Katsaridophobia (fear of cockroaches): symptoms, causes and treatment

A type of phobia based on the extreme fear of cockroaches and cockroach-like insects.

Phobias are irrational and disproportionate fears before stimuli or situations that generally are not harmful, or if they are, they are not harmful enough to generate these high doses of fear. There are thousands of different phobias. In this article we will know one of them, katsaridophobia, which consists of an intense fear of cockroaches..

We will know exactly what this phobia consists of, what are its typical symptoms, its most frequent causes and the treatments that are usually used to treat it. In addition, we will review the types of phobias proposed by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders).

Phobias: what are they?

Typical symptoms of a phobia (called simple phobia or specific phobia) include this intense fear coupled with high anxiety when the stimulus is presented (or even imagined), avoidance of the stimulus in question (or coping/resistance with high levels of anxiety) and an impairment of the overall functioning of the individual suffering from the phobia.

The diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia according to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders), also include that the anxiety, fear or avoidance exist for at least 6 months or more.

Types

There are phobias for practically all possible stimuli, objects or situations. Specifically, the DSM-5 classifies specific phobias in 5 groupsdepending on the type of stimulus feared:

• Phobia of animals
• Phobia of natural environments
• Phobia of blood-injury-injection phobia
• Situational phobia
• Other types of phobia

Katsaridaphobia would be classified as an animal phobia, since the stimulus feared in this case is cockroaches (a type of insect).

Katsaridiphobia: what is it?

Thus, katsaridaphobia is a specific type of phobia in which cockroaches are feared. Cockroaches are also called "blatodeos" and are a type of insect with a flattened body, usually measuring between 3 and 7.5 cm in length. The group of "blatodeos" or cockroaches also includes termites, for example.

The irrational fear of cockroaches is related to our ancestors' attempts at survival. when they were exposed to animals that could pose a threat; in this case, however, katsaridaphobia is rather related to the fear of stimuli that generate disgust, like many other related phobias (fear of small insects, ants, rotten food, mice, decomposing bodies, etc.).

Thus, although we "know" that cockroaches cannot cause us serious harm (since they are usually very small and harmless), people who suffer from katsaridophobia feel such an inordinate sense of fear that they are not afraid of them. feel such an inordinate sense of disgust towards them that they panic when they see them, have them near them, or when they see them, have them near or touch them (especially if they appear in their homes, rooms, etc.).

This "fear or rejection of disgust" is also related to the fear of contamination or of contracting some type of disease, and that is why the origin of katsaridaphobia, as we will see below, may also be related to ancestral survival mechanisms.

Symptoms

The symptoms of katsaridaphobiaas a specific phobia, are the following:

Intense fear or anxiety 2.

The main symptom of katsaridaphobia is an intense fear or anxiety of cockroaches. As all the specific phobias, the fear is delimited to a stimulus, object or concrete and well specified situation (although this delimitation can vary from some phobias to others); in this case, the specific phobic stimulus is cockroaches..

The simple fact of witnessing a cockroach can be feared; it is common to find this type of insect in the field, in the home (under the bed, between cabinets or furniture, etc.) or in other contexts.

2. Avoidance or resistance

The second symptom of katsaridaphobia is an avoidance of situations that may involve seeing or being approached by cockroaches. The avoidance is also extrapolated to the actual situation of seeing them, i.e., we see them and have to run away because we are afraid of them, we see them and we have to run away because we cannot "stand" that fear or anxiety..

If avoidance does not occur, active resistance to the stimulus is produced, with exaggerated and immediate fear or anxiety; that is, the presence of cockroaches is faced or resisted but with a great sense of discomfort.

3. Disproportionate fear or anxiety

Very similar to the first symptom, in katsaridaphobia the individual manifests a disproportionate fear or anxiety; this means that they occur in the face of an unreal danger or a danger that is not serious enough to explain such symptoms.

In addition, symptoms are also disproportionate symptoms are also disproportionate in relation to the sociocultural context in which the person in which the person with katsaridaphobia finds himself/herself.

4. Persistent fear or anxiety

In addition, this fear or anxiety of cockroaches persists over time, at least for 6 months. This period of time is indispensable that it passes with symptoms to be able to diagnose a katsaridaphobia, according to the DSM-5.

5. Important discomfort

The previous symptoms end up causing a remarkable discomfort in the person, which affects the functioning of his daily life, interfering in it. Thus, either there is significant discomfort, or deterioration occurs in one or more areas of the patient's life (occupational, social, personal...). (work, social, personal...).

Causes

The causes of katsaridaphobia, as we have already mentioned, are believed to be related to an ancestral survival mechanism in the face of stimuli that produce disgust (since this mechanism helped to prevent the contraction of diseases, for example). This ancestral mechanism is extrapolated to other stimuli (other types of insects, spoiled food with unpleasant odors, etc.).

On the other hand, it is known that cockroaches tend to live in dark and warm areas. It is likely that a person who develops katsaridaphobia has found himself in situations with little light and that a cockroach has rubbed his skin, producing an uncomfortable or disgusting sensation. This situation can lead to such a heightened feeling of disgust that the katsaridaphobia itself develops.

In both cases, the katsaridaphobia originates as an adaptive and therefore evolutionary response of the organism.. Thus, we know that our ancestors had evolutionary mechanisms that allowed them to be alert to animals or even cockroaches, when they slept in caves or in dark places.

Finally, katsaridaphobia can also be caused by vicarious experiences. can also be caused by vicarious experiences (observing another person with cockroach phobia suffering), traumatic experiences with the insect or even by having a genetic predisposition to suffer from this type of phobia.

Treatment

Treatments for katsaridaphobia include psychological therapy.As in most specific phobias, exposure to the phobic stimulus and systematic desensitization (SD) techniques are usually used, together with cognitive restructuring techniques.

Thus, katsaridaphobia can be overcome. For example, if we use systematic desensitization or exposure techniques, we can gradually present the patient with images or pictures of cockroaches. Progressively, the phobic stimulus will become more and more phobic for the patient (the therapist will elaborate together with the patient a hierarchy of items beforehand); the next step may be that the patient should approach a dead cockroach and even touch it.

Afterwards, the same can be done with a live cockroach. Ideally, the last items of the SD or exposure techniques will include situations where the patient must remain in a room or room with the cockroaches without fleeing and without experiencing anxiety (or tolerable levels of anxiety).

The ultimate goal is for the patient with katsaridaphobia to stop experiencing symptoms of fear and anxiety when they see cockroaches, and that their organism does not overreact by overactivating to such situations or stimuliThus, the phobic stimulus is uncoupled from the physiological symptoms.

Bibliographical references:

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Fifth edition. Washington DC: Author.
• Pérez, M.; Fernández, J.R.; Fernández, C. and Amigo, I. (2010). Guide to effective psychological treatments I: Adults. Madrid: Pirámide.
• Tortella-Feliu, M. (2014). Los Trastornos de Ansiedad en el DSM-5. Cuadernos de medicina psicosomática y psiquiatría. Revista iberoamericana de psicosomática, 110: 62-69.