Ranidaphobia: symptoms, causes and treatment

Fear is one of the basic emotions available to most of the animals that inhabit the planet, including human beings. Thanks to it we warn that certain stimuli are potentially life-threatening, and we prepare a response according to the threat.

Thus, it is not a dangerous affect, nor is it "negative" as is traditionally thought. It is rather a useful and effective phenomenon to guarantee the survival of a species, since it keeps us safe in a world that is sometimes tremendously hostile.

However, sometimes such an emotion can extend beyond where it should not be, or acquire an intensity disproportionate to the objective characteristics of the stimulus to which it is triggered. In this case we refer to phobias, disorders that are included within the general category of anxiety.

In this article we will talk about a fear that is more common than people usually think and that can limit the quality of life of those who suffer from it. It's about ranidaphobia. Let's see what it consists of, why it happens and how it is treated.

• Related article: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

What is ranidaphobia?

Ranidaphobia is the particular label with which the excruciating and disabling fear of frogs is described.. The term comes from two classical languages, whose etymology is rooted in Latin ("ranae" or frog) and Greek ("phobia" or fear). It is a specific phobia of the animal subtype, a much more common form of aversion in childhood. than in adulthood, although it can affect anyone throughout its life cycle (regardless of the sex).

A whole series of qualities are attributed to the frog that many people find unpleasant. Among them, some extremely mobile eyes stand out, which stand as the most visible anatomical region when they are submerged under the water. water, and that also have both eyelids and nictitating membranes that cover their eyeballs and give them a shiny and "attentive". Its skin is slightly slimy, and its legs are tremendously strong considering its weight and size.

People with ranidaphobia judge these traits as extremely aversive and extend this assessment to the "non-physical" characteristics of the animal, such as its distinctive form of croaking, which also requires the action of some fine membranes located under the skin of your throat (whose movement tends to be "horrifying" for those who fear them). As time goes by, if appropriate treatments are not applied, the fear worsens and extends even to the simple sight of a frog on television or other media (Internet, for example).

During exposure to a stimulus associated with a frog, the person suffering from ranidaphobia experiences bodily sensations similar to those of a panic attack: hyperventilation, rapid heart rate, mydriasis of the pupil (which can reduce visual acuity and obscure vision in too bright spaces), sweating and feeling that the body itself is about to collapse. In the most severe cases, symptoms of depersonalization and derealization may arise.

In addition to this, there are also cognitive-type symptoms that appear in advance of exposure to the stimulus itself (anticipation anxious to meet a frog because they are in a space where they are usually found) or during the same (thoughts that "it is not possible to bear"; or mental images in which this animal moves, stalks, jumps or comes into contact with the person). In addition to this, there are also motor behaviors that contribute to maintaining the problem over time (flight or escape).

This fear, which is valued as irresistible, also tends to extend to those places where frogs inhabit, which are numerous and very varied (since they are widely distributed throughout the geography). For this reason, spaces with excessive vegetation or humidity are usually avoided, as well as locations that are too close to rivers or swamps. In addition, fear is exacerbated at night or close to it, since they are periods of low visibility and in which the sound of these batrachians is more evident.

What are the causes of this disorder?

The causes for which ranidaphobia can manifest are very diverse; and are related to psychological, social and biological variables. The last of them refer directly to genetics, since it has been shown that vulnerability to the development of anxiety problems is associated with family inheritance, so that approximately 50% of this phenomenon is attributable to it (although it is not always easy to dissociate it from specific parenting patterns that stimulate the appearance of this disorder).

The personal experience of a real and adverse situation in which a frog was involved is also very usual, as well as having witnessed how a person reacted with excruciating fear when interacting with this animal. In the same way, the use of frogs or other animals as deterrent strategies to avoid undesirable behaviors of the infant ("a dog will come and eat you", eg.), are also very frequently referred to when reconstructing the story of how the problem was created.

The truth is that frogs have traditionally been considered unattractive beings, or even unpleasant and unworthy of being loved, which has been transferred with success to folk tales and tales that have been passed down for generations to children almost everywhere on the planet ("kissing frogs until one of them turns into the prince"). In fact, there are areas in the world where it is considered an animal that carries a bad omen (as it relates to the witchcraft), and there are even phrases in the proverb that refer to them in a derogatory way ("it has come out frog").

Some children also learn to fear them by learning that many frogs are poisonous, especially those with colors that could be conspicuous a priori. Besides, in many countries frogs are used as a "medium" through which children acquire basic notions of anatomy; what for many supposes a traumatic, disgusting or cruel experience (evisceration, dismemberment, dissection, etc.) from which the subsequent irresistible fear is erected.

Finally, it is also possible that the fear of frogs arises secondarily, that is, as part of a "broader" stimulus that the child fears. Thus, for example, the croaking of frogs in the middle of a dark and/or cold place (in which fear arises naturally and adaptively) can make this sound go from being a neutral stimulus to another conditioned, and from there the emotion is generalized to the rest of what the frog is (including its physical presence in places very different from those in which this frog was originally acquired). association).

It must also be taken into account that sometimes the frogs appear unexpectedly or suddenly, jumping from behind a bush or simply perching on a stone or a plant without anything being able to notice this made. This way of acting can trigger the emotion of surprise in the child, an affect that is considered neutral (neither positive nor negative). negative) for most people, but with adverse nuances for those living with an anxiety disorder.

• You may be interested in: "Types of Anxiety Disorders and their characteristics"

Treatment

Psychological treatment is a very effective tool for addressing phobias.And this one in particular is no exception. The program incorporates a set of cognitive and behavioral strategies that have a high degree of evidence, and which are selected based on the particularities of the case and the history of the case. problem. The use of drugs for anxiety (such as benzodiazepines) is not considered a priority, and even there are studies that indicate that it could interfere with some of the psychotherapeutic procedures.

As previously noted, avoiding the feared stimulus (the frog on this occasion) becomes counterproductive, as it exacerbates the problem through a negative reinforcement mechanism. For this reason, it is important to schedule exposure sessions that allow the fear response to be attenuated by habituation to the stimulus. In addition, over time they will improve self-efficacy and modify negative expectations about what happens when interacting with the animal (which are usually very dark at first).

Since it is not always possible to develop a live exposure from the beginning of therapy, it can be started only in imagination using a progressive format. This modality is a good prelude and allows the therapist and the patient to build a hierarchy of situations (according to the levels of anxiety that they generate), which the latter must face through "induction" by the professional. The technique is combined with diaphragmatic breathing or other relaxation modalities, and it increases confidence in the ability to deal with fear. In addition, it can be enriched with audiovisual details (audio tracks in which the croaking of a frog is heard, for example).

Certain cognitive techniques have also proven effective in this problem, especially those aimed at reflecting on the way in which mental contents (thoughts) can condition our emotions, articulating a proactive debate through which it will be explored whether or not the beliefs we have about frogs conform to objective parameters and rational. For this occasion, the therapist and the patient dialogue and/or explore together, through a diversity of logical resources based on collaborative empiricism.

Finally, psychoeducation is key throughout the process. This should focus as much on what anxiety is and why it happens, as on the characteristics of frogs. To do this, you can resort to reading books about them, including those that delve into their habits and anatomy. In this way, it is intended to better understand what the object of fear is, and reduce the usual uncertainty that burnishes phobic stimuli.

Bibliographic references:

• Coelho, C. and Purkis, H. (2009). The Origins of Specific Phobias: Influential Theories and Current Perspectives. Review of General Psychology, 13, 335-351.
• Singh, J. and Singh, J. (2016). Treatment options for the specific phobias. International Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 5(3), 593-598.