Phobias towards animals are common, although some are more understandable than others. Almost no one is surprised to be afraid of spiders, but what if you are afraid of cats? In principle, the cat is not a dangerous animal to be feared and most people adore these animals. In our dictionary of phobias we talk about ailurophobe or fear of cats.
Do you know what ailurophobe is?
Ailurophobe is the fear of cats. People who suffer from this experience heightened anxiety when they meet a cat, when they are close to this animal or even when they see it in pictures or on television. The mere idea of imagining a cat around can cause uncontrollable fear.
For many people, cats are adorable animals and the best company to have. For other people, however, cats are the source of a concern that quickly turns into panic. And it is not so strange, it also happens with dogs in the case of people who have cynophobia. After all, fear can be found in any situation and in any animal.
Symptoms that you have an irrational fear
You don’t have to be a moody or aggressive cat to experience a series of physical symptoms that are the same as those of anxiety: dry mouth, nervousness, agitation, palpitations, excessive sweating, nausea or dizziness. When the situation cannot be avoided in any way, it can lead to a panic attack.
Although it is true that not everyone finds themselves in the situation of living with a cat or meeting a cat on a daily basis, suffering from this phobia entails a series of consequences that can affect social life. You also have to take into account the psychic symptoms, with the amount of obsessive and distorted thoughts and the feeling that something is not right. How can you be afraid of a cat?
Why am I afraid of cats?
Phobias are characterized by an irrational and excessive fear of the stimulus, in this case the cat. Most of the time, the development of a phobia is the consequence of an anxiety disorder that multiplies fears and distortions thinking without being able to do anything to avoid it until you get treatment.
In other cases, it seems that there may be genetic causes for this fear of cats, but this has not been proven. What does seem more likely is that ailurophobe arises from conditioning by a traumatic experience suffered in the past or by associating cats with catastrophic thoughts.
Treatment of a phobia
It could be thought, as with other phobias that are not limiting on a day-to-day basis, that one can live with ailurophobe without the need to seek treatment, at least in cases in which that person can avoid any uncomfortable situation. But the truth is that the appearance of a phobia, whether it affects your life or not, already requires psychological treatment.
The most effective treatment to overcome the fear of cats is cognitive. In it, the distorted thoughts related to the cat are reviewed and in this way the behavior can be modified. Exposure therapy is part of the treatment, but it must be done under supervision. And, of course, relaxation techniques cannot be missing to reduce anxiety.