Fear of insects: causes, symptoms and treatment

Insect phobia is one of the most common in the modern world. Probably, each of us is a little afraid of insects and has a dislike for them. This is normal: fear is considered a phobia only when it is uncontrollable and obsessive. The fear of insects is called insectophobia, however, it can be divided into smaller subspecies. In this article, we'll look at options for insect fear, possible causes, and treatment options.

Many people believe that we inherited the fear of insects from our ancestors, because some of them really always represented a danger to humans and were carriers of various diseases. Insectophobia is typical for many even now. Many are afraid of all insects; for some, only flying arthropods are the object of a phobia. Some are afraid of specific species: cockroaches, earthworms, bees, ants, wasps, beetles, flies, caterpillars and moths can cause fear. Sometimes people are even afraid of butterflies, which to most seem to be completely harmless creatures.

In the middle latitudes, acaraphobia, or fear of ticks, is common. There is a reason for fear, because it is really difficult to notice a tick, and the risk of getting seriously ill is very high. Nevertheless, in acarophobes, reasonable caution turns into uncontrollable panic... The person avoids any forests or parks, over-uses repellents, and constantly checks their bodies to make sure they are free of ticks. Often the trigger for such a phobia is an unpleasant incident with tick bites from close friends, especially impressionable people may begin to be afraid after the release of news about ticks.

This is a fear of bees, which is very common in children and sometimes occurs in adults. Many of us have been bitten by bees at least once in our lives, but people with phobia experience real panic attacks at the thought of them. An increased heart rate, uneven breathing, sweating, and uncontrolled movements are all signs of a true phobia. The disease causes serious discomfort, since bees surround us everywhere. To cope with the phobia, various relaxation methods, natural sedatives are recommended, and in advanced cases, the consultation of a qualified psychotherapist is necessary.

Biologists do not classify spiders as insects, but for human perception they are approximately equivalent, in addition, the fear of spiders or arachnophobia is very often found in conjunction with other fears of insects. It should be noted that most spiders are harmless to humans, so the phobia is not so much about the fear of harmhow much in dislike and unreasonable uncontrollable fear. It is rather difficult to live with such a phobia, because a spider can be encountered by a person even indoors.

Fear of flies is often associated with fear of the dirt they carry. Nevertheless, it is a disorder when reasonable cleanliness becomes a real pathology is called a phobia. Fear of flies is more common in women than in men. It significantly reduces the quality of life, to an extreme degree, it motivates a person to tightly lock the windows and almost never leave the house during the warm season. Of course, it is important to fight this phobia - for proper treatment, you need to find out the specific reasons and realize that the fear is unfounded.

A highly exotic disorder that is quite rare. This is the fear of termites and other insects that feed on tree bark. Psychologists still have no consensus about the reasons for this phobia: the motives for this fear are very specific, individual and associated with childhood trauma. This phobia is more difficult to treat because it is atypical and is highly dependent on the patient's personal experience. It is very important to find out your true motives in order to get rid of the fear once and for all.

This is the fear of all stinging insects. Each of us has been bitten by wasps, bees, mosquitoes and horseflies, but people with phobia experience serious discomfort, horror and real panic attacks at the thought of these insects. Increased pressure, uneven breathing, tremors, seizures, excessive sweating and uncontrolled movements are signs of a true phobia that can manifest itself with or without contact with insects. The disease causes serious discomfort, since it is difficult to completely isolate from stinging insects.

This is a fear of ants, and it is quite common. Many children have stepped into an anthill at least once and have experienced the bites of many small insects. - This is a very unpleasant experience because it is completely impossible to control many small ants. From this, a person experiences panic and a feeling of complete helplessness. In severe cases, an unpleasant fear develops into a phobia that interferes with life. Even one ant running past can cause adrenaline rush, uncontrollable actions, and even physical pain. And stressful conditions, in turn, eventually lead to somatic diseases. With a phobia of ants, as with other phobias, it is worth fighting as early as possible.

Obsessive fear of worms and larvae. The fear seems well-founded: most people have a real disgust for these insects. However, a phobia is relatively rare - it involves panic attacks and obsessive thoughts when in contact with worms and at their sight, although, in fact, most of these insects do not pose a threat to humans. Sometimes the phobia is caused by unfavorable environmental factors, and sometimes there is a hereditary predisposition - for example, strong disgust.

One of the very rare and mysterious pathologies, which is the fear of butterflies. Most people find these creatures quite pleasant and not dangerous at all: many caught butterflies in childhood or visited special breeding grounds in botanical gardens. However, sometimes this phobia occurs in conjunction with other obsessive insect fears, and sometimes it occurs on its own. It is usually associated with trauma, due to which butterflies give rise to a complex negative association in humans. If a person suffering from such a phobia cannot tell himself the reasons for his fear, it is better to seek qualified help.

