Blatophobia: description, symptoms, causes and methods of treating cockroach phobia. What could be the reason for the fear of cockroaches and how to deal with it?

A disgusted attitude towards cockroaches is a normal state of a person who does not want to see these insects in his home.

But, if at the sight of not only a live cockroach, but also one seen on TV or in a picture, panic fear arises, this is already blattophobia. This is the name given to the phobia of fear of cockroaches.

Many believe that this is not a disease at all, but a phobia imposed by hygiene requirements and cleanliness standards. This statement, alas, is erroneous: blattophobia is really a disease that needs to be treated.

Causes of fear of cockroaches

The factor that provoked the development of blattophobia may be:

Literature, television. Insects presented in unsightly light in books or films can cause an involuntary fear of any insect, including cockroaches. Suffice it to recall the fairy tale “The Cockroach”, written by the famous K. Chukovsky.
Appearance of cockroaches. It is unlikely that anyone will be moved by the segmented legs of cockroaches and long mustaches. And if you remember the ability of these insects to multiply quickly, it becomes clear that no one wants to see such guests in their apartment.
Stress. Children are very sensitive to everything that surrounds them. Therefore, if a child is afraid of a cockroach in childhood, he may retain a fear of the insect for the rest of his life. Moreover, it is not easy to survive, but to develop into a phobia of fear of cockroaches.
Infections. Cockroaches are known as carriers of many diseases, which is why everyone fears them, even those who are not at all afraid of these insects.
Education by fear. To cope with a naughty child, adults sometimes scare children, usually using the same unpleasant things that they used to scare them.
Inheritance or stereotypical behavior. Children involuntarily repeat all the actions of their parents. Accordingly, if a mother or father is afraid of cockroaches, children will also be afraid of them.

Cockroach

Symptoms of blattophobia

Cockroach phobia manifests itself in the form of a whole complex of symptoms. Blattophobes are not just afraid of these creatures, but experience extreme uncontrollable horror at the sight of them. In addition, other symptoms of the disorder are observed:

a feeling of panic, a desire to scream, to run away at the sight of one or more cockroaches;

trembling in the hands, weakness in the legs, dry throat, dizziness, rapid heartbeat;

inappropriate behavior, inability to control one’s actions when confronted with a cockroach.

It is noteworthy that blattophobes can be completely calm towards other insects, as well as snakes, lizards, and spiders. They experience panic horror only in relation to cockroaches.

A person who suffers from a fear of cockroaches may experience fear even when they see a photograph or drawing of an insect. Many blattophobes try to keep their home perfectly clean in order to protect themselves from cockroach infestations. They purchase and keep on hand all kinds of pesticides against domestic insects.

Manifestations and signs of blattophobia

The symptoms of the disease appear the same and do not depend on the cause of its occurrence. The very first manifestation is panic at the sight of an insect. If a person, seeing a cockroach, jumps up, runs away, waves his arms, screams, or vice versa, cries, falls into a stupor, we can immediately say that he suffers from blattophobia.

Characteristic manifestations also include:

Vegetative signs. Fear can cause trembling, nausea, dizziness, suffocation, sweating, loss of consciousness and even tachycardia.
Obsessive thoughts. The penetration of an insect into the ear, nose, touching it to the body, contamination of food, infection with some kind of disease - these and many other thoughts can deprive a fearful person of sleep.
Irrational actions. The desire to get rid of insects by any means, frequent washing of tables, work surfaces and cabinets in the kitchen, floors, hand washing, constant disinfestation of your home.

Important ! Experts say that all manifestations of cockroach phobia are individual. But the most important thing is that not a single person suffering from blattophobia is able to cope with their fear. Moreover, not only live insects, but also their images in a picture or on TV can cause panic or other manifestations of the disease.

Manifestations of fear of cockroaches in humans

Symptoms of Blatophobia vary from person to person, depending on their personality characteristics and state of mind. Additionally, patients with cockroach phobia may have any number of triggers, from actual live cockroaches to a simple photograph. The severity of symptoms depends on the person's level of fear.

Typically, symptoms of Blattophobia include an extreme fear of cockroaches and simply a feeling of discomfort or anxiety when exposed to cockroaches or any environment in which they may live.

