What is herpetophobia, causes and signs of phobia, methods of getting rid of it

Slava Profina 07/25/2018 no comments

Every person has their own fears or phobias. On the one hand, phobias are something psychological, and on the other hand, fears help a person not to lose the survival instinct and sense of proportion when faced with danger. Herpetophobia or fear of snakes and lizards is associated with the past, when our ancestors did not know much and did not know how to cope with basic dangers.

What is herpetophobia

Herpetophobia is the fear of reptiles. What is a phobia of snakes called? Ophidiophobia or serpentophobia. But more often these two names are used as synonyms. Why are people afraid of snakes? Some are frightened by their appearance and method of movement, while others are afraid of dying from a poisonous bite. In the latter case, fear is indeed justified, but healthy fear is distinguished from phobia by one detail: a person is well versed in reptiles, knows which are poisonous and which are not, he is careful in the forest, and when meeting a reptile, he calmly evaluates its appearance.

Herpetophobe panics at the sight of any representative, even a snake. He cannot rationally assess the danger and does not understand individuals. In advanced stages, he is frightened by photographs, videos, and toys. Such a person avoids the forest, zoos, and pet stores. Hysteria can begin even if a person sees something similar to the object of his fear, for example, a lace, a hose, a shadow.

What frightens an ophidiophobe about a snake:

scales,
hiss,
language,
way to travel,
nutritional features,
poison and the likelihood of a bite.

It is important! At the most advanced stage of the phobia, the patient constantly treats the area around the house, trying to tightly close all potential snake passages into the house. The patient is afraid that creatures will crawl into his house.

Description and manifestation of phobia

Everyone has a fear of reptiles , but some people treat it with humor, while others absolutely cannot fight it and behave irrationally. The lack of this rationality is expressed not only in hysterics, fear, stupor, anxiety at the sight of a snake, but also in anxiety that reptiles will end up in the home. The patient is haunted by obsessive dreams involving them.

Any object that resembles a snake causes horror in a person. Films and paintings with reptiles can put him in a stupor and panic. This is herpetophobia - one of the types of zoophobia.

Manifestations of this phobia vary: from mild to severe. Some people feel discomfort when touching a reptile, but can safely be near it. Others begin to go hysterical at the sight of a photograph of a snake - this is already a severe form.

Some people treat those suffering from this disease with understanding, others with humor and even consider themselves herpetophobes. Others are afraid to be near such patients, because in the presence of reptiles their behavior is unpredictable and inadequate.

The instinct of self-preservation, that is, the usual fear at the sight of a live snake, is not herpetophobia. What are the manifestations of this disease? Fear of reptiles is expressed in the following:

Intellectually, a person understands that his fear is far-fetched, hyperbolic, that is, exaggerated. He realizes that not everything is so terrible. But at the sight of a reptile, this awareness abruptly disappears. Immediately anxiety, fear and numbness appear, up to a panic attack.
Deterioration of the general condition: shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, nausea, increased blood pressure, dizziness, dry mouth, feeling of lack of air.
While of sound mind, the herpetophobe loses the ability to express thoughts coherently.
The feeling that death is about to occur.
Most often, such people are nervous, fussy, irritable, they find it difficult to concentrate, and they get tired quickly.
In patients with severe manifestations, all of the above symptoms are strongly expressed, and a panic attack can lead to paralysis.

What does fear of reptiles lead to? In fact, this is a very serious disease and over time its consequences only get worse:

Herpetophobe begins to fear even those objects that are not directly related to reptiles, since certain associations have already formed in his head.
Far-fetched fantasies and fears. For example, fear of snake attacks.
Refusal of pleasant things: picnics, trips to pet stores, zoos, exhibitions.
The inability to lead a full life, up to complete self-isolation in the apartment.

Causes of fear of snakes

There are five reasons for the development of a phobia:

Genetic predisposition. The fear of reptiles could have been inherited from our distant ancestors. It is associated with the instinct of survival and self-preservation.
Personal psychotrauma (meeting with a representative of the species). In 15% of cases, fear is formed after a personal negative experience with a snake. Maybe she bit the person or his friend, or maybe she just really scared him. Or maybe someone was frightened by the horror story that the animal would crawl out of the terrarium, or maybe it really happened.
Inheritance from parents. If the parents are afraid, and the child saw their reaction, then he will also begin to be afraid of snakes. We can talk about hysteria and panic of parents in front of the child or intimidation for reasons of care.
Personal characteristics of a person combined with a cruel joke from friends. A harmless prank in the form of throwing a snake (possibly a toy) into a house or bag can result in psychological trauma and phobia. Not only pranks, but also horror films where snakes attack people can affect the psyche.
Religious Beliefs. In some religions and cultures, the snake is considered a symbol of evil.

