For most property owners, pests are normal, even in the cleanest of environments. While this might seem so, it is far from the case. Pests are quite dangerous and have been associated with a range of conditions. Mental health disorders are now among the most prevalent worldwide. While you might have seemingly taken several steps to guarantee the mental well-being of your family and employees in a commercial setting, there is still one thing that might aggravate or lead to psychological issues. It is pest infestation.
Without professional pest control for your London home or commercial establishment, you will find yourself dealing with a range of psychological disorders. Though most are tiny, pests are not as easy to eradicate, as you might assume. Most have grown resistant to store-bought chemicals, and the homemade solutions most people opt for have hardly any impact.
The following are the common mental disorders associated with pest infestation:
Phobia
This disorder is not a simple fear of a particular pest. Phobias can manifest as extreme fear such that someone cannot rationally function in a specific space. People with phobias towards certain pests often experience uncontrollable anxiety when they see these critters.
This is evidenced by abnormal breathing, hot flashes, chills, trembling, and sometimes the triggering of a choking sensation. Others will report chest, stomach, and muscle pains while a few immediately faint or start hyperventilating. Three common types of phobia exist. Katsaridaphobia is the fear of cockroaches, and entomophobia denotes the fear of all insects. On the other hand, people with arachnophobia experience the fear of spiders.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
At times, people will develop OCD secondary to an acquired phobia. Disturbing and unwanted thoughts, urges, and feelings characterize the condition. With them, someone feels the urge to do a certain task continuously to alleviate these thoughts. With pests, most people are inclined to clean specific places and objects over and over again. Not only is this strenuous on their physical well-being, but it also affects their quality of life to varying extents over time.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders
This often follows infestation by biting pests. If, for instance, your property is infested by bedbugs or wasps, people who suffered bites from them might develop the disorder. These people gain hypervigilance, irritability, nightmares, and hallucinations after the infestation. Post-traumatic stress disorder significantly affects a patient’s quality of life and hinders their ability to handle specific tasks or be in some places.
Delusional Parasitosis
At times, you get the feeling that an insect is crawling in your skin just by looking at it. There are times, however, that this feeling gets too severe that you get mental breakdowns from the same situation. Studies estimate that a large number of people suffer from delusional parasitosis but often ignore it because of a lack of awareness. This disorder can nonetheless worsen and lead to self-harm if uncontrolled.
The above psychological issues are undoubtedly far expensive to treat compared to hiring a professional pest exterminator. Moreover, these conditions often trigger a range of other problems and will take time to control effectively. For you to guarantee the psychological health of people in your building, periodic preventive pest eradication is essential.
