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Hello, dear readers of the site! Herpetophobia is a panic fear of snakes, lizards and all reptiles in principle.
And today we will try to figure out why it appears, as well as how it can be diagnosed and cured.
What is it like?
Herpetophobia, or, as it is also called, serpentophobia, ophidiophobia, is on the list of the most common phobias. The fear of snakes is observed in people of absolutely any nationality, regardless of whether they are found in their places or not.
Fob experiences panic even if he sees a snake in the picture, in the terrarium. And even though he understands that his fear in this case is irrational.
After all, the animal will not be able to attack him in any way, especially in the photograph, but he can’t do anything with himself. In severe cases, he is so frightened that he loses his appetite, sleep and peace of mind.
Therefore, he does not leave the house, avoids walking in the park, the forest. Does not swim in the river and in general, ignores any attempts to invite him somewhere outside the room.
This disorder is observed mainly in women, who are more than men disposed to zoophobia. That is, the fear of any animals. Most often they are afraid of reptiles and insects.
So, if there is a herpetophobe in your environment, you should not appeal to his mind, demanding to calm down and pull himself together. The power of thought does not get rid of a phobia. But it is quite possible to push away from yourself with a misunderstanding of the state.
Symptoms
If a person meets the object of his phobia, then he has a panic attack. Which is characterized by such somatic symptoms as:
- Tachycardia, up to the occurrence of pain in the chest. The person thinks he has had a heart attack, so he panics even more. After all, in this case, he needs emergency medical care, otherwise death will occur.
- Respiratory disorders. Being frightened, the fob begins to breathe often, and so much that it leads to hyperventilation of the lungs. Oxygen saturation occurs in the blood, which makes the head spin and, worst of all, there is a lack of air. A person simply suffocates and may lose consciousness.
- Cutting in the stomach, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.
- Trembling in the body, shaking chin and voice. Movements become sharp, uncertain, and gait is shaky.
- Headache, redness of the skin. A person throws into sweat, despite the temperature in the room or on the street.
- Loss of control over your behavior. Serpentofob cries loudly and begs for help. He does things for which he then feels shame and guilt. In addition, the perception of reality is distorted, he is able to cause harm to himself and others in a panic. For example, if you entered the room and saw that there was a terrarium, then, quite frightened, he could jump out the window, believing that he was in mortal danger in the room. Subsequently, of course, he is injured on the glass, and then, if he survives after falling from a height. In general, at such a moment, consciousness becomes tunnel-like, one thought of salvation pulsates in the head, and the ability to make rational decisions is completely absent.
- Shortness of breath, stupor. A person either becomes overly active and fussy, or vice versa, becomes numb and unable to utter a word, he will stand still, even if the snake approaches him.
Causes
Now let’s look at the most likely reasons why people are afraid of snakes.
Genetic memory
In ancient times, man lived in caves and was not at all protected from the attack of predators and reptiles in particular. The bite of most snake species is venomous, if not deadly, causing unbearable suffering and pain before the victim dies.
There was no question of any vaccines, and any careless movement during sleep or hunting could lead to irreversible consequences.
Accordingly, cavemen were afraid of these animals, fear helped them to survive, to protect themselves. And the information acquired by bitter experience was passed down from generation to generation at the level of instincts.
Therefore, we, being in completely safe conditions, for the most part feel horror at the thought of meeting with reptiles.
You will learn more about how genetic memory works and works in this article.
Negative experience
If you once happened to become a victim of a bite, or just a witness to an attack and torment due to the spread of poison in the body, then it is likely that the horror experienced will be deposited at the subconscious level, thereby causing the development of herpetophobia.
Especially if a close relative or acquaintance died as a result of such events.
Or there was a shocking and unexpected meeting, when, for example, a snake crawled into a person’s room. Such events happen quite often with tourists, especially in Australia, where reptiles are literally teeming.
childhood trauma
If the parents, in order to maintain the safety of the baby, intimidated him so that, for example, he would not come close to creatures that crawl in the grass, on stones, and so on.
It is not surprising that he will form a certain stereotype of behavior when meeting with reptiles, even in cartoons.
Parents are significant adults in the life of the child, whom he unconditionally trusts. Therefore, if a mother is terrified of reptiles, then they really should beware.
The psyche of children is not yet able to withstand some information, and if mom or dad overdo it in intimidation, herpetophobia is inevitable.
Personality traits
Not only children are receptive to information, but also vulnerable, overly emotional individuals with a penchant for hypochondria. They are already anxious by nature, worried about the slightest reason.
Therefore, if they see a film where a huge anaconda mercilessly kills people, or news about an attack by reptiles that ended in the death of their victims, this will create additional stress on the psyche. Which may well provoke the development of a phobia.
Treatment
Herpetophobia is a mental disorder that must be monitored. Therefore, at the first symptoms of manifestation, it is important to go for a consultation with a psychotherapist, or a psychiatrist.
The fact is that the hopes of improving the condition without any effort are quite dangerous. After all, if a phobia develops, a person will develop other diseases and symptoms, which will not be so easy to cope with.
For example, insomnia or depression, due to constant anxiety, the nervous system will fail, and other mental disorders will occur. The body will be exhausted, which will make itself felt chronic diseases, painful, and sometimes incurable.
To prevent this, or to stop it, the psychiatrist will prescribe a number of medications, depending on what exactly is bothering the patient.
For example, for depression, antidepressants that are not available without a prescription, sleeping pills, sedatives, tranquilizers, and so on.
It is not worth worrying about being locked up in a madhouse. Inpatient treatment is necessary only in extreme cases, phobias do not require hospitalization.
With the exception of, for example, depression with suicidal tendencies, affective states, when a person becomes overly aggressive and harms himself and those around him.
Psychotherapy will allow you to realize what exactly provoked your panic fear of reptiles.
You will work on your limitations, stereotypes of behavior and reactions that do not allow you to satisfy your needs and feel harmony within yourself.
The most effective in the fight against such disorders are such areas as Gestalt therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnosis. Group work also shows good results.
In this format, a person gets the opportunity to feel support from people with similar fears. And also the experience that serpentophobes share with each other.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Finally, we want to recommend that you get acquainted with the fear of animals similar to ophidiophobia — batrachophobia.
This is an irrational fear of frogs and toads, that is, various amphibians, whose appearance usually does not touch, but disgusts.
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Take care of yourself and your loved ones!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina