Acarophobia (scabiophobia) – fear of ticks and fear of scabies

August 30, 2021

Long centuries passed in the world until electricity was invented. And in the 17th century it was invented, and in the 18th it began to enter people's homes. This is what helps our civilization develop. Without electricity there would be no discoveries, telephones, televisions and the Internet. But in our electronic age there are people who voluntarily do not use electricity, they are afraid of it. They have no electrical appliances and even the electricity is cut off.

Just imagine for a moment modern life without a computer, microwave, refrigerator, kettle, washing machine.

Electrophobia – fear of electricity or electric shock. It is a strange fear for the modern world.

People suffering from electrophobia are afraid to pick up wires, devices, sockets, or any current sources, that is, electricity is associated with death.

Causes of fear of ticks

Reasons for developing fear of ticks:

  1. Past illness. Most people who have had scabies are afraid of reinfection. This is also due to the fact that many former patients still have mild periodic itching and dermatitis.
  2. Monitoring the patient. Perhaps the person did not suffer from scabies himself, but observed someone who had it. And it became a psychological trauma. The likelihood of such a development is especially high if the child has seen someone suffering from scabies.
  3. Disgust. Some people experience not so much fear as disgust. This may be due to personality traits, for example, excessive cleanliness, or to trauma. Perhaps the person had a difficult childhood in unsanitary conditions.
  4. Fear of getting infected. Most often you hear that ticks carry encephalitis, but this is not the only disease that these insects carry. This is what scares some acarophobes. But this reason does not apply to the fear of subcutaneous (scabies) mites.
  5. Allergies, skin irritation. Some people mistake this for scabies.
  6. Other mental disorders. Depression, OCD, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, paranoid disorder - acarophobia often develops against the background of these diseases. Fear of ticks can also develop against the background of head injuries, intoxication, and somatic diseases.

Interesting! Acarophobia is a rare phobia.

Self-help:

  • You need to understand that nowadays everything runs on electricity. Even during an appointment with a psychologist, the light will be on.
  • Remember that all working equipment has high-quality wiring, they are completely safe, and by following safety precautions, the risk of injury is minimized.
  • Study the theoretical part. Learn about static electricity and the technical content of devices.
  • Start gradually getting closer to your fear. Today, look at the object of fear. Get closer to him tomorrow. Touch it the day after tomorrow. Then try to use it as intended.
  • Ask your loved ones for support.
  • Take herbal teas for calm and relaxation.
  • Do not delay consultation with a specialist.

Signs and Symptoms of Fear of Ticks

The main psychological symptom is the avoidance reaction. Acarophobe tries his best to avoid encounters with ticks. A person constantly sprays himself and his home with chemicals and refuses to go for walks. He uses only personal items in everything and avoids traveling on public transport. At the same time, he regularly conducts self-examination of his skin and belongings and visits doctors. Almost all acarophobes read medical literature, many are fond of self-medication (destroying false ticks).

If an acarophobe nevertheless encounters a tick or small insect, then he has a panic attack. At the same time, it seems to him that beetles are crawling on him. Uncontrollable itching begins, due to which the acarophobe injures his skin.

Other somatic manifestations of fear of ticks:

  • nausea,
  • vomit,
  • headache,
  • dizziness,
  • sweating,
  • tachycardia,
  • arrhythmia,
  • chills,
  • tremor,
  • feeling of suffocation.

In a moment of panic, acarophobe becomes dangerous to himself and others. Some people fall into a stupor, others try to destroy the insect. In trying to kill the “enemy,” a person is capable of harming himself. By negligence, he can poison himself and others, or burn down a house.

Note! The intensity of the phobia depends on the severity of the condition. For some acarophobes, symptoms are noticeable only when encountering insects; other people are constantly haunted by fear and anxiety; some feel ill at the mere mention of ticks.

