What to Know About Ophidiophobia (Fear of Snakes) (2024)

Ophidiophobia is a kind of phobia where you have an extreme fear of snakes. It is perfectly normal for adults and children to have fears, but having a simple fear of snakes is different from having a phobia.‌

Fear of snakes is very common. Half the people in the world feel anxious about snakes. Only 2% to 3% of those who are afraid of snakes may be having ophidiophobia, where the fear is so extreme it starts to interfere with their life or sense of well-being. Ophidiophobia is treated as an anxiety disorder.‌

You have ophidiophobia if:

  • ‌You have intense fear, panic, or anxiety that is unreasonable and difficult to manage.
  • The fear of snakes is out of proportion to the danger.
  • Your fear lasts longer than 6 months.
  • Your fear starts to negatively impact your life. You may find it difficult to behave normally in work, school, or social situations.

What Causes Ophidiophobia?

‌An intense and unexplainable fear of snakes can be caused by any number of reasons:

  • Negative experiences with snakes in the past: If you had a negative experience with snakes that affected you badly in the past — like in your childhood, for example — it may have caused you to develop a phobia.
  • ‌Learned behavior: You may develop the phobia if a close family member like a parent had the same phobia or had anxiety around snakes.
  • Genetics: Some people may genetically have a greater tendency to develop phobias.

Symptoms of Ophidiophobia

‌People with phobias can often experience panic attacks. They can also experience a sudden feeling of intense fear, anxiety and panic when exposed to snakes. They experience this extreme fear when just thinking about snakes without being physically near them.

Other symptoms of ophidiophobia to watch out for include:

  • ‌You know that your fear doesn’t make sense but you still struggle to manage it.
  • You do everything you can to avoid places or situations where you might find snakes, or you can be around snakes but not without experiencing the intense fear.
  • ‌Your anxiety gets worse if it looks like the snake or snakes are coming closer to you.
  • Sweating.
  • Difficulty breathing.
  • Tightness in the chest.
  • Nausea.
  • ‌Dizziness or lightheadedness.
  • ‌Children may have tantrums or show clingy or crying behavior.
  • Increased heart rate.
  • Increased blood pressure.
  • ‌Tremors. You have small or severe shaking or small or severe movements in one or more parts of your body.
  • ‌Paresthesia, a burning or prickling sensation usually felt in your arms, hands, legs, or feet.
  • Diarrhea.
  • ‌Hot flashes or chills.
  • Feeling dryness in your mouth.
  • ‌Sense of confusion or disorientation, which is when a person feels confused about their location or what they’re doing.

Diagnosis

‌Your doctor will initially ask you a series of questions to collect information about your symptoms and fears. They will review your medical, psychiatric, and social history. They may also refer to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose the specific phobia. Your doctor will then plan your treatment based on your diagnosis.

Treatment Options

‌Some people who have a phobia may not need treatment because all they need to do is avoid whatever is causing the phobia. You should consult a doctor if this is something that is not easy to do or it starts to affect your social, work, or personal life.‌

It may take some time to successfully treat ophidiophobia depending on how serious the condition is. But with treatment, upwards of 90% of people are able to successfully recover from a phobia. Psychotherapy in the form of exposure therapy and CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) together with medication, if needed, is found to be most effective for treating the condition.

  • ‌Exposure therapy: Exposure therapy works by slowly increasing your exposure to the object of fear in stages until you're able to control the fear. The exposure therapy may start with the therapist talking about snakes, asking you to read about them, showing you pictures of snakes, arranging a visit to see snakes at a local zoo, and finally asking you to try holding snakes. All of this happens in stages and you move to the next level as your level of comfort increases.
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Your doctor will work with you to learn new ways to view snakes and behave around them using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You will also learn practical ways to cope with your fear so you develop the confidence in your ability to deal with the fear.
  • ‌Medication: Phobias can usually be resolved with talk therapy. Sometimes, your doctor may recommend medication on a short-term basis to help treat conditions like the anxiety you have as part of phobia.
  • Lifestyle treatments: Your doctor may also suggest mindfulness techniques, meditation practices, or physical activity in the form of exercise to help you deal with anxiety and stress.
What to Know About Ophidiophobia (Fear of Snakes) (2024)

FAQs

What to Know About Ophidiophobia (Fear of Snakes)? ›

Many people are afraid of snakes. But ophidiophobia is an extreme, overwhelming fear of snakes that interferes with your sense of safety and daily life. Ophidiophobia is a common specific phobia, but there are treatments, like exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, that can help you manage symptoms.