If the level of fear is high enough, exposure may cause a panic attack. Panic attacks are heightened levels of fear and anxiety during which a person experiences a variety of physical symptoms. These symptoms include rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, weakness, fainting, dizziness, tingling or numbness in the arms, extreme feelings of dread, loss of control, and chest pain.

The danger of blattophobia

Any fear, including the fear of cockroaches, can cause a panic attack, a powerful surge of adrenaline, pressure surges and other manifestations. If a person has poor health or has serious chronic diseases, then he is at risk of paralysis, stroke, heart attack, and in especially severe cases, death.

Even completely healthy blattophobes are in serious danger: when running away from an insect, they can run out onto the road or, while driving, try to get rid of the insect on the move.

If the disease is not treated, over time its signs will become noticeable in a person’s behavior: he will not visit people, eat in cafes, or go into public toilets. In other words, a person with blattophobia will not want to visit any establishments, other people’s houses, the territory of which is not under his control and where he cannot ensure the absence of cockroaches.

Brief description of the phobia

The sight of a running cockroach when the light suddenly turns on causes disgust and disgust.
Any reasonable person would swat a bug and go to sleep. But there is a special category of people for whom a domestic parasite causes panic. If, at the sight of a beetle, you sweat actively, your breathing quickens and your heart rate goes astray, then we are talking about a mental illness.

People call it fear of cockroaches. The scientific name of the term is blattophobia.

Causes

As a useful mechanism for protecting ancient people from danger, the fear of insects has long been unfounded. But fear of cockroaches does not arise out of nowhere. Everything has its root causes. It is better to look for them in childhood or remember other stressful situations.

An irrational fear of cockroaches arises against the background of:

Stereotypes of others. A mother panicking at the sight of an insect passes on her fear to her baby. If a child has repeatedly observed an overly emotional reaction, he inevitably begins to fear household pests.
Excessive disgust. If a person experiences a strong aversion to everything dirty, then the cockroach, as a carrier of infection, will cause negative emotions. In people with a weak psyche, this quickly develops into a phobia.
Stressful situation. Cockroaches are ubiquitous sneaks. You can hear stories from doctors when a cockroach climbed into a sleeping person’s ear or nose. This is a rather painful condition, and having to go to the hospital for such a problem causes a feeling of great shame. After removing the parasite from the body, fear of cockroaches becomes a natural reaction of the patient.

Often the disease is diagnosed in people who have experienced severe hardships or natural disasters. The need to live in conditions of domestic troubles causes serious stress when you see parasitic insects.

Regardless of the cause of the disease, the symptoms for all people with blattophobia are approximately the same. If there is an excessive reaction specifically to cockroaches, but snakes, spiders or other animals do not cause panic, you can safely diagnose a phobia.

At the sight of one tiny insect, the patient experiences sudden, severe panic. The body reacts to this:

uncontrolled tremors of the limbs;
profuse sweating;
dry mouth and ringing in the ears;
suffocation and heart rhythm failure;
dizziness and loss of consciousness.

With a particularly advanced and serious disorder, a person may experience fear of death when seeing a picture of a cockroach, for example on TV. He doesn't know how to stop being afraid of cockroaches or images of them.

Danger

Blattophobia is not nearly as harmless as it might seem at first glance. A large-scale attack causes serious surges in blood pressure and a powerful surge of adrenaline. In some cases, this can lead to paralysis and death.

In everyday life, people with a fear of cockroaches behave irrationally in any situation, which causes serious inconvenience to others. Blattophobes constantly wash their hands and clean surfaces without apparent need.

An exterminator periodically appears in the patient's home and carries out preventive measures where this has long been no longer necessary. As a result, a large amount of personal time, effort and money is spent fighting non-existent beetles. They often do not eat in public or visit friends.

The patient believes that there are cockroaches in any territory not under his control.

As a phobic mental disorder, fear of cockroaches is difficult to treat. With a systematic integrated approach, you can significantly reduce the negative somatic reaction, which will relieve the heart from excessive stress at the moment of panic. How to stop being afraid of cockroaches and help yourself?

The nature of unreasonable fears is very simple - they instantly attack their victim, and just as quickly retreat in the absence of real danger. During your next meeting with a red cockroach or a Prussian, you need to take control of the situation. Deep, even breaths and exhalations, a calm attitude will help you quickly cope with panic and destroy the cockroach.

