Scoleciphobia (So-leh-kee-pho-be-ah) is also known by other names like Vermiphobia and Helminthophobia. They all mean the persistent and irrational fear of worms. The word Scoleciphobia originates from Greek Scoleci meaning parasitic worms and phobos meaning deep dread or aversion. Helminthophobia is the secondary fear of one’s body being infested or attacked by worms (Helmintho is another Greek word for worms).
Many children dread worms, especially earthworms, and tend to scream or cry at their sight. Even adults are not spared from Scoleciphobia and there are hundreds of thousands of individuals around the globe suffering from this fairly common Zoophobia.
To Scoleciphobic individuals, the mere sight or thought of worms is enough to make their skin crawl. Often, they avoid stepping outdoors during the warm or rainy weather when earthworms wriggle out of their holes. Scoleciphobia is also associated with the fear of diseases or germs.
Causes of Scoleciphobia
Scoleciphobia, as stated above, is usually associated with the fear of unhygienic conditions. Many adult Scoleciphobes believe that the presence of worms means poor hygiene or diseases.
Worms are an essential part of our eco system and important components of many a food chain. However, they also eat away our produce. Finding a worm or worse, half a worm in an apple is a nightmarish experience. To top it, certain existing ideologies about health, diseases and their link to parasites can all lead to Scoleciphobia.
Being afflicted by intestinal worms like Tapeworm or ringworms is common in childhood, especially in many under developed or developing countries. A child might have been administered certain medicines to throw out these worms which might have been seen wriggling in the feces. This is enough to cause lifelong phobia or fear of worms.
Fear of worms can be evolutionary as well. Man has always feared reptiles, poisonous snakes etc. Worms resemble tiny versions of snakes and can evoke a disgust response owing to their ability to spread diseases.
Often the phobia may have unconscious causes such as, a person fearing worms in bed might have had a traumatic sexual experience which his/her mind might have repressed.
The old adage “Opening a can of worms” means to complicate existing matters or add to a problem. Thus, worms are directly/indirectly referred to as “unwanted/unpleasant or disgusting”.
Often, Biology classes in school require students to dissect earthworms in order to study their parts. This can be perceived as disgusting or unpleasant to anxious minded individuals. Other negative or traumatic experience related to worms can also trigger Vermiphobia. A child might have been teased or bullied by its siblings or friends into encountering worms in bed/closet. Likewise, an adult might have dug up or accidentally killed a worm while gardening. These incidents can “totally freak out” anxious minded people into developing Scoleciphobia.
TV shows like “Monsters inside Me” or Medical Mystery etc often depict worms causing deadly diseases in humans. Likewise, media reports or scientific shows related to viruses or parasites having a worm-like appearance can also lead to the fear of worms.
Symptoms of fear of worms phobia
The fear of worms often causes debilitating mental and physical symptoms.
- In Helminthophobia, the phobic believes that worms are crawling all over his/her body. As a result, s/he might shake, scratch or wash several times a day.
- Crying, screaming, trembling, feeling nauseated, having elevated heart rate, sweating are some other common symptoms of this phobia. The phobic might experience numbness or a detachment from reality in that; s/he is unable to express his thoughts clearly.
- The phobic might avoid using a shovel to dig up the soil or even refuse to use public restrooms.
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is another symptom of Scoleciphobia. The phobic might wash or bathe several times a day or take extra precautions like cleaning his home and yard, or shutting doors and windows to prevent worms from accidently crawling inside the home.
- Often, Scoleciphobics fear they will see worms in their feces.
This persistent and irrational fear of worms can often lead to depression or being bullied or laughed at. Some phobics have actually quit college or given up certain jobs which involved encountering worms on a regular basis. Often the weather becomes a trigger factor to an extent that the phobic might insist on moving to cooler climate to avoid worms.
Overcoming the Vermiphobia
Talk therapy, Psychotherapy and Hypnosis are some of the common methods of treating this phobia. There are many online forums dedicated to Scoleciphobia and they can help one take comfort in the fact that there are hundreds of people suffering from such persistent fear of worms.
Gradually exposing oneself to worms can help desensitize the individual to his fear. For example, phobics can start by seeing pictures of worms, progressing to being in the presence of a worm or even touching and holding worms until they do not experience panic or anxiety.
These are some ways of treating and overcoming Scoleciphobia.
Success says
I’m Success, and I’m from Nigeria. This fear of worms started when I was a kid. I remember my friend told me about worms that can enter your body through the feet. The phobia started back then. It has gotten worse, and I really need help.
