The reason for the fear of rats and mice
Geneticists and scientists have found that the emergence of musophobia was provoked by the joint life of rodents and humans. At the beginning of their journey, people lived in caves in small groups consisting of several men and women. Each of them performed a specific role - men hunted and obtained food, guarding the rest of the group in their free time, and women prepared food, looking after children and the surrounding household. Times were not the easiest, so food was tight, and the mice living in the same caves mercilessly hunted for the remains of food. When they did not find her, they could bite sleeping women and children. Some of them could get dangerous diseases when viruses carried by mice were in their blood. In addition to this, one can imagine the dissatisfaction of hungry men who, upon returning, learned about a significant depletion of food supplies.
Therefore, it is no wonder that many women began to get hysterical from one type of mouse. This fear was so strong that it was gradually deposited in the genetic memory of humanity, beginning its journey from one generation to another. Therefore, many representatives of humanity to this day panic at the sight of a rodent.
In the case of rats, subconscious fear is spurred by an unsightly appearance - a bare tail, red bead-shaped eyes, large fangs, a nasty squeaky voice. People who panic violently at the sight of rodents believe in myths that they run through ventilation shafts, are able to move along telephone wires, and plan in detail an attack on a person. No less rare is the fear of a rat bite, which can infect someone with something unpleasant.
Origin of the definition of zemmiphobia
Zemmiphobia (in other sources - zemmiphobia) stands for "fear of large mole rats." Some researchers have become interested in the question of what it is.
The popular version is the popular name for naked rats, which in appearance and behavior are practically no different from moles. The only difference is that on the front of their heads they have pronounced fang-shaped teeth, with which they dig underground tunnels. They live in groups in Africa. Each of these colonies numbers from 80 to 300 animals. Among them there is only one main female, and her males include 19 individuals. Other members of the colony perform work tasks or simply provide security.
But it has not yet been confirmed by significant evidence. Therefore, if it contains erroneous information, then science does not yet know where the word “zemmiphobia” came from.
Origin of the definition of musophobia
In some sources it is listed as musophobia (from the Greek word meaning mouse), in others - murophobia (taxonomic adjective “rat”). Along with them, suriphobia is mentioned, which comes from the French word for “mice”.
Among doctors, only one person was the first to testify to the existence of a fear of mice - Genna Crosser. Unfortunately, despite the information she received, she also had to struggle with this deviation.
Mikhail Vrubel
The mysterious Russian painter, the author of the famous illustrations for Lermontov’s poem “The Demon,” was treated for several years for various mental disorders, was an outcast, and during his lifetime his paintings were called hallucinations of an unhealthy person. The damage to the nervous system was first discovered by the psychiatrist Bekhterev.
Photo: Vrubel M.A. – Self-portrait. 1904-1905. Paper, charcoal and lead pencils, sanguine; public domain
It is not surprising that the artist’s inflamed consciousness had a very difficult time coping with unrequited love in his youth. It is believed that unrequited feelings for a certain girl did not fade away, but grew into a fear of beautiful women - caliginiphobia. At the same time, he never ceased to like women, but even the thought of any bodily contact with them caused him genuine horror. To overcome his fear, Vrubel decided to visit brothels. This practice ended tragically: the artist fell ill with syphilis, from which he suffered for many years.
How does musophobia differ from zemmiphobia?
Manifestations of phobia include an increased level of fear due to some environmental irritant. The leading place among phobia phenomena is occupied by the fear of mice and rats. Despite common beliefs, these are completely different fears that have their own names.
Musophobia is the fear of mice, and zemmiphobia is the fear of rats. Sometimes the concept of zemmiphobia refers to the fear of moles, which, in fact, cannot harm human health. The only problems they cause are the destruction of grain reserves and the appearance of underground burrows where this is undesirable.
In parallel, there is a related phobia based on the fear of bats. As a rule, it occurs among avid moviegoers who have watched too many horror films with vampires. Their panic often reaches such proportions that they quite seriously wait for the little mouse to turn into an insidious vampire and drink all their blood.
Jennifer Aniston and Kate Winslet
Many celebrities are known to have poor tolerance to airplane flights. For example, maximum comfort in business class does not save actress Jennifer Aniston from aerophobia.
Photo: Jordan Strauss, AP/TASS
One day, while flying from Toronto to New York, she was caught in an air storm. Since then, the actress has been very afraid of getting into an area of air turbulence or an accident on the way to her destination. Jennifer even has her own special ritual - she slams her palm on the outside of the plane and steps on board the plane with her right foot, and then her left, but not vice versa.
Her colleague Kate Winslet, contrary to public belief, has no fear of water. She is more afraid of airliners than ships. With her ex-husband Sam Mendes, she always bought tickets on different flights because she was afraid that in the event of a plane crash, her children would be left orphans.
Factors that provoke the development of a phobia
- Genetic memory.
- Childhood fear.
- An attack by rats or mice on a person or his animals.
- Unpleasant experience of contact with mice or rats.
- Possibility of infection from the slightest bite or scratch.
- Negative reputation created by cinema.
