Help me overcome my fear of snakes?

[Chelle]

Hi there. I'm Chelle.

I'm tired of letting fear rule my life. I'm being 100% serious when I tell you that my fear of snakes keeps me indoors, out of the lake, and has me turning down every single offer of camping during the summer. It's THAT bad. I actually dread warm weather for this reason and this reason alone.

My husband and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage in June and I'd love nothing more than to surprise him with the camping/hiking trip he has wished for since before our wedding.

I live in the northwest metro-Atlanta area and I would like to find someone patient to help me overcome this fear. I want you to educate me, teach me how to identify a hot snake, and hopefully, eventually, help me get to the point of more than getting light headed and nauseated from fear when someone offers to let me handle their pet snake.

This site was recommended to me by BCR226, who has gorgeous snakes. Terrifying, but gorgeous.

Are there any places in Georgia devoted to this or are there any owners who would be willing to help me out some? I'm committed and determined to stop channeling a scared rat at the mere thought of a snake. I'm that banshee screamer in the back of the theater if a snake randomly appears in a movie. Ugh.

Help?