Fear, like all emotions, has a utility for man and his survival. Indeed, it gives us an alarm signal in the face of dangers. However, it can become a problem when it is experienced in an exaggerated way as in the case of phobias . Phobia (of insects, but not only) is an intense, persistent and lasting fear of something that does not represent a real threat, but the subject perceives this state of anxiety as uncontrollable.
Entomophobia ( fear of insects ) has been classified in DSM 5 as an anxiety disorder, as one of the specific phobias. It involves a marked and irrational fear or aversion towards insects. The phobic subject has emotional reactions that can range from mild forms of anxiety to panic attacks .
Generally the individual is able to circumscribe and dominate his fears. If the phobia of insects reaches a certain level of intensity it can become disabling, to the point of 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 even a simple image, he is struck by a disproportionate and irrational fear. Nevertheless, he is unable to manage it and ends up avoiding any circumstance capable of eliciting strong states of anxiety and anguish .
Symptoms of insect phobia (entomophobia)
As happens for all phobias, the subject feels an anticipatory anxiety , that is the fear that a panic reaction may be triggered where there may be insects. This can lead him to avoid all situations where he fears losing control of himself. L ‘ Entomophobia is therefore a real pathological form and not a simple sense of disgust for insects.
The fear of insects 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
- blurred vision
- loss of hearing
- fear of fainting
- respiratory difficulties
- dizziness
Such pathological manifestations occur only at the sight of the feared thing or at the thought of being able to see it. If you feel it is impossible to distance yourself or avoid meeting the feared insect, it is possible that the anxiety reaches such an intensity as to cause a panic attack .
Consequences of insect phobia
Often these people, even knowing rationally that they are not subjected to a real danger, disinfest their home with all kinds of insecticides and check that there are no insects before feeling safe. The fear of insects can lead to choosing the place to live or where to go on vacation or condition one’s free time.
Usually the subjects who have this phobia are also the first 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 hyper-vigilance and hyperalarm could be traced back to the automatic activation of the amygdala, following the perception of a phobic stimulus.
Causes of entomophobia
At the root of this type of fear may be the lack of knowledge of what frightens us. The fear of insects is often associated with fear of the unknown, of what you do not control and are not mastered.
One way to overcome this fear is therefore to familiarize yourself with insects by appreciating their characteristics and qualities. It is known that most of our fears derive from what we do not know and therefore that it could also be potentially dangerous. However, the fear of insects is often transmitted in childhood. In fact, at that time the child is not aware of the dangers and therefore tends to explore the environment. In fact, in some cases the parents, with their alarmist reactions, manage to prevent the contact of some things, including insects. They can thus transmit fear to the child which then continues into adulthood.
In general, entomophobia for animals with a repellent appearance, such as cockroaches, also represents the fear of what is dirty and a possible carrier of disease. In some cases, the person may develop fear of insects after bereavement related to a health problem. However, it is necessary to distinguish between phobias derived from exposure to an actual traumatic experience, which we fear may be repeated, and phobias without an apparent logical connection between stimulus and response.
Insect fear maintenance mechanism
Fear is simply related to involuntary misleading experiences of something. The organism automatically associates the dangerousness to an object or situation that objectively is not. This association occurs by classical conditioning, that is the relationship between thought and object is created thanks to the first exposure that generated fear in the subject. Then it is maintained over time due to the avoidance put in place in order not to experience that strong anxiety.
People with insect phobia tend to avoid situations associated with fear, but in the long run this mechanism becomes a real trap. Avoidance only confirms the danger of the avoided situation and prepares for subsequent avoidance.
Initially the individual feels a strong discomfort in the presence of the feared insect and feels forced to avoid the circumstance that generates this unpleasant sensation. This triggers the phobic reaction and the belief is established that the repetition of the anxiety experience would be intolerable. Consequently, the subject tries in every way to escape the situation that creates an alarm.
Flight and avoidance lead to an effective reduction of anxiety symptoms and generate the conviction of not being able to face the phobic object. However, the relief resulting from the avoidance of insects is only temporary and increases the sense of personal distrust, so that the dreaded event appears increasingly impossible to cope with.
How to overcome the fear of insects
The avoidance of the phobic situation is not a solution but only a momentary escape route. To completely overcome the phobia of insects , a psychotherapy course is required, focusing the problem with the help of a professional. The cognitive-behavioral therapy is highly effective in the treatment of phobias and management of emotions, such as fear precisely.
Behavioral strategies
At the psychological level, the main therapeutic strategy, of a behavioral type, is called graduated exposure . This technique is based on the principle of counter-conditioning and the aim is to make the subject react differently in response to the phobic stimulus. In practice, the patient is exposed to anxiety-inducing stimuli of increasing intensity until the anxiety is completely overcome.
To deal with the fear of insects , from 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. Systematic controlled exposure provides for different degrees of approach to the feared insect. This includes viewing drawings, black and white and color photos, insect films (imaginative exposure) up to direct contact (in vivo exposure). In this way the alarm reactions will become smaller 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 work on a maintenance plan to prevent relapses. 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 manifestations of anxiety.
Cognitive strategies
Among the most effective tools to deal with one’s fears there are also cognitive techniques , such as ABC and cognitive restructuring, which can be used as a support during exposure practices. With the ABC we analyze the situations or antecedents (A) in which certain thoughts are automatically activated (B) that lead us to feel specific emotions (C). Once the dysfunctional thoughts have been identified, the therapist will help the patient to question them thanks to cognitive restructuring techniques.
In the case of insect phobia it is a question of helping the person to replace irrational models with new realistic ways of evaluating the actual danger of the feared animal.
It can also be useful to use mindfulness which favors the person’s ability to distance himself from automatic and irrational thought patterns, recovering a direct and more realistic contact with the surrounding world. In practice, thanks to mindfulness, the subject learns not to identify with his own thoughts that induce a phobic reaction.