Symptoms of fear:

Fear of electric current manifests itself in an emotional, behavioral, and physical background. The most typical:

  • A feeling of extreme fear, if necessary, to touch a socket, switch, or plug.
  • In severe cases, the patient completely refuses to use electricity.
  • Panic attack during power surges.
  • During a thunderstorm, the patient rushes around the apartment, trying to hide. It seems to him that lightning will penetrate the house through the socket.
  • Fear of ball lightning.
  • Constant monitoring of wiring and electrical appliances in the house.
  • Strict adherence to safety precautions when using electricity.
  • Re-reading safety precautions.
  • Monitoring your loved ones how they use devices.
  • Using electrical appliances is very difficult (too difficult to insert a plug into a socket).
  • Panic fear when there is any problem with the power supply.
  • Fear of thunderstorms. In fear, a person rushes around the apartment, trying to hide and shield himself from lightning.
  • Refusal to use transport. Flying on an airplane can cause panic.
  • Call a technician at the slightest malfunction of the device.
  • Physiological manifestations of fear: increased sweating, heartbeat, breathing, pulse. As well as sleep disturbances and anxiety.

Diagnosis of fear of ticks

The main diagnostic method is a conversation with a psychologist and observation of the client during the conversation. It is important to determine all the features of the course of a phobia, to distinguish normal fear from irrational fear, and to differentiate acarophobia from other disorders. To do this, the psychologist studies the client’s complaints and life history. The specialist looks for the classic triad of phobic symptoms: anxiety that increases upon contact with the object of fear, somatic manifestations, and an avoidance reaction.

Common symptoms of electrophobia

All phobias are very closely related to personality, life experiences and early upbringing, electrophobia is no exception. The manifestations of the disorder observed in patients are very diverse. The general picture of pathological fear is individual and unique. Despite this, several common symptoms characteristic of electrophobes can be identified:

  1. Using electrical appliances is very difficult or completely impossible. A person makes Herculean efforts to insert a plug into a socket or press a switch. It is very difficult to overcome fear, and the fight against it ends in defeat.
  2. Any problems with power supply entail a state of panic. Power surges or temporary shutdowns bring physical pain and a feeling of loss of control over the situation.
  3. A thunderstorm is a real nightmare for an electrophobe. In fear, he begins to rush around the apartment, trying to hide and shield himself from the lightning. Sockets are especially scary, because lightning can penetrate them into the house.
  4. Blood pressure increases.
  5. Severe tremors and chills.
  6. Increased sweating.
  7. Constant anxiety and insomnia.
  8. Regular panic attacks.
  9. Frequent headaches.

People suffering from a fear of electricity often refuse to use modern transport. Flying on an airplane can be a real hell.

Electrophobia is rightfully considered one of the most painful. It causes enormous discomfort and deprives a person of confidence and independence, significantly reduces the quality of life and leads to helplessness, depression and suicide.

How to get rid of the fear of ticks

The main method of treating fear of ticks and small insects is psychotherapy. In particular, the technique of gradual rapprochement, hypnosis, and EMDR is used. As an aid, the psychotherapist prescribes medications: antidepressants, tranquilizers, sedatives. Art therapy and autogenic training can be used as self-help.

Methods for treating fear of electricity

To date, there is no unified treatment system for this disease. Electrophobia has been little studied and remains a mysterious , and for some, even a mystical phenomenon.

Eliminating symptoms with tranquilizers and antidepressants is not successful. The main emphasis is on ridding the patient of the internal cause of irrational fear. For this, various psychotherapeutic techniques are used ;

  1. Psychoanalysis helps to get to the bottom of the hidden roots of a phobia. A patient who realizes the cause of his fear quickly recovers.
  2. Hypnosis therapy has a high success rate.
  3. Cognitive behavioral therapy.
  4. Training in relaxation techniques allows the patient to deal with the problem independently.
  5. Self-hypnosis is another self-help option.
  6. Light sedatives of plant origin enhance the psychotherapeutic effect.

Electrophobia in the modern technogenic world is a real disaster that needs to be gotten rid of. Electrical appliances have become our integral companions; it is difficult to imagine a normal life without them. A person suffering from a phobia is doomed to constant anxiety , turning into panic. The psychological disorder significantly limits his life activity and interferes with free personal development.

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