Theory 3:

An extension of arachnophobia. Let’s be honest: we’ve got some pretty big spiders in Australia and some of them are the size of mice, especially if you live further north in tarantula territory.

Arachnophobia is quite common, and often stems from childhood – possibly a

traumatic experience involving a redback or a funnel web could have

caused the arachnophobia.

Alternatively, you can “catch” arachnophobia from parents, where we learn to

be afraid of spiders after one or both of our parents

reacted strongly

(possibly with some justification) when they saw us trying to poke that pretty red and black spider – the implanted message that

spiders are dangerous sinks deep within us and creates a

fear of quite harmless spiders.

Like spiders, mice are smallish, scuttle quickly and are found in dark cupboards where we don’t expect them. At first glance, mice can look like very large spiders, and a fear of mice can arise as an extension of arachnophobia.

This can be dealt with by addressing the original

trauma and the underlying beliefs.

Theory 4:

Horror movies. This applies more to a fear of rats rather than a fear of mice, but rats have been used to create scary scenes in films

Scenes can involve large numbers of rats swarming

over a character or even, in extreme cases, eating some helplessly trapped person

alive.

The latter case is not exaggeration – there have

been cases in the past where large numbers of rats have done this to children… but we won’t dwell on this one

too much.

If you accidentally stumbled on a scene like this when you were far too young to watch one of these films or if you saw one film too many, this

can create a fear of rats, which can become extended to a fear of mice and small

animals in general.

The makers of these films have a lot to answer for,

sometimes…

The fear of mice, as mentioned earlier, is not

limited to females. However, you have probably seen the stereotype situation where a woman jumps onto a chair at

the sight of a mouse.

The reason for this reaction comes from the past and the fashions women once

wore.

Mice and rats are quite good at climbing and when they are taken by surprise by a human, they take cover in the nearest hiding place

(after all, they are just as afraid of you as you are of

them – you can kill them with one quick stamp of a heavy boot). In the past, women often wore long skirts with

lots of petticoats, which makes a perfect hiding place

from the perspective of a mouse.

Is suriphobia or a fear of mice, rats and similar small

critters a major problem?

Is it really worth booking a session with a therapist for a few sessions of hypnosis? This really depends on you.

If you live in the middle of the city and don’t regularly come in contact with mice,

etc. then you may be able to continue with your normal

life without trouble.

However, mice can and do go everywhere, including homes in the middle of town, so you may come across them some

day.

And what if you meet Ms or Mr Right and he/she keeps pet mice or rats? Are you

going to let an unnecessary phobia get in the way of a

potential relationship?

Nobody should live with a phobia, no matter how big or

small it is, or how silly it seems to be.

If you know you have a problem with mice or rats

(meaning an intense fear of them – if your problem is an

infestation, you need a vermin control specialist or a

good cat rather than help from hypnotherapy), find help as soon as you can.

Visit Hypnosis Brisbane

or call (07) 5576 6410