Do you have terrible anxiety attacks whenever you see a cockroach, a spider, a ladybug or a fly? Do you sweat, scream and jump around until you lose all sense of reality when a wasp buzzes by?

You may well be suffering from insect phobia, also known as entomophobia. Rest assured, you’re not alone. While some panic at the sight of any insect, others are only afraid of spiders, bees, butterflies… In any case, if this fear is preventing you from leading a normal life, it’s time to try to overcome it.

Insect phobia: what is it really?

We all know that insects are small living creatures that can be found everywhere. They live all around us, in our gardens and homes. They’re our neighbors, but we hardly ever notice them. The trouble is, they’re not always friendly! When they invade, they become veritable pests that can destroy everything. Indeed, these little beasts have a habit of appearing where we least expect them. They often sneak in and hide in our bedding or clothes. They find their way into every corner of the house, into kitchen cupboards and worse, into food. What’s more, the sting of some of them is very painful. In short, they have a way of scaring the hell out of us.

However, there’s a big difference between being afraid of insects out of circumstance and having an anxiety attack at the mere sight of a bug or a bee. While the former is perfectly normal, the latter is known as insect phobia. This is an extreme, disproportionate and irrational fear that some people develop of insects. It’s a disorder that affects many children, but also adults.

HOW DOES ENTOMOPHOBIA MANIFEST ITSELF?
Like cat phobia, snake phobia or general animal phobia, this phobia manifests itself as soon as the person comes face to face with insects. This means intense fear of mosquitoes, spiders and ants…. Even the mere mention of an insect’s name is enough to send a person into a panic. Generally speaking, a person suffering from insect phobia develops avoidance mechanisms and disaster scenarios.

In certain situations, they feel as if an insect has brushed against them, or that a whole host of these little creatures are crawling all over them. Others have nightmares in which they are invaded by thousands of insects. In extreme cases, the fear may force you to stop going to parks or public gardens, or simply prevent you from leaving your home. In short, the symptoms vary from person to person. However, most entomphobes are fully aware of the immoderate and irrational nature of their fear.

Insect phobia is often linked to the fear of insect bites, also known as acarophobia. It can also be associated with the fear of spiders, also known as arachnophobia, the fear of bees and wasps, apiphobia, or the phobia of ants, myrmecophobia.

The signs of arachnophobia are similar to those of anxiety disorders, and are more or less the same in all sufferers. They include sweating, accelerated heart rate, tremors, palpitations, nervousness, anxiety, panic attacks and flight.

BUT WHERE DOES THIS FEAR OF INSECTS COME FROM?
As with all phobias, a fear of insects, like a fear of spiders, may stem from a traumatic experience in childhood or adulthood. When you’ve been bitten by an insect, swallowed a fly or been the victim of a bedbug invasion, it can leave a very bad memory that can turn into real anguish.

On the other hand, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that certain insects can be responsible for diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever or Lyme disease. This creates a distrust of them, and the idea of falling ill can obsess some people to the point where, over time, they develop a terrible fear. Insect phobia can also stem from the fact that we associate them with dirt, putrefaction, death and contamination. So they naturally arouse disgust in many people.

Finally, it’s possible that this extreme fear is passed on to children by their parents. Very young children are generally not afraid of insects, but they will begin to distrust them when warned by their parents. This fear then persists for varying lengths of time, depending on the child’s character and circumstances.

How to overcome insect phobia?

As with most extreme fears, it’s entirely possible to overcome entomophobia. It’s just a matter of deciding to do something about it. You can try to overcome this fear yourself by getting to know these little creatures better. As the saying goes, we’re afraid of what we don’t know. Perhaps you’re afraid of insects because you don’t know anything about them. So it’s a good idea to find out as much as you can about them. By learning more about these living creatures, you may find yourself much less afraid.

Insect phobias can also be overcome through therapy. In this case, the phobic is accompanied by a professional and receives a great deal of support.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
CBT works perfectly for the treatment of specific phobias such as fear of spiders. It is therefore equally well suited to helping you overcome your excessive fear of insects. The method consists in tackling the symptoms in order to help the subject better manage his or her emotions. Generally speaking, it involves gradually confronting the object of your anxiety. To help you overcome your insect phobia, the specialist will gradually bring you into contact with insects. To do this, he or she will use various methods to modify your emotional state in their presence. The ultimate aim is to teach you new ways of thinking and behaving. Depending on your needs, CBT can be combined with psychoanalytical therapy or medication (anxiolytics or antidepressants).

TREATING INSECT PHOBIA WITH HYPNOSIS
When you suffer from entomophobia, it affects your daily life. That’s why you need to find the best way to overcome it, so you can return to a normal, fulfilling life. Hypnosis has proven to be an effective method of overcoming phobias such as fear of spiders. Its aim is to uncover the origins of the phobia and help overcome it. Thanks to hypnosis, the subject’s subconscious is accessible and more willing to receive suggestions and self-esteem-boosting techniques. At each session, the hypnotherapist will help the person gradually face up to his or her fear of insects. Of course, several sessions are required to achieve satisfactory results. It is also possible to learn self-hypnosis in order to practice it yourself.