OPHIDIOPHOBIA (fear of snakes): what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment

We cannot say that snakes are pleasant animals, in general, with which most would want to spend a few days, or even a few minutes. However, currently, there are few people who could be in daily contact with snakes and could feel real fear and threat to their physical integrity.

Historically they have never enjoyed a good reputation among humans but, today, an excessive fear of these beings, it could be dysfunctional and generate such high discomfort to the person that it could make us less efficient. That is why, in this Psychology-Online article, we explain more about the Ophidiophobia: what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment. Keep reading!

Index

1. What is ophidiophobia
2. Symptoms of ophidiophobia
3. Causes of ophidiophobia
4. Treatment of ophidiophobia

What is the fear of snakes called? The term ophidiophobia refers to a type of specific phobia, specifically, it is one of the most common zoophobic phobias. Specifically, it is fear of snakes or the like, irrationally or exacerbated.

We must distinguish the natural fear that these animals cause, put at an evolutionary level is totally normal, and even necessary to provoke a fear response, in ophidiophobia we observe a fear unjustified and exaggerated compared to the real threat situation, since if we talk about phobia, this fear can appear in situations in which the animal does not pose a danger or threat to the life of the person in question.

You may be wondering "How do I know if I have a phobia of snakes?", so here are the main symptoms of ophidiophobia:

• Negative references to snakes and everything related to them.
• Excessive avoidance.
• Escape from these stimuli.
• hyperventilation and palpitations.
• Anxiety intense before the erroneous estimations of threat, that is, before the meanings attributed to the stimulus and the response evoked of fear.
• appearance of others derived disorders of this phobia.

The cause of the fear of snakes is not only a stressor or an experience, or the predisposition biology of the individual, but we will always keep in mind the interaction between genetics and environment:

• The subject suffering from ophidiophobia surely has a biological vulnerability which, together with the stress experienced, will create a feeling of false alarm, which will end up becoming a learned alarm, generating psychological vulnerability.
• This vulnerability is influenced by learning, either directly or vicariously from other real alarms. This cycle gives rise to the appearance of anxiety disorders and phobias.
• Some hypotheses hold that snakes posed a danger in ancient times, for the physical integrity of humans. This danger was much higher, so the feeling of alertness and danger towards this reptile was much more intense. This sensation would have lasted until today in some of these people who suffer from ophidiophobia.

How to overcome the fear of snakes? The key to curing ophidiophobia is repeated exposure to the specific feared stimulus, and generation of new learning in which the feared stimulus becomes innocuous.

To begin the treatment of ophidiophobia, it is important to acquire anxiety control skills and relaxation, as well as creating a safe environment within the framework of an appropriate therapeutic alliance to be able to continue going forward. Next we will see the most effective treatments to cure ophidiophobia:

exposure therapy

According to Wolpe, systematic desensitization works by counterconditioning, that is, by associating or generating an opposite response, such as relaxation, to the one that would be initially generated, such as fear and anxiety.

Now, how to overcome ophiophobia with this type of therapy? Its effectiveness in curing fear of snakes lies in preventing avoidance from becoming a safety signal. This therapy can be carried out in several ways: live, symbolically, in a group and in an interoceptive way.

Other cognitive behavioral therapies

Finally, other techniques are also known that are included in the cognitive behavioral current of psychology and are the narrative therapy and eye movement processing and desensitization (EMDR). These are the ones we have more scientific evidence of its effectiveness.

However, the choice of the most appropriate therapeutic method will depend on personal, social, and environmental factors. However, whatever the choice, the treatment must be given within a series of circumstances to be successful and overcome ophidiophobia:

• The therapist must have knowledge of the conceptual model that he applies.
• The establishment of a good therapeutic relationship.
• The transmission of a consistent logic of treatment.
• The effective implementation of the different exhibition modalities.

If you think that you could suffer from ophidiophobia and you notice that this is interfering with your daily life and causing you discomfort, It is important that you go to a psychologist who can do the relevant tests and carry out the treatment that best suits your case.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes): what is it, symptoms, causes and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

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