How to Get Over Entomophobia - A Fear of Insects

For many of us, summer is a time spent outdoors enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and the nature with family and friends. However for those that suffer from Entomophobia, this is a time of increased anxiety due to the amount of insects flying around. Many in fact, stay indoors to avoid insects for this very reason.

With over a million described species of insects, there's little wonder that those who have Entomophobia, experience this anxiety frequently at this time of year. But while avoidance is by far the easiest option, this avoidance can reinforce the link between what we're avoiding and the feeling of danger.

Now, if for example we have an allergic reaction to insects then insects may well be dangerous to us and the feeling of danger is justified. But in many cases, the anxiety comes from an intense fear of insects.

Want to see how severe your fear of insects is? Take our free Entomophobia test.

So how does someone overcome Entomophobia- a Fear Of Insects get over it?
 

We asked Clinical Psychologist Catherine Gallagher about how someone can use Graded Exposure to overcome their fear of insects.

If you have a fear of insects, oVRcome offers a Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy program which you can do from home with just your smartphone and a headset we provide.