Is it normal to be absolutely petrified of mice and other rodents?
I've always known that I've had an underlying fear of mice. I think the reason I'm scared of them is mostly down to the way they move, I really don't like the way they scuttle and how I cannot predict their movements. I also hate how the tails of mice and rats look. I don't have an exact reason for this fear and I rarely ever saw one growing up so I put it to the back of my mind until a few months ago.
I moved to a different city for university back in September. I live in private student accommodation as my university dorms were sold out and I only found out I would be coming here after my results came through and I did way better than expected. These flats get a reputation for being a cut above traditional university dorms and even worked out cheaper. Each flat has five bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and a shared kitchen/living space. There are two flats on each floor and I am on the third floor. As a result, I never ever expected to encounter mice in my time here. In December however, one of the girls in the flat across the hall saw a mouse in her kitchen. We told our accommodation manager and put it to the back of our minds, I was spooked but not freaking out quite yet.
The problems only really started when a mouse appeared in my bedroom early one morning about a week afterward. I heard scratching on the hardwood floors and opened my eyes to come face to face with a mouse scurrying across the floor next to my desk. I got quite a fright and leaped out of bed and out of my room. The problems just escalated after this incident as one of my flatmates is a really horrible person and refused to do his dishes (GROSS!) all year and also refused to take the bins out. My other flatmates are also messy and so I became the only one actually doing any cleaning. My room is always spotless but as it is next to the kitchen I was the frequent victim of mouse related havoc. The crisis finally reached a breaking point when a huge mouse ran out from underneath my desk at around 6 AM. I screamed and ran into the corridor, whereI was confronted by another TWO mice. I was a mess and ended up sitting crying in the stairwell until around 10 AM as I was too afraid to go back into the room. The mice have been spotted by my friends also (including one memorable incident when one was hiding in my friend's guitar case) and I saw them all over the apartment.
My accommodation provider has been useless at dealing with the problem despite repeated complaints and I am now a nervous wreck. Traps (which I paid for) have had no impact at all. My flatmates have all moved out so the place is spotless (I am naturally a very clean person) but I still see and hear the mice. I have one week left here before I move out for Summer but things have gotten so severe that I am scared to even sleep. Back when the mouse infestation was at it's worst, they would run through the walls constantly and there was a nest somewhere within my skirting boards so I was kept awake at all hours by constant loud scratching and peeping and squeaking noises. Things are quieter now but I am still up all hours listening for the noises. I regularly don't sleep until four in the morning because I am so scared and am worried I see a mouse or even hear one.
The situation is so bad that I can only sleep if someone else is with me and so my friend often sleeps over at mine. This is obviously not a solution and I can't expect him to stay every single night and as I haven't seen one in my room in a while (praying I do not see one tonight after writing that!), it is obviously an overreaction on my part. I believe my grades suffered this year as a result of my heightened anxiety over the mice (and my awful flatmate and several family issues, but that's another story) and genuinely do not know how I can survive the upcoming week. I'm currently constantly scanning the room as I type and jumping at the slightest noise and I cannot even imagine sleeping tonight.
Has anyone else experienced a phobia like this before? Is it normal to become so spooked that sleep is no longer an option? Is there any way I can get over this extreme fear?