Fear of bees or apiphobia

Many people feel fear or a strong rejection of insects, sometimes even developing an irrational fear. One of the most common insect phobias is apiphobia, fear of bees, wasps or bumblebees. Thus, simply hovering around someone or just seeing a nearby nest can trigger a series of strongly unpleasant symptoms.

Despite being an animal that is quite peaceful with humans and essential in the cycle of nature, bees unleash panic in more people than you can expect. Even so, It is estimated that around 3% of the population suffers from a phobia of bees.. Next, we delve into the symptoms, causes and consequences of apiphobia.

Apiphobia and its symptoms

Apiphobia or excessive fear of wasps It is also known as melisophobia, by her name in Greek (melissa). As its name suggests, it is an anxiety disorder, specifically a phobia. This type of disorder manifests itself when, when faced with a stimulus – in this case wasps, bees or bumblebees – a very intense or irrational fear is felt.

In addition to that feeling of fear, the person feels discomfort and anxiety. Thus, among these more physiological symptoms The most common are: dizziness, vertigo, increased heart rate, hyperventilation or difficulty breathingnausea, tremors, headache, feeling faint, etc.

On the other hand there are cognitive symptoms. That is, those that affect the person’s thinking. Among them, a person with apiphobia would show lack of concentration, intrusive thoughts about the possibility of more bees appearing, thoughts of death or distorted thoughts about the situation.

Lastly, as with most anxiety disorders, Two behavioral symptoms occur primarily: avoidance and escape.. These behaviors are totally natural when we face a threatening situation. Thus, the person with a phobia of bees will try to avoid being in the presence of them at all costs. If this is not possible, as soon as you notice signs of one, your response will be to escape.

How does it originate?

When talking about phobias, two possible causes are usually taken into account. On the one hand, the experience of a very own traumatic experience with wasps, or from someone close. It is common to suffer bites from these insects and, due to how painful they can be, it is an experience that you want to never repeat.

In fact, compared to other animal phobias, Apiphobia is a less irrational fear, since bites can pose a health risk.. However, the severity of a wasp attack is determined by whether the person is allergic or whether many stings occur simultaneously.

On the other hand, phobias are also caused by vicarious learning. That is to say, If as children we had someone close to us with a phobia of bees, it is likely that they transmitted that fear to us.. Or, simply, we have learned the behavior of avoiding and reacting to the appearance of these insects. Furthermore, they would have enhanced our fear by constantly alerting us to the dangers (real or not) of these animals.

Consequences

Generally, Animal phobias usually appear in childhood. At that stage of life it does not have to have major consequences, other than the discomfort it generates in the boy or girl. Thus, animal phobias usually disappear over the years. However, if it does not disappear, the fear will remain or increase and may affect the person’s daily life.

In this sense, we must highlight the difference between being afraid of bees (or similar) and having a phobia, an anxiety disorder. When it comes to a phobia, fear comes to limit a person’s life. For example, you can determine where to buy a house, or abandon the one you are currently in. You can stop going to specific places, even if you want, for fear of encountering bees. And you may even experience symptoms of anxiety when you find an area full of flowers, because they could come.

Taking this into account, apiphobia can have from very mild consequences to serious consequences, depending on the level of impact on the person’s life. Nevertheless, It is an anxiety disorder which should be treated and resolved so that the person has a higher quality of life.

Treatments for phobia

For phobias, Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective treatment. Specifically, three intervention strategies are usually applied: relaxation, modification of phobic and irrational thoughts, and systematic desensitization or exposure techniques.

Being an anxiety disorder It is essential that the person learns and acquires resources to face the stimulus or relax during a panic attack. To do this, you will be taught progressive muscle relaxation or endogenous relaxation techniques. These tools will also be useful during the implementation of systematic desensitization.

Either through this last technique or another strategy, Exposure to scary stimuli should be gradual. Thus, you will begin to work with images, for example. And, little by little, the person will be brought closer to the real stimulus until he is able to do so without experiencing extreme anxiety.

In short, an irrational or very intense fear of wasps constitutes a phobia and, as such, should be treated together with a psychology professional. Thus, the person will be able to improve their quality of life and carry out activities that they would previously be unable to do due to fear.

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