How do i get rid of my fear of lizards? ?

Question

I am ridiculously afriad of lizards and any other little crawling creature (a mouse, cockroach). I know the lizards are harmless, but its just their presence that freaks me out. I dont even want them within like 20 feet of me.

I also pride myself on being a tough guy. I was an athlete in high school and was never afraid of getting hit on the football field and that kind of stuff. So it looks pretty d**n wierd when other people see me jumping around because of a little lizard.

Help !! Please !! Any suggestions? How do i rid myself of this fear? How normal is this fear? - i know a few of my friends and family who also jump around like i do when we see a lizard - but how common is this in general?

Answer 1

Everyone has a phobia about something.  One of the ways to get ride of phobias is to confront them.  Go to a zoo and visit the lizard exhibit a few times.  There are some lizards who do bite, but mostly lizards are very shy and tend to run away from anything that's larger than they are.  Lizards do not attack people.

People don't like mice and roaches because these creatures are thought of as being dirty disease spreaders, which is only partly true.

Answer 2

I agree with what others have said so far.  It is normal, confront the fear.  If you can find a bearded dragon, they are (for the most part) amazingly docile creatures.  We have a rescued bearded dragon, she is content to just sit and look around while people interact with her.

Answer 3

Glad to know someone else shares this fear! (Not glad that you have this fear, but that I am not alone.) I don't know how "normal" this phobia is, but I too am phobic of lizards. I'm not just scared, I'm distraught if I know they are present. I've had 4 childhood encounters with lizards either falling on me when I've been to Asia or crawling on me. This phobia is still with me today.

I recently moved office locations - I was first in a city environment, and now am working from a suburban office where lots of greenery and wild insects/ animals/ repitles are present and I am seriously unhappy. There have been instances where I have been walking from my car to my office door and I spot lizards in the hedges. Just today, one was found in the kitchen. I WAS (AM) MORTIFIED. This incident caused me to find your post/ question because I wanted to know how to get over this fear. I am currently sitting at my desk at work ON EDGE.

I liked the person's suggestion of first putting up a picture. It still would creep me out though, but I like that it's a very sensitive approach to hopefully getting over it. It makes so much sense to me how people have helped explain how to get over the fear - I would say the same thing to someone who had I fear that I do not share - but I know that it is harder to get over than it seems.

So, if it makes you feel any better, I share your fear. I am even considering going for some type of hypno-therapy because knowing that lizards are everywhere in my current office (even INSIDE for goodness sakes!) makes me feel super uneasy throughout my work day.

Answer 4

I never heard of a guy that was afraid of lizards before.Go to the pet store a few times and hang out with them.They are really cool. When I was a kid I used to catch horned lizards and take them home.In Mexico there is a restaurant in the city that has geckos all over the walls, up the windows and on the tables.

Answer 5

Lizards are sooo harmless that I never heard of anyone having a phobia of them before.

BUT I am afraid of spiders for no reason just like you. So, I bought myself a Tarantula to force myself to get over the fear. I bought a Rosehair Tarantula becaue they move kinda slow and don't get nervous easily. I put it in a little cage and looked at it a few days. Then (!) I took the lid off of the cage and poked it a little to get it moving a little. Then (!!!) I put my hand in the cage and had it walk over my hand. Then I made myself pick it up on my hand and had it crawl a little. Things were okay until it headed uphill towards my head which made me put it back in the cage. I kept doing that until I forced my brain to accept that even a giant monstrosity spider wasn't going to hurt me. Then I bought a more nervous Tarantula, a Pinktoe Tarantula, which not only runs but also jumps(!!!!!) off of your hand. I forced myself to hold it too until it got too nervous to stay on me and then I put it back. And that forced my brain to see that even a giant running jumping monstrosity spider still wasn't going to hurt me, so obviously a little spider wouldn't either. Since then I don't have a phobic reaction to seeing spiders.

So, since no little lizard attacks people you ought to buy an Anole (American Chameleon) and keep it as a pet. They eat bugs and might get as big as your finger, so you outweigh it by something like a million times and it will be afraid of you killing and/or eating it when you first get it. They also cost very little. It will run away from you. A calmer lizard would be a Bearded Dragon. It will sit there watching you watching it watching you. If you *want* a lizard that has an attitude then get a Tokay Gecko. It will growl at you if you try to pick it up and then bite very hard and you might be lucky enough to have it start barking in the evening. Some people let them go inside their house so they eat any bugs crawling around.  

Answer 6

If you really want to get over your fear do the following.

Put pictures of lizards around you.  Your goal is to be able to tolerate them in pictures/photos first.

Then put a live one in a cage/container that is within visual sight, but not close enough to bother you.  Over weeks and months, slowly have the container moved closer and closer.  Over time, you will get used to it until you are able to have it next to you.

Good luck.