The fear of snakes is called Ophidiophobia and it is a situation whereby one is afraid or scared of snakes whether death or alive.When intense, this fear might lead to heart attack thereby resulting into death. The fear of snake is the second largest Phobia in the world, it is estimated that for every three adult, at least one of them is scared of snake. So being afraid of snake is not peculiar to you alone, several other people are afraid of snakes.
Ophidiophobia Definition
Ophidiophobia or ophiophobia is a particular type of specific phobia, the abnormal fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles and/or amphibians. The word comes from the Greek words “ophis” (ὄφις) which refers to snake and “phobia” (φοβία) meaning fear.
Causes of The Fear of Snakes
Being the second most common phobia, after the fear of spiders, scientist have worked assiduously to ascertain the real cause of the fear of Snakes or snake Phobia, they find out that the fear of snakes is not something new, but as been in existence since the stone age when our ancestors live in Bushes. As you might have known, snakes are wild animals too and they are commonly found in the Bush, since some snakes are deadly and poisonous so this fear as really assisted man to survive up till this age and the phobia for
snake as always been transferred from One generation to another up to the Present moment.
Apart from the hereditary associated with the fear of snakes, some people are also scared of snakes due to the trauma they once had
with a snake or that they witness. But what most people don’t know is that not all snakes are dangerous, some are harmless to humans.
The fear of snakes Phobia- Ophidiophobia is part of Zoophobia which is a term for the fear of animals.
Symptoms of Ophidiophobia-The Fear of Snakes
There are several symptoms associated with the fear of snakes- Ophidiophobia, but the most common of them is Anxiety. One who is afraid of snakes suffer from uncontrollable anxiety when they see or hear of snakes. They might also scream, Run or Faint when they see snakes.
Apart from that, people who are afraid of snakes tend to experience a Rush of Adrenaline in their blood stream; these of Course might lead to sudden increase in Heart Beat which is dangerous to one’s health.
Cure For The Fear of Snakes
Since the fear of snakes is mostly hereditary, getting rid of the fear of snakes might be hard but it is possible, listed below are some
of the ways in which one can overcome the fear of snakes.
Resensitization: The is the most effective treatment for Ophidiophobia-the fear of snakes, here, an Ophidiophobic is gradually introduced to several images of Snakes over a certain period of time, as time go on, they become familiar with snakes and might even be made to touch or hold Snakes.
CBT or cognitive behavior therapy- Cognitive behavior or restructuring helps the individual identify his/her thought patterns that lie
behind the fear of snakes. The patient is made to write down thoughts as to why one fears snakes. These include thoughts like: “snakes are slimy”, “they are dangerous and have the ability to kill humans” and so on. Writing down these thoughts can help the ophidiophobic identify patterns leading to fear, anxiety and stress. The patients also learn to replace their negative associations with positive beliefs. This, in turn, can help decrease the fear of snakes.