KVOA (Tucson, Arizona) 08 May 06 Face Your Fears: Snakes (Amber Lyon)
Like millions of Americans, Patty Moreno has ophidiophobia, a fear of snakes that causes her tremendous anxiety every day.
Patty Moreno freaks out when she walks from her car into work in the mornings.
"I just run to the door so I can open it up and get inside,” she said.
She’s terrified when she walks her dog.
“I have to constantly be looking side to side making sure there are no snakes,” she said.
She’s scared when she sleeps.
“I'll just wake up, or I'll kick, or I feel like they bit me in my dream,” she said.
Patty wants to hike in Sabino Canyon with her husband Daniel, but, “We can’t because I know the snakes are out there,” Patty said.
So Patty contacted News 4 for help facing her fear of snakes.
To face her fear, Patty met with self-proclaimed fear expert Meryl Beck and tried Energy Psychology. It’s similar to acupuncture, but instead of needles, Beck claims energy psychology works by using tapping exercises that release negative energy associated with a fear.
"It's amazing because I've worked with hundreds of people with all kinds of fears. I've never seen it get worse. And it's so simple, it's so easy, and there's no pain involved,” Beck said.
We decided to take Patty to a store filled with reptiles to see if she could face her fear by touching what she fears most -- a snake, a creature the store’s owner says Patty need not fear.
“They’re very gentle, and kind of lazy,” said owner Ian Truchell.
Before we started taping, Patty met with Beck a couple times for some energy psychology sessions. She says that gave her the strength to walk into the store.
"Patty, have you ever in your life stood this close to a snake,” I asked her.
“No, never, Patty said. "I've never even been in a building filled with snakes. This is a huge milestone for me."
But Patty wouldn’t get any closer than five feet to the snake.
“What is so scary about the snake?” I asked her.
“The way it starts crawling and the way it goes up your shirt. That's what I think freaks me out,” Patty said.
"You think you could get any closer than this?” I asked her.
“No, this is as far as I want to go,” Patty said.
So we decided to resort to another session of energy psychology to see if Patty would get any closer to the snake.
She started tapping various pressure points on her head and hands and repeated this phrase, "Even though I'm afraid of getting closer to the snake, I totally and completely accept myself."
All of a sudden, Patty shocked us all when she walked up and touched the snake.
"They're very silky. Oh my god! They are soft. Oh my god, that's crazy!” Patty said with tears in her eyes as she touched the snake.
“You did it Patty, you did it!” We exclaimed.
"I'm not afraid of them anymore,” Patty said.
Face Your Fears: Snakes