indiana

Has anyone had any kind of therapy for insect/bug phobias?

I never knew I was scared until I came here, every time I go to the washing line i'm screaming and jumping every time something lands on me, and for some reason because i'm so scared things do keep happening.

My husband is the same, haha, Yesterday I had an incident with some giant beetle thing that fell from above me (it was huge), and probably two or three times a week I have had a gecko incident (i've put everything in plastic sealed boxes in case they get in to anything), earlier today my husband had an incident with a big white rat, he rang to say it had shaken him up abit, then probably half an hour later I got another call saying he'd had another bad experience this time by grabbing a snake by accident, he sent me a pic and it was huge, i would have fainted there on the spot. Not sure if we're just having bad luck, there was another incident with a possum falling on my husbands head recently as well, so how do you get over these phobias?

Bermudashorts

I can honestly say, I have had no more encounters with scary wildlife here than I ever had in UK. You seem to have been very unlucky. Are you living in the rainforest?

indiana

I think there all out looking for us to target because they know we're not keen on them!

I knew before we moved here geckos were in all houses, but i never knew how fast they moved and how they get into everything and also how much they poo, disgusting, and if I ever ask how to kill them I get told they eat all the bugs and people want them in their home, .......erm no........not me!
Snakes don't actually bother me as much, it more the fast moving things, i've no idea if the snake my husband grabbed this morning is dangerous or not, its a patchy coloured one, greenish and brownish, however whatever it was its probably not something you'd want to touch, i've not heard from him since, i'm assuming he's still alive, last I heard he was waiting for a snake person to come and remove it from the house. What i do know is, my fear of the crawlie things seems to be getting worse, and embarrassing seeing as a few days ago in coles i was filling a bag of green beans from the sloping display shelf thing, when i'd got my beans in the bag out of the corner of my eye i saw what I thought was something nasty, so let out a little squeal and jumped back, when I looked again it was just a bean that had fallen from the shelf onto the floor, I then did a quick look around to make sure no one saw me, or heard me! i know its ridiculous, but i'm totally on edge and jumpy, its an awful feeling.

NickyC

My god - where on earth do you live?

Possums only come out at night - where did it fall from? Was your OH under a tree or something?

And rats and snakes? Do you have woodpiles or piles of rubbish around? We have had the odd rat around in our garden but they move like lightening and a bit of ratsak soon dispatches them. Never seen a snake within 100 miles of here.

Same with geckoes - they're hardly ferocious creatures. And they're more likely to die of fright when they see you than eat all your food.

If I were you, I'd be careful of where I walk at night and certainly wouldn't be poking around anywhere where snakes might be.

KJCherokee

Take it from me, it affects native born Aussies as well. My wife is 7th generation Aussie but she is petrified of grashoppers - we were camping with her mother and aunt in Longreach during a locust plague and she zipped herself into the tent and conversed with us through the window, even though all the locusts were asleep. Her sister is petrified by geckos - we used to have a bunch that lived behind the light over the back door and came out at night to feed on the moths, and she would walk all the way round to the front door just to avoid going near them.

indiana

My husband was at an old peoples home putting in a loft hatch type thing in each room for them, when he cut the hole the possom fell out, he didn't actually know what it was but obviously freaked out with it coming towards him so fast, it was after he calmed down someone said what it was. The snake today was on the roof, he thinks it was a python, but not sure. I know geckos wont kill me, just like the hissing beetle thing that fell when i went out of the front door, but it doesn't stop me sweating and panicking and freaking out. I'm thinking maybe acupuncture or something may help but not spoken to anyone who has had the treatments successfully, I don't want to spend $$$ on this but obviously would like to feel at ease when i see something move.

indiana

Thats kind of good to know (i mean that in a nice way!), we were at a party for one of my sons friends in a park, under a big tree with lots of bushes etc. we took chairs and sat down, it was the first time of meeting all these parents so I was hoping we would fit in, one lady was just saying ' you dont seem like these other poms, jumping at every fly', the next minute i noticed an army of the giant ants had crawled up my chair and were crawing all over me, i jumped up so fast with my arms flying everywhere trying to knock them off, the woman just gave me an odd look and that was the end of that conversation, we've not been invited to anything since!

