Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Coping

Key Takeaways

• Arachnophobia is a common and intense fear of spiders that causes significant distress.
• Therapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy, is a common treatment for arachnophobia.
• Both genetic and family influences can play a role in developing arachnophobia.

Arachnophobia is the intense fear of spiders and other arachnids. Classified as a specific phobia, arachnophobia causes clinically significant distress that can affect quality of life. When in contact with or thinking about spiders, people with arachnophobia experience fear and anxiety almost immediately.

This article discusses the symptoms and causes of arachnophobia, as well as treatments and coping mechanisms that may help.

Symptoms

If you have arachnophobia, you may experience a variety of specific phobia-related symptoms whether you’re near a spider or just thinking about one. Symptoms of arachnophobia may include:

• Immediate fear and anxiety when you see or think about a spider
• Fear or anxiety that’s out of proportion to the danger the spider poses
• Avoidance of spiders
• Panic and/or anxiety responses, such as difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, nausea, sweating, trembling, and a need to escape

Arachnophobia can affect your quality of life significantly. For example, you might feel panic symptoms and discomfort knowing a spider is somewhere in your home. You might avoid engaging in outdoor activities such as hiking or picnicking.

Diagnosis

Specific phobias are differentiated from normal fears using the diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Healthcare providers use these criteria to understand your symptoms and determine if you have a specific phobia.

A diagnosis of a specific phobia requires that the symptoms be present for at least six months and cause significant distress or disruption to your life and well-being.

Your healthcare provider will ask about the character, intensity, and duration of your symptoms and may take a medical history, evaluate your current coping skills, and explore your treatment goals.

Causes

Traumatic encounters with spiders commonly trigger arachnophobia. Arachnophobia may also be caused by:

• An evolutionary response: Research suggests that arachnophobia or a general aversion to spiders is hardwired as an ancestral survival technique.
• Cultural and/or religious beliefs: Some individuals within certain cultural or religious groups tend to have phobias that stem from these influences. These particular phobias differ from common phobias in the general population, making culture and religion potential factors in phobia development.
• Genetic or family influences: Researchers believe that there may be a genetic component to phobias. Family environmental factors may also influence the development of phobias. For example, if a parent has arachnophobia, a child may pick up on that fear and develop a phobic response.

Specific phobias are more prevalent in females than males in both adolescents and adults. You may be more at risk for developing arachnophobia if you’ve had a previous traumatic experience with a spider, if you have another mental health condition, and/or have a family history of phobias.

Treatment

Like other specific phobias, arachnophobia is most commonly treated with therapy, particularly cognitive behavioral techniques. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on replacing the negative automatic thoughts about spiders with more rational thoughts. Techniques may include:

Medications may also be used to treat arachnophobia.

Coping

Here are a few ways to cope with arachnophobia:

Prevalence

Among the 3-15% of people worldwide with specific phobias, the most prevalent are of animals and heights. Although the fear of spiders is common, not everyone who feels afraid or on edge around them has arachnophobia.

Arachnophobia, like other specific phobias, can be distressing and affect your overall quality of life. If you’re having difficulty in day-to-day activities because of arachnophobia, consider reaching out to a mental health professional for treatment and support.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is arachnophobia a mental disorder?

  Yes. Arachnophobia is considered a specific phobia, which is a type of mental health disorder.

• Why are people arachnophobic?

  There doesn’t seem to be one specific reason people are arachnophobic, but instead, there are a variety of risk factors. If you had a traumatic encounter related to spiders, someone in your family is arachnophobic, and/or you have an existing mental health disorder, you may be more likely to develop arachnophobia.

• What are symptoms of arachnophobia?

  Symptoms of arachnophobia include:

  • Irrational fear related to encountering—or even thinking about—spiders
  • Avoidance behaviors to self-protect from spiders
  • Nausea, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and/or other anxiety-related responses
  • Panic attacks

• What percentage of people are arachnophobic?

  According to Cleveland Clinic, about 3% to 15% of people have arachnophobia.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

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2. Hoehl S, Hellmer K, Johansson M, Gredebäck G. Itsy bitsy spider…: Infants react with increased arousal to spiders and snakes. Front Psychol. 2017;8:1710. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01710

3. National Institute of Mental Health. Specific phobia.

4. Trumpf J, Margraf J, Vriends N, Meyer AH, Becker ES. Specific phobia predicts psychopathology in young women. Soc Psychiat Epidemiol. 2010;45(12):1161-1166. doi:10.1007/s00127-009-0159-5

5. Botella C, Fernández-Álvarez J, Guillén V, García-Palacios A, Baños R. Recent progress in virtual reality exposure therapy for phobias: A systematic review. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19(7):42. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0788-4

6. Eaton WW, Bienvenu OJ, Miloyan B. Specific phobias. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(8):678-686. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30169-X

7. Cleveland Clinic. Arachnophobia (fear of spiders).

Additional Reading

• American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Ed). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.​​

By Lisa Fritscher

Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.

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