The Hypophobia Is the irrational and persistent fear of horses. Also known as ecophobia, it is a subtype of phobia within the category of zoophobia or phobias to animals.
Those who suffer from it, experience extreme fear and anxiety simply by thinking that there are horses near them. It is a type of phobia that can interfere in the daily life of those who suffer it, especially of those people who relate to this type of animal in its closest context.
Causes of Hypophobia
This phobia is mainly caused by a negative or traumatic experience with a horse, usually during childhood. Many of the people who suffer it, have been struck by a horse or have fallen from one, which causes them to avoid for a while, thus enhancing the fear generated towards them.
Another possible cause may be the use that audiovisual media make of these animals. For example, there are films in which they portray black stallions as fierce, even devilish, animals with bloodshot eyes.
In addition, news about accidents with horses can cause high levels of anxiety in certain people, which can lead them to develop an intense and persistent fear of horses. For example, the actor Christopher Reeve , Famous among others for the film Superman , Became paralytic after falling off a horse.
Finally, this type of phobias is usually inherited among family members, ie if the father or mother has a phobia of horses may unconsciously spread their fear of their son or daughter. Genetic factors such as a deficit of adrenalin , Can also predispose this type of phobias.
symptom
Symptoms can appear anytime the person with hypophobia is near a horse or just thinks about them. We can divide them into physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.
Physical symptoms
- Accelerated pulse
- Tremors
- Tachycardia
- Shortness of breath
- Gastrointestinal problems: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, etc.
- Chest pain
Dizziness
- Cries and screams
- Excess of sweating
- Difficulty in articulating words
- Dry mouth
Mental symptoms
- Obsessive thoughts. The person suffering from a phobia tends to unconsciously generate thoughts related to the object of his phobia. This symptom supposes a very significant discomfort in the daily life of the person since the person can not stop thinking about the same thing and, in addition, this thought produces high levels of anxiety.
- Fear of losing control or"going crazy". It is the feeling of loss of self-control and is common in situations in which the person suffering from a phobia has exceeded his ability to control it and therefore has the belief that not handle the situation properly.
- Fear of fainting . Related to the above symptom is the feeling of losing consciousness as a result of a situation that overflows the person's resources, which is common during exposure to phobic stimulation.
- Negative images or"movies"related to horses. It is the appearance of mental images (fixed or moving) that have more or less direct relation with the phobic stimulus, in this case, with the horses. This type of image causes significant discomfort to the phobic, which, depending on its severity, may interfere in a greater or lesser extent in their daily life.
- Derealization. It is the alteration of the individual's perception or experience so that the individual presents himself as strange or unreal. This symptom begins to slowly increase with underlying anxiety and subsequently manifests itself abruptly, often after a panic attack .
- Depersonalization. It is an alteration of the perception or the experience of oneself in such a way that one feels"detached"from the mental processes or body, as if one were an external observer to them.
Emotional symptoms
Feelings of terror. Exposure to the phobic object, whether in a real or imagined way, causes feelings of intense fear in the person that, depending on the severity of the phobia, can generate a feeling of terror.
- Anxiety. The feeling of anxiety Can occur in several ways. In the first place it can be generated in advance, that is to say, the fact of thinking about a future approach with the phobic stimulus generates in the person an increase of the physiological activity provoked by the anxiety.
On the other hand, exposure to phobic stimulus also causes this type of symptom, and its frequency and duration will depend on the severity of the phobia. Finally, anxiety can be generated by recalling events related to the phobic stimulus, whether it has been exposed directly to the object of the phobia, or mental images of it.
- Feelings of sadness . The appearance of a phobia can generate in the person who suffers feelings of dejection, reluctance or sadness, that can interfere in their daily life.
- Desires to flee. It is the need not to deal with that which produces the phobia, and can occur in two ways. The first is to try to avoid exposure to the phobic stimulus, and is known as avoidance. The second, on the other hand, is to end exposure to the phobic stimulus, and is called escape.
- Other feelings. Feelings such as anger, guilt or the urge to hurt someone can appear. This is because the frustration produced by the irrational fear inherent in the phobia can lead to the appearance of negative emotions that turn that impotence into others or in oneself. For example, in the case of hypophobia, a response to it may be aggression to a horse, or to self-harm as a consequence of the guilt that can produce it.
Treatment
There are several treatment options for people suffering from hypophobia. The Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is one of the most common therapies for people with this type of phobias. These types of therapies focus on fears and why they exist. Its aim is to change and challenge the thought processes that maintain fear.
Exposure Therapy
One type of technique widely used to treat this type of phobias is so-called exposure therapy, which is within the scope of cognitive behavioral therapies. This type of treatment consists of exposing the patient to the object or situation he or she fears.
There are several variations in the provision of exposure treatment: self-exposure, therapist-assisted exposure, group exposure, and exposure with response prevention.
The exposure treatment can be carried out in real situations (live exposure) or can be done through the imagination, which is known as imagined exposure.
Systematic Desensitization
Another type of therapy is systematic desensitization. This type of treatment focuses on the progressive acclimatization of patients to their phobias. The first step is to think of horses, as well as to observe images of them. Once the patient is comfortable with these images, proceed to physical contact with the horse, first seeing it, then touching it and finally riding on it.
Occasionally, medication with this type of phobia is necessary, although the medication will only cause the symptoms to cease temporarily, thus not being effective in the long term.
Reading and learning about horses can also help people with hypophobia as to which can enable them to realize that fear is irrational. Horses, at least those well fed and domesticated, are harmless.
Statistics show that they normally do no harm to humans, which is reflected in the fact that no special safety measures are required when riding.
In addition, movies like The man who whispered to the horses Show how the protagonist of the same relates to the horses in a kind and Reassuring, which can help the hypophobic to overcome their fears.
Curiosities
Here are some curiosities related to horses, as these animals have qualities that will surprise more than one:
- There is a British law stating that an Englishman can not sell a horse to a Scotsman.
- The teeth of the horses never stop growing.
- The animal that identifies the state of New Jersey is the horse.
- Drink about 25 liters of water a day (or more).
- On one occasion ribbons were braided in the tails of horses to keep them safe from witches.
- Horses can not vomit or belch.
- It is said that the first to tame the horses were the Mongol tribes, about 5,000 years ago.
- Julius Caesar Rode a three-fingered horse. This situation resulted from a rare genetic mutation that can affect the front helmets.
- The horses mourn the death of a companion.
- They are animals that are instinctive and sociable, do not like to be alone.
- TO Leonardo da Vinci He liked to draw horses.
- The gestation period of a mare is 11 months and they only have a foal.
- The brain of an adult horse weighs 600 grams, about half a human.
- The first cloned horse was a Haflinger mare in Italy, in 2003.
- They like the sweet taste and generally reject bitter.
- Until the 1960s, the ponies at Dartmoor were used to escort the prisoners from the local prisons while they were out.
- They have"monocular"panoramic vision and only distinguish the colors green, yellow and gray.
- The carriage race was the first Olympic sport in 680 BC. C.
- They use their sense of smell to find food.