Vivian says
I usually get scared of worms but felt it was very normal, but recently, it’s a concern to everyone around me because I scream, cry, jump and feel itchy when I see worms. Each time I see worms, I jump out for help and keep scratching my body for minutes. Now I want to resign from my place of work because I keep seeing worms, and I also get bullied.
Mae says
I started to get a fear of worms when I was 10 years old. My classmate suddenly threw a worm at me, and I started crying. Now that I am 18 years old, I’m still scared of them. Not only worms but anything that is crawling like maggots, leech, slugs, caterpillars, and more. At my age, my guardian keeps saying that I’m just overreacting, that it’s just a worm, so there’s nothing for me to worry about. They don’t understand me.
Kabilan says
I can understand. I played in the sand from a young age, and worms scared the living out of me, lol.
poki says
Well, I also fear worms, especially maggots. The funny thing is that I’m a med student. I think my fear started when I was a kid. I remember watching a horror movie about alien worms who killed people, which absolutely terrified me. I blame my sister because she was the one who made me watch it. I’ve been trying not to let it take over me (the fear) with the years, but it is so hard sometimes. One thing that most of the time helps me reduce my anxiety is to think of it as something that has carbon just like me, cells just like me, reminding myself that we are not really that different. We both are multicellular organisms. We both eat, live, and die. Stuff like that kind of helps me take the fear factor out of the living being who is just minding its own business. It’s like giving myself a scientific explanation of things. I do the same when I hear weird sounds in my place or see weird things, which helps me. I hope this method can help you too. Thanks for reading.
Sharon says
I didn’t even know that worms were scared of humans.
M says
I am terrified of maggots as well, but what really gets me is earth worms. I do find that having an internal dialog helps. I tell myself everything is ok – they are just worms. They want to be in the ground, not bothering me. It is usually only helpful if I need to be outside in their presence for a short time. If I have gardening or yard work, or it has just rained, the panic will eventually take over, and I will have to go inside. Since age four, it’s been like this and has only gotten progressively worse in the last 40 years. I tried to stab one to death with a stick the other day, and the squishiness under the stick was just not ok, and I had to stop. I am so envious of people who can go into their gardens, sit in the dirt, and dig around with their hands. I wish. I would give anything not to have to deal with this anymore.
Vannah says
I did not even realize that I was scared of worms until the other night. It had just rained and the ground was writhing with them. I started screaming and crying. Ever since, I have been terrified, and no amount of consolation from my friends has helped. I always feel itchy now as if they are crawling all over me.
Gabby says
I have a severe fear of Maggots and worms of all sorts. I see one and instantly vomit nonstop, faint, or itch like crazy. I am so afraid of worms that I check my stool constantly. I keep my place as clean as possible. I wish there were a way to eliminate this phobia. It’s a nightmare.
Ker says
I also have an extreme fear of maggots. I don’t even like seeing or hearing that word. I can’t imagine if it were to get on my skin. I don’t think I could ever feel clean. I’m not sensitive at all to earthworms because fishing is so common here. I just see them as bait.
Ker says
I was at a friend’s house and think I watched the same movie. It was about aliens, set in a bar, and featured nasty big maggots in a guy’s face. My fear started then.
Chanel says
I was terrified of worms when I was younger, and morning walks to the bus stop were almost crippling. Now that I’m older, I still get anxious, but it’s more so of having a worm on me or stepping on one.
Mukisa Elizabeth says
I really fear small things like worms and slugs. I’ve been like this my whole life, but my mum keeps hitting me, saying that I’m just pretending.
Yesi says
My dad made me go outside and pull out some things from the ground. At first, I started doing good without any problems. But once I saw some worms when I was pulling a part of the plant out, I stopped doing what I was doing. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, so I started cleaning up the other plants I took out and putting them in a bag to throw them away. But once I saw another worm, I stopped what I was doing and went inside to wash my hands quickly. I started sweating a lot, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. That’s when I started crying, and I felt like I had worms on my body and kept shaking them off.
Kathaleen Teague says
How old were you when this happened? What do you feel is the best way to respond to a kid with the same fear? Please help.
Grace says
I am scared of earthworms. Any time I see them I run away.
PJ says
I have had pinworms for 6 months now because my family keep reinfecting me and won’t stay hygienic. It’s making me go insane. I’m terrified of even touching door handles. I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared. I’m going to the doctors again today for the 4th time.
