Snake fear syndrome and treatment

If you have mild-grade solid fear, you only feel nervous when you see large snakes or poisonous snakes. But if the syndrome is severe, you may be afraid of both non-toxic and small snakes.

Perhaps fear of snakes is the most common form of reptilian animal syndrome. Some researchers believe that the fear of snakes is one of our evolutionary, ancestral syndromes to increase survival in the wild. However, that hypothesis cannot explain why fear of snakes is a relatively common syndrome, while very few people are afraid of other animals - like tigers or crocodiles.

Expression of snake fear syndrome

Diagnosis of snake fear syndrome can be difficult, because symptoms are quite diverse. If you have mild-grade solid fear, you only feel nervous when you see large snakes or poisonous snakes. But if the syndrome is severe, you may be afraid of both non-poisonous snakes and small snakes. Even many people do not dare to see solid images on photos or television.

Symptoms of solid fear syndrome may include shaking, crying, running away, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations when you see a snake.

People need to distinguish between reptile and snake fear. If you are afraid of both lizards, Komado and crocodile dragons, you probably have reptile animal fear syndrome.

Impact of snake fear syndrome

Snake fear syndrome can happen silently. Over time, you may be afraid of things that are not related to snakes - such as pet stores, zoos, nature reserves. You may even be afraid of other reptile animals.

Diagnose

Feeling fear or insecurity when meeting animals that you rarely see is very normal. In addition, we hear many myths about snakes. If you've never touched a snake, you may think that they have viscous skin, or a python that can crush you. Such fears are quite common and we can drive them away by accumulating more personal experiences about snakes. However, the symptoms listed above do not match the usual sense of fear and it shows real obsession. Only mental health professionals are able to scare away the fear of snakes.

Treatment

The most common treatment of solid fear syndrome is based on psycho-behavioral therapy techniques. Experts will encourage people who fear snakes to talk about their fears, then teach them messages to suppress fear. Some psychotherapists treat you by letting you come into contact with snakes naturally, starting from photographs to direct contact with snakes in environments where snakes cannot harm you. Hypnosis is a therapy that experts can use to help you feel comfortable when having a snake.