Mirmecofobia (phobia of ants): symptoms and treatment

April 8, 2024

Ants are very common and easy to find insects in our day to day, even within a city. Just go to a park to find an anthill or a row of these beings collecting food. Unlike what happens with other insects such as cockroaches, usually the ants are not seen with excessive displeasure by the majority of the population. In fact, many even appear in fables and stories as an example of tenacity, effort and organization.

However, for many people the very idea of seeing one of these beings supposes the appearance of extreme panic and anxiety, together with the need to flee from that being and avoid the places where they can be. Is what happens to those with myrmecophobia .

Related article: "Types of phobias: exploring the disorders of fear"

Mirmecofobia: the phobia of ants

It is understood as mirmecofobia to the phobia of ants, that is, a variant of anxiety disorder . It is one of the specific phobias linked to the presence of some type of animal, being this type of phobias relatively frequent in the population.

As a phobia that is supposes the existence of an irrational or disproportionate fear linked to the appearance of a stimulus or situation , in this case the ants. This fear or fear appears consistently every time the organism is exposed to the presence of ants, an urgent need to flee or avoid being in their presence or maintain contact with them. This need usually leads to the actual avoidance of both the ants and places where their appearance is frequent. If the person who is suffering from it can not flee, he can remain before the stimulation, but experiencing a very high level of anxiety and discomfort.

For those who have this phobia, see a row of ants or even a single one of them is an ordeal . The same happens with the sight of an anthill, although there is no visible presence of its inhabitants in the vicinity. The sense panic generates a high sensation of physiological activation, being habitual the presence of sweating, tremors, tachycardia, hyperventilation, muscular tension and even gastrointestinal alterations such as nausea and vomiting. An anxiety crisis or panic attack may occur. In addition, it is not uncommon that when viewing an ant they may experience tingling or the feeling that they are climbing through their body.

Mirmecofobia can cause the person to avoid places like the countryside, parks or green areas. This can cause an interruption or limitation in the life of the patient, avoiding, for example, taking the children to play in the park, playing outdoors or visiting rural areas. However, at a general level it does not usually generate an affectation in most vital areas, since although it is relatively easy to find ants, they are not present and visible in most of the places we frequent.

Although it is not a condition that is dangerous per se for health, the truth is that in some cases can lead to potentially dangerous behavior . There are documented cases of people who have set themselves on fire because of the panic when they noticed that they had ants in their bodies.

Related article: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

Causes: a phobia of adaptive origin?

The causes of myrmecophobia and the other specific phobias are not entirely clear and depend largely on each case. There are different hypotheses in this regard, mostly linking biological aspects and the events and learning experienced by the subject.

In the case of phobias related to animals and especially to insects, such as the case at hand, one of the most viable and considered hypotheses is the theory of Seligman's preparation . This theory stipulates that the fear or panic of certain animals is the product of evolution: throughout our development as a species the human being learned that the bite of many insects was dangerous, surviving to a greater extent those subjects with a natural tendency to avoid them . In this way, the panic response that leads to the avoidance of the animal in question (in this case the ants) would be the product of the inheritance transmitted by our ancestors.

Learning from the experience of aversive situations linked to ants is also another hypothesis, associating the ant figure with negative elements through conditioning.

Treatment

Mirmecofobia is a phobic disorder that can be treated by therapy . The method that has proven most effective in combating and solving it is, although it may seem cruel, exposure therapy.

This therapy is based on the patient being exposed to the feared stimulus, in this case the ants, without performing avoidance behaviors. Generally, to carry out exposure therapy requires a gradual approach: before exposure itself patient and therapist jointly build a hierarchy of anxiety-generating situations or stimuli, ordering them according to the degree of anxiety and panic generated. For example, it will not generate the same level of anxiety see an anthill that ants moving , or it is not the same to see an ant that we let it walk by the hand.

It is recommended to start with stimuli of medium intensity, although it will be based on what the patient is capable of supporting. The subject will have to remain in the situation until the generated anxiety has largely disappeared and the need to avoid the situation does not appear. The same stimulus will continue until at least two exposures with a minimum level of anxiety occur, before moving on to the next stimulus in the hierarchy. A temporary escape can be allowed if anxiety surpasses him, as long as he commits to return.

Generally, the version of the most used and best valued exposure is live exposure (that is, with real stimuli), but virtual reality can also be used (especially in the case in question) so that the therapist can control in greater measure the stimulation that the patient receives. Exposure in imagination can also be used in cases where there is a very high initial anxiety, sometimes as a preamble to the live exposure.

It may also be useful to use relaxation techniques to reduce the anxiety felt by the patient, both when facing the stimulus or as a way to prepare for the exhibition. Of course, this technique should be used to relax, being important that it is not used as an avoidance or mental escape from the feared stimulus. Sometimes it may be necessary to apply cognitive restructuring, in order to combat dysfunctional beliefs that may be the origin or factor of maintaining panic (for example, belief in incompetence or the impossibility of facing their fear).