Contents
We are glad to welcome you, dear readers of the site! Hippophobia (equinophobia) is a pathological fear of horses. Today we will look at where it comes from, as well as methods for treating this fear and the main signs of manifestation.
What is it like?
Approximately 8% of the world’s population suffers from animal-related phobias. Of these, about a third is afraid of large individuals. In this case, horses.
A person experiences panic as soon as they are near him. Even looking at photos causes anxiety and makes your hands tremble, sweat, and your heart speed up.
Power, speed, size, sometimes aggressiveness and the likelihood of injury or death can be scary.
Causes
Substitution
Sigmund Freud wrote the article «Little Hans» in which he told the story of a boy who was afraid of horses.
There were several hypotheses for the emergence of such an unusual phobia. Starting with the situation when Hans witnessed how the stallion fell and could not get up, but only convulsively jerked his legs.
And ending with the assumption that the boy was excited for his mother. Why did he consider his father a rival who could castrate him for “wrong” feelings and impulses.
Be that as it may, the option of shifting feelings of fear from a powerful father figure to an equally powerful horse, which was associated with danger, turned out to be more suitable. He was simply afraid of punishment, which could well follow at any moment.
That is, there is a substitution, it is impossible to express anger to dad. Either because it will entail unpleasant consequences, or because it is forbidden in the family to show their aggressive part and protest.
It also does not come out to confess to his father in his horror before his strength and power, which is why the boy’s psyche has found a safer outlet for tension. Which, by the way, is quite socially acceptable.
It is normal to be afraid of someone who is larger and able to injure. And not, say, books or the right sock. Such fears can be ridiculed and misunderstood by society.
Negative experience
It is worth falling off a horse at least once, all the more unsuccessfully, with traumatic consequences — how the heart will “freeze” at the sight of this animal. In some cases, this is a very serious reason for the development of a phobia.
It is not uncommon for parents, out of good intentions, to bring their babies to the stallion, wanting to please and evoke pleasant emotions.
But it turned out that the child was crying because he was afraid of her size, which subsequently affected his perception of large animals.
It is sometimes enough for impressive personalities to witness how a horse butts someone, bites, or throws them off the saddle. Hear from friends about some terrible event or watch the news.
Everything, information about how dangerous even a pony can be will be stored in the subcortex for a long time.
Genetics and heredity
Phobias are inherited, so if there is at least one person in the family who suffers from any mental disorder, then the risk of losing sleep due to anxiety and irrational fears is very high.
parenting style
If parents intimidate the baby for the purpose of education, or some other others, it is not surprising that they later “acquire” phobias and other kinds of behavioral disorders.
This often happens not to harm your child, but to influence him. Let’s say that in the park he walked obediently by the hand, and did not try to run away and catch up with the butterfly, grab the horse by the tail, and so on.
Then stories are invented that now they will take him away, bite him, eat him, and so on. The kid is not able to critically, rationally assess the situation. If only because he does not have enough experience and knowledge. Why believe the words of a significant adult.
By the way, a child, watching how mom or dad react to horses, can adopt the way the parent behaves and reacts. Considering that if such a big and strong adult is afraid of them, then they really are dangerous.
Symptoms
In most cases, hippophobes do not experience much problems because of their fear. Still, horses these days are not found at every turn, as before. Therefore, if you avoid going to the circus or the park, it is quite possible to maintain your peace of mind.
But if it really happened, and the person was close to the source of his horror, he may lose control over himself due to a sharply rising sense of anxiety. That is, he will start screaming hysterically, run away and call for help.
The usual set of symptoms in a panic attack are tachycardia, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain.
Often the heart begins to hurt and it seems that death is about to occur due to lack of oxygen. Which, in fact, due to the release of adrenaline in the blood becomes very much. Therefore, dizziness occurs up to loss of consciousness.
A person at such a moment sweats a lot, despite the temperature in the room or on the street.
Treatment
It is possible to overcome the fear of horses with the help of a number of specialists. In particular, a psychologist, psychotherapist, and a psychiatrist in particularly difficult cases. He will prescribe medications that can reduce anxiety, restore sleep and a sense of inner balance.
To work on your fears on your own, practice meditation and breathing techniques.
Positive affirmations will also help to gain a sense of inner harmony — these are statements that are “deposited” in the subconscious by repeating them many times.
As a result, a person, without understanding himself, begins to relate differently to any events, to himself and life in general.
You can learn more about the methods of treatment from this article. By the way, it also indicates the main causes of phobias, as well as the symptoms by which they can be accurately diagnosed.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Subscribe to site updates, and you will find out what the fear of flowers, the starry sky or, in general, gold is called. And many other interesting and exciting things!
Take care of yourself, be healthy and happy!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina