Fear of insects: phobia, what it is called, its characteristics and treatment

• October 6, 2018
• Manias and Phobias
• Natalie Lynn

Insectophobia, also known as entomophobia, literally translates as fear of insects. This phobia is one of the subtypes of zoophobia and, in turn, is divided into several subtypes, for example, apiophobia - fear of bees, arachnophobia - fear of spiders, myrmecophobia - fear of ants, acarophobia - fear of ticks. Therefore, if you want to know what the fear of insects is called, you should clarify which species you are interested in.

The review will talk about insectophobia. It refers to an irrational fear of some or all types of insects. Fear mainly arises in humans due to aversion towards various insects due to their shape, color and also because they spread many diseases.

A phobia that originates in a person makes his life very uncomfortable. An insectophobe may not even leave the house, for fear of noticing any insect outside of it. Fear also gives rise to “delusional parasitosis,” when the patient begins to experience sensations such as tingling, itching, crawling on his skin, and react accordingly to them - try to remove a non-existent insect from his body, wash it off or scratch the skin until it bleeds, which, in in turn, can lead to infection. A person suffering from insectophobia may also develop OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. It creates a desire to constantly clean the living space and complicates a person’s mental and physical condition.

Causes of insectophobia

Why are people afraid of insects? There are many reasons that can cause insectophobia, or fear of insects, in a person. The reasons can be divided into two main categories.

Objective factors:

• Lived experience. It often happens that a person develops a disease of fear of insects after being bitten by a bee, mosquito, etc. A similar experience experienced in childhood can lead to psychological trauma, which develops into insectophobia.
• Imitation of others. If there is a person in the family who suffers from insectophobia, the child can learn from him not only to be wary of insects, but also to reinforce the fear, degenerating it into a full-fledged phobia.
• Medical problems. If you have been through a traumatic experience in your personal life due to loss of someone or divorce, the level of stress can create fear in you. Poor mental health, mental retardation and anxiety problems, or poor physical condition due to hyperthyroidism, folate and thiamine deficiency can also contribute to the onset of a phobia. Diseases such as syphilis, meningitis, cirrhosis can give rise to a phobia in you. Schizophrenia is another significant reason for the development of a phobia.

Environment. A person may feel like something is crawling on their body, but this sensation may be due to skin irritation caused by static electricity, pollen deposits and allergens on the pores of the skin or products containing, for example, formaldehyde.

Contrived factors:

• Thoughts of harm. Many patients constantly think about how certain insects can harm them: whether their bites are poisonous, whether they carry infections, and the like. Such thoughts, which may initially be quite rational, gradually become obsessive and contribute to the formation of insectophobia.
• Fantasy. If the previous point was based on objective information and the macrocosm, then in this case the whole problem lies in the patient’s wild imagination. Without any special knowledge about insects, a person imagines them as terrible monsters capable of causing him great harm.
• Literature, cinema, computer games, etc. Images depicting terrible insects, which often do not correspond to reality, an artistically exaggerated description of harm contribute to the formation of insectophobia,

Some facts

There are peoples who today live in nature, far from civilization. They are constantly in contact with insects of different species and are not afraid of them. There are several reasons for this:

1. Insects do not feed on people; they have no reason to attack. (Exception: mosquitoes and ticks).
2. After a tick bite, all you need to do is go to a medical center, where they will help you.
3. Mosquito bites do not spread AIDS. Not a single case has been recorded, despite the fact that the disease is very common.
4. The bee dies after stinging you. She will only attack as a last resort. So don't be afraid of bees. Be calm. Move away. It would be enough.
5. Everyone is afraid of spiders. But few people know that even tarantulas do not have deadly poison. In many species, only females are poisonous during the breeding season. This dramatically reduces the chances of death. Not all venomous spiders are poisonous enough to kill a person. It is enough to study the information and know what measures to take in case of a bite.

Now think about it, is your fear justified?

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms that may indicate entomophobia or insectophobia:

• Constant complaints of insect bites are the main symptom of insectophobia, that is, a phobia such as fear of insects.
• Reclusion.
• Reading about insects to see if fear is rational.
• Obesity.
• Frequent visits to doctors due to skin problems.
• When thinking about insects, physical tension appears, expressed in symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting.
• A panic attack at the sight of an insect is also a sign of insectophobia.
• Isolation from society.

The symptoms are so common that a person often does not realize that they are developing a phobia - the fear of insects. The main symptoms of any phobia are:

• Panic when confronted with the cause of fear or even at the thought of the source of fear.
• The desire not to leave the house in order to avoid confrontation with the source of fear.
• A feeling of powerlessness due to the fact that a person cannot control fear, even knowing that it is irrational.
• The children start crying.
• Development of physical symptoms such as inability to breathe, sweating, and vomiting.

