<p>I'm going to be a college freshman soon and I have a severe phobia of insects/spiders. I'm planning on going away to college and I'm quite worried that my phobia will severely strain my relationship with my roommate and make my college experience less enjoyable.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice/experience with situations with coping with phobias in college? Also, has anyone had an experience involving an insect infestation of the dorms? </p>
<p>I'm really sorry if I come off a bit ...crazy in this, but I just saw an insect. Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>I have a bit of arachnophobia as well, and bugs in general. All I can say is I haven't seen any bugs in my dorm. Maybe like 3 over the course of a year. No ants going for food, no roaches, and maybe 2 spiders.</p>
<p>Just tell your roommate, hope she understands, and hope she can take care of any problems that arise.</p>
<p>I have a pretty ridiculous fear of roaches (which it nowhere near as bad as it used to be) but I probably only saw maybe 2 roaches in the entire 2 years I lived in the dorms and my roommate and I are far from the cleanest people in the world. I don't ever remember seeing any ants, and the only time I ever saw spiders was when they were perched on the outside of our window in their webs (never inside the room).</p>
<p>Also, most people (or girls, at least) understand fears of bugs, and won't ridicule you for it. It's rare to find a female who isn't at least a little bit scared of bugs. It's only when you get into the really ridiculous phobias (like birds, or people dressed in mascot costumes, or puppets/ventriloquist dummies) that people start to think you're a little weird. Yes, I have met someone scared of people dressed in mascot costumes (she ran away screaming when our mascot Aubie, who loves to hug people, came up to her), and I am personally terrified of any sort of puppet/dummy that looks like a person (but not the sesame street type).</p>
<p>I'm only a freshman, but in the 6 months or so I've lived in the dorms I haven't seen a single bug or spider.</p>
<p>A lot of people fear bugs/spiders/etc. to some degree, so even though yours is more intense people won't think you're too weird. Do talk to your roommate and give her a heads up so she'll be able to understand immediately if anything does happen.</p>
<p>You may want to try to get over your phobia at some point, for your own sake. As a person who's struggled with a severe fear, I know that this is NOT easy. It is extremely difficult for me to allow people to touch me any more than a quick hug (this stems from being sexually abused as a child). I don't want to live like this my whole life, so I've asked someone whom I trust and is patient with me to take ballroom dancing lessons (I'm a dancer, so this was the natural step for me). Maybe visit a pet store with live insects, spiders etc. - and some good friends/family there for support.</p>
<p>My youngest has a pretty intense phobia when it comes to insects.
when she was about 3 in was at it's worst.Crippling, really.
She is a little better, but I still see her struggle with it.
I agree that most girls will understand and not judge you or think it is weird. I don't know too many girls or woman that are not at least a little creeped out by critters with a lot of legs or other bugs</p>
<p>Where are you going to school? There are different insects in different parts of the country. My S who goes to school in FL has had ants in his room. He solved the problem by buying ant traps and using bug spray that was natural from Whole Foods to eliminate harmful fumes.</p>
<p>I would suggest keeping very little food in your room as it does attrack insects. Anything you or your roommate keep should be securely closed or in the fridge. Try not to eat food that makes crumbs in the room. Bring ant/roach traps and put them around the room before you see any bugs. Keep your room really clean. Empty the trash can often.</p>
<p>Let your roommate know of your problem. I'm sure she doesn't want any bugs in the room either. I'm sure if she knows your concerns, she will help you to keep things as bug free as possible.</p>
<p>i have a phobia of all bugs and swallowing pills...unfortunately for me,my dorm is infested with spider fish...i find them in my shoes even though i have put everything in plastic boxes! I don't sleep in my room anymore....and for the pill phobia, this one psych major tried to "cure" me for a project of hers and failed...miserably...so i simply resort to chewing :( i can't say i have any advice, it's just something we have to deal with i guess</p>
<p>so, funny.... just had a girl freak out yesterday in my Physics class because a beetle was on her chair and she thought it was a spider...ended up jumping into the girl next to her's lap (entire class erupted in laughter--small science major physics class, though).... so yeah... you might want to work on that phobia a bit, but overall you should be okay. you wouldn't be the first person to go to college with a phobia!</p>