I'm extremely afraid!!!! (health, house, moving)

[TrishP7]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

Hope that works out for you, I honestly do. I feel your pain. I still havent gotten over my fear, I just make sure I keep all areas clean, free of clutter and no bush/shrubbs or tall grass etc. Thank God I dont live near a lake or where I was in Orlando.

Ny, since I saw the dam snake about a month ago..i run to and from my car..ALL THE TIME..like a crazy woman! Its horrid.

Where in Orlando did you live? So you havent had any encounters since you moved to Ft. Lauderdale? Encounters..lol..we make them sound like aliens. ..well shoot, add some horns and bulging eyes..nuff said..i hate the dam things.

[Big House]

Trish,
Snakes are much more afraid of you than you are of them. Although you may see one, if it sees you, it will try to get away. Have you spoken to anyone about getting help to become desensitized? People that are fearful often are so because of their lack of knowledge and lack of familiarity. You might want to get a plastic snake at a store. They are completely harmless, and may help. Very few snakes are dangerous, and if you know how to recognize them that will help as well.

It can certainly be overpowering, but if you are unable to master your fear, you will significantly distract from the quality of life. You can't master your fear if you don't work at it in some way. Good Luck!

[Beach babe]

I also live in Hunters Creek. You can purchase a spray from Lowes or Home Depot called "Snake Away" if you are so concerned about them. They are like most other animals and will only ever harm you if they feel threatened. If you see any at all, they will be black racers, only small pencil like that will quickly disappear once they catch sight of you. Any larger snakes can hang around your pool heater in the damp areas. Just be sensible about it and check concealed areas out. I would be more aware of the spiders to be honest, but the same principle applies. My two sons keep two snakes as pets - how do you think I feel, ha ha They're quite docile characters really.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by TrishP7

Ny, since I saw the dam snake about a month ago..i run to and from my car..ALL THE TIME..like a crazy woman! Its horrid.

Where in Orlando did you live? So you havent had any encounters since you moved to Ft. Lauderdale? Encounters..lol..we make them sound like aliens. ..well shoot, add some horns and bulging eyes..nuff said..i hate the dam things.

I hear you. I used to be the same way about it when I first saw two of them days apart at my then, new house. I'd run to my car, or even when it was in the garage I'd look around and under. I had the bushes, shrubbs, whatever place I thought they would be in or around, cut. I had a jacuzzi and a deck in my backyard that I never used because of my fear of them. I never went past my enclosed patio. I stayed indoors, made sure the grass was cut religiously. I only cut my grass once since I had owned the house. After the snake experience, I stopped. I lived in Apopka. It was a nice area, but I never thought I'd have to see them. The thing is, the investors who sold us the house didn't do much to the backyard. We liked how well kept the interior and the front were, but we didn't pay close attention to the yard when buying, not saying it couldn't happen in another place. This is the South, so I expect it. Imagine a big guy like me, standing at 6ft3 scared of these things. I almost got hit by a taxi cab in Manhattan when I was living in NYC. My cousin and I were walking by West 4th, and all of a sudden, he tells me not to look behind, and of course, what's the first thing a human will do, without much warning. I turned around, and there were two guys holding the biggest snake I had ever seen in my life. I ran across the street in frantic, just to see a taxi cab run by right after I crossed the street. Phobias are real, and scary (no pun intended ). That's why I never play with people and their phobias. I know people that have phobias of cats, and insects.
In South Florida where I live, I've seen one that was small, the size of a worm. I almost mistook it for a worm. I was not affraid of it, actually disposed of it and let the ants have a feast. I've seen another by my relatives' condo. It was probably 3 1/2 feet long, and had yellow stripes. I thought it might have come from the canal behind their condo. On the property I live on, there aren't many places for them to hide. There are lakes, so I keep my eyes peeled. But the same principles apply here as they did in Orlando. I keep it clean, and the area always busy. I hate them, fear them, and try my best to avoid them. I fear no insects, rodents, lizards, frogs, but these snakes.....I must find a way to deal with them sooner or later. Thank God, I have not seen any around.

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by TrishP7

Ny, since I saw the dam snake about a month ago..i run to and from my car..ALL THE TIME..like a crazy woman! Its horrid.

Where in Orlando did you live? So you havent had any encounters since you moved to Ft. Lauderdale? Encounters..lol..we make them sound like aliens. ..well shoot, add some horns and bulging eyes..nuff said..i hate the dam things.

Trish:


First of all I want to tell you - I understand your dread of snakes, my wife’s sister suffered from the same problem. I feel for you- because I know how debilitating the fear can be. I helped her and I can help you.

When I met my wife’s sister…she was from a totally urban environment – Chicago. She decided to move closer to her sister on the East Coast - a 1 acre wooded, swampy area in southeast coastal Connecticut – a low lying coastal area with marshy coves, mud flats, that is humid, buggy, with snakes, frogs, misquotes. Although all the “creatures” around annoyed her – she was quite disturbed by the snakes. When she found out that there were (among the several different types of snakes) – two poisonous ones (Copperheads and Rattlesnakes)…..she lost it. All of the things that you describe (looking under the car, looking around everywhere you walk…), mentally crippled her. She stopped being the same person. We grew very worried about her having a total breakdown.

