Since ancient times, dogs have been companions of man. These are not only true friends, assistants in hunting and work, but also favorites. These smart creatures are easily trained, quickly adapt to any conditions. But when animals can be aggressive, cause great psychological and physical damage. This causes fear in some people. What is the name of the fear of dogs and how to deal with it, you will learn from our material.
Fear of dogs
So what is the name of the fear of dogs and why does it occur? This anxiety condition is called cynophobia. The object of fear can be not only pets, street pets, but even videos with them, images, stories, etc. The stronger the fear, the more difficult it is to fight it. In such people, even ordinary stories about these animals cause fear of dogs.
Reasons
Kinophobia usually develops during childhood or adolescence and can persist for many years if not properly treated. The distinguishing feature of the fear of dogs from other anxiety conditions is that there are no really objective reasons for the phobia. Some believe that the manifestation of the disease is associated with an attack, bites, but as practice shows, cynophobia rarely develops in people who have ever been attacked by dogs.
After the stress associated with biting, a person may still be afraid of dogs for some time, but this is not a phobia. After all, with her, people do not experience constant horror in front of animals of any size, even in front of puppies, their images.
Phobia (fear) of dogs is associated with a hereditary predisposition, when children adopt the fears of their parents. Often, kinophobia arises due to a particular character, the formation of an inferiority complex. A sense of inferiority leads to the development of pseudophobia, a person has low moral qualities, such as courage, loy alty, which are inherent in dogs. Less often, anxiety occurs due to mental disorders.
Clinical manifestations
Kinophobia (the name of the fear of dogs) is manifested by severe anxiety, accompanied by various disorders. Among them are:
- chest tightness;
- trembling;
- muscle tension;
- palpitations, pain in the heart may appear;
- dry mouth;
- frequent urge to urinate.
Kinophobia is characterized by sleep disturbance, increased sweating, nervousness, irritability, alertness. There may be a sense of impending danger. In some cases, panic attacks occur, in which there is a fear of death.
Some people have panic attacks even at the thought of dogs, which disturb the heart rhythm, make breathing difficult, have headaches, nausea. Patients may exhibit uncontrolled bouts of rage and aggression. For them, any mention of dogs is manifested by a sense of impending disaster.
Because of the severe manifestation of fear, most patients require therapy. Knowing how to get rid of the fear of dogs, people will be able to return to normal life, otherwise patients can be dangerous for themselves and others.
Diagnostic Methods
So what is the name of the fear of dogs and how to identify it, distinguish it from ordinary fear? True cynophobia is diagnosed when the patient has:
- psychotic, vegetative clinical symptoms that are a manifestation of anxiety;
- anxiety when confronted with an object of fear.
Cynophobia can be a symptom of another mental illness. In this case, the doctor diagnoses, determines the disease, selects the treatment.
Therapy Methods
The name of the phobia of fear of dogs comes from the Greek "cinema" - a dog. Back in the oldThere have been times when people have experienced this disease and didn't know how to deal with it.
Today, for each case of manifestation of the disease, a specific treatment is selected. After a visit to the doctor, patients will learn not only the name of the fear of dogs and the methods of treatment, but they can also say exactly what caused the formation of fear. During the examination, the doctor determines whether the patient really has cynophobia or if he has a different kind of fear. Only after that the method of therapy is selected.
Treatment of difficult cases
If left untreated, cynophobia can cause antisocial behavior in a person. He seems to drop out of public life, tries to go out less or stops doing it altogether, stops communicating with other people.
Most often, a course of psychotherapy is not enough, and additional medication is required. According to the indications and the clinical map, the doctor selects the drugs. But this does not mean that there are medicines created specifically for the treatment of this particular type of fear. All phobias are treated with the same drugs, selected individually.
Fear of dogs, or as this disease is called in another way - kinophobia, was once treated with benzodiazepine tranquilizers. Then doctors began to refuse their use due to the formation of dependence. Now, a variety of drugs are used to treat phobias.
Most often, in the first two weeks of therapy, tranquilizers are selected together with antidepressants. Further, tranquilizers are cancelled. Parallelother drugs may be prescribed, for example, blockers that stop the severity of symptoms.
Get rid of fear yourself
In order to successfully get rid of the fear of dogs, it is not enough to take medication alone. Doctors recommend the following:
- Change your diet. According to foreign scientists, malnutrition negatively affects he alth, but increases the likelihood of developing fears. If the balance between proteins, fats and carbohydrates is disturbed, there are malfunctions in the work of all organs and systems, including the nervous one. Due to a lack of nutrition, the nervous system and brain automatically turn on the body's defenses in the form of alarm. To reduce anxiety, you need to include full-fledged slow carbohydrates in your diet. They help activate the production of tryptophan, a brain nutrient and an activator of endorphins and serotonin. When receiving tryptophan in the right amount, a person is balanced, calm.
- It is necessary to reduce the psychological burden. The modern rhythm of life makes a person set himself the maximum number of tasks and minimum terms, often to the detriment of a good rest. To normalize the load on the body, you should properly distribute it, leaving at least eight hours a day to rest. All work matters should be left at work, and outside of it, do other things that help you relax.
- Relaxotherapy. Classes that help to relax and forget about the present have a positive effect on the psyche. It could be yoga, walk onforest, sauna, pool, picnic. Scientists have proven that it is trips to nature that help relieve nervous tension and stress.
- Please yourself. Happy people have little to no fear because they have high self-esteem. To make yourself happy, you should, if possible, give up unloved work, stop communicating with unpleasant personalities. You have to do what makes you happy. It can be shopping, shopping, walking in the woods.
Solitude helps calm your nerves. At this time, you can put your thoughts in order, devote yourself to self-development, read a book, meditate, do psychological exercises.
Conclusion
Looking for answers to questions, what is the name of the phobia fear of dogs, how it is treated and why it occurs, you can often hear stories that what you are afraid of is what heals. So, there are kinofobes who managed to cope with their fears by getting dogs at home. However, they went to this step for a long time, psychologically preparing themselves. They looked at the animals they walked, watched videos on the Internet, listened to the stories of dog breeders. This step really helps to cope with fear, because seeing how the dog wags its tail, regrets, cries and rejoices with the owner, it is impossible to resist.