Eliza says
I have been afraid of worms (all types) as well as slugs and snails for my whole life now. Most of the people I know tease me by chasing me with a worm in their hands or things that look like worms. I run for my life and then they laugh at me! This page really helped me realize that it is ok to be afraid of such a small thing.
Char says
I completely understand, and agree. I am TERRIFIED of any slimy creature, and if I see one, it makes me cry! I absolutely am so scared of worms, and the general idea of touching one makes me shiver.
Galixo says
Whenever I see any sort of worm of maggot, I scream and start crying. My sister is afraid of spiders, so are my two best friends, and my mom is afraid of snakes, but they all make fun of me for being afraid of worms except for one of my friends. I like snakes and don’t mind spiders. One time is was looking for stuff in a river and I found something shiny so I picked it up and it was a literal can of worms. I never went in that river again. Another time there was a maggot infestation in my yard debris bin where I put all my left over food scraps and I didn’t take the scraps out again until the bin was collected. I’ll see earthworms on the grass and totally freak out, and another one of my friends actually brought one closer and closer to me until I broke down in tears.
Mari says
I don’t mind earthworms that much, but I have a big fear of maggots and parasites. When I was ten I had parasites in my intestines. I always had pain, severe discomfort and was very thin. I visited many doctors but only after a year a doctor found the cause and gave me the right pills. After taking the medicines, I went to the toilet and saw parasites. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen.
Now I have been seeing maggots in the kitchen. I can’t stand the sight of them and I start crying and sobbing. I think this is what you call a mild phobia?
Ayesha says
I am seeing maggots in my house and I can’t stand it. I don’t sleep in my bedroom due to the fear that they might fall on me from the ceiling, when I am asleep. I am so worried.
chris ducharme says
I’m the same, but I don’t mind worms, slugs, or snails. It’s more maggots.
Matilda Salima says
I am so afraid of maggots, just the name itself makes my body full of goosebumps. Sometimes I have sleepless nights and it is so bad. Please, I need help.
Kevin says
Me too, maggots but not earthworms.
Jazmin says
They terrify me. I can feel them on me and I’ve been made fun of by my parents and my siblings for years. I have panic attacks when I encounter them. I want to seek real help but my parents won’t go through with it. Any advice?
Vannah says
I would probably look into taking a sort of therapy. I have done a lot of research on this stuff and I feel the same way. If I was allowed, I would definitely go into therapy. To start, why don’t you try watching some short videos of what you are scared of. As time goes on and you still have the same reaction as day one, I would definitely try a therapy of some kind. I myself am terrified of all types of worms, maggots, you name it.
KTX says
I despise worms with every stretch of the imagination possible! Ever since about 10-13 years ago, I always despised the concept of worms wriggling around someone’s body. I can’t even say the name out loud. I have to pronounce the “r” as an “y” so it sounds like “woyms”. Though it never got bad until my little sister was infected with pinworms. I always feel as if parasites are always out to get me, yet my parents think I’m being ridiculous. I almost want to throw up at the thought of them. I’ve decided years ago that when I die, I would rather be cremated than buried because I don’t want my corpse to get infested with worms.
sasha says
Worms are vermin. People make fun of me for being afraid and I for one am not afraid of spiders. My sister and I had this fear since childhood and I would cry if I had to touch one, and I hate pregnant flies because their larva looks like worms. As a child, I always had the fear of worms being in feces.
Natalie says
Worms literally mortify me. I want to be cremated when I die because of the fear that they will wiggle around in my body. I can’t stand the worms that have those tiny point-shaped heads. Every time I see one, I either get really cold and itchy and get paralyzed with fear or run away and have a panic attack inside. And whenever I tell someone, they will either drop one down my back or make fun of me and dangle it in my face. I want to seek help, but my parents say it’s stupid and they won’t hurt me. I know they won’t hurt me, but there’s just something about them.
Audra says
From what I see in these comments a lot of people are scared of earthworms and or maggots. For me it’s parasite type worms. I have always had a fear of tape worms and ring worms but I never thought much of it. One day in the fall I was playing in a pile of leaves, after awhile I got bored, got out, and started taking the leaves out of my hair. As I was doing so, I felt something slimy and wriggly. I grabbed it and looked at it, as soon as I realized what it was I screamed and threw it down. I don’t have a huge fear of earthworms opposed to tape worms. About a year ago I started finding these circular red spots on my arms. I didn’t think much of it till I learned about ring worms in science, they bore a striking resemblance to my spots. I freaked out immediately and looked up symptoms and causes. I was in shock for about a few days until I decided to get help. I told my mom about it and she calmed me down a bit. I know now that those “spots” are actually eczema, which runs in my family. Only wish I knew sooner. I still have a fear of them, but have learned to stay calm, be aware, and think before making assumptions.
