Fear, like all emotions, has a utility for man and its survival. In fact, it gives us an alarm signal in front of the dangers. However, it can become a problem when it is experienced in an exaggerated way as in the case of phobias. The phobia (of insects, but not only) is an intense, persistent and lasting fear for something that does not represent a real threat, but the subject perceives this state of anxiety as not controllable.
Entomophobia (fear of insects) was classified in DSM 5 among anxiety disorders, as one of the specific phobias. Provides for a marked and irrational fear or aversion to insects. The phobic subject has emotional reactions that can go to slight forms of anxiety until they have panic attacks.
Generally the individual manages to circumscribe and dominate his fears. If the insect phobia It reaches a certain level of intensity can become invalidating, until they are conditioning and limiting normal daily activities. The subject who presents this fear is aware of the fact that, in the presence of an insect, but sometimes also of a simple image, it is affected by a disproportionate and irrational fear. Nevertheless he cannot manage it and ends up avoiding all circumstances capable of eleciting strong states of anxiety And anguish.
Symptoms of insect phobia (entomophobia)
As happens for all phobias, the subject warns aanticipatory anxietythat is, the fear that a panic reaction can trigger where there may be insects. This can lead him to avoid all situations in which he fears to lose control of himself. THE’entomophobia It is therefore a real pathological form and not a simple sense of disgust for insects.
There fear of insects It can produce all the unpleasant symptoms traditionally associated with anxiety or panic attacks. For example:
- tremors
- intense sweating
- tachycardia
- nausea
- dry throat
- soft legs
- feeling of loss of contact with reality
- fogging of vision
- hearing decrease
- fear of passing out
- respiratory difficulties
- dizziness
These pathological manifestations are implemented only at the sight of the feared thing or the thought of being able to see it. If you feel the impossibility of distancing or avoiding the encounter with the feared insect, it is possible that anxiety arrives at an intensity that causes a panic attack.
Consequences of the phobia of insects
Often these people, while rationally knowing that they are not subjected to a real danger, disinfest their home with any type of insecticide and control that there are no insects before feeling safe. There fear of insects It can lead to choosing the place to live or where to go on vacation or condition your free time.
Usually the subjects who have this phobia are also the former able to spot or notice the presence of an insect in the surrounding environment. This happens because when dealing with what is interpreted as a dangerous situation, our senses are amplified by what is called anticipatory anxiety or the fear of having an anxiety attack.
From a neurophysiological point of view, a possible explanation of some phenomena such as hypervigilance and hyperalllarme could be traced back to the automatic activation of the amygdala, following the perception of a phobic stimulus.
Causes of entomophobia
At the basis of this type of fear there could be the poor knowledge of what fears imposed on us. There fear of insects It is often associated with the fear of the unknown, of what is not controlled and is not master.
A way to overcome this fear therefore consists in familiarizing with insects by appreciating characteristics and quality. It is known that most of our fears derive from what we do not know and therefore that it could also prove potentially dangerous. Often, however, the fear of insects is transmitted in childhood. In fact, in that period the child is not aware of the dangers and therefore tends to explore the environment. In some cases, in fact, parents, with their alarmist reactions, come to prevent the contact of some things, including insects. They can thus transmit fear to the child who then lasted in adulthood.
In general theentomophobia For animals with a repellent appearance, such as cockroaches, it also represents fear for what is dirty and possible bearer of illness. In some cases the subject could develop the Fear for insects After a mourning related to a health problem. However, it is necessary to distinguish between phobias derived from exposure to effective traumatic experience, which we fear can repeat itself, and phobias without an apparent logical connection between stimulus and response.
Mechanism of maintenance of fear for insects
Fear is simply linked to involuntary incorrect learning experiences towards something. The body automatically associates the danger to an object or situation that objectively is not. This association takes place by classic conditioning, or the relationship between thought and object is created thanks to the first exposure that has generated fear in the subject. Then it is kept over time due to theavoidance put in place not to try that strong anxiety.
The subjects with insect phobia They tend to avoid the situations associated with fear, but in the long run this mechanism becomes a real trap. The avoidance does nothing but confirm the danger of the situation avoided and predisposes to the next advancement.
Initially the individual warns a strong discomfort in the presence of the feared insect and feels forced to avoid the circumstance that generates this unpleasant feeling. This triggers the phobic reaction and the belief is established that the repetition of anxiety experience would be intolerable. Consequently, the subject tries in every way to escape the situation that creates an alarm.
Escape and avoidance lead to an effective reduction of anxiety symptoms And they generate the belief that they do not face the phobic object. However, the relief resulting from the invitation of insects is only temporary and increases the sense of personal distrust, so that the much feared event appears increasingly impossible to face.
How to overcome the fear of insects
The avoidance of the phobic situation is not a solution but only a momentary way of escape. To completely overcome the insect phobia A path of psychotherapy is needed, focusing the problem with the help of a professional. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has a high effectiveness in the treatment of phobias and in the management of emotions, such as fear.
Behavioral strategies
On a psychological level, the main therapeutic strategy, of a behavioral type, is called Graduated exposure. This technique is based on the principle of counter -discretion and the aim is to react the subject in a different way in response to the phobic stimulus. In practice, the patient is exposed to anxious stimuli of growing intensity until anxiety is completely overcome.
For face the fear of insectsfrom a cognitive behavioral point of view, the patient must gradually accept to expose himself to the feared situation with the guidance of a competent person. The controlled systematic exposure provides for several degrees of feared approach. This includes the vision of designs, black and white photos and color, insect movies (imaginative exposure) up to direct contact (in vivo exposure). In this way the alarm reactions will become more contained and more controllable.
The therapist will be able to establish when it will be appropriate to proceed in the various steps of the guided exposure. In this way the subject will learn to manage the fear of insects And it will work on a maintenance plan to prevent repercussions. It is particularly useful to study insects in order to know their habits and understand if they can be really dangerous or not.
In addition, relaxation techniques such as autogenic training or muscle relaxation can be used to learn to control emotional states and anxiety events.
Cognitive strategies
Among the most effective tools to face their fears there are also cognitive techniquessuch as ABC and cognitive renovation, which can be used as a support during exposure practices. With the ABC we analyze situations or antecedents (a) in which certain thoughts (b) that lead us to experience specific emotions (C) are automatically activated. Once the dysfunctional thoughts are identified, the therapist will help the patient to question them thanks to cognitive renovation techniques.
In the case of insect phobia It is a matter of helping the person to replace irrational models with new realistic ways of evaluating the actual danger of the feared animal.
It may also be useful is the use of Mindfulness that favors the person’s ability to distance themselves from automatic and irrational thought models, recovering direct contact, and more realistic with the surrounding world. In practice, thanks to Mindfulness, the subject learns not to identify himself with his own thoughts that induce a phobic reaction.
