The Magical Collective
Presents: BW
I never thought I'd be at the point where I can say I've overcome a phobia that has been with me since before 3rd grade. I'm hopeful that by sharing my story and how far I've come, that I can give someone else the inspiration to overcome their own phobia.
Ever since I can remember I've had a terrible fear of snakes. It got so bad that I couldn't watch them on tv without becoming anxious. I would avoid walking by the tanks in petsmart, even going so far as to walk an aisle over to avoid being able to see what was inside. I hated going outside during the warm months, knowing they could be out. When I did go outside, I didn't allow anyone around me to say the word "snake" because it would remind me that they could be outside. I refused to stay in a house that had a pet snake and didn't even like to be in the same room as the tank. If I did experience exposure to them, it normally resulted in me breaking down in tears. All these reactions seem extreme to me now as I write them out, but it's something I lived with for years and just accepted as reality.
For years I avoided addressing my phobia because I never really had a need to overcome it. My avoidance tactics worked for me, and even though at times I knew how ridiculous I was being, it was better than facing my fear head on. At least that is what I thought until my 2 best friends bought their first snake. My boyfriend and I visit these friends every weekend for a game night so you can imagine my first reaction when hearing the news.. "Well, looks like I'm not going over there anymore". But obviously I couldn't stop visiting my friends just because they had a pet snake, so it finally came time for me to try to face my phobia.
I spent most of the first part of facing my fears just talking to my friend about her snake. We laughed at the fact that I love all animals and reptiles but for some reason without the legs they petrified me. Lizards? Adorable. Snakes? Horrifying. Spiders, bugs, scorpions, all those other things people fear did not bother me. So why was I so afraid of snakes? I couldn't really explain it to her anymore than I could to myself. It wasn't one traumatic experience or something I could really put my finger on. Sure I could blame it on my favorite children's movie Aladin, Jafar's snake always did creep me out, but I honestly didn't really have a good explanation.. which is really the moment I realized I didn't really have a good excuse to continue being afraid.
Getting rid of my phobia did not happen overnight. It didn't even happen in a week or a month. I'd say it honestly took the better part of a year. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help and patience of my friends and their goofy hognose snake. We started small, mostly talking and just letting me see the tank from afar. I worked my way up to being able to walk near the tank. This took time.. but eventually I could walk in the room and have normal conversations with people and not even worry about the tank. Eventually we moved on to taking the snake out of the tank. I of course was way far away when this occurred but I could still see him out and look if I wanted to. We did this stage the longest. I would work my way closer and closer but I still wanted to know where he was at all times. Eventually I felt more comfortable being around him while he was out. After several months or more at this stage, I was finally able to move closer and closer until one day I was able to touch and then hold the snake.
Now when I go over, I always ask her if I can take the snake out and hold him. He is a goofball of a snake and has made me realize that most of my fears came from not really understanding them or expecting the worst when in reality the snake mostly just sits in your hand without doing much.