How rare is the fear of snakes? ›

Research shows that approximately half of the population feel “anxious” about snakes, and a whopping three percent of the population meet the diagnostic criteria for snake phobia (Polak et al., 2016).

How many people suffer from ophidiophobia? ›

However, adults manifesting "clinically relevant" ophidiophobia accounts for only about 3–4% of the population.

What is an example of snake phobia? ›

Individuals with specific phobias often have intense reactions even when there is no real danger present. For instance, someone with ophidiophobia might experience a panic attack upon seeing a snake on TV, hearing someone mention snakes, or seeing a snake in a secured enclosure.

What is the fear of snakes in toilets called? ›

Snake In The Toilet

This is actually a common problem, not only for snakes, but also rodents, squirrels, lizards, frogs, and other little critters. The phobia or fear of snakes (Ophidiophobia) is real.

How does ophidiophobia affect daily life? ›

But ophidiophobia is so extreme that it interferes with a person's life, well-being or sense of safety. Ophidiophobes (people who have the phobia) may: Act strangely in social, educational or professional activities because of the phobia. Avoid friends' homes, pet stores, zoos and other places where snakes may be.

What causes fear of snakes? ›

Ophidiophobia is an extreme fear of snakes. It may stem from previous negative experiences, such as a snakebite or watching another person's fear and internalizing. Various types of therapy can help. Phobias can cause a range of symptoms and affect a person's quality of life.

What do you call a person who is afraid of snakes? ›

Ophidiophobia is treated as an anxiety disorder.‌ You have ophidiophobia if: ‌You have intense fear, panic, or anxiety that is unreasonable and difficult to manage. The fear of snakes is out of proportion to the danger.

Is fear of snakes natural? ›

Damon's reaction may be unusual, but his fear isn't. A new study suggests that all humans have a "genetic phobia" of snakes, due partly to a long evolutionary history in which pythons preyed on people.

What phobia is blood? ›

Hemophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of blood. It is a subtype of blood, injury, and injection phobia. When a person has this phobia, they dread the sight of blood. This fear often includes their own blood, another person or animal's, or even an image of blood.

How to cure ophidiophobia? ›

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

CBT is the most common, and usually most effective, treatment for phobias including ophidiophobia. It can help you to develop coping strategies in case you are faced with triggers in the future.

Can snakes swim up toilets? ›

According to experts, unfortunately, it can happen. Not only can snakes come up through the toilet, but other critters like rats, squirrels, and tree frogs can, too.

What are snakes afraid of in the house? ›

Snakes are highly sensitive to odors, so those currently denning in the home can be “evicted” by applying products such as vinegar, lime mixed with hot pepper, garlic or onions, Epsom salt, or oils such as clove, cinnamon, cedarwood, or peppermint to the perimeter.

Is Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia? ›

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is the fear of long words. It's considered a social phobia. When you have a social phobia, it's common to avoid social situations as a means to control your anxiety.

What is the most common fear? ›

Top 10 List of Most Common Phobias
  • Social Phobia: Fear of social interactions.
  • Trypophobia: Fear or circle clusters.
  • Atychiphobia Fear of failure.
  • Thanatophobia: Fear of death.
  • Nosophobia: Fear of developing a disease.
  • Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders.
  • Vehophobia: Fear of driving.
  • Claustrophobia: Fear of enclosed spaces.
Oct 30, 2019

Are we born afraid of snakes? ›

Yet the dislike, or fear of snakes may be also an acquired taste: while babies and very young children do not usually fear snakes, they are unusually skilled at detecting them and show a predisposition to learn to fear snakes if they have bad experiences or even if they are exposed to negative portrayals of them in the ...

Are more people scared of snakes than spiders? ›

The most common fear – one shared by nearly one in three U.S. adult citizens – is of snakes. Among the other things polled that sparked fear in the most Americans are heights, spiders, public speaking, disease, and crowded spaces.

References

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