After years of fearing moths, a Lancashire grandad finally finds peace in his garden thanks to a groundbreaking treatment in Amsterdam
Darwen: A grandad in Lancashire has finally found some peace in his garden after being terrified of moths for decades. This 59-year-old guy, Dave, had a serious fear of these little critters, which he calls lepidopterophobia. It all started back when he worked nights at an envelope factory in his 20s.
That factory was like a moth magnet, with bugs flying around and bumping into everything. Dave remembers them landing on his table and freaking him out. He said, “They frightened the hell out of me.” Over time, just seeing moths outside of work made him uneasy, and he thought they were out to get him.
His fear got so bad that he couldn’t even enjoy summer evenings with his wife, Bev. They had to skip camping trips and outdoor fun because he was always dreading the season when moths would be around. Feeling bad for Bev, who was super understanding, Dave knew he had to do something about it.
He got the chance to join an experiment at a clinic in Amsterdam that helps people with phobias. In October 2023, he tried a treatment called Memory Reconsolidation, and it turned out to be a game-changer. He even rescued a caterpillar from his shed and brought it home!
Dave and Bev found the Kindt Clinic through an ad for a Channel 4 documentary called The Fear Clinic, which will air on January 21 and features Dave’s journey. The treatment involved talking to a psychologist and then facing his fear by spending five minutes in a room with 30 to 40 moths. It was tough, but he pushed through.
After those five minutes, he took a beta-blocker to help him relax. The next day, he felt like a new man. He even asked to hold a moth, and to his surprise, it was soft and gentle, not scary at all. What a turnaround for Dave!
