Entomophobia Informative Speech

“Ahhh!” you shriek as a rather large bug flies up in your face, but, what bug is it? You don’t plan on finding out, you get out of there! Entomophobia or acarophobia is the fear of bugs and insects. It can make lives very difficult. One way to tell if you have this phobia is if you have symptoms such as “nausea, shaking, trembling, headaches, crying, screaming at the sight of bugs. Going to great lengths to avoid bugs and insects.”, according to www.fearof.net. According to changethatsrightnow.com, it can be overcome using simple but effective treatments. I’ll also tell you about why this phobia exists and how many people have it. You’ll know everything you need to know about entomophobia.

Let’s start with the fact that entomophobia can can have very serious symptoms. Some symptoms include complaining constantly about being bitten by bugs,excessive cleaning, self injury(occasionally to high
Entomophobia can be cured by exposure therapy, self-help, talk therapy, behavioral therapy, medication, or psychotherapy. I have learned about exposure therapy in class. Exposure therapy is when you undergo several “sessions” in which you “touch” your fear (physically and mentally). Talk therapy is when you talk about your fear and a psychiatrist helps you get over it. Medication can give you temporary relief from your fear.

Finally, I’ll tell you basic facts about entomophobia. Entomophobia can be caused by (like other phobias)seeing something scary that happened, seeing someone else behaving or acting scared like, let’s say, your older sibling. When you look up to them and you want to do what they do, although you may not realize it, you might copy them next time you see what causes their fear. So, in other words, monkey see, monkey do. According to a book written by, Lockwood, Jeffrey (2013-09-25). The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe, and Love Insects, “6% of all US inhabitants suffer from it”.