Ornithophobia is an obsessive fear not only of representatives of the fauna world, but also of their feathers and even voices. Considering the fact that birds are an integral part of our world, those who suffer from such an illness cannot be envied.
People diagnosed with ornithophobia feel discomfort from the very presence of birds in their field of vision. Poor people avoid parks and squares, walks in the forest, in a word, those places where creatures that give rise to fears accumulate.
Everything causes irritation: the rustle of flapping wings, the appearance of birds, their voice. But the most monstrous and panicky fear among ornithophobes arises at the thought of tactile contact with a bird.
This seemingly strange phobia for an ordinary person is also distinguished by the fact that fear is present to the same extent both in front of the sight of living birds and already dead ones.
Where to look for the cause of ornithophobia
The power of fright has no age category; not only a child, but also an adult can become frightened.
- However, you can start looking for the main cause of ornithophobia in the past. There is a possibility that in deep childhood, a person could have had trouble in which birds were present. Perhaps it was an ordinary parrot that bit the baby on the finger, or a huge goose in the village of a grandmother who pinched him on the knee.
- A child may inherit such fear from his family and friends. If one of the older relatives has a fear of birds, then the child’s behavioral programs of fear are copied at the subconscious level.
- One of the reasons provoking ornithophobia may be television programs in which birds were characterized by aggressive behavior.
- A phobia can also be provoked by a horror film, where birds appeared in the form of predators and hunters of people.
- There is an opinion that the cause of ornithophobia may be physiological problems associated with the vestibular apparatus. Anxiety, dizziness and nausea can be caused by the movement of birds and watching them fly. Then a disturbance in the balance system can lead to a fear of birds.
Causes of the disorder
It is more convenient to try to understand the reasons for the appearance of a phobia using a specific life example. It can be assumed that some adult is forced to admit with embarrassment that since childhood he has been afraid of all birds. It does not have to be some large individual; even a parrot or sparrow can be the object of the phobia.
Often, many parents, having discovered such a disorder in their child, decide with the best of intentions to get a pet bird. However, this does not always bring good results. A child develops a feeling of discomfort in his subconscious, even when he is in the same room with an enemy.
Over time, the pathology can progress . A person begins to feel discomfort after hearing bird voices, or while sleeping on a feather pillow. Children often have tantrums. The child subconsciously tries to protect himself from all kinds of contacts with birds.
But no matter how you look at it, you still have to encounter a hated object in everyday life. After all, many birds can be found on the street.
If a bird touches a person, the latter will try to run away or may have an uncontrollable panic attack. The quality of life will become increasingly worse.
The main causes of the pathological phenomenon:
- One of the factors causing fear of birds may be a stressful situation experienced in childhood. Over the years, a person forgets about it. Any bird can suddenly scare you, and all the unpleasant memories can return.
- It often happens that someone in the family suffers from a similar pathology. If a person is an authority for a child, then the latter may begin to subconsciously copy such a behavioral model.
- Fear can result from watching a TV show where a brutal attack by birds of prey was demonstrated. At the same time, attention may be focused on the consequences for the victim.
- A malfunction of the vestibular apparatus can be a factor due to which a person suffers from attacks of nausea or dizziness when watching a bird fly.
Methods to combat ornithophobia
Methods of getting rid of ornithophobia are no different from methods of treating all other disorders associated with fears.
First of all, it is necessary to try to identify all possible causes that gave rise to the phobia.
- The situation that resulted in fears from the presence of birds must be analyzed in the smallest detail and detail. You should analyze the sequence of events, remembering what could have become the source that stimulated the fear.
- You need to try to reproduce your emotions, feelings step by step in pictures and judge what is happening as if observing the situation from the outside.
- From the perspective of your current age, you can understand how objective the experiences were. Human emotions can create an unreasonably strong surge, and the event with which they are colored takes up an undeservedly large space on the subconscious level.
When a person is able to understand how insignificant his impressions are, he will quite simply rid himself of the fear of innocent birds.
Secondly, you should understand how ornithophobia, in principle, interferes with life. Since the causes of fear are not so easy to discover and get rid of, it may make sense to teach yourself to peacefully coexist with your phobia.
Direct contact with the bird is a step towards healing
- You can overcome your fear of birds if you take a step towards your fear, try to overcome yourself and touch the feathered creature. You can start with poultry, the aforementioned goose or parrot. If you still can’t touch them with your hand, you can put on a glove. As you get used to the object of the phobia, the glove will not be needed.
- It happens that the fear of birds has a severe form, when a person simply cannot bear the very thought of approaching an unsuspecting representative of the fauna. Then, of course, there is no point in driving yourself to hysteria.
- In such a situation, it would be much more correct to consult a psychologist. Targeted therapy or light hypnosis would be appropriate here.
