Personally I think a lot of arachnophobes do it for attention. Kinda like "Look at me I am scared of spiders! I am a big burly man, but a spider scares me! Doesn't that make me unique, and different, yet somewhat sensitive?!"
I think that goes with a lot of phobias. People pretend to have them, to be quarky, and different. Then eventually they start believing their own lies. If a picture of a spider on a computer screen ruins your week, or makes you stop using the toilet, seek help.
I had a co-worker once that was deftly afraid of clowns (Coulrophobia). I convincingly pretended to share the same fear to strike up conversation and score with her.
Kinda like grown men breaking down and crying in public, to make them look all sensitive... same thing. I wonder what the name of the disorder is when you fake having a phobia to get attention... that is what I believe half people suffer from.
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