Tahsinul says
I am so afraid of metaphire posthuma and maggots, maybe that’s because I hate them so much.
natalie says
I dont remember when this happened. Im not really afraid of worms, its more maggots and parasites. I dont want to touch a worm or a caterpillar, even at the mere thought of a maggot i itch everywhere and gag, never want to eat again. I fear they will open small holes and come through my fingers and cheeks or they will be in an apple when i bite down. I have another phobia of raspberries. When i was 9 years old i took a bite of a raspberry and a spider came out. I dont know why im not scared of spiders but im scared of raspberries. I haven’t eaten or touched one since.
Jasper Ash says
I think I can pinpoint some crucial moments in my childhood that triggered my phobia. I am almost 18, but this was maybe around kindergarten or first grade. My parents MADE us (my siblings and I) watch a movie called ‘How to Eat Fried Worms’ . For some reason, we couldn’t do anything but watch that movie one afternoon. That was all they would let us do. I hated it so bad. I was already scared of the worms from the VeggieTales’ Minnesota Cuke parody. At one point, we had left some potatoes rotting in the pantry and one morning we woke up and there were maggots ALL over the floors of the house. In 6th grade, we had a health presentation in Biology about diseases, and one of them was parasitic worms. They played a video about worms that can go through your skin if you step outside barefoot, and during the PowerPoint they had a creepy song that went ‘the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in, and they wiggle all about’. Nightmare fuel. A couple months later, I had actually FOUND a worm on me. It was a pinworm. I almost threw up. My mom was out at a party and I called her, shaking and crying. I was so disgusted. I felt so violated. There were living creatures INSIDE me. Crawling. Eating. They went away after a week, but it was still terrible (pinworms aren’t dangerous in the slightest, they’re just itchy and uncomfortable). I thought I had gotten them again recently but it was just my anxiety telling me I had them. About two months ago, we had ANOTHER maggot infestation. I couldn’t even go to school that day. I was paralyzed. Now we get the occasional tiny house moth maggot in our pantry now and then. This morning I pulled one out of my cereal bowl after I had already eaten most of it. I will never be able to escape from them no matter what I do.
Yip khar says
I know how it feels, like the worms target me. None of my family members are afraid of worms thus they never encounter it, but I always seem to find worms around me like on my shoes. I will shake, vomit and cry when it happens. This one time when I was volunteering in an old folks home to help a guy clean his wounds. When I was in the kitchen sink I saw maggots in the sink and floor. I wanted to run away from the house but had to force myself to stay. I cried uncontrollably once I got in the car and it scared my mom.
Vannah says
I’m so sorry, I really feel the same way. Whenever I bring it up at home, my mom just tells me that I’m lying.
A says
I have scoleciphobia (specifically catapillars since I encounter them more here) since before I could remember. I don’t scream whenever I accidently touch one, yet I do freeze completely, rubbing the part that touched the ‘thing’ for hours while staring at the area I touch it with wide-set eyes. My mom likes making an Indonesian veggie salad (Gado-Gado Siram) and also likes using leaves for spices. I’m the one who likes helping her in the kitchen, so of course my mom would ask me to clean vegetables and spices. More than once did I encounter a catapillar. Every single time I would just suddenly jump without a peep, rub my hand whilst stare at the leaves, looking if there’s another one. My mom would say that I’m overreacting and that it’s nothing but a catapillar, adding that it’s completely clean. I’m even afraid to touch a picture of it. I’m scared of putting away the garbage since there is literally a wave of maggots crawling all over the trash I feel it crawling on me already.