So we did this…...

Go to a reptile zoo/nature center where they allow you to hold non-venomous snakes. They will let you hold and touch small, docile, interesting snakes. Study them while you HOLD THEM. Make believe you are a scientist in the bush in Australia or Africa. Think about what you see. I want you to visit a place like this 3-times a week. I DO NOT WANT YOU TO SKIP A WEEK! Each time you go…..think about humans killing off this beautiful creature, who is part of the exotic place called Florida. Then - think about the cold Polar regions …barren, frozen, cold wind blowing, everything dead. Think about how lush and ALIVE Florida is…and how lucky you are to live in a place where the sun, heat, and rainfall allow life to flourish in all forms. Think about the fact….. that all these creatures want to do is sit in the sun just like you.

After several weeks of holding them……the fear will subside. Eventually, when you see a snake a few times a year (maybe once a year)….it will just be a passing event.

Good Luck.

[Dd714]

I read about 3 pages of this and stopped. Stop posting stories about Florida's snakes, or lack of. That isn't the problem, it's irrelavant. The problem is her phobia, to the extent that she can't get out of the house. That's pretty damn extreme. For people with phobia's no amount of convincing that the fear is unreasonable will help.

If she has such a fear that she can't even get out of the house then she needs professional phycological help. Address her pychological problem, not the issue of snakes.

[ilovebdj]

Originally Posted by Dd714

I read about 3 pages of this and stopped. Stop posting stories about Florida's snakes, or lack of. That isn't the problem, it's irrelavant. The problem is her phobia, to the extent that she can't get out of the house. That's pretty damn extreme. For people with phobia's no amount of convincing that the fear is unreasonable will help.

If she has such a fear that she can't even get out of the house then she needs professional phycological help. Address her pychological problem, not the issue of snakes.

OMG thank you. I was on page 2 and was going to write your words exactly.

Honey, we can all sit here and say we haven't seen snakes, it's okay, don't worry, etc. I, myself, am from Jersey too, and I get it. There's a little more wildlife here. But if you are actually considering leaving your fiance over this, it goes much deeper. PLEASE speak to someone, a therapist or psychiatrist, about this. Trust me, they can do much better than any of us as an online community could do.

Take care, Cindy

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by ilovebdj

OMG thank you. I was on page 2 and was going to write your words exactly.

Honey, we can all sit here and say we haven't seen snakes, it's okay, don't worry, etc. I, myself, am from Jersey too, and I get it. There's a little more wildlife here. But if you are actually considering leaving your fiance over this, it goes much deeper. PLEASE speak to someone, a therapist or psychiatrist, about this. Trust me, they can do much better than any of us as an online community could do.

Take care, Cindy

Not to be the dissenter here………..

Actually you (and the post above you) are incorrect. A severe fear or phobia is not always masking some deep seated problem (marriage problems, financial problems, mental illness…etc)…there are many people who have a fixation-fear with certain things (snakes, germs, heights). Talking with a therapist or psychiatrist, may certainly be helpful but – I don’t think TrishP7 has some deep problem with her life or marriage that her fear of snakes is just masking something else.

There’re plenty of normal mentally healthy humans who have a fear or phobia or certain things. Remember Jaws? After the movie here on the coast of the Northeast, people afraid to go in the water. The mayor of some beach town in Rhode Island ordered shark towers erected on all state beaches.

Did 20 million people suddenly have a “deeper problem” in their life?

[Dd714]

Originally Posted by wavehunter007

Not to be the dissenter here………..

Actually you (and the post above you) are incorrect. A severe fear or phobia is not always masking some deep seated problem (marriage problems, financial problems, mental illness…etc)…there are many people who have a fixation-fear with certain things (snakes, germs, heights). Talking with a therapist or psychiatrist, may certainly be helpful but – I don’t think TrishP7 has some deep problem with her life or marriage that her fear of snakes is just masking something else.

There’re plenty of normal mentally healthy humans who have a fear or phobia or certain things. Remember Jaws? After the movie here on the coast of the Northeast, people afraid to go in the water. The mayor of some beach town in Rhode Island ordered shark towers erected on all state beaches.

Did 20 million people suddenly have a “deeper problem” in their life?

Normal fears are one thing. Everyone has a healthy fear of snakes (which are in almost every state, Florida has no particular monopoly on the snake population). But to have a fear WHERE YOU WON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE or causing you to LEAVING YOUR SPOUSE. That's serious, that's abnormal, that's like Howard Hughes-type stuff. That goes above and beyond the help that she can get in a website.

The OP may be exaggerating, that's one thing. But truly, if she can't leave the house, she needs a therapist and their are other things going on in her head besides a fear of snakes. She has an anxiety disorder, and it's obviously interfering with her daily life. It's treatable with professional help.

[cmj_fla]

Ok everyone this is getting a little personal and off topic. Please don't try to diagnose the Poster.