Phobias towards some animals are not alien to us because we have heard a lot about arachnophobia, for example. But in reality, any animal can cause a phobic disorder, from snakes to dogs to horses. In our dictionary of phobias we talk about hypo phobia or fear of horses.
What is hypo phobia?
Hypo phobia is the fear of horses. It can also appear as technophobia, but in any case it is the same irrational and excessive fear of horses. Although in principle the horse does not seem like a dangerous animal like snakes, for example, this is how people who suffer from hypo phobia perceive it.
It is also not so strange to be suspicious of some animals, since they are still unpredictable and often you cannot control or anticipate their reactions. But from there to suffering a phobia goes a whole series of consequences that limit your life to the extreme. Phobic disorder is always worrying, but you have to take action when it starts to be an obstacle in your life.
The symptoms of this phobia
Hypo phobia manifests itself with the same symptoms as anxiety. Your pulse races, you get dizzy, you can barely breathe, you have a feeling of unreality or you have a panic attack. All this happens in front of the stimulus of the phobia, that is, when you are near a horse.
In the most serious cases of the phobia, you do not need to have the animal in front of you, just see it on television, in a photograph or imagine it. Although depending on where you live, it is not often that you find a horse every day, what is clear is that if you suffer from this type of phobia, the irrational thoughts and limitations that it imposes on you also lead to self-esteem problems.
Causes of hypo phobia
But where does the fear of horses come from? Generally a phobia develops as a result of a traumatic experience lived in the past. If you had an accident as a child when you were riding a horse or someone close to you suffered in a situation in which horses were present, it may well be the origin of the problem.
Another of the most common causes of phobias is a previous anxiety disorder. Anxiety problems manifest themselves in many ways and the sensation of fear and danger are present in all of them, so the appearance of phobias is very possible.
Treatment of fear of horses
Being afraid of horses is not as limiting a phobia as when you are afraid of dogs or cats, animals that you can meet more frequently. But that does not mean that you do not have to treat this disorder, because it is most likely that it will give rise to more phobias.
To overcome a phobia, it is necessary to go to a psychology professional, although in some cases drug treatment is not ruled out. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most effective because, in addition to helping you overcome this problem with horses, it gives you the tools you need so that you do not suffer from other phobias in the future.