Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes0 Title:Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes Assignment Name: Student Name: Course Name and Number: Professor: Date:
Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes1 Introduction In my class, I was provided with a list of fears, there were some exciting and serious fears that have a detrimental effect on a person’s life. The fear that I have selected to gain a deeper knowledge is a fear of snakes. I have selected this fear because in my opinion, snakes and other reptiles are looked with a scary perception and what enhances it are the stories which we all listen to as kids. Snakes are scary, but I am inquisitive about this fear due to the reputation that surrounds it and that’s why I selected this topic. The fear of snakes is a sub- categorized fear of reptiles which is also known as herpetophobia. The main neurology behind this order is that from our childhood we are exposed to this knowledge that has always linked snakes with evil things, and we have always projected them as devils. According to Douglas & Siejak, the reason behind the fear of snakes can be associated with the old age myths, a traumatic episode, especially in the early age, and in a few cases, it can be genetic too(Klieger & Siejak, 2010). The bible also portrays snakes as a mean-spirited and evil animal and the mindsets like this enhance the fear in a person. So, the main reason I have selected this fear, it to gain a deeper knowledge about this subject and then work towards it to change this abnormal psychological thinking. Population The fear of snakes is the second most prominent phobia that people have in the entire world. Children according to the studies who have the capabilities to identify objects and animals do not have a fear of snakes, but it is the parents who inculcate this fear by passing on their perception of a snake that is scary and evil which they received as kids(Mitchell, 2009). So, it is a continuous process. The children are most at risk because they are at a learning stage and they pick habits and knowledge of their parents. According to the latest research, it has been found that approximately 1/3 of person suffer from this fear and that
Ophidiophobia – Fear of Snakes2 constitutes around 10% of the world’s population.According to a survey conducted by the Canadian Cancer Society, this was formulated that amongst the 1500 Canadians who were above the age of 18, displayed results that both the men and women have touted fear of snakes on the top rank, in which the individual contribution of the men and the women was of 33% and 46% respectively(Canadian Cancer Society, 2015). Conditions According to Norris, the fear of snake is insidious, which increased gradually after a traumatic incident and have a lifetime impact on the victim (Norris, 2013). A person who has a fear of snake may also experience some social, biological and psychological changes that may be directly linked or sometimes may not be related to the snakes, but there are certain disorders that emerge. I have found many cases of ophidiophobia during my research that the person also gradually attain fear of going to a pet shop or going on a hiking or camping trips, they also gain a fear of going to the zoo or any other nature preservation sites (Shiwnarain, 2017). The symptoms may vary for different people as it completely depends on the level of phobia that a person has. In case of a mild phobia, the person will have fear when encountering with large snakes. In case of a more severe case, the person will be afraid of even small snakes, and in the most severe case, the person would also react abnormally to the photographs of the snake. Such a person at the sight of a snake may end up shaking, shivering, crying, shouting, and particularly they can also run away from that place. They may also have difficulties in breathing and can also have heart palpitations. The most common and effective approach to treating ophidiophobia is cognitive behavioral therapy and its practices. In my opinion, the person suffering from this fear should talk about his fear in details (Souchet & Aubret, 2016). Then the person should be exposed to a snake slowly and gradually, starting with photographs, then small snakes and then according to the reactions the treatment should develop. Hypnosis should also be utilized for calming down a person. In
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