Entomophobia
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This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. (February 2013) |
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Entomophobia (also known as insectophobia) is a common fear of or aversion to insects and similar arthropods, and even other terres bugs. This condition causes a slight to severe emotional reaction, a form of anxiety or a panic attack. It is a particular case of specific phobias, all of which have basically the same causes (differing mostly in the source of phobia) and similar choices of treatments.
However, people often mix up aversion and phobia. Aversion to insects is constructed, much like other aspects of culture.[citation needed] On the other hand, phobia is not instinctive. Aversion, however, can turn into phobia, which is irrational and immense fear.[citation needed]
Among notable cases are apiphobia (fear of bees) and myrmecophobia (fear of ants).
The symptoms associated with this phobia are similar to the symptoms manifested with many other irrational fears. An entomophobic is likely to experience enough anxiety upon viewing or otherwise coming into contact with an insect that he or she experiences a full-blown series of panic attacks. With extreme cases, the individual may lose consciousness for a short period of time. Uncontrollable weeping or a strong desire to flee from the area are also common signs that indicate an individual is suffering with this particular phobia.
Because entomophobia symptoms are similar to those related to other phobias and various health ailments, it normally takes a trained healthcare professional to arrive at a verifiable entomophobia definition. In making the evaluation, the therapist or psychologist will seek to define entomophobia by means of observation of the symptoms that are manifested and what triggers are required to produce each symptom. This makes it possible to determine if the individual is suffering from a general fear of insects and crawling creatures, or is suffering with a more specific phobia of some type.
Once a professional diagnosis is achieved, it is possible to begin an effective entomophobia treatment series that is designed to address the degree of severity exhibited by the patient. Similar to other phobias, the treatments usually make use of both ongoing therapy and counseling coupled with the use of medications to provide some degree of relief from the symptoms. Medication can help to minimize the frequency and strength of panic attacks upon seeing a bug, while therapy can often identify the underlying causes and eventually defuse their power to trigger a reaction.
