I think you are super brave to understand and accept your fear and the following reactions. This alone is a step not everybody is able to do (writer is talking of herself...😱) A phobia is not only „feelings“ and to work on something this intense is hard work. YOur (and your commenters) ideas how to overcome it are fabulous. I have no special fear of stinging insects, but I do not love them either (only bumblebees or wild bees, they are so fluffy 😍). But having a garden changed my perspective a lot, so I can imagine how this angle is helping you. Last year I had to pollinate my zucchini because we had not enough insects at the time they started to flower... when I imagine insects to die out... horrible. With this in mind I slowly start to like also wasp, but hornets are still not on my friend list.
I hope you can go on on this way to co-exist with stingy insects without your body going into protection mode which was important during the traumatic events (I do not want to think about a swarm of wasp... 😧) but now hinder you while being outside in the sun.
I send you love and patience with yourself (which i dearly lack, so I know how important patience is 🙂)
Thank you so much for your words. This will definitely take some hard work from years of built up fear. I am really hoping too that I can coexist peacefully with these insects and keep in mind what they do for us. I wish what I went through on no one. It was so scary and shocking as I felt those stings enter my back one by one. 😣😔
Thank you so much for always sending your thoughtful words and encouragement my way ~ Much love to you sweet friend. 😘