I've had my apartment fumigated twice since I lived here due to finding a roach crawling around just after I moved in. My fear of this creepy bug led me to sleep at a hotel for a couple days before they came to spray. I want to be able to get over this fear so that the next time it happens, I don't want to run out of my apartment. Also, even when I spray one and it dies, I can't bring myself to do anything with it..like take it outside or throw it away. I think its got something to do w/ waking up with a roach on me when i was little. They freak me out beyond belief. Also, I'm fine when someone else is staying w/ me and I'm not alone...then I usually have them take care of it...what a baby I must sound like!
Any suggestions...do I need a therapist or just need to suck it up and face my fears already?
Thanks!
2006-11-12 21:39:34 · 10 answers · asked by sweetienat123 6 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
What you have is a very real phobia, its called Blattodephobia. To over come any phobia it’s a matter of time and patience, but most of all baby steps.
Start with getting hold of a picture of a cockroach, and as many times a day as you can manage look at the picture, starting with just 3 seconds and graduating up slowly over a week to 5 mins of looking at it, depending on how bad your phobia is, touching the picture might be next...again start slowly and build up the amount of time and times you touch it in a day.
Next step would be to get one of those dead ones and put it into a container (or get someone who isn’t scared of them to do it) do the same thing with that, look at it through the plastic for a short period of time and slowly build up that time till looking at it no longer worries you, after that remove the lid of the container and do the same thing, look at it for a period of time, till looking at it directly doesn’t worry you. The final step would be to catch a live one and do the same thing, look at it through a plastic container with the lid on until it no longer scares you, then the same thing with the lid off the container.
Now I know that sounds all very scary and your probably screwing up your face and saying no way I'm not doing that, but honestly, the more exposure you have to them the less your fear will become. If you continue to to go the way you are going you will end up with not only a phobia but an anxiety disorder aswell.
Remember, take it nice and slow, you will not be cured over night.
2006-11-12 22:00:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anastasia 5 · 9⤊ 0⤋
Try looking up NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) on Youtube and there is a video of a woman who overcomes her phobia of moths (or even the word moth). You will need some proffesional assistance for this so the answer is yes. Get some help. It's totally not unusual to have a phobia about something. I've also heard of a technique whereby exposure of 'flash' images to the phobia can be very helpful.
Lastly check out these links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=overcome+phobias
2006-11-12 21:45:02 · answer #2 · answered by ThinkTwice 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I have the same fear of spiders. I've actually vomited and get very faint. I have no desire to get over the fear!
I would buy one of those long handled vacuum things that is made to suck up bugs so you don't have dead ones laying around.
I think the only way to get over a true phobia is with a therapist, but it doesn't always work.
I don't know what area of the country you are in but I'd move unless almost all places have roaches there! I live in the North and have never seen one although I know they exist in some homes here. I lived near a lake and had spiders all the time.....had to move.
2006-11-12 21:51:59 · answer #3 · answered by honey 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
You must be my twin sister... lol.. I have the EXACT same fear of those nasty, disgusting creatures...!!! I even have nightmares about them, seriously! My son's dad took us to this flower place where they house all kinds of butterflies that fly free inside, etc... they call it the Butterfly House I think it is, in St. Louis, Missouri.. Would you believe they had a friggen DISPLAY of these huge hissing .... i can't even type out the word... but yea... they were those nasty creatures!! (just had chills).... and my son and his dad were trying to get me to look at them!! I could hardly walk past them, much less look at them!!! I think people don't understand exactly how much it disgusts us and scares us and think we're just being "silly", but I cannot even stand the dragonfly necklaces or the scarab type bracelets... even the inscription or pic of bugs makes me get the creepy crawlies... I can almost tolerate lady bugs and butterflies are not bad to look at, but I don't want them crawling on me... just looking at those fat little creepy, powdery abdomens is enough to make me want to vomit!!! My 6-year-old is forever putting plastic bugs under my pillow, on my shoulder, or flinging them at me and I seriously get mad at him and tell him it's not a joke!! Well... I can't even stand to look at the word and writing about it is even hard.. I'd love to know where this phobia comes from if that's what it actually is... I also have a wasp/bee phobia where when I'm outside I cannot barbecue on my deck because I feel like all the wasps and bees are collaborating to get me... dive bombing me and such.. It has gotten to the point where I scream every few seconds when I'm outside during the summer, which sux because we have a nice inground pool I cannot use because the bees, wasps and hornets constantly swarm me... I was left last year just looking out at the pool, wishing I could use the dang thing... arrrrghh.....
2016-03-14 01:42:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol yea i'm scared of bugs.. but seriously not kidding there are flying roaches in el salvador... the size of your hands! no joke. Small little roaches are awful. Don't leave food outside your apartment.. put everything away.. roaches love food so keep your apt tidy... yea they suck but it's okay people have phobias of everything.. but try to snap out of your state.. and take control... they're small and you're bigger! show them who's boss.... i hate roaches too!
2006-11-12 21:49:43 · answer #5 · answered by Ginger B 3 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Step on a few...
Keep yer shoes on at first.... then try it barefoot. It feels really odd.... but despite the fact that roaches are resistant to radiation and can survive for extended periods without a head... they won't survive two seconds if you stamp them into the floor.
Next time you encounter one.... blot out ALL emotion... all feeling... all doubt... all fear. Don't feel... just think... and think ONE thing: Stamp that bug into a gooey mess. It cannot do anything to defend itself, and it certainly cannot do anything to hurt you. You have nothing to lose.... and all to gain.... so step on that little freak and show it who the boss is.
2006-11-12 23:10:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
Worry about getting rid of roaches not phobia. Nobody should have to get used to those nasty critters!
2006-11-12 21:45:28 · answer #7 · answered by susan h 2 · 7⤊ 1⤋
I have asked this same question so many times, and did not get a proper answer
2016-08-23 10:35:41 · answer #8 · answered by lissa 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I kinda get the creeps from them too! I got over it by smashing the hell out of them whenever I see one! You are bigger and stronger, and once you smash one with a shoe or something, you will gain a sense of power over them, and it won't be so bad. So get out there and smash some bugs!
2006-11-12 21:48:06 · answer #9 · answered by rebecca_sld 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Fear Of Cockroaches
2016-10-01 00:24:23 · answer #10 · answered by kettner 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