Fear of mice is one of the better-known phobias. It is sometimes referred to as musophobia. There is a common Western folk belief that elephants are afraid of mice. If creatures as big as elephants are afraid of mice, why is it so belittling that I am.
When I was a kid, mice were more rampant than today. I recall that my father trapped them like some big-game hunter but he always cautioned me to never mention it to my mother as she was very squeamish about mice. That warning was a trigger to my subconscious– to be squeamish like my mother, not brave like my father. There have been incidents with mice sightings since then where I have screamed in shock.
One such case was in the cafeteria of St, Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. I spotted one of the culprits along the back wall and I couldn’t hold back. Of course, everyone looked at me, not the darn mouse. Another happened one evening in the rec room of our Wasaga Beach house when a mouse sauntered by. I bounded onto the chair I was sitting on and with a trembling voice shouted for my wife to come to the rescue. She did but said once again, “Only wimps are afraid of mice.”
I was listening to a phone-in radio show one evening on a Toronto station. One caller, who described himself as being a big guy and active in sports, wanted to understand why he was afraid of mice. I immediately bonded with what he was asking. I promised myself I would get over my phobia but that ended the day when I noticed a dead mouse on my lawn. I couldn’t move it and I couldn’t stop worrying about it being there. Finally, I talked my neighbour into placing it into the trash. I know he thought I was little weird!
One time I read that Walt Disney had musophobia too. Ironically, he obtained the idea for Mickey Mouse while watching mice play in his garage.
Last winter we had a mouse in the house which was very distressing for myself, almost terrifying. We have three cats here, who chased that mouse all over the place for four days before catching it. Now I only needed it removed. Where was Sheila when I needed her? Even though she was bitten by a mouse that was supposedly dead, she’s not afraid of them. Lucky her!
I was not only disappointed but embarrassed in my cat’s performance. I considered putting them on probation for a few months as I no longer believe that the best way for ridding a mouse is a cat.
I have been told that hypnosis will conquer mice phobia quickly. I am considering that option. I hope it works because there are some neighbours I will never visit because they have mice problems.
Of course, the issue with this phobia is not the size of the creature that triggers the fear reaction. Size is quite immaterial. People who have a dog phobia will have exactly the same reaction to a tiny Chihuahua as to a Great Dane. Furthermore, there is no one specific attribute of any creature that can be clearly identified as ‘phobia causing’.
In one of Aesop’s tales long ago, the mice held a general council meeting to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the cat. After some indecision, a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal that would meet the case. “You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of the approach, then we could easily escape. I propose that a small bell be attached by a ribbon around the neck of the cat. By this means we should always know when the cat was about.”
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said, “That is all very well, but who is to bell the cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said: “It is easy to propose impossible remedies.”
And that is exactly my problem with being fearful of mice. All the remedies tried so far proved impossible. I have decided, rather than try to change the impossible, I will live with my phobia.
