The Fascinating Science Behind Why People Are Afraid of Spiders

Spiders are some of the world’s most misunderstood creatures. These arachnids, which have been around for around 400 million years, consume billions of disease-causing mosquitoes and crop-destroying bugs each year. Spiders also have extremely strong silk that’s being explored for its potential use in developing lightweight clothing and even medical sutures or bandages. Despite the many ways that spiders contribute to our ecosystem and daily lives, spiders also trigger intense fear called arachnophobia in a significant number of people worldwide.

Most spiders are completely harmless to humans. In fact, many spider species, like cellar spiders or common house spiders, simply want to be left alone. These creatures rarely pose a threat to your health or wellbeing. Even in the case of venomous spiders, many are reluctant to bite and will only become “aggressive” if they feel in danger. For people with arachnophobia, this information does little in terms of soothing. Let’s explore what arachnophobia is, how it manifests, and, using expert insights, how it can be treated.

What Is Arachnophobia?

Research from 1991 suggests up to 75% of people may experience mild-to-moderate fear of spiders. Discomfort around arachnids may stem from their multitude of legs or the fear of being bitten. “Research also has identified that for most people, the scariest thing about spiders is their spidery unpredictable movements, but some find the larger and hairier the spider, the scarier,” says Dr. Justin D’Arienzo, a Forensic and Board Certified Clinical Psychologist who established D’Arienzo Psychology in 2008.

But according to Natalia Aíza, LPC, the founder of Kairos Wellness Collective, arachnophobia goes deeper than a general fear of spiders. She explains, “Arachnophobia becomes clinically significant when you are avoiding triggers and changing the way you interact with the world based on your phobia. I have worked with people who have moved due to arachnophobia. This means that the phobia has too much control.”

So what exactly is arachnophobia? Arachnophobia is an extreme fear response at the sight of a spider. Dr. D’Arienzo says that those with severe arachnophobia may display fear even without seeing a spider. As he explains, “Often, even the thought of a spider or the word ‘spider’ causes terror for an arachnophobe.”

What Differentiates Arachnophobia From Other Phobias?

What’s unique about arachnophobia is that many people with this phobia do not pursue treatment for it because they perceive their fear as being situational. “Most people do not get help because, as long as they do not see spiders, they do not experience significant distress about it,” Dr. D’Arienzo tells me.

So, in many cases, individuals who live with moderate arachnophobia may live relatively normal lives, but experience distress when doing activities that may increase the odds of seeing a spider, such as camping or cleaning crawlspaces. Those living with more severe arachnophobia could potentially disrupt their lives to avoid any possibility of encountering spiders.

What Causes Arachnophobia?

While many people feel uncomfortable around spiders, only an estimated 2.7-6.0% of people are truly phobic. Compared to other animal phobias, arachnophobia is among the most common.

Dr. D’Arienzo explains that arachnophobia stems from our biology. He says, “The fear of spiders is likely baked into our genes. We are genetically predisposed to be fearful of creatures that posed a danger to our ancestors. Being afraid of spiders and thus avoiding them improved our chances of survival. Those with greater fear were more likely to survive and then passed that fear potential down to us. We likely have different brain circuits that follow similar paths for different animals that were once threatening in our environment, which is why some scientists relate the fear of spiders to a fear of scorpions.”

It is possible for people to develop arachnophobia based on a traumatic experience with a spider, such as getting bitten. Venomous spider bites may lead to a variety of health issues, such as:

• Localized itching and/or redness

• Swelling and pain

• Skin lesions

• Muscle rigidity

• Nausea and vomiting

• Profuse sweating

• Tissue death and blood cell destruction

Not Everyone Has the Same Fear

Interestingly, arachnophobia may also be shaped by social and cultural elements. People who were exposed to spiders at a young age, such as those raised in more rural environments, may naturally be less afraid of spiders. Similarly, subsets of our community keep spiders as pets (the most popular being tarantulas).

Men and women may also display different levels of fear based on cultural beliefs around gender. Some of what people believe is natural fear may actually rely on learned performance. “This cultural and societal reinforcement to fear spiders may contribute to why women are usually more fearful of spiders than men,” says Dr. D’Arienzo.

Women are up to 4x more likely to have arachnophobia than men, according to a 2009 study. More recent research from 2017 even suggests that up to 90% of people with arachnophobia are female.

Can Arachnophobia Be Learned?

Children may learn phobic behavior from parents or siblings. In younger years, children often observe these figures to understand how to react in certain situations, known as observational learning or vicarious learning. Children then model the behavior or reactions.

“It’s important that parents and caretakers manage their own spider anxieties appropriately when little eyes are watching, because a caretaker’s reaction will greatly influence the child’s reaction. Children often refer to their caretaker’s responses to determine how they should respond to most situations, and sometimes those responses can become permanent,” Dr. D’Arienzo explains.

Children may not be able to properly voice their concerns about spiders. While adults may change their routines over spiders, children don’t always have that control. Dr. D’Arienzo notes, “Children acting in phobic ways may cry, tantrum, freeze, throw up, or cling to their parents at the sight of a spider. They may refuse to go to school or on a field trip without explanation.” If you notice these actions in your children, consider getting them evaluated for a spider phobia.

Arachnophobia Manifests in Different Ways

Unlike regular spider fears, arachnophobia can be more pronounced and may interfere with daily life. Individuals with less extreme arachnophobia usually function more easily. However, taking part in activities like hiking or camping could cause distress. “They would likely have a friend check the tent and sleeping bag for spiders. Some would be consumed about these thoughts,” says Dr. D’Arienzo.