The reasons for the fear of insects are very individual: for some, fear appears suddenly, in adulthood, while others are afraid of insects from childhood. In general, psychologists identify external and internal causes that provoke the development of phobias. Often these reasons act in combination, but a good specialist will help to highlight the main one - you need to fight not with the phobia itself, but with those motives that induce a person to be afraid.

Consider the internal causes of the phobia.

• Heredity can make one person more prone to acquiring insectophobia than another. Personality traits and character traits that are genetically inherent in us play a role: disgust, impressionability, acute perception of pain or a desire to control everything around can become the basis for the occurrence of insect phobia. However, by themselves, these signs do not guarantee a phobia - they only increase the risk of developing the disease with the combined action of unfavorable external factors.
• Traumatic brain injuries sometimes also lead to phobias. If certain areas of the brain are damaged, the person becomes more susceptible to obsessive fears.
• Neuroses and psychoses often entail a bouquet of all kinds of phobias, often including insect phobia. As a result of such mental disorders, the emotional state of a person as a whole becomes more unstable. Therefore, he is prone to an acute reaction to various factors, can fall into panic attacks and get hung up on certain things, as an object of fear.

Among the external causes of phobias, there are all sorts of adverse environmental influences, trauma in childhood and adulthood. Usually they become the "trigger" for the development of a phobia. Perhaps a person in childhood survived an attack of wasps, was locked up with cockroaches, or read a terrible tale about a spider.

It is important to distinguish phobia from ordinary fear, to which each of us is subject to one degree or another. Look out for the following insectophobia symptoms.

• Panic attacks are one of the surest signs of a true phobia. Moreover, they can occur even not only when they come into contact with insects, but when they are mentioned, as well as when walking in places where you can potentially encounter them.
• An increase in pressure and an increase in heart rate indicates a strong fear, this is due to the release of adrenaline into the blood.
• Goosebumps, tremors and small, uncontrolled movements can also give away insectophobes. During a strong fear, a person literally does not control himself: he can either shrink all over and close his eyes or start waving his hands and screaming.
• Dizziness and inability to stand up are also indicative of severe stress. Often, at the moment of experiencing fear, the insectophobe will try to lean on something or sit on the ground. In some cases, fainting is possible.
• Sometimes the phobia is accompanied by seizures and uncontrolled muscle contractions. This can lead to various pinching.
• In the extreme stages of a phobia, fear is accompanied by physical symptoms - for example, a person may be experiencing real pain.
• Phobia is often accompanied by gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea, flatulence, and abdominal pain.

Some of these manifestations are clearly visible externally, while others can only be assessed by the person himself. It's obvious that phobia is something more powerful than just everyday fear... It covers the whole person and determines not only psychological health, but also physical well-being. With chronic stress, phobias can lead to various diseases, from dermatitis to heart disease.

In the modern world, there are many ways to get rid of a phobia, it is only important to diagnose it correctly and not delay solving the problem. If the symptoms do not bother you very much, and you do not want to see a doctor for one reason or another, psychologists recommend the following measures for self-dealing with obsessive fear.

• Meditation and yoga help you come to harmony with yourself, collect your thoughts, make friends with your body. Correct exercise helps to build up general calmness and get rid of obsessive thoughts - try to devote at least a few minutes daily to meditation.
• Breathing exercises is also important for relaxation and tranquility. Train every day, and at the moment of collision with an insect, try not to panic, but breathe deeply and rhythmically.
• Massage can also help. You can go to the spa for separate sessions, or simply have a loved one massage your shoulders as you walk in the woods. Stress provokes muscle contractions that need to be released.
• Healthy eating helps to strengthen not only physical, but also mental health, so psychologists recommend monitoring what you eat.
• A lot of adrenaline is produced during fear. - you can reset it with the help of sports exercises. In addition, during intense exercise, the hormone of joy endorphin is released, which will also help fight stress.
• Try soft, soothing teas: mint, lemon balm and valerian will help calm down a little and become a pleasant habit for every evening.

If the phobia is strong, and you cannot cope on your own, you need to contact a specialist. The goal is to understand the cause of your uncontrollable fear and to deal with it. Sometimes one-to-one conversations with a good psychologist help. Group therapy gives great results: you will see that you are not alone in your problem, and you can help each other overcome fear.Also, in the fight against phobias, hypnosis techniques are often used - the patient is given the correct settings that help to overcome fear.