Bufonophobia (fear of toads): symptoms, causes and treatment

This anxiety disorder can cause delusional beliefs to appear.

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

This specific phobia of a particular type of amphibian is not very disabling, but it is really unpleasant for those who suffer from it. In the following we will see what is bufonofobiaas well as its causes, its symptoms and its possible treatment.

What is bufonofobia?

By bufonofobia we understand one of the disorders of anxiety according to which the person experiences an exaggerated and irrational fear to the 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 incapacitating except in those exceptions in which the person must habitually coexist with this type of animal. In some extreme cases, people suffering from bufophobia may even think that the animal may grow in size and devour them.

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

Unlike the simple animosity that each person may feel when encountering one of these amphibians, in bufophobia the individual may come to recognize that the animal does not represent a threat in and of itself. Despite this, it is unable to resist the exacerbated fear it provokes.

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

Your symptoms

As stated in the first point, bufonofobia belongs to the classification of anxiety disorders. Therefore, the exposure of the person to the phobic situation or stimulus, in this case toads, will trigger an extreme response.

This symptomatology common to the rest of phobias 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 host of changes and alterations in the organism. These changes include:

• Acceleration of the Heart rate.
• Dizziness and tremors.
• Feeling of suffocation.
• Excessive sweating.
• Sensation of pressure in the chest.
• Nausea.
• Gastro-intestinal disturbances.
• Sensation of confusion.
• Fainting.

2. Cognitive symptoms

The person suffering from bufonofobia associates toads and similar amphibians with 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 poorly grounded beliefs about toads, as well as their attributes and qualities.

This cognitive symptomatology takes the form of the following manifestations:

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

3. Behavioral symptoms

Every anxiety disorder of this type is accompanied by a series of symptoms or behavioral manifestations that appear as a reaction to the aversive stimulus.

These behaviors are aimed at the avoidance of the feared situation, or the flight once the stimulus appears. once the stimulus has appeared. The latter are known as escape behaviors.

The behaviors that aim to avoid the encounter with toads and/or frogs refer to all those behaviors or acts that the person performs to avoid the possibility of meeting them. In this way momentarily avoid experiencing the feelings of anguish and anxiety generated by these animals. generated by these animals.

As far as escape behaviors are concerned, in the event that the person cannot avoid encountering the phobic stimulus, he/she will carry out all kinds of behaviors that allow him/her to escape from the situation as soon and as fast as possible.

What can be the causes?

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

This means that a person with a genetic predisposition to suffer from an anxiety disorder who faces, at some point in his or her life, a traumatic or emotionally charged emotional experience related in some way to the appearance of toads or frogs will be much more likely to develop a phobia, are much more likely to develop a phobia associated with these amphibians. associated with these amphibians.

On the other hand, although there are also adults with bufonofobia, this disorder occurs mainly in children; therefore, the theories that place learning as the starting point of the phobia are quite well supported.

These theories establish that in the youngest children phobias are usually caused by the acquisition of behaviors observed in children. acquisition of behaviors observed in adults, who, on occasionThese theories state that phobias in children are usually caused by the acquisition of behaviors observed in adults, who, on some occasion, may have manifested anxious behaviors before a specific stimulus. These behaviors are unconsciously assimilated by the child and fostered until they become phobias.

Is there a treatment?

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

However, in the few cases in which the person seeks professional help with the intention of reducing his or her fear of these animals, intervention through psychotherapy (specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy) is highly effective.

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