More extreme arachnophobia may present as:

• Avoiding closets, basements, front/back porches, crawlspaces, woods, or natural settings where spiders might be present

• Getting extra monthly treatments from exterminators

• Frequently checking under the bed for spiders

• Requiring family member assistance in getting suitcases, bags, coats, or other items out of closets or dark spaces

As Dr. D’Arienzo states, “Their fear of spiders greatly controls their daily lives, and they create a life to avoid spiders.”

Physical and Emotional Symptoms of Arachnophobia

Behavioral symptoms are common in arachnophobia. But this fear of spiders may also appear in more physical and emotional ways. Dr. D’Arienzo explains, “For the affected, their hearts beat fast. They can’t catch their breath. They sweat, feel like vomiting, get dizzy, tremble, and feel hot or cold. And they may react by running, freezing, stomping on the spider, screeching, crying, climbing on furniture, or even running from the room.”

Unfortunately, managing these symptoms can be challenging. Some individuals may also feel anxious about their reactions, leading to embarrassment. This can create a self-fulfilling loop of stress when people are deeply afraid but also feel ashamed about seeking help.

It can be especially difficult to pursue help if the phobic individual doesn’t have support from friends or family. Not everybody understands phobias. As Dr. D’Arienzo says, “People who don’t suffer from phobias often think someone’s fears are silly, and they should just get over it. What they don’t understand is that most phobic people know their fears are irrational or disproportionate. They don’t want to have this distressing fear.”

If you know someone who has arachnophobia, the best thing to do is treat them kindly. Don’t tease them about their fear. Instead, says Dr. D’Arienzo, “Model courage and calm when spiders are present. If they are avoiding events or showing great distress, encourage them to talk to a psychologist or their primary care doctor.”

Treatment Options for Arachnophobia

Luckily, if you have a spider phobia, there are several treatment options available. One option is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT involves structured therapy that addresses changing behaviors and adopting more positive, grounded emotions. Studies have shown that CBT produces long-term mental benefits in people with arachnophobia.

Both Aíza and Dr. D’Arienzo agree that Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a subset of CBT, is the highest standard of arachnophobia therapy. Aíza shares, “ERP means facing your fear in small doses and not doing compulsions, to feel more comfortable around the trigger.” Eventually, this allows people to drop their fear response and be okay around the feared object.

At Kairos Wellness Collective, Aíza does this through building a “fear hierarchy” with individuals seeking treatment. She explains, “This sometimes starts with saying the word spider or drawing a spider, and goes all the way up to holding a live tarantula at the Butterfly Pavilion in Colorado. In between, we may watch videos, write stories, visit spiders in tanks, and do meditation with spiders.”

ERP can be tailored to each specific person, with the next step in exposure at the person’s pace. Throughout ERP, a psychologist may also complement sessions with:

• Relaxation and breathing techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing

• Distraction

• Progressive muscle relaxation

• Spider education

“Once you have learned about spiders and have a more rational understanding of them, you move through the hierarchy in your imagination and in real life. You may always have a little anxiety about spiders, but will no longer have an altered life because of the irrational fear,” Dr. D’Arienzo says.

Can ERP Work with Medication?

Reconsolidation therapy is another therapeutic option. To understand how reconsolidation therapy works, you have to first understand how our memory is formed.

“Fearful memories are stored between your amygdala and hippocampus. Your amygdala is the alarm, and your hippocampus gives it context: it makes the determination if something is an actual or real danger now, then communicates to the amygdala either verifying the alarm or saying turn it off,” Dr. D’Arienzo explains. “When there is a phobia, one side of your amygdala lights u,p and it does not matter what your hippocampus says to it. You believe you’re in danger.”

Exposure therapy contributes to memory reconsolidation. Essentially, the exposure helps you realize that the spider is not actually dangerous, aggressive, or going to harm you. At this point, the other side of your amygdala listens to your hippocampus and your memory marks down that there’s no reason to be afraid.

“If given medications like betablockers 30 minutes before spider exposure, we don’t experience physiological fear, and then our amygdala and hippocampus together learn that spiders are not dangerous. Other medications like ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA are also being studied to assist with the non-fearful reconsolidation practice,” Dr. D’Arienzo adds.

What About Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is becoming increasingly popular. Companies like PsyTech VR have even developed virtual reality-based self-guided courses and training to break people of their phobias.

“The challenge with helping someone with a specific phobia is that being in therapy may cause anxiety, and it is often difficult to get people to do their homework on their own outside of therapy. Augmented Reality (AR) and VR devices give the person that real-world exposure experience. With VR, the patient wears a headset and is immersed in a different world with spiders,” says Dr. D’Arienzo.

Given the cost of VR, this treatment option may not be accessible for everyone. Being in a VR world may also be dizzying or overwhelming for some, leading to negative outcomes. However, everybody is different, and studies do suggest that VR could show promise for at least some individuals.

Any Other Treatment Options?

While Dr. D’Arienzo considers seeing a movie to be backdoor therapy rather than exposure therapy, he says that replacing fear with fun memories could assist with reducing phobias. He cites a 2019 study that evaluated fear responses to insect-related superhero movies: Spider-Man and Ant-Man. The study found that just seven seconds of exposure to insects within the context of the movie lessened phobic behaviors.

“Rather than spiders and ants being negatively perceived, it’s a positive experience, and those new memories begin to override the fearful ones. This is what I would call backdoor therapy,” Dr. D’Arienzo says. “If you have a loved one with arachnophobia, take them to see Spider-Man, not to work through their fears, but because you really want to see the movie with them and it will be fun. Let the magic unfold.”

Working with a professional is important, as it can be challenging to tackle this phobia alone. But the good news is that with help, recovery is possible and the results are often excellent.

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