Giant Stuffed Tarantula: The Best Gift For Someone With Arachnophobia

What is arachnophobia? It is an intense fear of spiders. Many fears seems reasonable. We all try to avoid things that make us feel uncomfortable. The difference between a fear and a phobia is that a phobia is an intense and irrational fear toward one or more things or situations. Even though spiders have cute little paws, many people fear or at least dislike them. If you have someone in your life who has arachnophobia, these giant 75 inch (190 cm) tarantulas made by LifelikeSpiderArt Etsy store would be the perfect gift.

The tarantula plushes come in black or white, they have flexible wire-frame legs for posing and wrapping around yourself in a permanent spider hug. Each one is 100% handmade and expensive as hell: with shipping it will set you back around $1000.

You may think that we are joking about giving this to someone who has arachnophobia, however it may actually not be a bad way to overcome fear of spiders. Exposure therapy is an effective way to overcome fears and phobias. What is an exposure therapy? According to American Psychological Association, “Exposure therapy is a psychological treatment that was developed to help people confront their fears. When people are fearful of something, they tend to avoid the feared objects, activities or situations. Although this avoidance might help reduce feelings of fear in the short term, over the long term it can make the fear become even worse. In such situations, a psychologist might recommend a program of exposure therapy in order to help break the pattern of avoidance and fear. In this form of therapy, psychologists create a safe environment in which to “expose” individuals to the things they fear and avoid. The exposure to the feared objects, activities or situations in a safe environment helps reduce fear and decrease avoidance.”

If you are ready to part with your hard-earned money, you can buy giant stuffed tarantula on LifelikeSpiderArt Etsy store.