Researchers believe that the phobia of rodents was deposited in the genetic memory of people in ancient times. Their life together was not always peaceful and calm. The men fed everyone, sometimes disappearing for days hunting. Therefore, the entire burden of daily life lay entirely on the shoulders of women. The first representatives of rodent families were not the most peaceful animals, which is why people around them could sometimes suffer greatly. The majority of patients with musophobia are women and children, the minority are men.
In especially advanced cases, at one glance at a mouse, people become hysterical to such an extent that they begin to experience horror along with vomiting disgust. This is right. In this way, the body protects itself from the carrier of serious diseases, but at the same time interferes with a normal life, prohibiting a person from appearing in places where rodents can live.
Signs of a sick person
Any fear arises in a special way, and its sensations are not similar to the feelings of another person. One person will run away in hysteria as far as possible, at one glance at the animal, and the other will stand like a statue, never moving. They are united by common manifestations of phobia:
- non-standard behavior;
- rapid inhalation and exhalation;
- trembling of limbs;
- minor problems with the speech apparatus;
- attacks of nausea and regular dizziness;
- frequent sweating;
- growing panic;
- carefully avoiding the rodent's teeth to prevent accidental bites.
Musophobes understand the name of the fear of mice and the absurdity of their reaction to the most harmless rodent. But few people are able to take control of themselves, and they fall into a prolonged depression from the additional fear of disgracing themselves in front of their close circle. If no one helps them, then the level of pathological panic will increase, acquiring new deceptive fears.
In severe cases, the patient ceases to understand where reality surrounds him, and from what moment harmless fantasies begin. For fear of being attacked by rodents, they can block all the openings that can be found in the house so that mice cannot get inside and find it.
Self-treatment
If the manifestation of phobia symptoms is irregular, then the patient may well try independent treatment methods. The most popular are films and children's cartoons featuring rats and mice, reading stories where rodents are the main characters, and watching scientific programs about the life of the animal world. If fear has not touched the deeper layers of the subconscious, then the patient is 100% likely to defeat it.
No less effective methods include ensuring a comfortable life for your pet rodent. Constant interaction with an animal allows you to ensure its safety and understand that it is not much different from a more familiar cat or dog. Psychologists warn that starting the process of rapprochement will be very difficult, but in the future everything will be much easier.
As additional assistance to the patient, you can add visits to pet stores. It would be good if he could be accompanied by a person from his close circle to provide moral support in difficult moments. During the visit, the patient should focus his attention on the rodents, notice the funny moments of their daily life and fantasize about the mouse thoughts that swarm in their head at the sight of the next visitor.
Stephen King
Many people think of Stephen King when it comes to human fear in its purest form. The writer’s novels and their film adaptations can be considered an encyclopedia of human fears, not all of which can be rationally explained. So, for example, in addition to the fear of the dark, flying on an airplane and closed spaces, directly related to the understandable fear of death, King had a painful phobia of the number 13.
Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP/TASS
The “king of horror” once admitted that while writing books, he never stops working when he writes the 13th page. Only when he reaches the “safe” 14th page can he calmly exhale and take a break.
The novel “It” is based on an equally exotic phobia – coulrphobia, that is, fear of clowns. King masterfully elevated the image of the clown to the grotesque and endowed him with a maximum of disgusting features. Pennywise lives in a sewer, has sharp fangs, wakes up once every 27 years, stalks children, drives them crazy, lures them into traps and kills them. King knew that all children love and at the same time fear clowns, and he himself was afraid of them since childhood, which is why he embodied the terrible monster in this image. “I saw other children cry when they saw clowns too. In my opinion, there is something creepy and sinister about this character,” the writer once said.
Specialist help
In the event that independent measures do not work, it is recommended to urgently visit a doctor. During the treatment process, he will use specially developed techniques designed to cure the fear of mice and rats:
- Hypnotherapy sets up subconscious programs and tries to destroy the virus that has infected them in the form of a poorly controlled phobia. If she managed to turn it off, then all the disturbing symptoms would instantly disappear. But many patients are afraid to entrust their consciousness to a stranger and therefore avoid hypnosis.
- Neurolinguistic programming presents a phobia as a distorted view of real life, which is in the hands of the person himself. If the patient manages to look at his fears from a different angle, then it is quite possible that they will stop bothering him.
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Since childhood, the poet was afraid of any infection, was extremely clean and squeamish, because his father died of sepsis. He accidentally pricked himself with a needle while stitching papers and could not be saved.
Photo: Wikipedia, public domain
On his lecture trips around Russia, Mayakovsky always took a spoon in a leather case and did not leave home without a soap dish. It is believed that he washed his hands after every handshake, that is, at least ten times a day, and touched door handles and railings only through gloves or a scarf. Sometimes the fear of becoming infected with something drove Mayakovsky to panic convulsions. The 20-30s can hardly be called a triumph of hygiene, so Mayakovsky’s circle considered his habits feigned suspiciousness.
Among the American pop stars, Madonna is famous for her particular scrupulousness towards cleanliness. A mandatory item in her rider is replacing the plumbing in the hotel room.
