Overcoming fear of mice with hypnosis
Mice, some think they are super cute, others think they are just a scary dirty critter. The fear of mice can prevent you from enjoying your garden or even the city properly. You may even start avoiding places where you expect mice altogether. This can have unpleasant consequences for your daily life and perhaps even for the work you do.
That's why in this article I'll discuss the fear of mice and how hypnosis can help you be less afraid of mice.
Why are some people afraid of mice?
A phobia of mice is one of the most common phobias. So, at any rate, you’re not alone. A fear of mice isn’t always about the mouse itself. Of course, you don’t want to see one, but it’s also about the fear that the mouse could contaminate food supplies with scary diseases.
The cause of a fear of mice can stem from several factors. If you’re afraid of mice, it may be due to a specific form of conditioning you’ve been taught. For example, as a woman, being afraid of mice serves a social function because “that’s just how it’s supposed to be.” Of course, that’s not how it’s supposed to be at all, but you probably saw your mother being afraid of them in the past, or people reacted strangely when you didn’t start screaming hysterically.
But sometimes you can also be abnormally afraid of mice. If you feel that a mouse has been able to get to your food you can be completely upset by this. Seeing a mouse in the kitchen can cause you to throw away all the food, start cleaning thoroughly, and thus lose an awful lot of money and time when that mouse really hasn't been in the kitchen cabinets. Just mopping is actually a logical reaction.
In addition, it does come in handy to check that you don't have a mouse infestation and to set mousetraps.
What are mice afraid of?
It might be nice to know that you are not the only one who gets scared when you see a mouse. Mice are just little critters and are somewhere at the bottom of the food chain. As a result, mice themselves are often afraid. If you sometimes think of: "Why doesn't that one go away?", that's because mice generally have the freeze reaction when they are scared. So that's why sometimes they just stare at you scared.
Mice are also afraid of cats, snakes, and other predators. If they smell a certain protein found in cat urine, they’ll run away—even if they’ve never seen a cat before. On top of that, cats are also very good hunters. So if you’re not allergic and would like to have a cat, you can get one to protect yourself.
However, if the cat loves you very much it can bring you presents, such as the dead mouse. A friend of mine had a kitten that was just old enough to hunt. The kitten had once caught a mouse that had somehow ended up in the kitchen. In the middle of the night! Of course the kitten was very spoiled after that good catch, but the consequence was that a week later she had caught a mouse in the garden and (while still squealing with fear) happily took it inside to show it. So that habit had to be unlearned very quickly.
Still, a mousetrap is best if you want to be on the safe side.
In addition, research also shows that mice are more fearful of men than women. This was discovered by accident when a study was conducted on how mice deal with pain. When a male researcher was working with the mouse, the mouse became stressed immediately, and with a female researcher it took a few minutes. To investigate what caused this, additional research was conducted by, for example, having researchers sleep in a t-shirt overnight and placing it with the mouse in the room. The shirts of the male researchers gave the same results as the man himself. As a result, the researchers suspected that the smell of testosterone also causes anxiety in mice.
If you are a man afraid of mice you should keep this in mind. Your scent is already scaring the mouse away.
Therapy for fear of mice
Still, this knowledge about mice being equally afraid of humans and animals cannot reassure everyone and make the fear go away. Therefore, you can also get therapy to reduce anxiety. There are two main types of therapy that can reduce fear of mice.
Desensitization
Desensitization involves making you less susceptible to the fear of mice by gradually confronting you with your fear. Because relaxation keeps anxious feelings from taking over, it is important that this process take place while the person with the phobia is relaxed. Next, the person with anxiety can be stimulated, such as by a picture of a mouse. These stimuli become stronger and stronger as improvement takes place until perhaps a live mouse is put on the hand, whether this happens and when this happens is different for each person because not everyone has the same degree of fear of mice.
In addition, hypnosis can also be a way to support desensitization. First, hypnosis is induced through relaxation exercises and other techniques to put people under hypnosis. Next, visualizations can be used to present the trigger, and the person’s reaction to it can be observed. This is therefore a much less direct way to reduce the fear of mice.
Getting positive beliefs about mice
In addition, beliefs about mice often play a major role in the fear of mice. If you’re afraid of mice, you may believe that they will bite you or that they carry scary, contagious diseases that can make you seriously ill.
Getting more positive ideas about mice will change your view of these rodents. This alone can reduce anxiety.
Hypnotherapy is the way to change your beliefs about mice. Not only can you apply desensitization through hypnotherapy, but through suggestions that apply to your situation, you can change the way you view the world and therefore your view of mice.
There are also other hypnotherapies for anxiety.
Tips for not being afraid of mice
If the mere thought of a mouse having been in your house or the sight of a mouse sends you into a complete panic, I have a few tips for you to help keep your fear under control.
Take a deep breath
By taking deep breaths and consciously relaxing your muscles, you prevent your body tension from exacerbating the anxiety. This can already make the panic attack less severe than normal. This allows you to rationally look for a solution.
Remember that the mouse is afraid of you too
If the mouse does not run away immediately it suffers from freezing fear. This shows that the mouse is also afraid of you. Waving a tea towel will scare it away. You can also set mouse traps so that the mouse is rendered harmless.
Don't throw away all your food
Most food in the Netherlands is kept in the refrigerator or the top kitchen cabinets, and for good reason. After all, a mouse can't get to it. If you are afraid of scary diseases, you really only need to mop the floor, but if you don't find any droppings, that's not really necessary either. You can always do it just to be sure.
Don't ignore your fear
You naturally want to ignore your anxiety and not think about it. However, this can make the anxiety worse and worse. Let your thoughts run wild and you will see that you will think about mice much less than if you keep stopping yourself from thinking about them. If you find this scary you can also do this under the guidance of a hypnotherapist.
Check if you really suffer from mice
If you are afraid you are suffering from mice, but you have never actually seen one, the best thing to do is to do a thorough search of your home. A mouse usually does leave droppings, you can also hire an expert to see if you are suffering from mice and do something about it.
Mice are afraid of you too
Realize that mice fear you too, yes women too, because you are just at least 1,000 times bigger than that mouse. If that's not enough reassurance make sure you have an unwashed t-shirt worn by a man in the room where you don't want a mouse.
Would you like to learn more about reducing a fear of mice through hypnosis? Then check out the events and training programs offered by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands.
Also pin this handy infographic:
Sources:
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2010/05/scent-makes-mice-run-scared
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/why-do-mice-fear-men