Cria says
I don’t really remember how it all started but I’m extremely afraid of any type of worm, and one of my worse reactions was when I was at my aunts house paying a visit and a week before that my cousin bought a new pet which was a turtle. I was really excited to meet it, and when I did, I was petting it and feeding it. I was sitting down and placed the turtle on my leg. When I start to see that it was making a weird expression. I just looked at it when I started to feel something wet on my leg…so I placed the turtle next to me and saw something traumatizing….. I saw a bunch of white, skinny worms on my leg. I was paralyzed and when I saw even closed and guessed right. I started yelling like crazy but at the same time I tried to come down but I couldn’t, I was asking nicely for a napkin but they would just ask, “for what?”, “why do you need it?” I was just yelling for them to give a stupid napkin and they wouldn’t so I started to turn white and panicked , my heart was about to explode, I felt like vomiting but when I saw starting to laugh I was about cry and I kept yelling for a napkin and when they saw the turtles pee, they started to laugh and making fun of me and that when I couldn’t do it any more and took of my shirt and wiped them off and then, I took of my pants, and started to curse and running away. I could hear my aunt and everybody cursing and making fun of me. They tried to force me to put my clothing back on but I refused and locked myself inside my cousins room waiting for them to at least bring me a pair of clothing to wear. I cant lie it was kind of funny but at the same time a traumatizing experience.
sasha says
Yes, I agree with you and I hate all types of worms. All types. Anything that looks worm-like and centipede-like. Everything is vermin and needs to stay away from me. I cannot fathom their existence and why I need to use a flashlight from my phone when it rains.
Luetta K Lamatry says
Same.
Vannah says
Same here.
Felicie says
I’m terrified of being in proximity to anything that crawls (can’t name, too afraid ) and the worst part is I live in an old house full of holes and I can never predict where one pops up – could be the kitchen or the hall or upstairs bedroom. The bathrooms are the worst as I can’t do anything about those awfully creepy things when I’m locked in except scream for my mom. It’s terrifying and I just want to leave this stupid place that hasn’t given me peace since forever. It’s so tough coping with school and exams and all that knowing something’s crawling through your walls and floors all the time. It’s seriously driving me mad and I’m waiting to finish school so that I can opt for boarding for my higher education.
M says
I’m 36 now and have been terrified of mainly earthworms since i was little, maybe 4. I also despise maggots and mealworms, or anything worm like, but earthworms… omg. I recently moved to an acreage and we are hobby farmers. I actually really enjoy gardening and all outdoor activities. I even love the rain. I used to never go outside in the rain, Ive even called into work because there were too many worms in my driveway to get to my car. Since we’ve moved to the country I have had to force myself to be outside when it’s wet. It’s wet all the time, it’s an inland rainforest, go figure. But we have animals to feed and i have to force it. So i put my rubber boots on and i tell myself over and over to not look down, until I’m done outside. It helps a lot. But some days it’s just too much. It’s crippling. My husband doesnt sympathise at all. He just thinks I’m trying to get out of work which makes it really frustrating that he cant understand at all how stressful it is every single day dealing with this. I want it to get better but I have serious doubts about therapy.
Ariane says
You could be me. I remember when I was in high school and it used to rain, the hallways would look like a valley of dead worms. It took forever to gingerly step over their carcasses. It was so gross.
Finally, the part of your post that caught my eye was the part in which you said that you enjoyed gardening, but you just did not like the worms. I feel the same way. I enjoy planting, and watching things grow. Also, I know the value of worms in the garden. I just cannot like them.
Luetta K Lamatry says
I am the same way! Like I cant stand the thought of stepping on one.
Yesha says
I really hate worms and my heartbeat increase every time I see them I feel like they are gonna enter my body. I hate meeting them during rainy seasons especially when they wiggle when you put salt or bleach through their body.
Jess Anne says
Same.. one time my workmate put a caterpillar on my hand it was the worst. I kept washing my hand that day and felt nauseated.. i felt numb. People sometimes don’t realize how serious it could be to someone. They’d say you’re just over reacting.
J says
I am really afraid of these creatures but people say i am overreacting :'( the fear is real but they dont get it because they didnt feel it
Umar Hashim Bakura says
Oh! Thank God I am not the only person in the universe that suffers from this phobia—scoleciphobia. My friends always laugh at me whenever I scream and run at the sight of a maggot.
Allyson says
I was at a park with my dog and saw a worm on her back I flicked it off and now I’m afraid. I know my doggy doesn’t have it because I flicked it off. And I know I don’t have it. I’m just scared they are in my feces
Annalyn says
Hi I’m 19 years old but still I have a huge fear of worms or everything that looks like a worm. I started to have the phobia when I was 3 or 4 years old. My uncle jokes me by throwing small worms at me. I didn’t know that the worm he threw on me was inside of my shirt and I felt something crawling on my back and when I grabbed it, I saw a worm starting to jump off my hands. And that’s when I started crying and jumping as well as feeling that the worm I saw earlier was still on my body. It was so terrible. From that on I was so scared of worms.
