The world is full of people suffering from arachnophobia. If I were to see even the tiniest spider, I think I would run the other direction. A fear of spiders is not necessarily irrational, since our ancestors likely has good reason to avoid all of them. However, most people are capable of overcoming their fear of spiders, even the improvement is only slight. However, there are much more rare examples of people who suffer delusions involving bugs crawling all over their bodies. This delusional condition is known as “delusional infestation”.
The small population of those who suffer from delusional infestation cannot escape their fears, even after reassurance from medical professionals that no bugs are crawling on their skin. Many health professionals will blame these delusions on drug abuse. Sometimes drugs are the answer, but other times seemingly normal people experience delusions of bugs infesting their houses or bodies for no clear reason. Studies have shown that these “bug delusions” are not the result of mental illnesses like schizophrenia, rather delusional infestation is a stand-alone disorder.
Have you ever known somebody who experienced, at least for a brief time, a fear of tiny insects infesting their bodies or furniture?
