The fear of animals called zoophobia. It typically arises from a negative experience from childhood. It could have been a personal experience being scared by a dog or watching a parent run away from a spider. This fear can dissipate over time or in extreme cases last a lifetime, in which case you may need an animal phobia therapy.
Some animal phobias are more common than others, however they generally fall into a few common groups, predators, disgusting animals and superstition fears
Predators
Commonly feared animals eg dogs, bears and sharks etc fall into the predator category. These fears commonly come from our basic survival skill inherited from our ancestors. In those past times these animals either competed with us for food, water and shelter, commonly they are large, carnivorous or venomous. While it is wise to use caution around these animals, when the response goes way beyond a normal healthy reaction to a sense of panic then it has turned to a phobia.
Disgusting Animals
Typically disgusting animals included cockroaches and the like, research performed at the University of Queensland (Australia) in 2008, now includes snakes and spiders in this category. This may be because we tend to focus on creatures we perceive as disgusting even if they are predatory in nature.
Superstitious Fears
Throughout history, various animals have played a role in superstitions, legends, and in religious beliefs. Snakes feature heavily in lore, ranging from the Biblical Garden of Eden to voodoo practices. Some birds are even portrayed as an omen of death. Superstitious fears and religious beliefs generally focus on what the animal represents rather than the animal itself.
Other Causes
Of course, not all animal phobias fall into the above categories. You may have simply trained yourself to have this fear by watching TV or films such as Jaws, Anaconda, Snakes on a plane, or The Fly, or even the nightly news can sometimes contribute to the development of phobias.
Symptoms that a fear has turned to a animal phobia
Excessive or irrational fear of a specific object or situation
extreme avoidance of the feared animal or enduring it with great distress
interference with normal activities because of fear of the animal
excessive anxiety and feelings of doom
Physical symptoms of anxiety or a panic attack, such as a pounding heart, nausea or diarrhoea, sweating
Anticipatory anxiety, which involves becoming nervous ahead of time about being in certain situations or coming into contact with the object of your phobia
You can reduce your phobia by following these 10 steps using the Desensitising Technique
1/ Identify your phobia
The first step in overcoming a phobia is to identify the object or situation you fear.
2/ Talk about what you fear
Talking about your fears with other people in a therapy or group has many benefits and that helps you in your improvement.
3/ Create a hierarchy of fears
I am sure that within your phobia there are different situations that generate more or less anxiety.
What this is intended to achieve is that you reduce your fear to smaller fears to which it is easier to face you at first.
4/ Relax
Doing some kind of relaxation exercise can help you deal with your phobia.
5/ View
At this point you must grasp your hierarchy of fears and expose yourself to the different situations in your imagination, visualising them progressively.
6/ Generate positive thoughts
Thoughts have a great power to make you feel in one way or another. If we modify the thoughts that generate anxiety, insecurity and fear, it is likely that those emotions change to more positive ones.
7/ Point out your fears
You should begin to expose yourself to your fears in a progressive way, for the situation that has the least anxiety. Do not force yourself, there is no hurry. Slow and steady exposure is preferable to rapid and inadequate exposure.
8/ Have Healthy Habits
Regular exercise, healthy eating, rest, and avoiding consuming toxins, all have repercussions on your well-being.
9/ Beware of drug use
Many doctors and psychiatrists prescribe benzodiazepines and antidepressants to relieve the symptoms of some phobias. These can quickly cause dependency and other health problems and should only be used carefully and for a very short time.
10/ Be Patient
With patience, effort and desire, you can overcome all your fears.
There is a better way at Sydney Phobia Therapy, where we do animal phobia therapy
We currently use a 3rd generation version of animal phobia therapy based on the original Fast Phobia Cure initially created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970’s.
Now when I say fast, I mean typically one session only, no homework and its content free.
Content free means you don’t talk about, and you certainly don’t tell me, because I don’t want it either. You’re seeing me online, so stay in the comfort of your own space and no travel time, to have it removed not to see if we can talk it to death.
