Humans have many fears. The fear of snakes or Ophidiophobia is the second most common phobia in the world. Nearly 1/3rd of adult humans are believed to have an intense fear of snakes.
Most people with Ophidiophobia can lead normal lives as they do not have to confront the object of their fears under normal circumstances. However, for people with severe Ophidiophobia, the mere mention, or an image of a snake in books or on TV can lead to an intense fear response, the reactions of which can even include heart attacks and death.
Causes of Ophidiophobia
Snakes are fascinating creatures that have always had myths associated with them. These myths are the major reason why humans fear them. This and the fact that some snakes are deadly and venomous and can lead to deaths have probably led to Ophidiophobia.
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Following are the causes of Ophidiophobia:
- Ignorance and lack of education is one of the most common reasons why humans fear snakes.
- Traumatic episode in the past such as accidently stepping on a snake or being bitten, hissed at or otherwise threatened by snakes might have lead to one’s Ophidiophobia.
- Seeing or witnessing an incident wherein another person, a close friend or family member was hissed at, or bitten by a snake can also lead to the fear of snakes
- Media reports and TV shows can also lead one to believe that snakes are always dangerous leading to Ophidiophobia.
- Genetic traits, family history with ophidiophobic persons etc can also lead other family members to have an intense fear of snakes.
- Evolution is another reason behind this phobia. Many evolutionary psychologists explain Ophidiophobia as a ‘disgust response’ to snakes that have always been associated with death, disease or poison.
Ophidiophobia is a part of Zoophobia, a generic term for the fear of animals. Some cases of zoophobia are stronger in the childhood and go away in the adulthood. In other cases, the phobia persists and remains even in adulthood.
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Symptoms of fear of snakes
The American Psychiatric Association has described following symptoms of Ophidiophobia which can be categorized as mental, physical or emotional:
- Uncontrollable anxiety especially when one is about to be exposed to snakes
- Feeling that one must do anything to avoid snakes
- Screaming, crying or experiencing the difficulty to breathe, or trembling or shaking violently when one encounters snakes, their pictures or images on TV etc.
- Feeling anxious or experiencing increased heart rate when taken to locations where snakes may be present.
Ophidiophobia can affect a person’s normal life especially when he/she avoids zoos or friends’ homes where there are pet snakes. Ophidiophobics refuse to leave their homes in places that are having high snake population.
Treatment of Ophidiophobia
If you or someone you know is experiencing an irrational fear of snakes, you can look into one or more of the following treatment options:
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- Desensitization and reprocessing- This therapy is effective in addressing past traumatic experiences that might have caused the Ophidiophobia. It helps the patient overcome his/her fear by making him/her look at images of snakes and gradually enable him/her to hold small snakes. This helps the individual overcome fear and move forward in life.
- 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.
- Relaxation techniques- These include meditation, controlled breathing, counting and positive reaffirmations when faced with images of snakes. The best part about these techniques is that one can tailor their own solutions and help oneself overcome the fear of snakes.
- Individual counseling or group therapy- Talking about one’s fears can help release negative feelings while coming up with strategies to cope with their phobia.
By using the treatment options mentioned above, one can overcome their Ophidiophobia in order to not only lead a normal life but also enjoy the beautiful creatures that are a fascinating part of our Nature.
Literally my whole class and family has Ophidiophobia except for me!
I have a very bad fear of snakes I can’t look at pictures of snakes I can’t even touch a plastic snake i faint. I try to get past my fear but when i try to start with small things like looking at pictures I can’t seem to get it over with. Its like even if i am watching a movie and a snake pops up it becomes hard for me to sleep cause I keep thinking it’s going to attack me in my sleep. I’m very terrified of snakes at the point even if something has a snake skin or snake color i can’t keep it in my room.
I really need help how can i stop it?
I really like this page because it gives me all the info I need!
My school project will be greatly affected by this.
THANK YOU!
hi i am in high school and i am doing an essay about snakes.
I’m doing a school project and I’m using the site
Me too.
Same here! I am doing an essay on Ophidiophobia.
Me too, where does the word come from?
thank you all
I have a severe fear of snakes. I had an episode yesterday that was less than attractive and simply embarrassing when I saw a huge snake in my yard. Its debilitating. I live in the desert and I love farming and gardening. I’ve struggled my whole life with it. I dont know what to do anymore.
My mom can barely even look at a cartoon snake never mind a picture of a real life one. Nothing in her past has anything to do with snakes eg. No family member got hurt by a snake, No family member got killed by a snake, No family member has ophidiophobia at all, people in my family can tolerate snakes/like them, she can’t look at a toy snake or garter snakes / non-poisonous ones. She gets very scared when she sees a plastic snake and I don’t want her to have a panic attack. Does she have ophidiophobia? What should I do?
When ever I see a snake on TV or in an image, I begin shaking violently. One time, me and my family were at a park and we were exploring a creek. I was on one side, my younger sister on the other. I saw a snake and started feeling my heart race. My legs felt numb and itchy and before I knew what I was doing, I was on the other side of the creek. Mind telling me why I do this?
Thanks!
This is related to your past life traumatic experience of snakes. You had probably died due to snakes in one of your past life, recent or distant. When one has intense fear of something without any negative experience with them in current life ever, then be informed it goes back to a past life. Throughout births, our bodies change one dies and one new comes.. but the soul remains same and it is common to all of our bodies. The soul remembers the trauma of the past life person as it was in side their bodies and felt what they felt.
This is my first hand experience. I have never in life traveled in ships or made ocean voyages, I am mostly a home body and do not travel much. None in my family does, none i know or knew had such death or experience, but suddenly i developed terrible phobias of drowning in the middle of a dark ocean at a fateful night. My past life regression work proved I had died by accidentally falling from a ship in the sea and it had happened at night.
Past Life Torture: In ancient times, governments would inflict torture on its prisoners by using animals (most often snakes) or insects (most often spiders). That is why Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) are the top present phobias.
Hi I am doing a school project and I need to know your full name for citation. Thanks
Hi Jena
Thanks for your interest in my work.
If you look to the right, there’s an “About Me” section.
Let me know if you have any other questions – I’ll be happy to answer them.
I have a sudden reflex in me whenever I see a snake image or actual snake before realising mentally whether the object I am seeing is a snake. May I know why does this happen?
It´s strange when you love something that so many people just fear to death.
I don’t know, but once I heard that when you treat someone that loves something you fear, it can help to “defeat” your fear.
Awesome post but here’s my question, do you think it’s possible to overcome snake phobia if the options you’ve given on how to treat it are unavailable in your vicinity?
That snake is scary.
Hi Jacob.
I’m currently writing an informative essay and I need the date of when you published this post about Ophidiophobia for citation. Thank you.
Hi Sabrina
This article was first published 30 December 2013 and has been updated a few times since then. Have a great weekend.
Hi I am doing an essay.
I’m not afraid of snakes surprisingly. When I was a kid, my friends and I would go hunting for garden snakes.
It’s funny because I have a fear of spiders, roaches, centipedes, worms, caterpillars, and pitbulls.
This helps a lot thank you so much and how you doin.