Symptoms of ornithophobia
Experts define ornithophobia based on characteristics such as:
- strong heartbeat that occurs in an individual at the sight of a bird;
- loss of consciousness or fainting state in a person upon tactile contact with feathered animals;
- severe, uncontrollable nausea, even vomiting, provoked by the dead body of the bird or its individual parts;
- breathing problems, trembling throughout the body, which occurs in cases where the individual has to interact with birds;
- obsessive anxiety, especially strong in the open air and expressed in the fact that a person constantly scans the sky, trying to warn the possible appearance of birds.
The manifestation of fear of birds largely depends on the severity of the phobia in the individual’s behavior. Ornithophobia ranges from mild anxiety at the sight of a bird in flight to panic attack and flight. Psychologists know advanced cases in which a person is completely isolated from society, thereby trying to minimize the risk of contact with birds.
Positive Attitudes
- It is necessary to realize that birds cannot cause harm. Literature with information about the behavior algorithms of birds and their basic instincts will help. This will confirm that these creatures do not have any bloodthirsty intentions; rather, they themselves experience a certain fear towards people, showing caution.
- You can analyze your actions in case a bird flies nearby and the likely options for protective actions.
- It is recommended to watch films and television programs about birds, their lifestyle and behavior.
- It happens that fear of birds borders on disgust for them. In this case, it would be appropriate to look at beautiful photographs with species of different birds.
- You should rid yourself of the role of victim by taking an active position or simply ignoring the presence of birds. The spirit of a brave warrior can overcome a phobia. However, such an installation is good if the bird is really not capable of causing real harm. If fear has reason to exist, you should not ignore the manifesting instincts.
Ornithophobia can shrink a person’s life to the size of his fear, when he ceases to be the master of his life and becomes a victim of an obsessive phobia. The choice depends on the victim himself: who does he want to be - the master of the situation or the victim of circumstances?
Hitchcock's Birds
Alfred Hitchcock is a famous master of suspense, who created more than five dozen films. With the help of his favorite film technique, the director forced people to be in anxious anticipation of an unpredictable outcome. The 47th was his work “Birds”, in which birds appeared in the form of cruel killers.
There is an opinion that this is one of his most mocking films. Many viewers began to be afraid of them in panic after watching the film. This once again proves that Hitchcock was a true master of instilling fear in people.
Treatment of phobias only under the supervision of a physician.
Features of pteronophobia
Pteronophobia is a special case of ornithophobia , which is considered a rather rare form of anxiety. According to psychologists, the disease is more common in women than in men. As one patient said, the roots of her phobia go back to childhood, when her brother tickled her with goose feathers. At first she was simply afraid of tickling, then the fear spread to feathers.
Another story told by a woman to a psychologist says that she is afraid of the feathers of pigeons, since many of these birds flew near her house, sometimes flying overhead.
Typically, pteronophobes do not associate their fears with any images. They don't think feathers can cause harm. They just feel a wild, overwhelming fear. In severe cases, at the sight of feathers, signs of suffocation, vomiting, and the body may begin to itch.
How to overcome anxiety
Experts ask patients to find out the causes of the phobia - it is necessary to remember the situation from which it all began. It is necessary to analyze the situation to the smallest detail . Moreover, it is important to reproduce not only the situation itself, but also the emotions and experiences experienced. For example, if a person was scared of a parrot as a child, he should understand that at that time it seemed huge and scary, but now it is just a small bird.
In mild cases of the disease, results can be achieved with the help of an experienced specialist. For example, a person can begin to touch a bird under the guidance of a doctor. At first, you can do this with gloves. In this way, the patient gets used to birds and gets rid of fear.
In severe cases, this method may not work. In this case, you need to work through your anxieties with a psychotherapist.
Prevention and prognosis
Fear of birds most often occurs in childhood. Therefore, it is recommended to protect children from watching horror films and watching birds being killed in the home. There is no need to intimidate and prohibit touching birds, but you need to carefully introduce the child to the world of birds and talk about its representatives. If a fright does occur, then you need to immediately sort out the situation so that the fear does not take root and turn into a phobia.
When working with a persistent phobia, the first results of treatment are noticeable after a few weeks. To achieve lasting results, it takes an average of six months for self-treatment and 1–3 months when working with a psychologist.
Adults are advised to monitor their health as a preventive measure. Phobias arise with mental exhaustion and neuroses. If the psyche is strong and healthy, then it will have enough strength to cope with fear. Therefore, it is recommended to practice yoga and meditation, get proper rest, and lead a healthy lifestyle.
It is important! Ornithophobia is highly treatable and has a positive prognosis. But success depends on a number of factors: the severity of the disease, the moment of treatment, the patient’s activity, personality and lifestyle, and the support of loved ones. Often a person who is afraid of birds is not understood and is called strange.
