Fear of spiders vs fear of mice

[petra]

I've heard of astral spiders and found that posting, but nothing about mice

Has anyone noticed people who are afraid of spiders think mice are sweet? I'm one of those

Maybe I should say terrified instead of afraid! And following this people who are terrified of mice seem to have no problem with spiders

Is anyone terrified of both?

If terrified of neither, you're a brave one and I kindly ask does anything terrify you or are you fearless?

[Frankie Pancakes]

Years ago I worked commercial construction. Cranes would pick up steel I-beams to place. The crane would turn and the beam would too, sometimes with a bit of chaos or so it seemed. I would think of standing from a crouch tying steel, turn around and getting the I-beam in my face.

[petra]

Posted by Frankie Pancakes (here)
Years ago I worked commercial construction. Cranes would pick up steel I-beams to place. The crane would turn and the beam would too, sometimes with a bit of chaos or so it seemed. I would think of standing from a crouch tying steel, turn around and getting the I-beam in my face.

But you weren't terrified enough to gtfo!
That's pretty close to fearless there, Frankie
It's a scary job but somebody's gotta do it

[sdv]

I am terrified of neither. I live in the country. There are field mice (very pretty creatures), and plenty of different types of spiders. I have twice in my life been bitten by spiders, and and I was left with more than just a 'small' spider bite, but they did heal. Most spiders are harmless, and beautiful if you look closely at them. I spent one year rescuing baby mice (mothers poisoned as a form of pest control, not by me) and trying to keep them alive, which was heartbreaking (none of them made it) and hectic (you have to feed them every four hours and I have difficulty falling asleep so I was a walking zombie after two days).

Snakes ... different story. There are three species of deadly poisonous snakes in this area. They usually stay away from humans but occasionally they will encroach. A month ago a puff adder curled up next to the steps, so I had to 'look out for the snake' every time I went outside. Snakes scare me ... a lot!

Supposedly ...
Field mice spiritually symbolize resourcefulness, attention to detail, humility, and perseverance.
Spiders represent the balance between creation and destruction.

[petra]

Posted by sdv (here)
I am terrified of neither. I live in the country. There are field mice (very pretty creatures), and plenty of different types of spiders. I have twice in my life been bitten by spiders, and and I was left with more than just a 'small' spider bite, but they did heal. Most spiders are harmless, and beautiful if you look closely at them. I spent one year rescuing baby mice (mothers poisoned as a form of pest control, not by me) and trying to keep them alive, which was heartbreaking (none of them made it) and hectic (you have to feed them every four hours and I have difficulty falling asleep so I was a walking zombie after two days).

Snakes ... different story. There are three species of deadly poisonous snakes in this area. They usually stay away from humans but occasionally they will encroach. A month ago a puff adder curled up next to the steps, so I had to 'look out for the snake' every time I went outside. Snakes scare me ... a lot!

Supposedly ...
Field mice spiritually symbolize resourcefulness, attention to detail, humility, and perseverance.
Spiders represent the balance between creation and destruction.

I never considered snakes! I think I would be frightened if I saw one of those too

That's sweet how you rescued mice and think spiders are beautiful! Thanks for sharing and what they represent is interesting too

[Victoria]

Hi Petra!

I have wondered the same thing regarding one distinct fear vs the other, as these specific symbols seem to trigger an innate, uncontrollable panic for some people. I've wondered whether there are certain characteristics and personality traits, or childhood histories, identifiably associated with this. Do these fears indicate some kind of ancestral memory or programming?

My mother-in-law is terrified of mice. She cannot even bear to look at a photo of one.

Yet, I adore mice and find her fear curious... even irrational, though I have tried very hard to appreciate and understand it.

When I was very little, I had a recurrent dream of being locked in a wooden box filled with black widows, their shiny black backs and eyes gleaming from a million points surrounding me and so was instinctively tormented by spiders until I turned 17. I've often wondered if it was a memory and not just a dream.

For other crawlies, I had a very solid understanding of controlling fear through breath and heartrate thereby preventing reactive bites from the far more frightened creature, but thanks to the spider dream my anxiety around them seemed to eclipse and elude that deliberate resolve.

Then, I went through an invincible teen period and decided the best way to overcome inconvenient dread was to research spiders extensively, draw one that I found beautiful and have it tattooed on my neck as a memento of becoming fearless. Brilliant idea.

I forced myself to look closely at, or reach out to every spider I encountered, and mostly overcame the fear through caring for many a tarantula and collecting small enclosures with black widows and recluses in my bedroom so that I could observe them at all hours. I was 19.

When an opportunity to walk through banana spiders arose while leading a small hiking group during college later the same year, I managed to muster the courage with a memorable ounce of pride and not a single bite. Their webs span yards and their bodies are heavy, like a toad or a bird if they fall on you. Getting through that seemed to nix the arachnid fear conclusively.

There is a time-loss story I want to post in another thread that happened during that hike, but I wonder suddenly while writing this whether the time loss was actually me blacking out in an effort to overcome fear.

[petra]

Congratulations on overcoming your fear Victoria! You're very brave and I'm glad you shared this because I really didn't expect anyone to have overcome either of these types of irrational fear. I should have known it was possible

[Sérénité]

Within the realms of psychology, some link the fear of spiders to maternal influence.
Some think the spider represents the actual maternal figure that was in our lives during childhood, whilst others think that maternal influence during our early years can influence our reactions to certain situations by means of maternal acceptance.

So many of us have what seem like such irrational fears or phobias and I guess deep in there somewhere, there is a reason for it.

