How should I get over my fear of...

[huntsvilledem]

bugs? mainly butterflies and those flying grasshopper things. I'll literally run screaming if one is coming at me and if it actually gets on me i'll faint (yes really). One got on me when I was riding my bike the other day and I flipped over!! So yeah what should I do?! I'm afraid i'm going to kill myself by accident!!

[Catch22Dem]

1. Consult a professional

Definitely not us. ;) :evilgrin:

[huntsvilledem]

3. yeah but you guys are the all-knowing!!

[clydefrand]

2. Have you thought about some therapy?

Seriously, if you're that frightened of the most gentle of insects--butterflies, you need some help with this problem. I wish I could help you because I love butterflies and I don't dislike other insects. They fascinate me. I appreciate their abilities to build unique homes, their colors, their life cycles.

[huntsvilledem]

4. I just think they are hideous for some reason..

the wings... aaah... that is why they freak me out so much.

[TexasProgresive]

6. Something else is going on with you

The fear of insect wings sounds like you are projecting some memory on them. My son couldn't stand the sound of paper being creased until he remembered that was the sound of his brother's teeth being sheared in an auto accident. After that the creasing sound no longer bothered him.

[huntsvilledem]

9. hmm.. well I asked my parents..

and they don't remember anything happening to me as a little kid that could relate to this so I don't know..

[TexasProgresive]

21. The only place you will find the source of this fear

is in yourself. It will take some time and effort on your part and you might need to find a professional who can help you discover the answer. I doubt your parents or anyone could id the source - we had no idea about our son's he was lucky to have it come to him.

[BlueJazz]

5. No problem: Here's the Cure....

Obtain large Olympic swimming pool.
Fill it full of grasshoppers and cockroaches.
Dive in and "swim" from one end to the other.
Repeat 10 times.
After that, a little bug landing on you will actually be a "Good" thing.

[huntsvilledem]

7. oh god...

I didn't need that mental image. I HAVE tried scaring the phobia out of myself before (though not to that extent) and it didn't work.

[BlueJazz]

11. Well..to tell you the truth, I can't stand the damn things either.

The thought of a grasshopper or roach on me truly gives me a disgusting feeling.

And Spiders...oh Geez...the thought of a "spider monster" on me would make me truly scream (and I'm a 6 foot 195 lb male!)

[Bossy Monkey]

13. This is why you should work with professionals

If you could do it by yourself, you would have done it by now. Confronting the phobia by yourself usually isn't successful.

If you don't want to try therapy or medication, try every damn anti-anxiety approach you can think of. Cut out caffeine, eliminate stress whenever possible, hang around waterfalls (not being flippant; it's them negative ions), etc. Some people recommend hypnosis.

A thought: You'd probably get more helpful replies if you change the original subject line to: Has anybody found any helpful treatments for phobias?

[huntsvilledem]

20. I thought about trying hypnosis..

no way I'm cutting out caffiene though.. I'm an addict LOL

and actually i'm not really THAT concerned about it, this was more of a joke thread.. I really do have this phobia though.

[XanaDUer]

8. Butterflies?

Butterflies are pretty cool,imo. What are the other things, locusts?

If you really want to be grossed out, try flying Palmetto bugs.

[huntsvilledem]

10. "flying Palmetto bugs"? do I even want to google that??

[XanaDUer]

12. They're gross.

Florida, shithole of the universe in so many other aspects, is also the home of prehistoric-sized palmetto bugs.

I am pretty squeamish (but I love butterflies-they're so pretty), but nothing is grosser than an 8-inch, squashed, black palmetto bug-only a living one is worse.

And scorpions.

As for butterflies-let one land on you sometime. It's nice! They don't bite, just sit there and open and close their wings.

(you are talking about regular, pretty, multicolored butterflies-not disgusting Death's Head moths, right?)

[huntsvilledem]

14. they are not in Alabama right?

I think I would actually have a literal heart attack if I saw one of THOSE.

and yes I am talking about regular butterflies... please don't even remind me that moths exist!! :P I'll have to try that though.

