Zoophobia, or animal phobia, is the irrational fear or aversion towards non-human animals. Zoophobia is the general negative reaction to animals, but it is usually divided into many subgroups, each being of a specific type of zoophobia. Although zoophobia as a whole is quite rare, types of the fear are common. [1] As mentioned before by Sigmund Freud, an animal phobia is one of the most frequent psychoneurotic diseases among children. [2] Zoophobia is almost never towards mammals, but instead towards non-mammalia creatures. A list of common zoophobias is shown below.
Phobia | Condition |
---|---|
Ailurophobia | fear of cats |
Arachnophobia | fear of arachnids |
Batrachophobia | fear of amphibians |
Chiroptophobia | fear of bats |
Cynophobia | fear of dogs |
Entomophobia | fear of insects |
Equinophobia | fear of horses |
Ichthyophobia | fear of fish |
Katsaridaphobia | fear of cockroaches |
Lepidopterophobia | fear of butterflies and/or moths |
Melissophobia | fear of bees |
Molluscophobia | fear of snails and slugs |
Musophobia | fear of mice and rats |
Ophidiophobia | fear of snakes |
Ornithophobia | fear of birds |
Ostraconophobia | fear of shellfish |
Pachydermophobia | fear of elephants |
Ranidaphobia | fear of frogs |
Scoliodentosaurophobia | fear of lizards, geckos |
Vermiphobia | fear of worms |
A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.
Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear, and significant distress or problems functioning associated with the fear. A phobia can be the fear of anything.
Herpetophobia is a common specific phobia, which consists of fear or aversion to reptiles, commonly lizards and snakes, and similar vertebrates as amphibians. It is one of the most diffused animal phobias, very similar and related to ophidiophobia. This condition causes a slight to severe emotional reaction, for example anxiety, panic attack or most commonly nausea. Herpetophobia is a common phobia Phobia and comes in many forms. Some people have fears of just looking at a reptile, some have fears of touching a reptile, and some cannot even stand knowing a reptile is in their space. Due to the specific type of phobia, there are no individual statistics for those who suffer from herpetophobia. Not everyone who is scared or has a fear of reptiles has herpetophobia.
Astraphobia, also known as astrapophobia, brontophobia, ceraunophobia, or tonitrophobia, is an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning or an unwarranted fear of scattered and/or isolated thunderstorms, a type of specific phobia. It is a treatable phobia that both humans and animals can develop. The term astraphobia is composed of the Greek words ἀστραπή and φόβος.
Panphobia, omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia is a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil. Panphobia is not registered as a type of phobia in medical references.
In psychology, displacement is an unconscious defence mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for things felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.
Herbert Graf was an Austrian-American opera producer. Born in Vienna in 1903, he was the son of Max Graf (1873–1958), and Olga Hönig. His father was an Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Sigmund Freud's circle of friends. Herbert Graf was the Little Hans discussed in Freud's 1909 study Analysis of a Phobia in a Five-year-old Boy.
Entomophobia, sometimes known as insectophobia, is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear (disgust) of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5. More specific cases include katsaridaphobia, melissophobia, myrmecophobia, and lepidopterophobia. One book claims 6% of all US inhabitants have this phobia.
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among toddlers, children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Most toddlers and children outgrow it, but this fear persists for some with scotophobia and anxiety. When waking up or sleeping, these fears may intertwine with sighting sleep paralysis demons in some people. Some degree of fear of the dark is natural, especially as a phase of child development. Most observers report that fear of the dark rarely appears before the age of two years and roughly peaks around the development stage of four years of age. When fear of the dark reaches a degree that is severe enough to be considered pathological, it is sometimes called scotophobia, or lygophobia.
Cynophobia is the fear of dogs and canines in general. Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype "animal phobias". According to Timothy O. Rentz of the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders at the University of Texas, animal phobias are among the most common of the specific phobias and 36% of patients who seek treatment report being afraid of dogs or afraid of cats. Although ophidiophobia or arachnophobia are more common animal phobias, cynophobia is especially debilitating because of the high prevalence of dogs and the general ignorance of dog owners to the phobia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) reports that only 12% to 30% of those with a specific phobia will seek treatment.
Equinophobia or hippophobia is a psychological fear of horses. Equinophobia is derived from the Greek word φόβος (phóbos), meaning "fear" and the Latin word equus, meaning "horse". The term hippophobia is also derived from the Greek word phóbos with the prefix derived from the Greek word for horse, ἵππος (híppos). Sufferers of equinophobia may also fear other hoofed animals such as donkeys and mules.
Gynophobia or gynephobia (/ˌɡaɪnəˈfoʊbiə/) is a morbid and irrational fear of women, a type of specific social phobia. It is found in ancient mythology as well as modern cases. A small number of researchers and authors have attempted to pin down possible causes of gynophobia.
Fear of fish or ichthyophobia ranges from cultural phenomena such as fear of eating fish, fear of touching raw fish, or fear of dead fish, up to irrational fear. Selachophobia, or galeophobia, is the specific fear of sharks.
The fear of ghosts in many human cultures is based on beliefs that some ghosts may be malevolent towards people and dangerous. It is related to fear of the dark. The fear of ghosts is a very common fear.
Spotligectophobia, scopophobia, scoptophobia or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an excessive fear of being stared at in public or stared at by others.
Genuphobia is the fear of one's own knees or someone else's knees or the act of kneeling.
Hodophobia is an irrational fear, or phobia, of travel.
Trypophobia is an aversion to the sight of repetitive patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. It is not officially recognized as a mental disorder, but may be diagnosed as a specific phobia if excessive fear and distress occur. Most affected people experience mainly disgust when they see trypophobic imagery. A minority of people experience the same level of fear and disgust, and a few express only disgust or fear.
The fear of trains is anxiety and fear associated with trains, railways, and railway travel.