Why are humans afraid of cockroaches?

“Some individuals are afraid of them because they can hide in dark places and crawl out unexpectedly. Others imagine cockroaches invading their homes, nibbling on their leftovers, or possibly spreading diseases. To some people, the smell of cockroaches alone can be nauseating.”

cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com - Cockroach phobia: Why do some people have it and others don't?

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“Augmented reality can be very effective,” said Ms Hwee. “The more realistic the scenarios and images, the more likely the treatment will address the fear. In therapy, we often use visualisation to help clients overcome specific fears in specific scenarios, so augmented reality is the high-tech version of it.” On the other hand, if the individual chooses to focus on the fact that the virtual cockroaches are not real, the augmented reality-aided therapy may not work, said Assoc Prof Lim. But for extreme katsaridaphobia, the results may be more favourable as these patients may be too overcome by their fear to tell real cockroaches from virtual ones.

DIY DESENSITISING THERAPY

Ms Hwee, who has a cockroach phobia since she was seven years old, said you can try to desensitise yourself by using the same exposure method. From dashing out of a room when a roach shows up, she is now able to kill one and pick it up with tissue. “The key is to demystify the fear, to convince your brain that there really is nothing to be afraid of.” Assoc Prof Lim agreed. “Familiarising one with a cockroach and understanding how it lives and survives could reduce the individual’s fear towards it,” he said. “As an individual gradually exposes himself to the phobia by addressing the immediate triggers causing it, he will realise that there is nothing to be afraid of.” The trick is to do it in gradual, incremental steps over a period of time, said Ms Hwee, as rushing through the exposure process can backfire. “If you have encountered a cockroach, try to expose yourself to another within the next few months. Then, progress to killing one and the next one within the year. Once you have made the first kill, the subsequent ones will feel easier.” And if you have worked up enough courage, there are game (or horror) apps that use augmented reality to let you push your phobia further. AR Cockroach is one such app. After scanning the floor, the app places a black hole from which countless realistic-looking – and some giant - cockroaches crawl out from. You can tap your phone’s screen to get rid of them but there’s no end to the game – you have been warned.

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Do ants get angry?

Ants don't have complex emotions such as love, anger, or empathy, but they do approach things they find pleasant and avoid the unpleasant. They can smell with their antennae, and so follow trails, find food and recognise their own colony.

sciencefocus.com - Do ants have feelings? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Asked by: Kevin McGrath, by email

Ants don’t have complex emotions such as love, anger, or empathy, but they do approach things they find pleasant and avoid the unpleasant. They can smell with their antennae, and so follow trails, find food and recognise their own colony. Their exoskeleton has sensory hairs on the outside but they probably cannot feel damage on the inside, which is why parasites can destroy them if they can get in without touching the sensors. Each ant’s brain is simple, containing about 250,000 neurones, compared with a human’s billions. Yet a colony of ants has a collective brain as large as many mammals’. Some have speculated that a whole colony could have feelings. Subscribe to BBC Focus magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun science facts.

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