Fear of insects: a widespread phobia

According to experts, there is no exact cause of entomophobia and other phobias. C2care suggests that temperaments such as being more sensitive or negative can cause a phobia. Here are other causes of entomophobia.

• A depressing experience – negative or traumatic experiences can reinforce specific phobias, such as being stung by a bee at an early age. Depressed people have less interest in life, which results in low self-esteem and feelings of unworthiness. Depressive feelings and insecurity lead to fear of insects.
• Your family – children can acquire entomophobia from their siblings or parents. For example, you may develop a fear of insects when your mother screams at the sight of spiders and insects.
• Genetic research shows correlation between genes and phobias.
• Brain injuries – Brain injuries, including concussions, can lead to anxiety disorders and increase fear conditioning, which predisposes your brain to fear due to the stressful consequences of the injury.
• Fear of contamination – the main cause of entomophobia comes from the fear of contamination by insects, as most insects such as cockroaches and flies carry infections. The disgusting appearance of some insects also creates anxiety.
• Fear of insect bites and infestation: some individuals fear being bitten by insects and subsequently contracting an illness. Allergic reactions to insects, such as fire ant and wasp stings, can fuel entomophobia. Other people also fear insect infestation in their body.

The thought of being near insects can cause unwanted physical and mental symptoms, such as sudden feelings of intense anxiety/fear when thinking about or seeing an insect, chest tightness, sweating, dry mouth, tremors, panic attacks, and nausea.

Virtual reality

Entomophobia can be treated with virtual rehabilitation and exposure therapy.

VR technology is essential during exposure therapy (a treatment option where patients are gradually introduced to traumatic stimuli). In the virtual setting, a patient safely interacts with depictions of entomophobia such as spiders, wasps, and bees.

In 2011, three researchers from the University of York proposed the use of the VRET (virtual reality exposure therapy) system for the treatment of phobias. C2care uses these tools to produce scary insects in the virtual environment; thus, patients may not need a therapist.

Our virtual rehabilitation trains therapeutic patients based on conventional therapy and virtual reality simulation activities. It's entertaining and motivates patients to overcome their fears. It also uses objective outcome elements of therapy effectiveness (range of mobility, game scores, limb speed, etc.). This information is transparently stored by the computers running the VR software and is available online.

Thus, VR therapy can be conducted in the comfort of the patient's home and monitored remotely. Remember that virtual rehabilitation is more expensive than equipment and medications and it makes the client more active with desensitization.

At C2care, we set unique goals for each treatment to drive progress. Over the course of approximately eight rounds of sessions, we focus on the following:

• Psychoeducation – it consists of identifying the fundamental cause of fear and the symptoms and signs linked to it. We also introduce VR at this stage and answer questions about the process.
• Relaxation – at this stage we explore types of breathing to help patients cope with moments of fear, anxiety and stress. We begin by orienting the patient with a neutral VR setting for a smoother transition to advanced virtual.
• Virtual exposure and relaxation: the patient is exposed to various insect scenarios. The triggers are unique to each session, but the breathing methods are similar.
• Relapse Prevention: Our mental health experts are in contact with patients to analyze therapy sessions and plan exercises for future insect exposure. We equip the patient with distinct tools and software to prevent imminent relapses.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

This treatment option involves imagining various insects in your thoughts and determining how they affect you. It focuses on changing your reactions and thinking about the phobia by identifying and reducing the triggers.

We merge this therapy with virtual reality to help patients control their thoughts until they are no longer susceptible to the fear of insects.

CBT has also demonstrated impeccable excellence in treating a range of specific fears, thanks to its large number of successful treatments and long-term effects. Some of the best therapies to treat entomophobia issues include CBT personalized by exposure to virtual reality in VIVO

Medicines

Psychotherapy is one of the most effective methods for overcoming entomophobia. Our mental health specialists may recommend certain medications to minimize the symptoms of entomophobia. Prescribed medications may include:

• Beta blockers – these drugs block the effects of adrenaline, such as high blood pressure, heart rate and palpitations.
• Antidepressants – these reduce the fear of anxiety associated with insects.
• Anti-anxiety medications – these are recommended for short-term use and reduce anxiety.

Note that beta blockers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to combat phobias.

VR exposure therapy can be performed from anywhere in the world using appropriate tools, while in vivo exposure can pose problems when transportation is unreliable. People with mobility issues, such as obesity and paralysis, can use VR effectively because it poses fewer ethical concerns than EIV.

VR also motivates patients through in-game rewards, high scores, and leaderboards. Using high scores and game data, our therapists can assess progress and note the patient's performance for better inspiration.

The fear of insects crawling on your skin is called Ekblom syndrome. It makes the patient's skin appear to be infested with insects and may result in self-harm to eliminate the infestation.
Rather, entomophobia is simply the fear of insects.
Through gradual and regular exposure to insects, patients can eradicate this phobia.

Do you treat people who suffer from entomophobia or other specific phobias? Don’t forget to check out our virtual reality therapy services. At C2care, we provide virtual reality hardware and environments for a multitude of mental health conditions. When it comes to entomophobia, some of our virtual reality remedies include virtual anthills or spiders approaching the patient's house, virtual representation of insects in your house and much more. It contains eight exposure sessions lasting approximately half an hour. Our VRET therapy can be used on children over 4 years old, adolescents, adults and the elderly. Implementing VR therapeutic techniques offers a cure that you and your patients are looking for.

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