As amusing as it may sound to many people, Arachnophobia--the fear of spiders, is a traumatizing reality for millions of Americans and people worldwide.

If you or someone you know personally has this phobia, then it should be brewing in your mind to find the answers that bring freedom from this evil web of fear.

Even though to the phobic it may seem impossible at first, the fear of spiders, like most fears, can most certainly be overcome.

There are a variety of treatments, exercises, and therapies that can help and the World Wide Web...oops...sorry...offers a vast array of resources and material that can be of assistance.

Most phobias are established to have developed from a traumatizing childhood experience that grew with the phobic so that it eventually becomes a part of him. At times when traumatizing childhood experiences cannot be established, psychologists were known to venture into the realm of reincarnation and past life regression.

Phobia is not the same as "fear". A "fear" is a sense of impending danger or evil established by inherent logics and reasoning or by gut instinct. A "phobia" on the other hand is an inflated and disproportionate perception of reality.

Some researchers theorized that spiders were once a threat to the human race somewhere in evolutionary history and that panic attacks resulting from phobias were a defense mechanism that could save the life of persons. Such theories, however, have no solid foundations.

Is the fear of spiders rational? Almost everyone would agree that the answer to that question is a resounding "no". It is in fact, somewhat "mystical". An arachnophobe would be dreadfully afraid of a spider that is really harmless, and poisonous spiders are not really a threat if seen.

Experts agree that knowing more about your phobia helps you overcome it since most phobias grow out of fear of the unknown. Following are some "fun" facts about spiders.

The fear of spiders actually has its roots deep in Greek mythology. "Arachnophobia" comes from the Greek words, "arachne", meaning "spider", and "phobos", meaning "a fear". Arachne was a beautiful Greek maiden. She studied weaving under Athena, and had extraordinary skill. When her skills were later recognized, she denied any training given by Athena. Athena turned herself into a bitter, old lady. She approached Arachne, and tricked her into a weaving contest. Arachne wove portraits of the gods performing evil deeds. Athena and Arachne finished their weaving in an extremely short amount of time, but Arachne's work was much finer than Athena's. Athena was furious that a mere mortal had beaten her in a weaving contest and had portrayed the gods in a disrespectful way. Overcome with rage, she beat Arachne to the ground. Arachne was so upset, she hanged herself. Athena realized what she had done, regretted her actions, and sprinkled a magic liquid onto Arachne, turning her into a spider, so she could keep her weaving skills.

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