionary definition of arachnophobia is an abnormal fear of spiders. To me however this fear is completely normal!

Arachnophobia is like the feeling of catching the flu. You’re hot and cold at the same time all over for an extremely extended length of time. When I see a spider I instantly feel hot while at the same time become covered in goose bumps. This is what arachnophobia means to me.

Arachnophobia is like swimming. I sweat so much that I feel as if I have just stepped out of a swimming pool. That feeling of clammy hands and knowing that perspiration is lining your brow. As if you have just exerted yourself beyond comparison of any other physical activity. This is what arachnophobia means to me.

Arachnophobia is like feeling as if something or someone is watching you. Your paranoid self where at any unexpected noise you cant help but jump in your skin. Feeling as if you’re in great danger. When someone talks about spiders or I see a spider, all the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight up. As if I’m expecting a spider to be crawling up the back of my shirt. This is what arachnophobia means to me.

Arachnophobia is thinking that at any second a small poisonous eight-legged creature could be about to stick his fangs into my flesh. Waking up in the morning only to find an itchy red spot on my skin that was not there the night before. Knowing that a tiny creature was crawling around on me while I was sleeping. This is what arachnophobia means to me.

Arachnophobia is knowing that you swallow 5 to 7 spiders a year in your sleep, and hoping to god that that fact is not true. Praying that the fact that wherever you are in the world there is always a spider within five feet of you does not apply to where you are currently standing. This is what arachnophobia means to me.

Knowing that there’s billions of little creatures sucking peoples blood and living in our houses. Hoping that at any moment all the spiders in the world will just automatically die. Feeling that hot sweaty tingly feeling anytime spiders are brought up in a conversation. This is what arachnophobia means to me.
(422 words)