This is an interesting read with regards to maternal acceptance;
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5871552/

It’s also theorised that generational trauma can pass down 13 generations by epigenetics. I often wonder could a fear of mice be generational trauma passed down from the 1600s from a time where being around rodents causing the plague literally be a life or death situation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article...is-epigenetics

[Antihero]

Posted by petra (here)
I've heard of astral spiders and found that posting, but nothing about mice

Has anyone noticed people who are afraid of spiders think mice are sweet? I'm one of those

Maybe I should say terrified instead of afraid! And following this people who are terrified of mice seem to have no problem with spiders

Is anyone terrified of both?

If terrified of neither, you're a brave one and I kindly ask does anything terrify you or are you fearless?

I have an aversion toward spiders but it's been less of a phobia through the years. Sorry to hijack the thread but I'm curious if anyone has a fear of beetles and why they have that fear?

[petra]

Posted by Antihero (here)

Posted by petra (here)
I've heard of astral spiders and found that posting, but nothing about mice

Has anyone noticed people who are afraid of spiders think mice are sweet? I'm one of those

Maybe I should say terrified instead of afraid! And following this people who are terrified of mice seem to have no problem with spiders

Is anyone terrified of both?

If terrified of neither, you're a brave one and I kindly ask does anything terrify you or are you fearless?

I have an aversion toward spiders but it's been less of a phobia through the years. Sorry to hijack the thread but I'm curious if anyone has a fear of beetles and why they have that fear?

Beetles give me the creeps but not terrified of them
It's ok I should have made the topic broader
It's interesting to wonder why too, irrational fears fascinate me

[Isserley]

This topic could expand to include some other fears.
E.g. I have an irrational fear of praying mantises and locusts. Other insects and spiders are not as much of a problem. Mice and actually all mammals are especially dear to me.

I'm almost certain that an encounter with an alien that looks like a praying mantis wouldn't go well (with all due respect to Simon Parkes).

And locusts are known by their ability to form destructive plagues of biblical proportions, so it is possible that the irrational fear of these specific species lies in previous experiences with them (past generations or lives).

[petra]

Posted by Isserley (here)
This topic could expand to include some other fears.
E.g. I have an irrational fear of praying mantises and locusts. Other insects and spiders are not as much of a problem. Mice and actually all mammals are especially dear to me.

I'm almost certain that an encounter with an alien that looks like a praying mantis wouldn't go well (with all due respect to Simon Parkes).

And locusts are known by their ability to form destructive plagues of biblical proportions, so it is possible that the irrational fear of these specific species lies in previous experiences with them (past generations or lives).

I went all out and made a new thread titled "tell me what horrifies you... then see what happens" it's gonna be a fun time I know it

[Bill Ryan]

Years ago, when I was in Vilcabamba (after I'd first moved to Ecuador), I pulled back my bedsheets one evening and found a scorpion in my bed.

I captured it and released it to the garden outside, but I confess I didn't sleep all that well that night.

I'd far rather have found a mouse or a spider in my bed! But now I live at a much higher altitude, where scorpions are unknown — as is anything ar all that bites or stings. And I have a abundance of small spiders in my house, which co-exist happily with all the mice.

[Open Minded Dude]

Mice ... cute. Rats ... well, not really. So it depends on the size of the rodent for me.

I don't live in a cellar or basement anymore, on a second floor I only deal with the flying and crawling insects. Many years ago I lived in a cellar appartment and had some visits from mice, ants and big spiders (for my country, they are not that huge really).

Speaking of Spiders ... again, depends on the size. Big ones scare and disgust me. Small ones are not cute but okay for me.

No matter which size when I see them in my flat I have a catcher and still try to catch them and then throw them out of the window onto my roof for them to go on from there. Same for other crawling insects and bugs.

I started to hate (food) moths though when I had an infestation of them in the kitchen of my parents downstairs, it was an army. Took me a while to get rid of them but special poison then did the job after everything else failed. When I see them I kill them immediately now. No mercy anymore for these type of vermin. As well as for gnats/mosquitos, because a sting is an assault for me and very annoying. Needed self-defence. So again, no mercy (there is no way of catching them anyways manually!).

[petra]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
Years ago, when I was in Vilcabamba (after I'd first moved to Ecuador), I pulled back my bedsheets one evening and found a scorpion in my bed.

I captured it and released it to the garden outside, but I confess I didn't sleep all that well that night.

I'd far rather have found a mouse or a spider in my bed! But now I live at a much higher altitude, where scorpions are unknown — as is anything ar all that bites or stings. And I have a abundance of small spiders in my house, which co-exist happily with all the mice.

All the mice, hahaha oh Bill
I bet you feed them. I used to feed my house mice too but then I got a roommate and he kills them with poison

[petra]

Posted by Open Minded Dude (here)
Mice ... cute. Rats ... well, not really. So it depends on the size of the rodent for me.

I don't live in a cellar or basement anymore, on a second floor I only deal with the flying and crawling insects. Many years ago I lived in a cellar appartment and had some visits from mice, ants and big spiders (for my country, they are not that huge really).

Speaking of Spiders ... again, depends on the size. Big ones scare and disgust me. Small ones are not cute but okay for me.

No matter which size when I see them in my flat I have a catcher and still try to catch them and then throw them out of the window onto my roof for them to go on from there. Same for other crawling insects and bugs.

I started to hate (food) moths though when I had an infestation of them in the kitchen of my parents downstairs, it was an army. Took me a while to get rid of them but special poison then did the job after everything else failed. When I see them I kill them immediately now. No mercy anymore for these type of vermin. As well as for gnats/mosquitos, because a sting is an assault for me and very annoying. Needed self-defence. So again, no mercy (there is no way of catching them anyways manually!).

No mercy!! Ha ha wow
I feel like that about spiders. I'm like... the Hitler of spiders. Bad joke I know

I recall one day I found a carpenter ant, and a spider in my tub. I flattened the spider, but the carpenter was sweet so I gently picked him up with a tissue and put him somewhere else