If you can’t cope with the problem on your own, psychotherapy will be the only reasonable way out of the situation. An experienced psychologist uses the following treatment methods:

hypnotherapy or programming of human consciousness. During a hypnosis session, work with the subconscious occurs, aimed at completely getting rid of fear;
neuro-linguistic therapy. In collaboration with a specialist, the patient realizes the destructiveness of his own reaction and reprograms himself to behave normally when he sees a cockroach;
cognitive therapy. During sessions, an experienced doctor exposes the patient to indirect exposure to insects and teaches them to cope with fear independently.

At the end of treatment, any of the patients can be completely calm near the cockroach and live a full life as a healthy person.

Fear of cockroaches is a very common phobia, and this is understandable: these insects have an unsightly appearance and live in human homes. But if the indicated phenomenon turns into pathological fear, something needs to be done about it, because the resulting panic attacks can end in a completely incomprehensible way. In medical circles, fear of cockroaches is called blattophobia.

We suggest you read: Red cockroach: types, stability, how to reproduce

Etiology of the phenomenon

It happens that a person simply does not like cockroaches and this is normal, i.e. we are not talking about a disease here. Everything can be explained by a banal feeling of disgust, which does not require treatment. In other cases, a person panics at the sight of a mustachioed insect, this already indicates psychological pathology, such people are called blattophobes.

The following factors can provoke the disease:

Childhood stress. A person, while still a child, could become a participant in a situation in which there were cockroaches. After such an event, negative memories may remain in the memory, provoking fear of insects.
Hereditary factor. Of course, blattophobia is transmitted at the genetic level, but if a child’s parents experience an uncontrollable fear of insects, then one can most likely expect that the children will also suffer from a similar phobia.
Children's fairy tales. A child’s wild imagination can draw an evil monster in the form of a cockroach, for example, after reading Chukovsky’s poem “The Cockroach,” because everyone was afraid of this anti-hero in the fairy tale.
Films featuring scary cockroaches. The modern film industry boasts a huge number of films where the roles of the main characters go to insects. While watching such film projects, a person may form the wrong idea about cockroaches. In such films, small insects are presented as huge destroyers, killing people and destroying everything in their path.
Repulsive look. Not a single species of cockroach can boast of attractiveness. All of them are disgusting to one degree or another.
Diseases. Everyone knows that insects can be carriers of various diseases. Among patients with blattophobia, there are many who are simply afraid of catching something from cockroaches. Especially if a person is already sick with something after an insect bite.

You can say that a person has blattophobia if the following symptoms appear:

Panic attacks. The person who saw the insect begins to become hysterical. His brain stops adequately assessing the situation. For example, a woman may scream loudly or jump onto a chair or other elevated surface.
Unpredictable actions. A person with blattophobia understands perfectly well that at the moment of meeting a cockroach his actions are inadequate, but he cannot do anything about it. With his actions, he can shock his surroundings if people are accustomed to seeing the blattophobe as a reasonable person. Patients with this phobia constantly purchase various poisons to treat their apartment, even if there were no cockroaches at home.
Pathological feeling of fear. The appearance of a blattophobe gives him away when insects appear: he begins to tremble in his knees, sweat profusely, stutter, and he suddenly turns pale.
Excessive feeling of disgust. Moreover, it may not appear at the sight of all unsightly insects or animals.

All of the above-mentioned manifestations of fear of cockroaches, like other phobias, prevent the patient from living a full life.

Principles of treatment

Blatophobia is a complex disease characterized by the fact that it is difficult to treat. Of course, you can be afraid, but is there a way to hide it from others all your life? If a person approaches this issue responsibly, treatment may take a very short period of time.

Psychological problems often require medication; in the case of fear of cockroaches, the following may be prescribed:

Tricyclic antidepressants. They activate neurotransmitters - substances through which impulses are transmitted from a nerve cell through the synaptic space between neurons. Such drugs include Sertraline, Moclobemide or Fluoxetine.
Benzodiazepines. Such drugs are classified as weak tranquilizers, they are taken directly during panic fear - Phenazepam, Imipramine, etc.
Beta blockers. Usually used for the treatment of cardiac pathologies. But as you know, stress can provoke problems in this particular system of the human body, i.e. complex treatment should include these drugs.
Psycholeptic drugs. Such drugs block the feeling of increased anxiety during an encounter with an insect. Buspirone is usually prescribed for blattophobia.

