Zoophobias
More than one in ten people will suffer from an extreme phobia at some point in their lives. Zoophobia, the fear of animals, is one of the most common.
A phobia is an irrational, uncontrollable fear of a specific object or situation. Some phobics are so frightened of the stimulus that they will go to great lengths to avoid it during everyday life. For example, a person with a phobia of birds (ornithophobia) may be too terrified to go outside for fear of encountering one. Others become so stressed when they encounter the source of their phobia that they suffer from panic attacks.
Phobias affect people from all walks of life, of all races and of both sexes, although they are slightly more prevalent in women.
There are three basic types of phobia:
Agoraphobia: As well as being a fear of open spaces, agoraphobia is also a fear of being in a crowd, being alone in a house and travelling alone.
Social phobia: A fear of specific or general social situations, such as meeting new people, group gatherings and talking to people in authority.
Specific phobia: Fear of specific situations and objects, such as flying, heights, blood, thunderstorms, dogs, mice and spiders.
Fear is a useful instinct. The biological processes that occur when a person is frightened gives them greater ability to either fight the source of their fear or to flee from it (the 'Fight or Flight' response). Adrenaline rushes through the body causing the heart rate, blood rate and ventilation to increase. Blood is directed away from peripheral areas of the body, such as the limbs, to more vital areas - the brain and heart. The digestive system shuts down, blood sugar is released to give the body the energy to react, and the pupils of the eyes widen to take in more light.
This is a natural biological mechanism necessary for survival, but is exaggerated in phobics, and the stimulus is rarely life-threatening.
Phobias may be learnt from another person. For example, a child may see his mother screaming and reacting hysterically to a spider, and from then on associate it with danger. A traumatic experience may be the trigger: a child may have been viciously attacked by a dog, thus developing the phobia. Books and television are also responsible - there are many people who are still afraid to go into the water after the film Jaws.
Inate biological instincts may also be partly to blame. Primitive humans would have needed to avoid certain species of animals, as we do now, such as venomous snakes, poisonous frogs, tarantulas and wolves. These instincts may simply be particularly strong in some people.
Sadly, most phobics will not seek help, although most sufferers who do undergo treatment are cured.
A-Z of Zoophobias
| ailurophobia: cats |
alektorophobia: chickens |
apiphobia: bees |
| arachnophobia: spiders |
bacteriophobia: bacteria |
bactrachophobia: reptiles |
| cnidophobia: stings |
cynophobia: dogs |
entomophobia: insects |
| equinophobia: horses |
helminthophobia: worms |
ichthyophobia: fish |
| mottephobia: moths |
musophobia: mice |
ophidiophobia: snakes |
| ornithophobia: birds |
parasitophobia: parasites |
pediculophobia: lice |
| pteronophobia: feathers |
rodentophobia: rodents |
spermophobia: germs |
| spheksophobia: wasps |
zoophobia: animals |
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