Bufonophobia (fear of toads): symptoms and treatment

Those fairy tales in which the princess kissed a frog so that it would become a prince, and Thus ending happily ever after would not have been possible if any of these princesses suffered from bufonophobia.

This specific phobia to a specific type of amphibian is not very disabling, but it is really unpleasant for those who suffer from it. Next We will see what is bufonophobia, as well as its causes, its symptoms and its possible treatment.

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

What is bufonophobia?

By bufonophobia we understand one of the anxiety disorders according to which the person experiences an exaggerated and irrational fear of toads. It differs from batrachophobia in that in the latter the feeling of fear encompasses everything related to amphibians including frogs, newts and salamanders.

This type of phobia never tends to be strongly disabling except in those exceptions in which the person must habitually live with this type of animal. On some very extreme occasions, people who suffer from bufonophobia may come to think that the animal can grow in size until it devours them.

Nevertheless, This anxiety disorder differs in each of the people who suffer from it due to individual differences in thought patterns associated with frogs and toads.

Unlike the simple animosity that each person may feel when encountering any of these amphibians, in bufonophobia the individual can come to recognize that the animal does not represent a threat by itself. Despite this, she is unable to resist the exacerbated fear that causes her.

Like the rest of the existing phobias, a person with bufonophobia will surely experience a series of emotions and physical manifestations typical of a state of extremely high anxiety.

• You may be interested in: "The 7 types of anxiety (causes and symptoms)"

Your symptoms

As indicated in the first point, bufonophobia belongs to the classification of anxiety disorders. Thus, exposing the person to the phobic situation or stimulus, in this case toads, will trigger an extreme response.

This common symptomatology to the rest of phobias It can be divided into 3 groups: physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms, and behavioral symptoms.

1. physical symptoms

The appearance or sighting of the phobic stimulus causes hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system that triggers a large number of changes and alterations in the organism. These changes include:

• Acceleration of heart rate.
• Dizziness and tremors.
• Sensation of suffocation.
• excessive sweating
• Sensation of pressure in the chest.
• Nausea.
• Gastro-intestinal disorders.
• Feeling of confusion
• fainting

2. cognitive symptoms

The person suffering from bufonophobia associates toads and similar amphibians a series of irrational beliefs. These distorted ideas of reality favor the development of this phobia, and are characterized because the person assimilates a series of unfounded beliefs about toads, as well as their attributes and qualities.

This cognitive symptomatology is specified in the following manifestations:

• Obsessive speculations about toads.
• intrusive thoughts, involuntary and absolutely uncontrollable about the supposed danger of the toads.
• Catastrophic mental images related to these amphibians.
• Fear of losing control and not being able to manage the situation satisfactorily.
• Feeling of unreality.

3. behavioral symptoms

All anxiety disorders of this nature are accompanied by a series of symptoms or behavioral manifestations that appear as a reaction to the aversive stimulus.

These conducts or behaviors are aimed at either avoiding the feared situation or running away once the stimulus appears. The latter are known as escape behaviors.

Behaviors that aim to avoid encountering toads and/or frogs refer to all those behaviors or acts that the person performs to avoid the possibility of meeting with these. Thus experiencing feelings of anguish and anxiety is momentarily avoided generated by these animals.

With regard to escape behaviors, in the event that the person cannot avoid meeting the phobic stimulus, will carry out all kinds of behaviors that allow him to escape from said situation as soon as possible possible.

Which can be the causes?

Like the rest of phobias, in most cases of bufonophobia, it is practically impossible to determine the exact origin of this irrational fear. However, we can theorize that its etiology would have the same foundation as the rest of the specific anxiety disorders.

This means that a person with a genetic predisposition to suffer from an anxiety disorder who copes, at some point in their life, to a traumatic emotional experience or with a high emotional charge and related in some way to the appearance of toads or frogs, you will be much more likely to develop a phobia associated with these amphibians.

On the other hand, although there are also adults with bufonophobia, this disorder occurs mainly in children; Therefore, the theories that put learning as the starting point of the phobia have a lot of support.

These theories establish that phobias in children are usually caused by acquisition of behaviors observed in adults, which, on some occasion, may have manifested anxiety behaviors in the face of a specific stimulus. These behaviors are unconsciously assimilated by the child and promoted until they become a phobia.

Is there a treatment?

It was already mentioned at the beginning of the article that bufonophobia does not tend to be incapacitating, except in those cases in which the person must live daily with toads and frogs. That is, due to the nature of the phobic stimulus, the anxiety response does not interfere with daily life of the person.

However, in the few cases in which the person seeks professional help with the intention of reducing their fear of these animals, intervention through psychotherapy (specifically through cognitive-behavioral therapy) is of great effectiveness.

Using techniques like live exposure wave systematic desensitization, accompanied by training in relaxation techniques and cognitive restructuring, the person can overcome their phobic fear and continue their life as normal.