There is a common prerequisite for all phobias - hormonal disruptions, disturbances in the functioning of neurotransmitter systems. This happens against the background of mental disorders, alcohol, nicotine and drug addiction, abuse of coffee and energy drinks, long-term and improper use of psychoactive medications. If this is the reason, then medical treatment of the phobia is indicated.

This is interesting! According to Freud, fear of snakes means denial of the masculine principle, fear of violence. The psychoanalyst believed that the ophiphobe associates the snake with a phallic symbol.

Causes of fear

It’s difficult to understand where a person’s panicky fear of snakes and other reptiles comes from. The reasons can be very different:

Genetically fixed information. Primitive people were helpless in many ways and saw danger in everything. For our ancestors, snakes were dangerous because they are silent, capable of camouflage, crawling and swimming. A person can recognize a snake when it is very close. Lizards also caused fear because their movements were similar to those of a snake. Much time passed before a person learned to distinguish dangerous from non-dangerous.
Religion. In many countries, the snake is not only a sacred animal, but also a symbol of dark forces. From early childhood, people are brought up in fear and awe of this reptile.
Childhood fears. Young children are very impressionable and unable to correctly analyze information, so they take adults at their word. Toddlers don't have to be exposed to them to develop a fear of reptiles. There are enough ordinary stories from adults, situations with examples where an encounter with a reptile ended in hospital or death. As an adult, such a person will remember these stories with a shudder and avoid reptiles.
Watching horror films as a child, becoming interested in scary computer games.
A personal meeting. It could be a forest or clearing where a snake suddenly appeared. The worst thing is when such meetings end in a bite. In India and African countries, snakes can crawl into a person’s house and bite him in his sleep. The psychological consequences of such a meeting may not appear immediately, but several years later during the next encounter with a snake or when associative factors appear in the life of a herpetophobe - stories from friends, films, pictures, books, etc.
Taking alcohol, drugs.
Other people's jokes. For example, putting a fake snake in a bag can lead to herpetophobia.
Ignorance and superstition associated with the backwardness of the people. For example, in Central Asia, people still consider all snakes to be poisonous.

How to get rid of a phobia

To get rid of a phobia, you need to change your perception and behavior. Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is used for this. It involves a gradual rapprochement with the object of fear. First, the client is told about safe types of snakes, shown pictures of them, then he is offered to personally meet a non-venomous snake. A psychologist is nearby, helps to overcome fear, suggests what relaxation methods to use.

Psychologist's advice

Psychologists recommend using the following tips to correct the condition:

Write a written analysis of your phobia. Determine what exactly scares you. Now write down what snakes live in your region and what is typical for them. Compare this to your fears. Usually at this stage half of the worries disappear. For example, did you know that snakes have no poison?
Start getting closer to the rest of the worries. Look at the picture of snakes and video of snakes.
When one type of snake stops causing you panic, visit the terrarium and ask its workers about representatives of the species and the peculiarities of communicating with them. Find a service that allows you to handle snakes.

The diagnosis of ophidiophobia is made if the fear of snakes prevents a person from living a full life for six months or more. What methods are used in the professional treatment of ophidiophobia:

Eye movement reprocessing desensitization (EMDR). This is a special technique for liberating and correcting the subconscious. It involves making rapid eye movements according to a special pattern. Thanks to this exercise, old memories are no longer perceived as threatening, and psychological trauma is processed.
Hypnosis. If performed correctly, it can rid a person of a phobia in one session (the number of sessions depends on the severity of the disease).
Relaxation. This method, unlike others, can be used independently. Relaxation includes breathing exercises, meditation, mental counting and concentration on breathing and affirmations.

This is interesting! Snakes also have their own phobia - hedgehogs. Why are snakes afraid of hedgehogs? Because snake venom has no effect on them. They will eat a grass snake or viper without any problems.

Independent work with a phobia

In the initial stages of development of a phobia, you can cope with the problem yourself. To do this, you need, first of all, to admit that there is a problem and start studying the world of crawling creatures. Practice recognizing dangerous and non-dangerous creatures, master safety precautions when coming into contact with a poisonous representative. Visit the terrarium and practice there; in moments of panic, calm yourself with slow and deep breathing. The end of the fight against a phobia can be a photo session with a boa constrictor, and for starters, you can buy a toy in the shape of a snake.

This is interesting! A snake attacks a person only for the purpose of protection. Remember this.

Final part

Fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia and is one of the sections of herpetophobia - fear of any reptiles. To cure a phobia, you need to accept the fact that you have a serious problem. This can be understood by several signs.

If you are disgusted by the mere sight of illustrations in magazines with snakes, and when you see a real reptile in an aquarium, your palms begin to sweat, you feel nauseous and dizzy, then it’s time for you to see a doctor.

It is important to remember that you can cope with any zoophobia, including the fear of snakes, on your own only in the initial stages. When panic attacks occur, you need qualified help from a specialist, otherwise the disease can lead to the development of more serious complications.