What is Phobia?
Pphobia, which is a type of anxiety disorder, is defined as a high level of fear that a person feels towards a certain situation, living or inanimate being or place. People with phobia perceive certain dangers as much more threatening than they normally should be, thus significantly avoiding these situations that are considered dangerous. When these people encounter the conditions that are the object of the phobia, they experience great distress, which can manifest itself as a state of complete panic and a feeling of terror.
What is zoophobia?
Zoophobia is the fear of animals. This problem, which usually occurs in young children, can also be seen in adults. For sufferers, zoophobia can be quite stressful as most people make animals a part of their lives and non-humane animals can be common around the world. There are various treatment approaches for people experiencing this problem.
Why does zoophobia occur?
People with this problem may develop a fear of various types of animals. Big or small. This fear can be towards any kind of animal without realizing it. Sometimes patients with multiple types of animal fear may sometimes experience only one type of fear. The most common zoophobia in society is caused by dogs, cats and insects. The basis of these fears may be childhood traumas, or there may be different reasons such as disorders in the functioning of the brain. For this reason, people with zoophobia should receive psychological support to determine the source of their fear.
Feared animal species also vary across cultures. For example, while fear of spiders is very common in England, spider phobia is not common in our country. Some people with animal phobia state that their phobia started after a bad experience with that animal (e.g. dog bite). In some of them, such an initiator cannot be found. The phobic patient typically develops an avoidance behavior appropriate to ensuring a comfortable daily life. The friends with whom to go and not go to sit are clear (whether there is a dog or a cat or not). Documentaries about the feared animal may not be watched on television. There are certain rules on where to navigate. depends on the break. In some cases, even a photograph of the animal or shapes resembling it may be feared (such as fear of curved lines in snake phobia).
What are the reactions of people with zoophobia?
- Increased heart rate
- Fear
- Panic state
- Anger formation
- Sweating
- Head spinning
- Running away
- Crying
What are the treatment methods for zoophobia?
Among these, behavioral therapy provides the best support to patients. In this treatment method, patients tell the therapist about their phobia about the animal they are afraid of and explain why it happens in their own way. In the treatment, desensitization sessions are organized for the patient, during which his reactions to animals and animal figures are evaluated and efforts are made to get the person used to them.
Apart from this, some medications may be used to help the patient cope with his fear. These drugs have effects that cause the patient to become unresponsive if he encounters animals that he fears. But first of all, medication is not recommended, the main method is to overcome the fear. For example, why are you afraid of dogs? Did he hurt you? Did you have a memory with dogs when you were little? When asked such questions, the patient will try to answer these questions. The subconscious also plays an important role. Zoophobia is an important condition; People who are afraid of animals should be treated patiently and persuaded to receive psychological support. If you instead humiliate them or make fun of them, these should be avoided as they can cause more emotional stress and cause the phobia to get worse.
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