Fear of insects is a feeling of anxiety and terror in the presence of one or more insects. It is also known by the name entomophobia and is part of the group of specific phobias of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is one of the most common phobias and the most widespread phobia of some type of animal.
Surely in your environment there is someone who, when they see a wasp, gets up from their chair, screams or goes somewhere else. This is what is known as an insect phobia. Like most phobias, it has psychological treatment with a good prognosis. Therefore, in this Psychology-Online article, we will talk to you about fear of insects: what it is, causes and how to overcome it.
What is fear of insects
What is the fear of insects called? This type of phobia is called entomophobia. It is an irrational fear of the presence of insects. The most common fears are usually cockroaches, wasps, bees and spiders. This mental disorder usually produces general discomfort and typical symptoms of anxiety. In this article, you will find information about .
Symptoms of fear of insects
Entomophobia, like any other type of phobia, has symptoms that can be related to anxiety. The symptoms of fear of insects can be divided into three groups:
- Cognitive symptoms: refer to the person’s thoughts and feelings. When an insect appears, the person may think that it is going to bite them or do some kind of damage. These types of thoughts would be part of the cognitive symptoms of this phobia.
- Physiological symptoms: they are typical of anxiety. Tachycardia, rapid breathing, dizziness, nausea, tremors or sweating, among others, may appear. In this article, we tell you.
- Behavioral symptoms: These types of symptoms refer to the different behaviors that the person performs in relation to their problem. For example, avoiding situations in which there could be some type of insects, screaming or running away when they appear, throwing an object at them in order to “defend yourself”, are quite common symptoms in entomophobia.
Causes of fear of insects
Why are we afraid of insects? Entomophobia, being a specific phobia, has very similar causes to other types of phobias. The causes of fear of insects can be divided into the following groups:
- Genetics: It is believed that there are some genes that make a person more predisposed to developing a phobia. If, for example, an uncle or cousin has a phobia of insects, there is a greater chance that you will end up developing that fear.
- Atmosphere: refers to two types of specific situations. On the one hand, the fact that we were raised in an environment of overprotection and in which possible dangers were constantly announced to us. If your parents continually told you how dangerous wasps are or they themselves were afraid of wasps, seeing it and receiving those types of messages, you learn said fear and act in a similar way. On the other hand, if you have experienced a traumatic experience such as a bite that had serious consequences or hearing that someone has had a similar experience, this phobia can develop.
- Allergies: It should be noted that it is quite common for allergic people to have this fear. Although, in this case, said fear could be considered justified.
How to overcome fear of insects
How to get rid of the fear of insects? Specific phobias can be treated through psychological therapy following various types of techniques. Next, we will see how to overcome the fear of insects with different techniques:
- Cognitive restructuring: This part of the therapy would consist of modifying the person’s irrational ideas regarding their phobia. It would be about making the person have a perspective more in line with reality.
- Exposure: would consist of making the person face the object that is feared. This exposure is usually done from a confrontation with a situation related to the phobia that causes the least fear, to the situation that causes the most fear. Exposure should not end unless anxiety has been reduced to zero. If it is complex to carry out the exhibition live, it can be done in an imagined way. In this type of phobias it is quite likely that these types of alternative techniques will have to be produced.
- Relaxation: practice relaxation techniques that help the person better cope with the physiological symptoms of the phobia such as tachycardia or hyperventilation. Discover .
- Values: Being focused on a phobia can cause other areas of your life to be neglected or affected. For example, if you cannot sit down to eat quietly for fear of wasps, it is possible that your relationship with other diners will end up being affected. Reminding the person of this, in addition to helping them refocus on those important aspects of their life, is a very useful technique to overcome the fear of insects.
Next, we leave you this video with a very effective guided relaxation for anxiety. It will give you calm and well-being to overcome your fear of insects.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
- Bonet, JIC (2001). Effective psychological treatments for specific phobias. Psychothema, 447-452.