| | Serious Phobia.Page 1 of 2 (1, 2) | I am seriously scared by snakes, live, on TV, pictures of them even is enough to make me want to faint.
My question is this: Can help be given for me to get over this ridiculous phobia??
Second question, has anyone else got this phobia, and how do they deal with it. I'm due to go to Australia in October, my friends live in the outback of Western Australia. You can imagine my concern regarding the snake situation.  | |
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AlmaM
| | Joined: 3/20/2008
Msg: 2 | |
| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 2:11:56 PM | I think it is natural to be scared of snakes..  and nothing unusual about it... when I was young one night I babysat 4 kids, when their parents left they told me they had 3 snakes for pets and brought them downstairs .... Jesus .. I thought I was going to die that night !
I have a phobia of dogs... if a dog is not on lead and comes near to me I'd simply faint, if it is a pit bull I would faint before it comes near 
I was in situation that if a dog was standing on a street where I need to pass I'd go around the whole area ... no way I'd come near a dog which is not on lead, even if I am in a company of someone, no way I would enter a house where there is a dog inside..
I am only not scared of Cocker Spaniels and light brown collies.. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 2:15:11 PM | Find yourself a good hypnotherapist who deals with NLP and / or CBT too.
Shouldn't take more than a few sessions to get it sorted completely so you can enjoy your holiday and never worry about your phobia again :) | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 2:18:07 PM | | I have a phobia of heights not much i can do about it i get vertigo walking across bridges :( | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 2:27:06 PM | My lodger has a phobia of snakes, he couldn't up to a couple of years ago even look at a picture of them, he has to look away if they suddenly show one on the TV ........ however he has forced himself to at least look at pictures of them, and that's about the level of acceptance he has now, he still can't look at them on TV.
I don;t have a phobia about snakes I'm fins with them, but worms eeeeeeeeuuuuuu
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 3:23:49 PM |
I think it is natural to be scared of snakes..
Nope. We're born "fearless" we learn our fears from those around us as we grow. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 3:54:20 PM |
Nope. We're born "fearless" we learn our fears from those around us as we grow.
Not entirely true.
Yes, it would appear that a lot of our fears are learned, but many more are 'hard-wired in and are there as a remnant of our evolutionary past.
Research has shown we make physical reactions to pictures of snakes/spiders etc., even before our brains have had time to process the image to allow us to name what we have seen.
A fear of flying however is a learned fear, after all, why would our ancestors have a fear of dying in a ball of flaming gas plummeting towards the ground?
OP, as previously suggested, therapy is easy to get hold of. CBT or NLP or other is pretty much up to you. You could do it yourself, if you chose. It's pretty much a case of relaxation and exposure.
Good luck. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 4:23:23 PM | I suffered from vertigo so I went rock climbing at Uni. First time I got about 6 foot up and got disco leg and had to be lowered down. *shame* I carried on, it didn't cure me, still terrified of heights but I dealt with it better as experience grew.
I don't think I have a phobia of anything else, I've woken up with a Black Mamba on the bed in Kenya, so not worried about snakes. I think I'm generally to thick to be scared of things until it's too late...
A fear of flying however is a learned fear, after all, why would our ancestors have a fear of dying in a ball of flaming gas plummeting towards the ground?
Dunno, let's ask the dinosau....oh wait. nevermind  | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 5:03:54 PM | I have an unreasonable and overriding fear of maggots. The thought of them makes me feel physically sick. I've held snakes, no problem. Had a huntsman crawling up my leg in Australia, no problem. I love flying. But show me a maggot and I'll run screaming to the hills.
H.x | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 5:16:05 PM | I always thought I had a fear of heights...................... then I realised it was a fear of hitting the ground at speed.
I love flying, have parascended and conquered an indoor climbing wall, BUT cannot climb a ladder into my loft (as I may fall out of it).
I was fine on the London Eye (secure in my little capsule) UNTIL it stopped mid flight and I envisaged having to climb outside onto the ladder to get down if they couldn't get it started again.
I think the OP has to imagine all snakes are harmless or find something scarier that she is not likely to encounter.....................finding killer penguins might be a safe bet in the Ozzie outback  | |
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mart-b
| | Joined: 11/13/2008
Msg: 11 | |
| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 5:18:41 PM | Hey,
When I was a youngster in the cubs, we had a trip to a zoo and it had a snake pit, with curved walls and a moat
Somebody bumped me and in I went, landed next to a slimy pond out of which something popped its head, plus there was something swimming around the moat
A guy lent in and pulled me out and I remember not being afraid `til people started backing away from me (one of them was attached to my coat)
Was then I felt snakes were dangerous, was scared for years, `til went to another zoo with my own kids
They had a petting area and my two thought nothing of holding snakes and it was with their giggly teasing that I held a python and a king snake
The one in the pic, taken last year, loved holding it; think it was more scared of me
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/11/2009 5:20:15 PM | I would suggest a hypnotherapist also.
I have a fear of heights...my vertigo is very scary and scares others.
I need too. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 3:23:18 AM | | Spiders for me i even hyperventilate when i see them on tele if i find one in the house i try and get my dog to eat it. Absolutely terrified of spiders!!!! I don't care how harmless they are. | |
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Pat78
| | Joined: 8/29/2008
Msg: 14 | |
| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 3:31:08 AM |
I always thought I had a fear of heights...................... then I realised it was a fear of hitting the ground at speed.
There is humour on the forums and its clever and non offensive! good work.
I have no phobias fortunately, well non that I am aware of any way.
