We know many animal phobias, such as entomophobia or fear of insects. And within this category is myrmecophobia , which is the fear of ants . Those small animals that for some are a source of inspiration for their effort and perseverance, for others they are the cause of extreme fear pushed to the limit. We tell you more about myrmecophobia in our dictionary of phobias .
What is myrmecophobia
There are people who like to watch the ants work . It is a meticulous and organized, constant and hard work and for many it is worthy of admiration. However, there are other people who just thinking about ants can even suffer an anxiety attack , among other things.
Myrmecophobia is the terrible fear of ants. And it may seem like a strange or surprising phobia because, what harm can little ants do you? The truth is that there are species of ants with quite annoying bites or to which you may have an allergy. But beyond these special circumstances, we already know that phobic disorders are characterized by an irrational and excessive fear of something.
Symptoms of myrmecophobia
If you are terrified of seeing a line of ants, you may suffer from myrmechophobia. That feeling of terror will be accompanied by dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, palpitations, and shortness of breath . You may even have a panic attack if you cannot react as your body asks, that is, running away, avoiding that stimulus that causes fear.
You also have to take into account psychic symptoms, such as that feeling of unreality, the fear of losing control or low self-esteem when you know that your fear is unfounded and excessive. Distorted thoughts about the danger implicit in ants make you feel different and the number of situations you avoid to meet ants can harm your social and family life.
Causes of myrmecophobia
We have all seen movies in which ants turned into fearsome animals that devastated everything. And anyone is aware that in certain situations, such as when you sleep outdoors, ants can complicate your night. But one is an unreal situation and the other is a situation that we do not usually expose ourselves to in our daily lives.
Myrmechophobia can have its origin in a traumatic experience . These situations generally occur in childhood and are accompanied by a strong negative emotional charge. A field day in which the ants bit you and you experienced a moment of great anguish , for example, is reason enough to develop this phobia.
Especially if, in addition to a negative experience, you suffer from an anxiety disorder that makes your negative emotions magnify and cause you more suffering than usual. In addition, the basis of anxiety is alertness, fear of danger, real or supposed.
Treatment of myrmechophobia
If you suffer from myrmechophobia, you may not be worried because your life is not too altered. It’s not like you have a social phobia or agoraphobia or even a phobia of a certain color. It is true that you do not have to expose yourself to your fear of ants regularly, but the presence of a phobia is in turn a symptom of other emotional disorders .
So even if your phobia doesn’t bother you, you have to treat it. And the treatment goes through psychological therapy that helps you face your fear and stop avoiding it. In addition, the psychologist will teach you the relaxation techniques you need not only to overcome your phobia, but also to reduce your anxiety.
