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Donna ReesA woman who suffered from arachnophobia for 50 years finally conquered her fear in just one hour |
Content:
- Overcoming a 50-Year-Old Fear in Just an Hour
- The Origin of the Phobia
- The Impact of Arachnophobia
- The Power of Therapy
- A Transformative Hour
- Overcoming the Fear
Overcoming a 50-Year-Old Fear in Just an Hour
Fifty years of arachnophobia came to an end in just one hour for a woman on the show 'This Morning,' where renowned psychotherapists helped Donna Rees conquer her lifelong fear of spiders.
The Origin of the Phobia
Donna's terror of the eight-legged creatures began at the tender age of three. After waking from a nightmare, she encountered her grandmother screaming at a spider on the wall. This single incident was enough to instill a deep-seated fear that haunted her for decades.
The Impact of Arachnophobia
Describing her response to spiders on 'This Morning,' Donna said, "[It] goes into slow motion. It's proper fear, like someone's threatening me with a knife or a gun. I've got to get away, I've got to go. My heart's going... it's pure panic." Over the years, Donna struggled to even utter the word "spider" without shuddering. She constantly checked her clothes before putting them on and avoided sitting on the floor. Her fear even led her to swerve into oncoming traffic after spotting a spider in her car.
The Power of Therapy
"Nobody's born with a phobia," explained therapist Nick Speakman. "With Donna, it goes back to a nightmare. She woke up, saw her grandmother screaming, looked at a spider – and it just linked." Before working with psychotherapists Nick and Eva Speakman on the show, Donna was hooked up to a heart monitor to demonstrate the severity of her phobia. Her heart rate, which started at 92 beats per minute, soared to 135 and then 145 after being shown pictures of spiders. When a spider was presented to her in a glass box, Donna was visibly distressed, tears forming in her eyes. Trembling with fear, she admitted, "I feel like I'm going to cry. But I really want to beat this."
A Transformative Hour
Just 60 minutes later, Donna returned to the 'This Morning' studio, looking calm and composed. She shared how Nick and Eva had completely changed her mindset about spiders. They explained the mechanics of her phobia and how she had made a "misattribution" as a child, linking her fears to spiders. As Donna had developed her arachnophobia with her grandmother, it was a relief to know that she had not passed on her fear to her son.
Overcoming the Fear
When Donna was reconnected to the heart monitor and shown pictures of spiders, her heart rate remained steady at 97. There was also no reaction when the box with the real spider was brought into the studio. To everyone's amazement, Donna reached into the glass box and attempted to pick up the spider with her fingers. She acknowledged that an hour earlier, such a feat would have been unthinkable. Laughing, Donna added, "In fact, you should have seen me running away an hour ago."
