People with
By Editorial Staff 89 Comments. The fear of bugs or fear of insects is known as Entomophobia or Acarophobia and is sometimes also referred to as Insectophobia.
The fact that bugs have exoskeletons, exaggerated antennae, odd-looking bodies, and furry legs makes them so different from the human or mammal makeup that we perceive bugs as negative or other than ourselves. In large numbers, ants, roaches and other bugs elicit a terror response in most people.
You may actually be suffering from entomophobia, which, according to the Turkish Journal of Parasitology, is an abnormal and persistent fear of insects. Like all phobias, entomophobia (or insectophobia) is a condition that is to be taken seriously.
Summertime is prime time for developing entomophobia, a fear of bugs such as ticks as well as other mites like scabies, bed bugs, and lice. Entomophobia is oftentimes referred to as acarophobia or insectophobia.
More specific cases include arachnophobia (fear of spiders), katsaridaphobia (fear of cockroaches), melissophobia (fear of bees), myrmecophobia (fear of ants), and lepidopterophobia (fear of moths and butterflies). One book claims 6% of all US inhabitants have this phobia.
1. Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While the phenomenon has happened to everyone at one point or another, people with arachibutyrophobia are extremely afraid of it.
Exposure therapy is one of the most common and effective approaches to treating phobias like entomophobia. Gradual exposure to your fear desensitizes you and quiets your body's automatic fear reaction. With this approach to insect phobia, you are gradually exposed to bugs.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. Understanding the phobia can help you overcome it and live a fulfilling life. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words.
1) Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
Arachnophobia is the most common phobia – sometimes even a picture can induce feelings of panic. And lots of people who aren't phobic as such still avoid spiders if they can.
Negative attitudes towards insects manifest as the emotion disgust, which is regarded as a psychological adaptation to produce pathogen-avoidance behavior.
For example, it was reported that among 1219 randomly sampled adults from across the United States, 25% were afraid of insects (spiders, bees, etc.) (Chapman University, 2016).
Murder is frowned upon around the world, but the same feeling of wrongdoing applies to insects, small rodents, and sometimes inanimate objects. This phenomenon can be largely attributed to a part of the brain discovered in the early 1990s known as Mirror Neurons.
Delusional parasitosis is a psychiatric condition where people have the mistaken belief that they are parasitized by bugs, worms, or other creatures.
: having a repulsion for ants. used of a plant that repels ants (as by hairs or glands)
Research suggests when it comes to unwanted pests, our mind tends to compound feelings of fear and disgust. High disgust sensitivity is strongly tied to spider phobia, for example. That extra element of perceived grossness that gets tacked onto fear is what changes the dynamic of how many people tend to react to bugs.
You're ready for honorificabilitudinitatibus
These words may not come in handy anytime soon unless you're planning to visit Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch or diagnose someone with a pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
If your child was left-handed, you'd basically have to adopt them out to survive. Bibliophobia: a fear of books. The saddest phobia of them all.
Researchers believe that humans evolved the fear of spiders, insects, and snakes in order to avoid potentially dangerous encounters with these creatures. After all, many snakes and spiders possess venom that can harm humans.
The island country of Japan, however, is home to numerous forms of dangerous and even deadly forms of insect life. Considering Japan's relatively small size along with the multitude of native insect pests, this country can be considered one of the most insect pest-populated countries in the world.
What is nyctophobia? Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of the dark. The name comes from the Greek word for night. Children and adults with nyctophobia may fear being alone in the dark.
A person may develop a phobia of any type of situation or thing. Because of this, there are hundreds of different phobias that people may experience.
Phobophobia is an intense fear of being afraid. Some people might be terrified of the physical symptoms that come with fear, such as rapid breathing or dizziness. Others are scared of developing another phobic disorder.