Fear Of Insects (entomophobia): Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
There are many phobias, some of them are very common and others not so common. Among the most frequent we can find the fear of insects or entomophobia, which is also called insectophobia.
If you are paralyzed by the sight of a cockroach running around your living room, or you avoid traveling because you are obsessed with the idea that the hotel you are staying in is infested with bedbugs, you may suffer from this disorder.
In this article we will talk about the pathological fear of insects and we will delve into its causes, symptoms and consequences.
Entomophobia is an irrational and persistent fear that manifests itself in the presence of insects, and can appear anywhere, whether when camping in the mountains, walking through the park, going for a run on the beach or visiting a house. rural. And this phobia, although it may seem ridiculous in some cases due to the harmlessness of some insects. It creates great discomfort for the person who suffers from it, who feels great anxiety and anguish and an exaggerated attempt to avoid the feared stimulus.
Although most insects are not harmful to humans and do not pose a threat, those who suffer from this phobia experience extreme anxiety at the mere thought or observation of an insect. People with entomophobia may feel ashamed and aware of their fear, but are unable to cope with it and often require professional help to overcome it.
Any insect, whether spiders, wasps, butterflies, dragonflies or caterpillars, can become the stimulus that triggers a phobia Now, the most common forms of entomophobia are the phobia of bees and spiders.
You can learn more about these phobias in our articles:
Causes of fear of insects
To understand how a person develops this phobia it is necessary to understand how a phobia develops in general. Because phobias are an irrational fear, it is not a real danger, and it is learned.
In most cases, phobics developed this pathology as a result of a traumatic experience. This occurs due to associative learning called classical conditioning. You can learn more in our article “Classical conditioning and its most important experiments”.
But people do not necessarily have to experience phobias on their own skin, but can learn them through observation, in what is known as vicarious conditioning. Besides. Some irrational beliefs can promote the development of these pathologies.
Some experts suggest that phobias may also be due to the fact that the human body is biologically prepared to be afraid easily. This would be because fears develop in the primitive part of the brain and not in the neocortex, the most rational part. This explains why phobias do not respond to logical arguments.
This can be understood because this type of behavior could have helped the human species survive. But they can cause serious problems today, by developing fears without any apparent risk
Symptoms of this phobia
When a person suffers from this phobia and other individuals try to reason with him regarding the non-dangerousness of an insect, These logical arguments do not help much, and the symptoms drastically affect the phobic’s ability to live normally
Like all phobias, entomophobia or insectophobia is a condition that should be taken seriously, because it can be disabling Symptoms affect the individual cognitively, behaviorally and physically. Among the first symptoms, fear, anxiety, lack of concentration or catastrophic thoughts stand out. As a behavioral symptom, the attempt to avoid the phobic stimulus is characteristic. And as physical symptoms, the most common are a feeling of suffocation, hyperventilation, headache, nausea or stomach pain.
Entomophobia treatment
The classic treatment of phobias aims to end the association between the stimulus-response, which is why cognitive behavioral techniques, also known as second wave behavior therapy, are often used with some frequency. The therapist can help the patient overcome the phobia using these techniques. The most common are relaxation and breathing techniques and exposure techniques
But the technique that is most used in this type of treatment is systematic desensitization, which includes the previous two and consists of gradually exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus. That is, you can start by exposing yourself to photographs of insects and later to real insects. This method also allows you to learn coping strategies, among which relaxation and breathing techniques stand out. Many patients have successfully completed a systematic desensitization program. If you want to know more about this technique, you can read our article: “What is systematic desensitization and how does it work?”
Currently, other therapeutic methodologies can also be used such as cognitive therapy based on Mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Furthermore, with the development of new technologies, new ways to treat this pathology have appeared. An example of this is virtual reality, which has proven to be very effective in exposing the patient to phobic stimuli. On the other hand, Smartphone apps have appeared that include psychotherapeutic tools to treat these irrational fears
