Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Walking into an animal shelter the first thing people notice are big puppy-dog eyes and tiny kitten paws.  While visiting the zoo people are able to see harmless chimpanzees swinging from trees, calm birds flapping their wings, and playful polar bears swimming in their own little pool. Although visiting an animal shelter and visiting a zoo may be entertaining to most people, to some it is a scary experience.

According to wisegeek.org, zoophobia is a fear of animals. In some cases, an individual with zoophobia may fear all animals, no matter the size. This phobia is usually common among young children; however, sometimes zoophobia continues into adulthood.

When it comes to recognizing this fear there are two concepts one must understand before he or she can know why certain people fear all animals. Those two concepts are negative past experiences and animal phobia and over generalization and fear of animals. 

An example of negative past experience and animal phobia is if a cat scratched a child's arm and scared the child there may be a possibility that the child will develop a phobia of cats in adulthood.

Over generalization is the way of thinking that lets someone create general beliefs based on only one event. For example, a child that was scratched by one cat may now believe that all cats will scratch him or her. 

After understanding the two concepts one can now take a look at general symptoms of zoophobia. General symptoms of zoophobia include:

·      Panic when the individual encounters animals

·      Nervousness

·      Anxiety

·      Accelerated heart rate

·      Sweating

·      Dizziness

·      Vomiting

The individual may even think of worst-case scenarios. According to widegeek.org, individuals sometimes feel awkward around uncomfortable because other people do not understand how life affecting this phobia can be.

Although this phobia can be distressing and serious, there are treatments to help individuals overcome this phobia. Treatment can incorporate a number of approaches, such as behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy can include sessions in which a patient simply talks with a therapist about the phobia.  Through this therapy session, the patient will explore the cause and possible approaches to overcome the phobia. Therapy animals that have been specifically trained to deal with people in distress may also be used for a treatment.

People may also take medications to manage zoophobia. This option is usually offered in cases where people suffer from severe cases of zoophobia. Medications can be used to calm the patient around animals so that the patient and therapist can work together on developing a plan to bring the fear under control. 

After reading this blog is it possible that you may suffer from either a minor or severe case of zoophobia?  Do you know someone who suffers from zoophobia?  Comment below with how you or that person deals with their fear!