Somatic manifestations:

• dilated pupils,
• muscle hypertonicity, trembling of arms and legs,
• increased heart rate,
• paleness/redness of the skin,
• psychomotor agitation,
• changes in blood pressure,
• profuse sweating,
• nausea,
• difficulty breathing, shortness of breath,
• weakness, faintness;
• panic attacks.

An insectophobe has a desire to run away from the insect or deal with it. He loses the ability to think rationally and in this state can harm himself and others.

Tests for diagnosing insectophobia

Currently, there are no proper tests to identify a specific phobia, so doctors turn to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, to test various criteria for identifying insectophobia. The guideline also suggests the type of treatment that can be administered to the patient. During therapy sessions, you will be asked various questions, and your response to them will serve to determine the phobia. Your medical and psychological history and heredity will also help doctors in the identification process.

The main criteria that help diagnose insectophobia are:

• A feeling of intense fear and irritation when the patient notices an insect or even sees a picture of it.
• Fear even at the thought of insects.
• Avoiding encounters with any insects or even viewing images of insects.
• Avoidance of all types of social activities that occur outside the home so that the patient can avoid encounters with insects. When an insect approaches a person, he noticeably tenses up.
• Symptoms of the phobia continue for more than 6 months.

It is worth noting that fear of insects is inherent in most people, but in order to determine which fear of insects is a phobia in its pure form, it is still worth contacting a specialist. He is the one who will help you understand and establish an accurate diagnosis.

First aid for panic attacks

In a moment of panic, a person thinks that he will suffocate, die, or go crazy. Somatic symptoms include ringing in the ears, dizziness, and nausea. It is better to entrust the treatment of panic attacks to a specialist; in this case, drug treatment is indicated. But it's important to know what you can do if a panic attack takes you by surprise.

First aid for a panic attack:

• focus on any object, this is necessary to switch attention;
• take several deep, long breaths in and out, this is necessary to normalize breathing and heartbeat.

You can use a paper bag. Take one deep breath and after eight seconds exhale slowly into the bag, repeat the procedure for five minutes.

Exercise and communication with loved ones are indicated as additional methods and means of prevention. Try to spend less time alone, especially before an upcoming meeting with the subject of fear.

Independent actions

If the case is not advanced and your phobia is at the initial stage of development, it is important to understand what exactly is bothering you - what insects and possible causes of fear. By answering these questions yourself, you can choose how to deal with your fear of insects.

• If you are afraid of the unknown or there is no information about this or that representative of the macrocosm, you should read an encyclopedia about insects, study pictures, detailed descriptions. You can also watch documentaries, just make sure (ask someone to watch the film in advance) that it does not contain scenes that frighten you, for example, contact of insects with people, insect attacks on humans, etc. This method is suitable for both children, as well as for adults.
• If the cause of your fear is a feature film, you should watch it again, not forgetting that everything that happens on the screen is fiction. When using this method with children to help them get rid of their fear of insects, think carefully about the approach, otherwise the situation may only get worse.
• If insects are simply unpleasant to you, for no apparent reason, consider buying photo wallpaper depicting representatives of the macrocosm. Souvenirs and accessories will also help - having gotten used to seeing only decorations in an insect, a person will gradually forget about fear.

Where does the fear of insects come from?

This question has not yet been given a clear answer. However, there are two main theories to explain this phenomenon:

Freud's psychodynamic theory

This theory greatly influenced science, but has already lost its popularity. Freud explained this by a connection with a mechanism that pushes stimuli into the subconscious that protect a person when danger arises. Man sought to keep nature under control and drowned out these signals of hidden alarm. This caused distortions in his mental defense mechanism. Anxiety moved to the unconscious level, giving rise to fear of ordinary objects subject to human control. They could be arthropods. Fear is in the subconscious. This is why man cannot govern. According to Freud, only a specialist can help with this.

Behavioral theory

This theory is supported by most scientists. Her followers say that insect phobia is formed at a time when a person feels fear, in two ways: conditioned and modeled.

Conditional path

According to experts, the cause of fear of insects is usually mental trauma from childhood. An impressionable child who is just beginning to explore the world can see a terrible monster in any small bug. A mosquito bite or buzzing noise can cause severe discomfort. The insect may appear unexpectedly and frighten him or be in a place where a frightening situation has occurred. And despite the fact that it has nothing to do with this event, the child develops bad associations.

If this fear sits deep inside a person’s consciousness, then it is very difficult to overcome it. You should seek the help of a psychologist.