[XanaDUer]

16. Well, try to give butterflies a break

they really are the nicest, gentlest, prettiest insect around.

As for palmetto bugs being in Alabama-I don't know. I have never spent a substantial amount of time in Alabama, but maybe in the southern-most parts of Alabama?

Fortunately, as for the palmetto bugs, I have only seen three monsterous-sized ones and they have all been dead. The biggest one I ever saw was in Orlando Fl, squashed in a parking lot.

The flying ones are brownish, and can get up to an inch or two. They fly this crazy-assed way-in circles, around, you don't know where they are going to land. DISGUSTING.

[huntsvilledem]

17. oh my god that sounds awful

I always used to wish I could live in Florida but now...!!

and actually I live in northern Alabama so on second thought there probably aren't any here... yay :)

we still have ladybug and japanese beetle seasons though, which sucks.

[XanaDUer]

19. Ladybugs?

Okay, ladybugs and butterflies are great!

A pox on all other insects, though.

Except some Daddy Longlegs spiders. The thin, cute ones.

[AngryAmish]

26. Butterflies will go for your eyes

Harmless, but a big bug in your face will freak you out.

BTW, they only go for eyes when there is a huge drought and they can't get any salt.

[amazona]

25. sure they're in Alabama, maybe not as far north as Huntsville tho

Palmetto bugs or, aka as giant cockroaches, are certainly found in the Alabama Gulf Coast area.

Perhaps you are too far north for them.

[orpupilofnature57]

15. Almost killed because of killer bee,that was the beginning of..

The end,after having to take the other lane to avoid a head on collision, my wife started working on it, still working on it

[huntsvilledem]

18. wow...

see, I'm convinced that is how i will die... i'll be driving to class and some type of insect will get on me and that will be the end!

[TexasProgresive]

22. Once in Ireland

my wife and I were driving down a "highway" actually a narrow 2 laner with vegetation choked rock walls close on either side. I was clipping some of those weeds on the left side as I tried to cope with driving on the left. My wife commented that she had weeds in her teeth.

Suddenly I had intense pain and heat on the left side of my lower chest. It was like someone had poured hot grease on me. I let out a scream and told my wife to look for what did it. She hollered back to watch my driving. It was a mile before there was an openning in the wall.

Down in the seat mechanism was a small Irish bumblebee. Let me tell you they don't get any hotter then that.

[NamVetsWeeLass]

23. Don't ask me, I am scared to death of Bees, Wasps, Hornets etc.

I will literally run as well. They scare me to death.

[amazona]

24. whoa that is an issue

If you literally faint when a katydid, skipper, or butterfly touches you, then it's beyond the scope of what folks on the internet can help you with. (Skippers are the butterflies with the "jet-plane" wings.)

I had a phobia (driving) and I was cured of it in minutes using a book called, The Five Minute Phobia Cure and it has never returned in over a decade and I wouldn't expect it to. The trouble is, the theory is now discredited and the book out of print. Maybe you can try to get it as a used book from Amazon? It sounds stupid to even describe what you are supposed to do, which is basically tapping the pads of your fingers on some spots on your face (if I remember correctly) for a few minutes. But for me it worked. Call it voodoo. Certainly I would prefer to use a drug-free, fast "New Age" whoo-whoo method first because, even if it doesn't work, there is no harm done and it's quick. And the doctors/Rx drugs will still be there later.

I love my butterflies, I hope you do find an answer because they will give you much pleasure if you learn to enjoy them.

[AngryAmish]

27. This can be cured

Much of psychotherapy/analysis/etc is non-scientific nonsense. Don't believe me. PLEASE don't believe me. However, look up all the good science (the kind with confidence levels and all that other stuff) behind Freudian analysis. There is none.

There is a movement afoot to make psychiatry and psychology more results based. This is good. (Believe it or not, HMOs are behind much of it. In this sense only, they are a force for good.)

BUT FOR YOU, one of the greatest successes in results-based psychological therapy is phobia therapy. It works to a great degree. Make sure your therapist believes in science. You will be surprised how many do not.