Like many people in the Chicago land area, I am not looking forward to these red eyed flying monsters that are emerging! I am not alone, though, as it is estimated that about 25% of the US adult population is fearful of insects of some kind. Sometimes fears become more intense, though, and actually start to impact people’s lives negatively. This is when people may have developed a phobia. Approximately 1/10 adults have a phobia of some sort.
Entomophobia is the fear of insects and means that people’s anxiety is so high that they may avoid going outside or in certain rooms of their homes where they anticipate seeing an insect (or have in the past). They may avoid certain geographic regions or have intense anxiety symptoms when they encounter an insect.
Like other kinds of anxiety disorders, phobias are maintained (and worsened) by these avoidance behaviors. Each time someone chooses to stay inside rather than meet their friends for an outdoor meal, they are signaling to their brains that these bugs are SCARY and they cannot handle that anxiety. Phobias can be effectively treated with Exposure with Response Prevention, or ERP. This is a way for people to systematically confront their fears and learn to tolerate the anxiety and the feared stimulus (insects in this case!). Over time, it’s very likely that their anxiety response will decrease.
So if you are feeling fearful about the upcoming onslaught of cicadas, it might be a good idea to start taking small steps towards “approaching” them rather than avoiding them. Maybe this means reading news articles about them, or looking at pictures of them. Perhaps the next step could be watching videos or listening to the sounds they make. Then if you’re feeling courageous, try standing just a few steps outside of your door and observing them. Maybe you could even work up towards holding a shell of a cicada. I think you’re getting the gist! If you think you may have a phobia that is getting in the way of your life, we are here to help!
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