My son had ticks which nearly gave me heart failure, and a couple of weeks ago we were in the car on the school run, just pick up the youngest, just next in line to pull out of a busy junction, when he said 'whats that thing on the roof' my mistake was to look up, there was a cricket above my head on the inside roof of the car, now i knew it wasn't going to kill me, but i started screaming get it off, get it out, panicking like mad, almost crying, screaming, as i thought it might jump onto my head/face, all of this whilst trying not to kill us getting out of the junction out of the school, as soon as i was out onto the main road i pulled over, and couldn't get out of the car quick enough, my son got it out and everything was fine again, but the fear is awful, i can fully empathise with your wife.

chris955

Blimey you sound as though you and your husband have enough bad encounters for everyone on the forum
I wouldnt worry about the inevitable 'poms jumping at every fly' comments, I know plenty of Aussies that are scared to death of just about everything that flies or crawls. To be honest you really just need to toughen up, that might sound harsh but you are afraid of geckos, its a bit like being scared of a wooden clothes peg, both are useful and totally harmless.

spouse of scouse

Hi Indiana - just my take on this, it may or may not be the right solution for you

If you feel that your creepy crawly phobia is affecting your enjoyment of your day to day life, it might be a good idea to get some professional help with it. It doesn't matter what the phobia is, and it doesn't matter if it seems silly or inconsequential to some people - if it's having a negative effect on you it's worth doing something about. Life can be challenging enough without jumping out of your skin every time you see a bug, or even worse, being constantly on the alert for them.

I'd suggest you have a chat with your GP, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he/she can hopefully refer to a registered psychologist with the experience you need. Also, if your GP does what's called a 'mental health plan', you are entitled to a certain number of psychologist visits at a heavily subsidized cost. Don't be put off by the 'mental health' thing, the simple fact is you have a (relatively!) unfounded fear of creepy crawlies and if you can learn to eliminate or control that fear, then your life's going to be much pleasanter

One cautionary note - if you choose to see someone, make sure they're a registered clinical psychologist (if you doctor refers you, they'd have to be). Last thing you need is some quack, and there are plenty around. Best of luck

brissybee

It is possible living in a country with some of the most venomous creatures in the World isn't ideal for you.

But in time, you may desensitise even without professional help.

If it's any consolation, I also have regular encounters with things I'd rather not. Last night it was just a 5 legged huntsman in the bathroom. Once I would have sprayed it white with Mortein and made a fuss. Now I just whacked it with a newspaper and put it in the bin.

I have also been chased by lizards. Yes, lizards. Plural. Not a pack of lizards you understand, but individual chasing lizards on separate occasions. They have beligerent faces and seem amused by my discomfort.

Here's a picture of a small one.

carolinephillips

Have you thought of hypnotherapy? It can help to calm you. The other method is to see a clinical/behavioural psychologist who will give you therapies to help you get control of the fear. (Desensitising.) As others have said get a referral to a good one rather than picking one out of the small ads.

At the moment your fears are feeding off each other and building up. One of the things I was told was to think of stresses and fears as a bundle. When you have them, acknowledge the fact that you have them, then wrap up the fear/anxiety and imagine a bin lorry coming. Put the bundle of stuff in the bin and let it be taken away- you have had the thought/fear, but now it has gone. etc....

Then do some deep slow breathing until you are calm, and move on yourself.

(And always keep mortein handy until you can deal calmly with the bugs.)

Mike at Taree

Fortunately magpie swooping season is just about over
When I lived in QLD we once had a plague of tiny albino crickets that lived in the cracks in brick walls and would jump out and bite your toes.

Hypnotherapy may well help. Phobias go very deep, and some are in our "racial memory". A NZ professor was on ABC radio a couple of years ago, his university in Auckland was infested with pigeons nesting and pooing on every window ledge. He bought rubber snakes from a novelty shop and distributed them around, it got rid of the pigeons who were terrified.

There aren't any snakes in NZ and there have been thousands of generations of pigeons since they got introduced in the 19th century.

Similarly, I guess, you'd freak out totally if confronted by a Lion in an alleyway.