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Harmless flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies… Representatives of the microworld cause real panic attacks in some people. Why does this happen and how to help those who are afraid of the very thought of contact with insects?
People prone to entomophobia – as experts call the obsessive, excessive, unjustified fear of insects – sometimes just one look or word is enough for emotions to literally overwhelm them.
“I am very afraid of dragonflies,” says 32-year-old Anna. “I understand that they don’t even bite, but I can’t overcome this feeling, it has been living in me since childhood, and the mere sight of them makes me panic…”
Not many people like insects, but if some can simply ignore them, then for others, any contact with flies or wasps is a real torture that turns a vacation outside the city into an ordeal. In some cases, the reason for this attitude is a real negative experience of interacting with insects, but more often such a reckless fear has other reasons.
alien world
Everything incomprehensible causes anxiety, and the microcosm lives according to laws that are unclear to us, people. Insects can fly, crawl upside down on the ceiling, run on water … In addition, they are able to sting painfully for no reason or quietly crawl under clothes.
“They are too small and too mysterious,” explains Gestalt therapist Nifont Dolgopolov. “They are impossible to contact, elusive, unpredictable and beyond our control. We never know if they will want to attack us or just fly (crawl) past.”
Atavistic fears
Our collective unconscious stores the memory of the dangers that humanity has faced in the course of its development. According to the French psychotherapist Christophe André, “caution towards insects helped our ancestors to survive. These days, the bites of most of them are no longer fatal – and neither are the infections they carry. However, we have retained the memory of the danger that insects once posed to humans. A crawling cockroach causes an instinctive revulsion, while flies and fleas are strongly associated with dirt, spoiled food and disease.
“I tried to tame my fear”
Tatyana, 25 years old, assistant secretary
“Insects have always disgusted me. The building of the student hostel in which I lived for five years was literally infested with cockroaches. When I saw them, I ran away screaming or started, closing my eyes, beating them with my slippers. I was so afraid that I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Then I decided to tame my fear. Seeing this disgusting insect, I forced myself to stay where I was and look at it as calmly as possible. Oddly enough, after a few days I felt that my fear subsided – I stopped running away in a panic. Although I still can’t say that these creatures are cute to me. ”
parental legacy
Parents sometimes contribute to the formation of fear. The child explores everything he sees, and wildlife arouses only curiosity in him – until the parents convey their own fears to him.
“If a mother or father reacts sharply to a child’s contact with insects, he picks up their anxiety,” says Nifont Dolgopolov. – And here the principle of contrast works: it seems that the insect is so small and harmless, but the parents are afraid of it, which means that there is some kind of secret here, frightening precisely because of its incomprehensibility. Indeed, many adults do not explain the reason for their prohibitions, but simply say: you can’t, stop it. ”
In the future, these fears may acquire one or another degree of severity, depending on other features of personal history. “The higher our anxiety,” explains Nifont Dolgopolov, “the more we feel the threat coming from the outside world, and the more we fear even that which does not pose a real danger.”
What to do?
Find out more
The less we know the object of our fears, the more we fantasize about it and the more we fear it. Try to learn more about insects: before you go to nature, look at photos or videos about their life, and also study special literature in order to assess the real danger that they can pose to you. If you do this work, fear can decrease.
Breathe deeply
At least once, try to stay still at the sight of a bee or a grasshopper, instead of running in a panic – running always increases fear. Breathe deeply and calmly, assess the situation: who is really stronger? Who is really in danger – a small insect or you, big and strong? This technique will help to get rid of irrational anxiety and see the situation as it really is.
Tips for those around
It is useless to convince a person who is afraid of insects that the danger is exaggerated, or to make fun of him: instead of analyzing and comprehending his feelings, he will transform his fear into hostility towards you.
At the same time, self-sacrifice and, say, sitting at home for company is not the best way to help. Try to support him by your own example. Perhaps, seeing what genuine pleasure you get from relaxing in the fresh air, outside the city, he will want to overcome his own fear and join you.