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Don’t Let a Fear of Pests Shrink Your Life

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digital illustration of a snake, a mouse, and a spiderAs a clinical psychologist in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area, I often hear people talking about a dread of pests. In the United States, nearly a quarter of the population is afraid of one or more animals, more than any other object or situation.

 

However, for many, their fear is out of proportion with the real danger, persists over time, and leads to avoidance and other behaviors that interfere with their functioning – conditions that make it a phobia. A lifetime prevalence estimate for animal fears ranges from 12.6 percent to 22.2 percent, and for animal phobias from 3.3 to 5.7 percent.

 

Compared to other animals, insects, snakes, and mice are more likely to cause phobias in people. Abir Syed, 33, a Montrealer who works as an e-commerce consultant, became overly anxious when his office moved into the same building as the research-and-development department of the Austin start-up he worked for that farmed insects for human consumption.

 

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders (DSM-V) classifies insect phobia as entomophobia or insectophobia. Like other phobias, it is more common in women. Women may be more fearful because natural selection has favored females who are most averse to danger, especially when they have children, or because socialization has taught women that showing fear is acceptable.

 

What causes some people to develop insect phobias or other fears? 

 

Genetics, parenting, and life events work together to increase susceptibility. Phobias are more common among people who suffer from other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder.

People with phobias often experience uncomfortable physical symptoms associated with feared objects or situations, such as rapid and shallow breathing, tightness in the chest, pounding heart, dry throat, sweating, and nausea. This is part of the “fight-or-flight” response, which was useful when defending ourselves against dangers in our evolutionary past, but now flares up like a fire alarm sounds while we cook. Paralysis and disgust are other reactions to encountering what you fear.

 

Anxiety grows from avoidance

 

We avoid bugs, spiders, or anything else we are afraid of when we feel fear or disgust. Drinking alcohol or distracting themselves with technology, among other strategies, might help people escape anxious thoughts and feelings.

 

However, avoidance only works temporarily. If you run away from a swarm of insects, for example, the anxiety will lessen, but it will come back stronger later. Consequently, lives end up shrinking as more and more anxiety-producing situations are avoided.

 

Treatment that is most effective

 

For more than 50 years, reviews of randomized control trials have shown that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) works well for anxiety problems and disorders, and is the most effective treatment for phobias. Even though CBT has been around since the 1960s, it remains poorly understood by the general public and even by patients seeking psychological assistance.

 

Exposure therapy is at the core of CBT for phobias (and other anxiety problems and disorders) – learning to approach rather than avoid things like insects and other feared objects or situations. They are then asked to imagine insects, watch images of them, play with toy insects, visit areas with lots of insects, and finally touch them.

 

A therapist is right there with patients, interacting with them, modeling, coaching, encouraging and cheerleading them as they do the exposures, modeling, coaching, and cheerleading. It is only possible to accomplish exposure therapy within the context of a strong, collaborative therapeutic relationship. Exposure is a simple concept, but a skilled therapist can put it into practice, tailoring it to the patient’s needs.

 

In addition to doing exposure therapy in a standard office setting, cognitive-behavioral therapists also conduct sessions outdoors when needed. If necessary, that may involve taking an insect-phobic patient to a park to sit in the dirt, visiting a zoo reptile house for snake phobia exposure, or traveling with a frightened driver or flier. Between sessions, patients are also encouraged to practice exposure on themselves or with other people. The more contexts the exposure occurs in, the more effective the treatment.

 

Approximately 10 weekly sessions are needed to treat phobias, but this may be shorter or longer depending on the severity of the symptoms and the patient’s willingness to undergo treatment. Spider, snake, needle, and other phobias can also be treated effectively with a single three-hour exposure. The use of virtual reality and augmented reality exposure therapy has shown promising results. A virtual cockroach or spider superimposed on a real environment helped people overcome their insect phobia, for example.

 

During exposures, we can also test our irrational or unhelpful thinking patterns that contribute to anxiety. When we recognize our tendency to catastrophize, we can boost our recovery from phobias. For example, understanding that we are not likely to get tangled up in insects can boost recovery. While waiting and imagining how life will be with insects, we have the opportunity to challenge an anxious concern of not being able to deal with uncertainty.

 

Finding the courage to seek help

 

Exposure therapy is highly effective, however many people shy away from it because they find it scary or overwhelming. You will need to assess your motivation before embarking on this process. The ability to find a therapist with whom you are comfortable also contributes to an individual’s willingness to try exposure therapy.Your therapist can explain how the process will unfold and answer any questions or concerns that you may have regarding the therapy. Self-efficacy and motivation are also positive predictors of success in exposure treatment.

 

Many children and adolescents suffer from specific phobias, including insectophobia. Children are treated with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in a similar way to adults, but there are some differences.

 

Psychotherapist Veronica L. Raggi, author of Exposure Therapy for Treating Anxiety in Children and Adolescents: A Comprehensive Guide, said they make exposures as fun as possible by using goal charts and rewards. Children are more likely to participate in exposure treatment if they view it as a game, she said. They gain confidence and pride over time through small successes and positive experiences. Providing rewards for reaching exposure goals can boost motivation further.

 

CBT teaches parents how to encourage their child to try something, even if it’s a bit scary at first, and not to always give in to their child’s fears. Raggi has found that parents have the most difficulty learning to not immediately jump to their rescue. When parents model curiosity, a sense of wonder, and exploring, their children will feel less fear and anxiety in the long run.

The post Don’t Let a Fear of Pests Shrink Your Life first appeared on Arlington/DC Behavior Therapy Institute.

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