Myrmecophobia
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Myrmecophobia () is the inexplicable fear or hatred for
ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
s. It is a type of
specific phobia Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the o ...
. It is common for those who suffer from myrmecophobia to also have a wider fear of insects in general, as well as spiders (see
Arachnophobia Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions and ticks. The word "arachnophobia" comes from the Greek words arachne and phobia. Signs and symptoms People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they b ...
). Such a condition is known as
entomophobia Entomophobia, sometimes known as insectophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear (disgust) of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases include katsaridaphobia ...
. This fear can manifest itself in several ways, such as a fear of ants contaminating a person's food supply, or fear of a home invasion by large numbers of ants. The term ''myrmecophobia'' comes from the Greek μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', meaning "ant" and , ''phóbos'', "fear". Adding to the why myrmecophobia is possible, here is a list of symptoms that come with having the fear of ant. Myrmecophobia can cause psychological symptoms and physical symptoms. In psychological symptoms people can experience anxiety,
intrusive thought An intrusive thought is an unwelcome, involuntary thought, image, or unpleasant idea that may become an obsession, is upsetting or distressing, and can feel difficult to manage or eliminate. When such thoughts are paired with obsessive–compulsi ...
s, sleeping problems, and avoidance. In physical symptoms people can experience sweating, increased heart rate, shortness of breaths, tumbling, panic,
nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
, dry mouth, dizziness, headaches, and numbness. Myrmecophobia may be the result of earlier traumatic experiences that can be directly (or indirectly) linked to the object or situational fear, but this is not always the case; phobic responses can also be ''inherited'' as learned behaviours from the social context in which one was brought up. In 2019, an Israeli study from
Ariel University Ariel University (), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college preceding the establishment of Ariel Unive ...
and
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
suggested that exposure to short clips from the ''Ant-Man'' movies could help to reduce an individual's phobia. Adding on to ways reduce or over come this phobia is by therapy, not only regular therapy but exposure therapy. I
''Psych Times''
studies, "exposure therapy may also be able to help reduce the symptoms of myrmecophobia." This form of therapy would work by slowly exposing the patient to ants. Depending on the severity of the patients' myrmecophobia, the exposure therapy treatment may start off by showing the patient pictures of ants, videos of ants, and then to ultimately have them be near ants in real life with little to no irrational anxiety." This can be one of the many ways to reduce the fear of ants and to insects. Furthermore, other therapies allay this fear, for example, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which can help by changing the mind's perspective and help overcome complications. In this case it can help with myrmecophobia by making the patient calm down and process what they are thinking and feeling, enabling them to figure out what are the reasons behind their reactions.


See also

*
Entomophobia Entomophobia, sometimes known as insectophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear (disgust) of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases include katsaridaphobia ...
* Fear of bees *
Zoophobia ''ZooPhobia'' is an American webcomic originally published in 2012 by Vivienne Medrano, Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, from which she later loosely adapted characters and plotlines for her Adult animation, animated Musical film, musical Animated ...


References

{{reflist Zoophobias Ants