Taking medications will not completely eliminate fear. Medicines can help only temporarily, directly during a panic attack. Therefore, you often cannot do without the help of a psychotherapist:

A virtual reality. In order to carry out treatment with this method, it is necessary to create a situation for the patient in which he will be close to the object of his fears, but will feel safe. Blattophobe puts on a virtual reality helmet and watches a video in a three-dimensional projection in which cockroaches are present, but they are just an element of a computer program.
Hypnosis. Any phobia can be overcome in this way: the doctor puts the patient into a trance state and, by asking questions, reveals the true cause of the fears. However, few people decide to undergo such a procedure, all because of the same fear.
The method of neurolinguistic programming is capable of revealing all the nuances of the reality in which the patient has placed his consciousness. During an NLP session, a new model of perception of the surrounding world is created: a kind of brain reboot occurs.
Simulation of situations. After identifying the etiology of fear, the psychotherapist, simulating various situations, teaches the patient how to behave in them, suppressing panic.

We suggest you read: What kind of eyes does a cockroach have?

Drug treatment

Only a doctor can select and prescribe a medicine that can have the greatest effect.

Attention! It is unacceptable to choose medications on your own without the appropriate education, otherwise self-medication can lead to serious consequences.

Antidepressants

Medications used to treat blattophobia include:

Beta blockers. Medicines are used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Since the blood vessels and heart are the most vulnerable in stressful situations, beta blockers are indispensable in the complex treatment of blattophobia.
Antidepressants. The drugs are necessary to activate the production and functioning of neurotransmitters - substances that can stabilize the human nervous system in a stressful situation.
Psycholeptic drugs. Drugs in this group eliminate increased human anxiety resulting from encounters with insects.
Benzodiazerin. This is the name given to a mild tranquilizer. The greatest effectiveness of the drug is manifested when the blattophobe takes it at the beginning of a panic attack.

Principles of treatment

Treatment with drugs

Psychological problems often require medication; in the case of fear of cockroaches, the following may be prescribed:

Tricyclic antidepressants. They activate neurotransmitters - substances through which impulses are transmitted from a nerve cell through the synaptic space between neurons. Such drugs include Sertraline, Moclobemide or Fluoxetine.
Benzodiazepines. Such drugs are classified as weak tranquilizers, they are taken directly during panic fear - Phenazepam, Imipramine, etc.
Beta blockers. Usually used for the treatment of cardiac pathologies. But as you know, stress can provoke problems in this particular system of the human body, i.e. complex treatment should include these drugs.
Psycholeptic drugs. Such drugs block the feeling of increased anxiety during an encounter with an insect. Buspirone is usually prescribed for blattophobia.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

Taking medications will not completely eliminate fear. Medicines can help only temporarily, directly during a panic attack. Therefore, you often cannot do without the help of a psychotherapist:

A virtual reality. In order to carry out treatment with this method, it is necessary to create a situation for the patient in which he will be close to the object of his fears, but will feel safe. Blattophobe puts on a virtual reality helmet and watches a video in a three-dimensional projection in which cockroaches are present, but they are just an element of a computer program.
Hypnosis. Any phobia can be overcome in this way: the doctor puts the patient into a trance state and, by asking questions, reveals the true cause of the fears. However, few people decide to undergo such a procedure, all because of the same fear.
The method of neurolinguistic programming is capable of revealing all the nuances of the reality in which the patient has placed his consciousness. During an NLP session, a new model of perception of the surrounding world is created: a kind of brain reboot occurs.
Simulation of situations. After identifying the etiology of fear, the psychotherapist, simulating various situations, teaches the patient how to behave in them, suppressing panic.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

Experts in the field know that drug treatment alone is not enough. Taking medications eliminates anxiety symptoms only for a certain period, therefore, to achieve a better result, you will need the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. The choice of treatment method is developed individually for each patient.

The most effective way to get rid of fear is through hypnosis. During the session, the hypnologist performs a kind of reprogramming of the blattophobe’s consciousness. Thanks to changes at the subconscious level, the patient forgets about his fears for a long time. Unfortunately, many patients refuse to use this method on themselves, because they are afraid to allow another person to control their consciousness, even for a short time.

The following methods are also used to treat blattophobia:

Cognitive therapy. With this method of treatment, during a practical lesson, a specialist simulates a situation in which a blattophobe is forced to encounter an insect that causes him fear. In order for the patient to begin to adequately relate to cockroaches and manage his fear, the doctor corrects and changes his reaction, achieving the desired result.
"Virtual cockroaches." The essence of the method is to place a person in a dangerous environment, but in such a way that he remains safe. For this purpose, a helmet with video cameras and a display is used. Virtual reality helps you see cockroaches around you, but contact with them is completely safe for the patient.
Neurolinguistic programming. This method helps the patient to realize the reality he has created for himself. During sessions, the specialist helps the patient change his attitude towards the problem.
Autogenic training. The patient is taught to convince himself that he invented his fear, so he can cope with it.

How to treat?

To get rid of blattophobia you need to consult a specialist. In this case, a qualified psychotherapist will come to the rescue and select the most suitable treatment option for the patient. There are four most effective methods for combating such fear. The first is hypnotherapy. It makes it possible to program the subconscious, removes fear of insects from memory and ultimately inspires that cockroaches in the house are not a reason to panic. The only catch is that few patients are ready to lose control of themselves and let someone into their subconscious.

Next comes neurolinguistic programming. It is based on NLP sessions, during which a person’s consciousness is switched to another mode and a new attitude is created to the reality around him. Sometimes specialists are forced to resort to the help of modern technology. A virtual reality helmet is best suited for this. It is placed on the patient’s head and he finds himself surrounded by cockroaches, but completely safe. As a result, this should develop a clear association of insects with the absence of even the slightest threat.

And finally, the last technique is cognitive therapy. During its implementation, the psychotherapist begins practical exercises and models certain types of situations. First, the cause of the problem is determined, and then there is a theoretical part, where they teach how to control their emotions and find a way out during frightening events.

Other methods to get rid of the problem

There are many other ways that can help get rid of a phobia. Among them is yoga. In yoga classes, a person is taught to control the body, sensations, and feelings. Thanks to this, you can learn to control your fear, not allow it to control you, and then not allow it into your life.

Yoga

Non-medicinal methods of treating phobias include walks in nature, where various “spider bugs” live and this is their natural habitat.

Taking tinctures of various medicinal herbs is quite effective:

Hawthorn.
Motherwort.
Peppermint.
Peony and others.

Many parents are lost and don’t know what to do if a child’s fear of cockroaches begins to manifest itself. Meanwhile, at the initial stage, it is desirable to turn the “terrible monster” into a small, helpless insect that is afraid of everything. This can be done with the help of fairy tales. Of course, you will have to come up with them yourself, or even better, involve the child in inventing the adventures of the little cockroach.

By modeling situations, you can convince your child that the insect is not scary at all, but just ugly. Besides, no one likes cockroaches, which is why they behave so ugly and ill-mannered. Options for developing adventures depend on the child’s phobia.

On a note ! If a child exhibits blattophobia, parents should take care of themselves and not express negative emotions when cockroaches appear.

Getting rid of the fear of cockroaches

Fear of cockroaches is one of the most common phobias. It causes a lot of inconvenience to a person: it makes him panic at the sight of a cockroach, and is constantly afraid of seeing him in his house.

The fear of the Prussian is familiar to many people

Brief description of the phobia

The fear of cockroaches is called blattophobia. It comes suddenly. Mainly after a person has experienced a severe fright caused by cockroaches. Subsequently, the victim begins to associate these insects with unpleasant, frightening and terrible memories.

Reasons for the development of fear

If you don’t like these insects, feel disgust towards them, and are afraid of them appearing in your home, this is not yet a sign of blattophobia. But if you cannot cope with your feelings, you easily succumb to panic and stress at the sight of a small bug - this is a sure sign that you have developed a phobia of cockroaches. There are many reasons for this:

Stressful situation. As a rule, it arises and develops in childhood, when the child has experienced fear and negative emotions associated with cockroaches;
Upbringing. Fear of insects is passed on from parents to children - adults, having a phobia, do not notice how they pass it on to their children, raising them in fear of insects;
Literary and cinematic works. In books and movies, cockroaches are presented as negative characters and are used to add more poignant moments to the plot - after reading such a work or watching a film, a child begins to dislike and fear insects, associating them with imaginary monsters;
The unpleasant appearance of insects can also create in a person a feeling of fear towards them;
Infections. Most often, people are afraid that these insects can be carriers of various diseases, so they do everything possible to prevent them from appearing in their home.

Manifestations of blattophobia

People with blattophobia are not just afraid of these insects. They experience very strong, uncontrollable fear. Blattophobia manifests itself in different ways. At the sight of even one insect, a person experiences various psychological disorders:

Panic attacks. Seeing a cockroach, a person succumbs to fear, panics, and becomes hysterical. Starts screaming, screaming, running around the room or apartment. At the same time, he cannot calm down and pull himself together for a very long time.
Irrational actions. Under stress, a blattophobe may do something completely out of character and irrational. Sometimes, experiencing fear, a person begins to constantly wash and clean his apartment.
Somatic manifestations of fear. The person begins to feel unwell. His head hurts, his heart is pounding, he is short of breath, his hands are shaking. These symptoms only appear when cockroaches are seen.

All of the above symptoms greatly complicate life, preventing the blattfob from living a full and normal life.

Prusak can drive a patient into hysterics

What cockroaches scare blattophobes?

People with this phobia are afraid of all cockroaches, but at the same time there are species that inspire them with particular fear.

Firstly, these are red cockroaches, especially loving human homes. They feed on leftover food and multiply very quickly, instilling fear in humans.

Secondly, black cockroaches, which live mainly in basements, so residents of the first floors of apartment buildings suffer from them. These cockroaches differ from the Prussians in their large size, which frightens many people. Thirdly, these are tropical cockroaches - they reach a length of 50–60 cm.

Red Prussians are usually found in kitchens

How to deal with a phobia

Of course, a blattophobe should seek help from a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. To begin with, a blattophobe must clearly understand that fear prevents him from leading a full life and only the help of a qualified specialist will help him learn not to succumb to the phobia and cope with the negative consequences of stress. The treatment method is individual for everyone and depends on many factors. One of the most common methods used by doctors is medical hypnosis. This is an effective way to understand and overcome your fears.

At the subconscious level, reprogramming of consciousness occurs. This allows you to successfully get rid of the phobia for a long time. True, many people are afraid of such intervention and therefore refuse this method of treatment.

Cognitive therapy also helps blattophobes well, during which a person, through practical exercises, learns to manage his fear, fight panic and stress. During sessions, the patient is constantly under the influence of a source of irritation and fear, i.e., a cockroach. Gradually, the fear dulls and addiction to the insect occurs.

It is possible to successfully get rid of the fear of cockroaches. The main thing is to seek specialized help in time, before fear completely subjugates you and the phobia turns into a serious neurotic disease that complicates life.

Symptoms

During a panic attack, the phobe experiences discomfort in the chest, reminiscent of a heart attack. Dry mouth and shortness of breath are also observed.

It becomes so difficult to breathe that it seems as if death from suffocation is about to occur. This, naturally, frightens even more, only aggravating an already difficult condition.

Breathing becomes so shallow and frequent that there is an excess of oxygen in the blood. Causing dizziness, loss of consciousness and, paradoxically, a feeling of asphyxia.

Blattophobia also makes itself felt by an increase in blood pressure, which can cause a sudden headache, reddening of the face and neck. Tremor of the limbs, to the point that a person is unable to hold something in his hands.

The voice and chin tremble, movements become uncertain and clumsy. Sweating increases, and you feel hot even in the cold.

Sometimes stomach pain, nausea and vomiting occur, along with diarrhea. A person loses control over his behavior because he cannot stop being afraid with the power of thought.

Therefore, there is no point in calling on logic and using willpower. He understands that his fear is irrational, but at the moment of meeting someone who instills horror in him, he is unable to think about anything other than salvation.

So, reckless actions are quite likely, such as crying loudly and begging for help from complete strangers. Then, when the panic passes, he experiences strong shame for his behavior, which only strengthens the development of the phobia.