Face your fear through the screen of your phone.
I was terrified of spiders as a youngster and young adult. I'm frightened to jump out of my skin and run to another room. I overcame my phobia. I did some studies on spiders. I was able to comprehend them. They even grew on me. New software may be of use to those who still suffer from arachnophobia to some degree.
Phobys, an augmented reality software created by researchers at the University of Basel in Switzerland, seeks to provide "exposure treatment" to spider phobics in a safe and regulated manner.
Anja Zimmer, the lead author of research on the app published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders in August, said in a statement on Monday that "it's simpler for those with a phobia of spiders to approach a virtual spider than a real one."
The researchers conducted a two-week clinical study with 66 people who were afraid of spiders. Some of the participants utilized the app to go through a series of encounters with an AR spider, while others served as a control group who didn't use the app at all. The participants were then instructed to get as near as they could to a genuine spider in a see-through enclosure.
"In the real-life spider situation, the Phobys-trained group exhibited much less fear and disgust and was able to go closer to the spider than the control group," the University of Basel said.
The $5 software contains ten stages that users may go through, with assessments at the conclusion of each level. It begins with a brief "test your fear" encounter to establish a fear/disgust baseline from which to operate.
"Those who suffer from a minor, clinically inconsequential fear of spiders and are at least 16 years old" can use the software. According to the researchers, anyone experiencing significant fear, which can show as symptoms such as sweating or heart palpitations, should seek medical advice before using the app.
Others have proposed similar ideas, such as University of Alberta fine arts student Anna Chakravorty's design designs for an augmented reality spider game. The Arachnophobia app, which employs cartoon spiders, takes a different approach. The realistic Phobys AR spider adds to the realism of the game.
I won't go into detail about how the app works, but make sure you follow the directions when it advises to hold on to your phone securely.