Contents
Hello! Apiphobia is the panicky fear of bees, wasps and bumblebees. Why do you think it occurs and who is more susceptible to fear of insects?
That is what we will talk about today. And also find out what symptoms can be used to diagnose the presence of this phobia. And, most importantly, how to get rid of it.
What is it like?
Apiphobia comes from the Greek word «apis», which means «bee», as well as the word «phobos», which, you might guess, translates as panicky, irrational fear.
This disorder has a few more names, you may come across the terms melissophobia and sphexophobia.
The fobs are mostly children and people who are allergic to the poison found in the sting. To experience horror and panic, they only need to hear a buzz.
It is not necessary to see them or feel the burning sensation due to the bite. Sometimes a photograph, any picture or even a thought can provoke an attack.
Symptoms
Behavioral
Apifob tends to avoid places where bees, wasps and bumblebees can be found. Why often refuses to travel out of town, excursions to apiaries, and so on.
But if it happened to be next to an insect, then it panics. He screams, waves his arms, runs wherever his eyes look, and begs for help.
It happens that he tries to immediately kill the object of his fear. It just looks awful from the outside. Just imagine, a man shaking with horror randomly chasing a wasp and yelling loudly.
At the sight of such behavior, others may also panic. Especially for those who are prone to anxiety.
Somatic
At the moment of experiencing a panic attack, the fob has difficulty breathing. It seems to him that he is suffocating, which is why he seeks to capture as much air as possible.
This leads to hyperventilation of the lungs and, accordingly, worsening of symptoms.
It also hurts in the chest area, it suggests thoughts of a heart attack, that the heart will now burst into pieces from fear.
Nausea, dizziness, stomach cramps. There is vomiting and loss of consciousness. The pressure rises sharply, which provokes fainting. And also redness of the skin and increased sweating.
Legs and hands tremble, often with panic, the eye twitches, or another facial nerve. This is called a nervous tic.
Causes
Education
If a child is not afraid and tries, say, to catch an insect in order to examine it or play with it, then an adult may well try to influence him with the help of intimidation.
After all, the baby does not know about the consequences, unlike him, but he does not understand how to convey to him that it will be painful or even mortally dangerous.
Therefore, it is easier to tell something terrible in order to discourage even approaching the hated bumblebees and other cats.
It also affects if the parents were frightened of the bees and ceased to control themselves when they were around.
For example, grabbing a child and running away with him or chasing an insect, trying to kill him — this could well form a false idea of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbdanger in the baby.
After all, if adults are so afraid, then this little bumblebee really poses a threat to life. Therefore, everything must be done to avoid meeting with him.
If this was not possible, then a panic attack occurs as a reaction. And gradually the usual fear develops into a phobia, leaving its imprint on life.
Allergy
For people who have a severe allergic reaction to a bite, the horror is justified. After all, one small wasp can cost a life.
And death in this case is painful. This is with a severe manifestation of allergies — anaphylactic shock.
It is characterized by redness of the skin, severe headache, convulsions. The person loses consciousness, he has involuntary urination.
These symptoms occur instantly, in the very first seconds after the allergen enters the bloodstream. Accordingly, in such cases, action should be taken immediately.
Since there is a threat of a heart attack or strangulation due to angioedema of the larynx. In 25% of cases of an allergic reaction to a bite, the patient dies. Simply because for some reason they could not provide medical assistance to him.
In principle, in such situations, the fear of wasps cannot be called irrational, because, in fact, they really pose a threat to life. And individuals prone to allergies have every right to beware of insects. Their future depends on it.
Only here fobs pay too much attention to their safety. In the plan, they hear buzzing everywhere, they are afraid to walk in the park, in the forest, as they expect the attack of «ruthless» bumblebees and so on.
Personality traits
It is enough for impressionable individuals to see the news of how someone died a terrible death due to a wasp sting. Or watch a horror movie about killer bees.
They can be so scared that they believe in their existence. And at each meeting with an insect, they will remember terrible shots from the picture they saw.
And if you suddenly happen to become a victim, then the phobia will only intensify. After all, the symptoms of a panic attack and anaphylactic shock are very similar. They can be easily confused.
Therefore, it is not surprising that in such situations a person completely loses control over himself.
Especially if he is initially prone to hypochondria. That is, the tendency to discover in oneself all existing diseases, including deadly and difficult to treat.
Genetic factor
Information is “written” into the genetic code of each of us, which allowed our ancestors to survive before. They, so to speak, passed on important knowledge to us by inheritance.
True, most of them are completely irrelevant to modern man, but still.
So, before, as you know, people lived in caves, wandered and constantly fought for their life and territory with the animal world.
Once in a new place, they were in danger when, for example, a huge number of insects attacked them.
And earlier they were much larger than those whom we are used to seeing. Accordingly, the fear of bees arises due to the formed threat gene, in the form of an instinctive reaction of self-preservation.
You will learn more about how this works in the article on human genetic memory.
Treatment
The information that bees usually sting only to protect themselves does not help apiphobe.
In his mind, they are terrible monsters just waiting to stab him with a venomous stinger. Even despite the fact that they themselves die after that.
Willpower alone is not enough to heal. It is essential to seek qualified help.
To date, there are many directions that have shown effective results in the treatment of phobias. These are hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), gestalt and cognitive behavioral therapy.
You have the right to choose any method of psychotherapy, since in any case you will receive the support of a specialist in researching the causes of apiphobia.
It happens that psychologists refer clients to a psychiatrist to receive complex treatment.
This is not done because he is considered crazy. In the case of phobias, it is important to receive medications in parallel with therapy to reduce anxiety. Sometimes a psychiatrist prescribes antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills.
These medicines allow you to recover faster and take control of your life, getting pleasure and joy from it.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Stay with us by subscribing to site updates, there are many more interesting articles ahead of you.
Take care of yourself and your loved ones!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina