Fear and Spiders

I know it is incredibly irrational of me....but I really am afraid of spiders.  No amount of telling myself they are God's creatures, or that they fear me more than I fear them, makes me feel better about spiders.  Would I brush one off one of my kids?  Yes.  But that is about my limit.  My sisters are going to have to brush off their own.

If you visited my room in my teen years, you might very well see glasses upside down--mini spider prison cells --on my carpeted floor.  I would leave them until daylight, when I could see them properly.  Then slipping some card stock under the glass, I would carry the spider on the card stock--with the glass still in place over it-- to the toilet.  Being careful not to hold my hand directly under the spider--in case of some "spider scurrying vibrations" were felt-- which might cause me to scream, throw the glass, spider and run.  It happened once....it wasn't pretty.   (Looking back I think it interesting that I didn't beg Matt or Todd to dispose of them for me--you'd think they would have done it for me if I'd asked them.)

Shawn got a chuckle out of our Peruvian guide showing me a scorpion spider in the Amazon jungle. We were on a night hike, and I had been asking to see a tree frog for a couple days.  The guide asked me to step forward and turn my light on a certain spot on the bank. I didn't see it at first.  But then I saw what he was asking me to see.  The biggest spider I had ever seen.  FREAKY!  --For everyone in the group not just me!  It was LITERALLY the size of a dinner plate.  You'll be happy to know that out of sheer determination not to land by it, I didn't faint.  Nor did I scream for fear it would move towards me.

Literally the size of a dinner plate and  sitting less than 10 feet from where I stood.

As an adult, I feel I should try to set a good example for my kids--you know be brave and not let on how it terrifies me. I am hoping to not pass on my irrational fears, and I have skirted the issue as much as possible.  Alas, Gavin discovered my fear this past Halloween, and he enjoys teasing me about spiders.  Thankfully he is trying to freak me out with glow-in-the-dark ones and I can feign my fear.

Seriously-- it is freaking me out looking at the pictures I put on this post!

So what do you think is the most healthy way to deal with your fears? Especially as a parent, I don't want to pass on my fears--it seems a lot of parents do that.  However, I want them to know that everyone fears something, and it is natural to feel that way about something.  Tell me your thoughts.  How do you deal with your fears?  Perhaps you are evolved and have already overcome them.