Agrizoophobia (fear of wild animals): symptoms and causes

Phobias are irrational and persistent fears, which can considerably affect the quality of life of a person. Many of them have an animal or group of animals as their phobic stimulus, as is the case with agrizoophobia, that is, the phobia of wild animals.

In this article we will know what is meant by a wild animal, examples of them, as well as the symptoms, causes and treatments of agrizoophobia.

• We recommend you read: "Types of Phobias: Exploring Fear Disorders"

Agrizoophobia: what is it?

Agrizoophobia is the phobia of wild animals.. Like any phobia, it translates into an unjustified, irrational and intense fear of the phobic stimulus. It is a specific phobia, classified as such in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders). Remember that phobias are anxiety disorders, and that they are the most prevalent anxiety disorders in the general population.

Specifically, we can place agrizoophobia within animal phobias, one of the 5 groups of phobias that proposes the DSM-5, together with: phobia of natural environments, situational phobia, phobia of injections/blood/injuries and others phobias.

But what exactly are wild animals? What are some of them? Let's explain it to understand this type of phobia in more detail:

Wild animals

Wild animals are animals that live in the wild and have not been domesticated by humans.. They can live both in water, air or land; that is, there are different types of them. Examples of wild animals are: the lion, the tiger, the shark, the elephant, the giraffe, the leopard, the wolf, the crocodile, etc. As we can see, each one has a specific natural habitat and a surface where he is used to living.

It is difficult for a wild animal to become domestic, although there have been cases of people who have "domesticated" or who live with them: for example, is the case of a woman residing in Florida who has a tiger like a pet". However, it is far from usual, since these animals usually need a wild life in the open air, without human control.

Dangerousness is often associated with wild animals. This is so because some of them are, especially when attacked, disturbed or interfered with in their natural habitat. However, in agrizoophobia the danger is not real, or it is not high enough to explain the symptoms that the phobia itself triggers.

Symptoms

The symptoms of agrizoophobia consist of an intense and disproportionate fear of wild animals, together with other associated psychophysiological symptoms: for example dizziness, nausea, vomiting, over-excitement, nervousness, agitation, sweating, feeling short of breath, losing control, anxiety…

Normally, however, these last symptoms do not appear unless the patient with agrizoophobia manifests a panic attack associated with the presence (or imagination) of this type of animal. Let's specify the symptoms of this phobia a little more.

1. disproportionate fear

The intense fear of intense animals that agrizoophobia implies is also disproportionate; This means that, although one might logically think that a wild animal can cause fear (because it can cause harm), in the agrizoophobia fear appears even when the animal cannot cause harm (in a zoo, for example) or when it is not present (in the imagination).

2. irrational fear

That is to say, in agrizoophobia the real danger does not exist (or it is not serious enough to justify the symptoms). Thus, it is an irrational fear (as in any specific phobia). This irrationality can be contemplated by the patient himself (that is, he himself can realize that fear is irrational); however, he is unable to cope with the phobia.

3. Avoidance/resistance of phobic stimulus

Other symptoms of agrizoophobia consist of: avoidance of the phobic stimulus (in this case, wild animals); the avoidance, in addition, is also extrapolated to situations or environments where a wild animal can be seen (for example, zoos, natural parks, etc.).

If, on the other hand, the phobic stimulus is faced, a symptom that may appear is resistance to it; that is, the patient with agrizoophobia faces the animal (sees it, approaches it, touches it...) but with extreme anxiety.

4. overall impact

Finally, another characteristic symptom of agrizoophobia is an affectation of the global and daily functioning of the person, who loses quality of life and who may stop doing things that he would do under normal conditions, due to his phobia.

In addition, the person feels clinically significant discomfort.

Causes

The causes of agrizoophobia are related to an ancestral and evolutionary response of the organismto protect yourself from danger. That is to say, evolutionarily animals and people "learned" to protect themselves from certain stimuli, such as wild animals. It is logical to think that a wild animal can cause us physical harm, because this can happen; For example, let's think of lions, tigers, wolves, crocodiles...

These mechanisms that we talked about as a possible cause of agrizoophobia were useful for the survival of the species; However, currently, in agrizoophobia, the mechanisms are dysfunctional and maladaptive, since they do not respond to a "real" or serious enough danger.

On the other hand, these mechanisms are related to other types of related phobias, for example phobia of snakes, scorpion phobia, spider phobia, etc. Thus, as a cause of agrizoophobia we find a response from the organism as a measure of protection against harmful or unknown agents (in this case, wild animals). This response may be unconscious.

Other causes of agrizoophobia are related to traumatic experiences with animals (whether they are wild or not, but especially with wild ones); for example, a dog bite, an animal attack, etc.

After experiencing something like this, the person can perfectly develop such a phobia, as a protection mechanism. We also find among its causes having witnessed the attack of a wild animal on another person (vicarious conditioning), having heard related stories from others, etc.

Treatment

Agrizoophobia can be treated with psychological therapy, mainly through two types of techniques: exposure techniques and cognitive techniques.. With exposure (the therapy of choice for specific phobias), the subject will be exposed to these animals, gradually.

The exhibition can be of different types: symbolic (through images, videos, in imagination...), through virtual reality, live (through going to a zoo, for example), simulated (through behavioral trials), etc Your choice will depend on the characteristics, needs and preferences of the patient with agrizoophobia.

On the other hand, cognitive therapy will be used to modify irrational and/or dysfunctional thoughts associated with wild animals; the goal is for the patient to "understand" that he does not have to be in danger, and that her fear is disproportionate. Through this type of therapy, effective coping strategies will also be fostered in the patient to deal with the phobic stimulus.