I am obviously going to be scared if faced with snake or in an aeroplane that is crashing but have no fears until the occasion arises, but why do we have theses irrational fears? we are smart enough to know that a picture of a snake can't hurt us and the chances of coming face to face with one is small, so why the over reaction? | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 3:45:33 AM | I have a few phobias but none that effect me badly.
I hate spiders over a certain size but a few years back I got sick and tired of the little buggers in my house I just grabbed one and threw it out. Not so bothered now.
Heights is a weird one. Stick me on a plane I feel fine. Standing on a huge bridge looking down I don't mind. Hang me over a cliff on a rope or something I don't like. I think it's more a fear of falling than heights so if I feel safe (ie a barrier or something there) I am fine. Even on chair lifts snowboarding it doesn't bother me even though I know if I fell out I'd probably die. It's something I would be able to get over easily anyway once ya get to trust the rope etc.
Snakes I don't like because they can move faster than I can. Although I wouldn't say I have a phobia I just don't trust them to not lash out but it's nothing against them etc. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 4:37:57 AM | Thanks to everyone who commented. My phobia started years and years ago when I was a small child, when I had a large Quality Street tin full of maggots tipped upside down on my head. From then on, anything without legs had frightened me witless. However, I have managed to conquer the fear of maggots, worms, slugs and snails, but I still can't overcome the snake thing.
Last summer a half dead snake was laying in road where I was walking, and I fainted on the spot. I've tried hypnotherapy-to no avail I'm afraid. Still, I'm determined to conquer this phobia, otherwise I can't go to Australia.
x Cancalus x | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 5:02:41 AM | cancalus, chances are you wont even see a snake- they hear us coming (big noisy buggers we are) and clear out , and if you do, it will probably just be on the road as you are driving by..... i know theres heaps of snakes on my place, but i dont often see them
theres a large huntsman on my computer desk a the moment.....dont mind spiders, but he is eyeing off my midnight snack of cornflakes!! | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 5:07:46 AM | Google your nearest NLP practitioner.
I have successfully helped people with phobias for flying and spiders. If it is a pure phobia then it should only take about 15 mins.... However if it is an associative phobia it may take a little longer. If you have overcome others then I suspect the latter. Ask the practitioner if he/she can use timelines, this will work.
Hope this helps.
Edit. Have found this http://www.excel-yourself.com/ hope it helps. This is not spam as I do not know this person.... just trying to help. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 11:40:23 AM |
I am seriously scared by snakes, live, on TV
I sympathise with your phobia / fear. Although there aren't too many live TV programmes involving or presented by snakes these days [Piers Morgan being a notable exception].
I used to date a girl who had a similar phobia to yourself OP. It was the deadly " hissing, spitting , bed snake " she was particularly scared of. I helped her overcome this and she quickly conquered her fears and now positively loves them. It was beneficial to me obviously, but she also helped me overcome my phobia . I used to be claustrophobic and also have a phobia of salty sea food. I overcame this with her help by regularly engaging in cunnilingus . All's well that ends well. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 12:00:15 PM | Hypnotherapy is also something I would suggest having trained in NLP and Hypnotherapy. It is very powerful in dealing effectively with phobia's. The mind is able to convince you of the dangers of certain things which at the end of the day can be dangerous for us mortal beings, and it is for our own protection. When this fear affects your every day life it is classed as a phobia and again the mind has the ability, with guidance or training to overcome that fear. It did after all put it there for your protection. So it has the power to rationalise that for you with help and to get the fear into perspective. Very few fears we develop are with out purpose at the end of the day.
Hypnotherapy is probably better than cunnilingus I suspect................. | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 12:00:18 PM | OP My daughter had a morbid phobia of needles, pins, injections etc. She could not even bear to hear about them. She would be in tears if you so much talked about them and hysterical if she happened to see one She recieved CBT from a counsellor at the GP surgery and was cured enough in 1 year to go to the dentist to have a local anesthetic. She cried throughout, mixed tears of natural fear but also of happiness she could finally get rid of her toothache! So CBT does work and wont cost you a penny through your GP.  | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 1:48:02 PM | Although there aren't too many live TV programmes involving ....snakes these days
Westminster live ?
But seriously I know someone with a similar phobia regarding snakes (cant even bear to see them on TV) thing is she has lived all her life in either Northern Ireland or the Republic and never been overseas. Phobias concerning something one has a bad experience of are understandable but why would someone have a phobia of something they never have (and probably never will) encounter ? | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 3:23:53 PM | Perhaps I didn't make myself clear on my last post, but I have reduced my phobia from anything without legs, eg; worms, maggots, slugs, snails etc., to one of just snakes. We have snakes in this country, and definately have them in Cornwall. Even a Slow Snake has the same effect on me. Wildlife programes contain snakes, even some pc games contain them. Hell, even one of the posters on here has one of them wrapped around his neck, arggghhhhhh!!! And as said in my last post, I encountered a snake only last summer in my local park, on the pathway.
I just don't want to go to Australia, visit the outback in Western Australia and make a complete fool of myself in front of my friends, even though I manage to do just that on here | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 3:39:40 PM | Imagine the snakes with the heads of POF forumites and you will be no need to be scared at all
Or imagine POF forumites naked with the heads of snakes and you will even more
POF forumites have no snake like qualities cos they are all too bliddy short like this message | |
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| Serious Phobia.
Posted: 3/12/2009 4:53:28 PM | I have a phobia of women, frighten me to death. ....but I could  one | |
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