Sal says
My son who is 6 had a panic attack in the bathroom the other day because he thinks he will poop out worms because he ate too much candy (his grandad told him this ages ago). He scream and cried and shouted and it was so scary. Now that I’m reading everyone’s story I remember him freaking out when he was much younger at worms on the ground. What would be the best way to help a little child like him and stop it from progressing ? Thanks
dekaai faith says
ok hi guys my name is dekaai faith (deh’kah) thats how you pronounce my name but here we go when i was younger lets say about 7 years old my grandmother used to always take me to the park and sometimes the day after it had rain. there would be huge puddles of water and mud mixed and little kids younger than me and older would stick their hands in it and grab worms. i was ok at looking at them but i just didn’t want them 2 touch me but then as i grew older, lets say about 10 years old, i was going home from school and my friend told me to come here -and let me remind you (i had told her i was scared of worms) so after she told me to come here she says to me i don’t want you to scream and i said ok and she said look and pointed at this worm and i screamed and went running. a day later i realized that she had done it on purpose knowing that i was scared of worms but ever since that day i never wanted to look at worms, i was even scared to look at pictures of it on google which is how i got to this website but anyway i don’t even like watching videos about is so just letting you guys know (ALL OF YOU GUYS AND PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE SCARED OF WORMS – YOU ARE NOT ALONE AT ALL I PROMISE YOU).
madison says
i like worms they are cute but i regret touching it cause its weird to touch.
Ashley A Magana says
I have a terrifying fear of worms I don’t know why exactly, but I start crying when I see one and have an urge to wash everything cause I feel like the worm I saw outside is everywhere all of a sudden and its just terrible. My mother says to face my fear so when an opportunity comes where she sees one she forces me to kill it even though im crying and honestly it does not help. It makes it worse. Im so afraid of them I check my food everything i touch, but i dont know why all I remember is being afraid ever since I was a little girl.
Chris says
Sad to say it doesn’t get better with age. I’m 44, and I almost peed my pants at that picture of the bird pulling that worm. I shivered just typing that. I’ve had this crippling fear as long as I can remember. The crappiest part is some people find it hilarious and terrorize you with it. I can’t see a picture, hear someone talk about them, anything without sweating, shaking, and bursting into tears if it continues. I can’t go outside after a heavy rain because they’re everywhere. I screamed and fell out of my chair in 9th grade when I refused to go up and get my worm for disecting and my JERK teacher threw one at me. My bigger JERK ex-husband threw one at my windshield and I sat in my car and screamed until I lost my voice. I tried watching a video of a child touching one and I shrieked “don’t touch it!” and shot out of my chair, tipping it over. It goes on and on. My daughter has the phobia too. She came back in the house crying that she couldn’t ride her bike to school because there were worms everywhere. My older daughter has a phobia of raisins. There must be a genetic predisposition to phobias, my mom was like me but with frogs.
My rambling point is try your best to hide it because people, even grown people, are HORRIBLE about things they feel are silly. Yes, common advice is to seek treatment, which is fine; just be VERY selective who you share your fear with!
Isabel says
Once when I was nine, My friend pulled a You-Know-What out of the dirt. I started backing up at about 4 feet at a time. (Mind you I only WAS about 4 feet tall) Later on guess what happened. SO hard to guess, This other kid comes up from behind me and says “Look! I found a You-Know-what!” I jumped back about 4 feet and ran. The kid never had a You-Know-What. My dad made fun of me because I had a pet snake. My mom thought it was stupid and dumb that I had this fear. I can’t even write or say “The w word”. The bird picture i had to shut my eyes, control every nerve in my body and blindly scroll down. After I saw the picture I felt they were all over me, as I am typing this it feels like there’s one on my head. I can’t stop it either. People are all like “Oh just go touch one you’ll be fine!” And in my head the only thing I can say is *You really think I can get over this in a day? If it was that easy this wouldn’t happen to me!*. The fear has affected my life. I feel you.
M says
Mine has actually been getting progressively worse with age. I am 41 now and thinking back to when I was a teenager. It wasn’t that bad. I could sit on the grass, go out in the rain, etc. As the years go on, I guess I find more scenarios where they exist, and it’s just gotten overwhelming. Yardwork is torture, and my dog doesn’t get walked in the rain or right after the rain. I so badly want to get exposure therapy, but I’m worried it won’t work.
