This subreddit is my arachnophobia therapy

I joined because I actively tried to get over my fear of arachnids. I was terrified of the pictures and videos at first, but because of you lovely people here I understood the spiders better and I can even now appreciate the beauty and kind of cute face and demeanor of the Tarantula.

So there was an insect and Tarantula exhibition in the city I visited. I decided to go and there was a booth to get a picture with a spider. I did it and managed not to shit myself. I have to say I regret taking it though. There was a long queue as so many people lined up for fotos. They said they regularly switch the spiders to not stress them too much, but still. On one hand I am happy to have proof as my phobia of critters is a running joke in the family and the eldest grandchildren didn't believe me I would volunteered to hold one. One the other hand I participated in exploiting these gentle creatures as they were forced to perform for all these people and could not chill instead.

Anyway, i want to say thanks for this subreddit as it helped me challenge my irrational fear!