Fear of Flying Insects Test
The following are some common fears associated with insects. They may affect your life in different ways. You might not even have any fear of these insects, but they still could cause problems if you encounter them while traveling or working outdoors.
Flying Insects – If you ever experience a strong feeling of dread when encountering flying insect, then it means that you have a phobia of them. A phobia is a severe anxiety disorder which causes distress because of a specific fear.
Phobias are very real and there is no cure for them. There are many treatments available, including medication, therapy and other methods such as hypnosis. However, most people do not seek professional help for their phobias.
Many people suffer from them without knowing it due to social pressure or embarrassment related to the condition. Phobias usually develop during childhood or adolescence and continue into adulthood.
There are two types of phobias: general and specific. General phobias include those that involve objects, places, situations or activities. Specific phobias are those involving feelings or thoughts.
For example, agoraphobia involves a fear of open spaces; claustrophobia involves a fear of enclosed spaces; and so forth.
General phobias tend to disappear over time unless they become chronic (lasting at least six months). However, specific phobias usually remain the same or even worsen with age. Another type of phobia is the social phobia, which involves a fear of social situations or being evaluated by others.
In the case of the phobia of insects, it involves a fear of certain types of insects or even just the presence of them. Fear can be induced through direct contact or even through images, sounds or just thoughts. The fear may also lead to a panic attack.
In the case of the entomophobia, it involves a fear of insects and a strong desire to avoid them at all costs. In some cases, just the sight of an insect can cause a person with this phobia to have a panic attack.
In the past, it was believed that children were not prone to developing specific phobias and that they only developed fears based on traumatic events. However, current studies suggest that the tendency to develop phobias is inherited and passed on from parents. It is also possible for children to develop fears based on bad experiences with insects; however, these types of fears tend to be situation-specific rather than an irrational, persistent fear like that of a phobia.
In the case of entomophobia, children usually develop it between the ages of three to five.
People who suffer from entomophobia are not necessarily afraid of all insects. Most of the time, they will exhibit a marked fear or one specific insect. There are many reasons why a person may develop this fear including a bad experience with an insect, seeing a photo or movie of a large insect, or even reading about insects.
Many times, the root cause is unknown.
Insects are also used as biological weapons and can inflict painful and itchy stings that can sometimes be deadly.
Sources & references used in this article:
Entomophobia: the case for Miss Muffet by TN Hardy – Bulletin of the ESA, 1988 – academic.oup.com
Entomophobia in the urban ecosystem, some observations and suggestions by H Olkowski, W Olkowski – Bulletin of the ESA, 1976 – academic.oup.com
Entomophobia and delusional parasitosis by AT Ozkan, KY Mumcuoğlu – Turkiye parazitolojii dergisi, 2008 – europepmc.org