Rae says
I have no idea where my irrational fear comes from. I can’t touch a worm, I have to put my kids on the bus but I have to walk on my tip toes because I cannot step on a worm. The idea of worm touching my body is enough to cause severe anxiety. The idea of a worm in my body makes me want to take a knife and cut out my stomach and intestines. It’s crazy but I would rather die than have a worm in my body. Now my husband and kids got a new puppy and it has worms. I cannot sleep, my skin is crawling and all I want to do is cry, scream, and pull off all my skin. I love the puppy but now I fear that we all have a worm in our bodies. I can barely look at my kids. I just KNOW they have a worm. I wish a doctor would just give us the medicine because I CANNOT know for sure. It would destroy me to know any one of us had a worm. I would always wonder if it was gone or just lurking. There could never be enough proof. I’m tired of walking on tip toes but at least it helps me function.
KTX says
I honestly don’t blame you at all for feeling that way.
Nathalie says
Just reading about other peoples stories with worms and this page makes me want to cry.
I remember very clearly how my phobia started. We were at a public restroom in Germany once on the way to France when I had to use the toilet. I was about 9 I think, I am not sure just guessing. I went to one of the toilet booths (or w/e you call them) and opened the lid of the toilet. In the toilet was feces with TONS of small white worms wriggling around. I completely panicked. I never even knew back then that you could get worms in your feces so it was a huge shock to me.
After that incidence I started hallucinating for a time. I couldn’t eat spaghetti or anything even remotely resembling worms and I thought that my salivary glands underneat my tongue was worms too! I was too afraid to ever go to the toilet in fear of having worms in my feces, so for a time I had to get medication because I was constipated ALL THE TIME! My parents thought I was insane! I thought I had worms in my feces as well and had a really embarassing incident on a school trip where I thought I had found worms but it was toilet paper…. I ran around screaming and crying. I then went to the doctor with my mom, and turns out, I had no worms! I think that’s actually when I stopped hallucinating, because I had it confirmed from the doctor.
My fear today does not involve hallucinating, although I sometimes think I see something in my feces, even though I know I probably don’t. I just try to avoid looking in to the toilet at all cost because I know I can freak out over the smallest colour change and think it could be sign of worms.
I have a really hard time handling trash, because I’m afraid of worms being in it. I am 23 and I live with my boyfriend who is always the one to take out the trash. We once had apples that had worms in them and when he had to take the trash out, the bag broke and A LOT of relatively large worm looking things came out and crawled all over. I cried and screamed so much, I wanted to move. At that point I honestly thought I wasn’t ever going to set foot inside our kitchen again! But he got rid of them all (I hope….. I still have a feeling they’re hiding behind the kitchen).
But yeah, just trying to explain how irrational and limiting a phobia can be. I feel especially this phobia for me is related to hygiene as well, as I have issues touching the plates when doing the dishes if there’s still some leftovers on. I also can’t use public restrooms (not even at my school) for anything but peeing, and even when peeing I have to use the toilet paper to cover the WC board or use some kind of disinfection on it. It seems to be getting worse and worse, although it also highly depends on my surroundings.
“There are many online forums dedicated to Scoleciphobia”.
I can’t seem to find any active ones, does anyone have a link or know of anywhere to support each other through things like this?
Rae says
There really isn’t anything that works. I am 36 and I’ve lived with this my whole life. You can tell yourself it’s irrational, you can look at pictures, you can watch YouTube videos until your blue in the face. But the minute it rains and you find yourself scanning the ground afraid to look up because you might step on a worm even though you always wear shoes so that they can’t get you, then you know. You have a phobia and it never really gets better. I am 36 and even when I am 63 I will still be so afraid that I can’t breathe whenever I am confronted by a worm. Caterpillars only count if they do not have “fur” don’t ask me why I couldn’t begin to tell you. That’s just the way it works for me.
Luetta K Lamatry says
Same here. I am also afraid of someone tracking them in on their shoes.
Marcus says
I remember last two years, when it was raining due to monsoon rain, I just stood on our balcony and I put my hands on the railing. A few minutes later, I felt something on my right hand. It felt like crumpled paper moving. That’s when I raised my right hand and saw that there was a centipede crawling under my right hand. And what made me freak out more, the centipede stood/raised its body. I screamed and I was jumping inside the living room, turning around, jumping, sweating, my eyes were wide open, I was screaming, I was shaking my arms and waves of goosebumps came crawling on my skin. I washed my hand and stayed on the couch, and my body moves itself (cringes) time to time, and my hand was shaking even without me moving it. I told my friends that I just held a centipede/worm-like thing for the first time in my life.