Sometimes fear of insects also appears in an adult if he becomes a victim of an attack, for example, by bees.

Simulated path

This variant of the formation of fear of insects is associated with its acquisition from the outside. The child copies the behavior of his parents and other close people by observing them. If one of the family members has a similar disorder and somehow shows it, then the baby will begin to think that he should be afraid too.

Insectophobia can also be caused by parents prohibiting them from picking up insects. The child will begin to perceive them as something bad and scary. Therefore, you should not make this mistake.

Another source of fear of insects is scary stories and films where they are presented as villains, attacking people or simply looking scary.

To avoid such situations, parents are advised to monitor their behavior and the media products that are offered to their children. And if fear has nevertheless formed, you should not delay going to a specialist.

Treatment of insectophobia

If the methods listed above did not help you cope with the problem, be sure to seek help from a professional.

Entomophobia, or insectophobia - as the fear of insects is called - is often mistakenly considered a mental illness. Because this phobia is not well documented in the list of similar disorders, doctors are often unable to identify it. The patient remains without proper treatment for a long time. Therefore, the diagnosis of phobia is very important and multidisciplinary approaches should be taken.

Some therapeutic treatments for insect phobia along with prescribed medications allow the patient to remain calm and in control. Often during psychotherapy, an entomologist is brought in for consultation to help the patient understand that his fear is irrational.

Methods for correcting the condition

Additional therapy may include antidepressants, antipsychotics, and sedatives. They eliminate somatic symptoms, as well as possible complications during panic attacks.

In extremely severe cases, hypnotherapy may be required. Sometimes specialists from other medical fields come to the aid of a psychotherapist when the trigger for fear is physiological trauma. In this case, it becomes clear which specialist deals with this disease. It is possible to develop allergic reactions from bites of ants, bees and other insects. This can be complemented by psychological problems, so an integrated approach is required to heal from the pathology.

Desensitization, or exposure therapy, to treat insectophobia

Desensitization or exposure therapy to treat insectophobia helps overcome fear by exposing the patient to the object of fear. For example, the first images of insects are shown so that the patient can influence and reduce his level of anxiety. Slowly, as the patient begins to understand that not all insects are harmful, he is taken out into the garden where he may come into contact with flies or bedbugs.

Medicines for the treatment of insectophobia

Although medications cannot reduce insectophobia, they can help you control the physical symptoms that arise from the phobia.

• Antidepressants are called serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which control your mood by working as neurotransmitters in your brain. Antidepressants are prescribed according to your condition.
• Sedatives for insectophobia are those medications that are also known as benzodiazepines and help calm your nerves and make you less anxious. But at the same time, you should be careful while taking these pills as you may develop addiction and there may also be adverse effects if you take alcohol.
• Beta blocker medications block the stimulating sensations you experience due to entomophobia. The medicine also reduces heart rate caused by anxiety. A small amount may improve your condition for a while.

Risk factors

There are several factors that may put you at risk of developing a phobia:

• If you notice that anyone close to you, such as father, mother, brother, etc., suffers from insectophobia, you risk developing this fear in yourself as well.
• If you have experienced a traumatic incident in the past, you may develop fear of the source.
• Specific phobias develop even at the age of 10, so you become unable to interact with people.

About the benefits of stress

Stress is a beneficial physiological response that dictates our behavior in potentially dangerous situations that require close attention. This is a natural process that is a response to suspicious external factors (barking dogs) or excitement (riding on dizzying rides). When these and other situations occur, the nervous system sends signals to release adrenaline. This hormone prepares your body for a response known in psychology as “fight or flight.”

Complications

A phobia that bothers someone and causes serious problems in their life may not seem like a concern to others. A patient suffering from insectophobia may have many complications, such as:

• Avoiding any social interaction because of the thought that people might laugh at him. This behavior can lead to reclusiveness and loneliness.
• The complication of insectophobia leads to clinical depression or develops anxiety disorders.
• Substance abuse to cope with stress caused by fear.

Travel paths

Due to their small size and ability to reproduce quickly, insects can get into the most inaccessible corners of your home or the surrounding area. Some people may become numb and disgusted at the mere thought of someone crawling on their body. The speed at which arthropods move is also amazing. And if we are talking about home invasion, then disgust and fear can be caused by the loss of environmental control. In other words, if someone is encroaching on your personal space and even crawling through your things, you will not be able to feel safe.

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Also, you cannot guarantee that these small and nimble creatures will not bring any infection into your home. This is why insects evoke feelings of disgust and disgust. This instinctive reaction varies from culture to culture and has a lot to do with man's natural tendency to reject anything that might make him sick.