By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Mental Health Association of the Cincinnati Area Inc. has help for Cincinnatians who are bugged out by the cicada emergence: The agency will hold two cicada phobia workshops, the first on Monday and the second May 24.
The free workshops will take place 5:30-6:45 p.m. at the Community Chest Building's Geier Room on the fourth floor at 2400 Reading Road in Mount Auburn.
Karl W. Jackson, a psychologist with Core Behavioral Health Center in Price Hill, will lead the workshops. He will discuss how to recognize a phobic reaction or panic attack and practical strategies for coping with fears related to the bugs' arrival.
"The fact that it's a rarity and an unknown makes it more difficult," Jackson says. "Luckily, for most people, once they're here, they'll see they're really an annoyance, a bunch of noisy, pesky bugs that fly around and fly into me. It won't progress into something truly fearful."
Sheila Sims, community resource director for the Mental Health Association, says requests from the public led to the workshops being offered.
For more information, call Sims, 287-8542.
Email pofarrell@enquirer.com.