Abi says
I’m sixteen and I know that I hate snails, slugs and worms, especially maggots. I just wanted to know if this abhorrence of snails, slugs, worms or maggots is a phobia for me.
I used to have dreams or nightmares of worms, snails and slugs crawling in my bed. And as a child, I always used to do some gardening and whenever I encountered a slug, snail or worm I either freaked out, killed it or played with it.
My mum also hates worms and I think she did have a traumatic time when she nearly ate a maggot, but she’s alright with it sometimes. So maybe the fear is passed on?
I am fine when someone talks of worms when their subject of conversation is about fishing/gardening etc. The other day, I saw a video on Facebook of people eating live maggots that were huge, I was fine with it but it irked me so I quickly scrolled down.
When I was younger, my mum kept telling me those superstitious stories like if I wasn’t a good girl the maggots in hell would eat me alive or eat me like how maggots ate King Herod for attempting to kill Jesus. Or that I ate too much because there were worms in my tummy. These always creeped me out.
And now, I always just scream whenever I see a worm or maggot, freak out for a few minutes, wash my hands, cross my legs and feel jittery until I’ve calmed down, sometimes people around me may take the Mickey and scare me again by saying there’s one on my head or something and the process happens again. I feel at ease though after I do something that distracts me like research about this phobia and stuff. Woah that’s too long I am sorry.
ericka says
I cry whenever I see a worm, a maggot or a parasite. I don’t really remember how it all started, I just know that when I was a little girl, say 7 years old, I always cried at night because I thought that worms would fall from the ceiling. I do have some memories of my step sister or friends chasing me around with a worm on a stick, but that was after they knew I feared them. I would really like to know how I got this terrible phobia that has made me hate the rain and I don’t like fruits or vegetables because I know that worms live in them.
Brishelle Grant says
Hi. I know the reason I fear worms. When I was younger my sister placed a worm on my chest while I was asleep one night. I woke up screaming. The only thing I’m afraid of worse than worms, is the dreadful maggot. When I was younger our bathroom floor was full of them and my sister (yup the same one) pushed me in the bathroom and locked me inside. When she pushed me I fell to the floor and the maggots were all over me and in my hair. I got up and whipped them off me and shook them out my hair and ran and stood on the toilet, afraid to even move. I am 17 now and everytime I see a worm or maggot I feel the crawling sensation on my skin. I flip out. The sight of a maggot or a worm makes my heart beat uncontrollably. I am so afraid. I don’t even have the courage to step on one. I really need help. It’s getting worse and worse.
jubelyn says
Hi, my name is Jubelyn, 17 yrs. old. I’m just wondering if you could call it a phobia the way I react whenever I see worms.. sorry for the poor grammar. Anyway, it all started when I was about 6 yrs. old and my friends was fishing on a lake. I was so ignorant then and I didn’t know what the bait was, so when I asked how to catch fish they showed me a can with a lot of earthworms.. just when my breath almost stopped and I couldn’t move, they tried to get my hand into that thing even though I insisted. After a few years, when I was in about 5th grade, we were gardening in the school garden when my classmates spotted a caterpillar that they found cute but terrified me. I didn’t want them to know that I was kinda scared so I turned away just when they got my arm and wanted to hand me the caterpillar I panicked and ran home crying with a lot of blood on my knee due to the fact that I fell right on my face :D But now whenever I see worms I’m ok with it as long as it don’t touch me but the thought of it still send fear and disgust to me.
Gretel says
Me too! I don’t know what caused me to fear worms, but since I was little I’ve always been scared of them (and snails too). As I grow older I’m okay seeing them as long as they don’t touch me. I still panic a little though, when I see a worm. I don’t get that scared when I see an earthworm, caterpillar or snail but they still disgust me a little bit. The worms that are in dirty places like garbage and spoiled food are the ones that really freak me out and I get crazy when I see them. Sometimes I even cry.
tmn says
Hello! I’m Cambodian. I have a fear of worms… I’m so crazy when I see them, I cry, I shake my body, my heart beats so fast, more then this is I’m sweating and I scream as loud as I can… I think I started to have the phobia 4 years ago (I walked under a tree and then a worm fell off and one of my friends said that the worm was on my head, I cried about 2 hours) I don’t know why I’m afraid of that little thing. I try to tell myself many times a day to stop being afraid of it, but I can’t make it… I think I need help now. Besides seeing photos of worms, do you know the way to treat it? And one more thing am I really a phobic?
Gretel says
I feel you!
madison says
i like worms but i don’t wanna touch them