Chiroptophobia (fear of bats): symptoms, causes and treatment

These animals can instill an extreme and irrational fear in some people.

Chiroptophobia is the persistent and intense fear of bats.. It is a specific type of phobia which, as such, can be a major trigger for anxiety responses and even panic attacks. It is a rare fear related to the transmission of threatening information about this animal species.

We will see below the main characteristics of chiroptophobia as well as its possible causes and treatment.

Chiroptophobia: fear of bats

The word "chiropteran" (chiroptera) is composed of the Greek "cheir", which means "hand", and the term "pteron", which means wings. This is the formal name for mammals that develop wings on their limbs, which we know as "bats". In turn, the word "chiroptophobia" is composed of the same Greek words, followed by the term "phobos" which refers to fear. In this sense, chiroptophobia is the term that refers to the fear of bats.

As it manifests itself in the presence of a specific animal, chiroptophobia is considered a specific type of phobia. is considered a type of specific phobia. However, it is not a common phobia. Specific animal phobias occur more frequently towards snakes, spiders, mice or rats, some insects and birds.

In this type of phobia, the fear is usually not of potential harm. That is to say, people recognize that the animal does not represent an important danger for their physical integrity.. However, this recognition does not reduce the anxiety response, since the fear is generated by the physical characteristics of the animal.

Specifically, the fear is related to the movement that the animal produces, especially if these are movements that are difficult to anticipate (e.g. sudden flapping), which in the case of chiroptophobia is very evident. The fear is also triggered by the physical appearance of the animals, which may be related to negative stereotypes about them and to feelings such as repugnance and disgust..

Likewise, in the case of small animals that may evoke a perceived danger (e.g. snakes) fear is the primary reaction, and disgust is the secondary reaction. The opposite occurs in the case of, for example, rats, mice and bats. Finally, fear is related to the sounds they produce and the tactile sensations that animals generate upon human contact.

Main symptoms

As occurs with other phobias, chiroptophobia triggers an immediate anxiety response. The latter may occur upon direct exposure to the stimulus, or upon the possibility or anticipation of exposure. Due to the activation of the autonomic nervous system (the system in charge of regulating our involuntary movements), the most common response is an anxious response that includes sweating, decreased Gastrointestinal activity, hyperventilation, accelerated heart rate, and sometimes a panic attack.

There may also be a fear of the symptoms themselves or of triggering a panic attack. Similarly, there may be a social component: many people are frightened by the possibility of making a fool of themselves when other people notice their reaction. the possibility of making a fool of themselves when other people notice the reaction..

Specific animal phobias usually begin in childhood (before the age of 12), although not necessarily, and occur more frequently among females.

Possible causes

One of the main hypotheses about the causes of specific phobias is that they derive from basic fears common to the human species, generated by phylogenetic evolution. This same hypothesis holds that the most common phobic fears are situational, to the natural environment, to diseases and finally to animals.

Along the same lines, animal phobia is often explained by the biological priming theory, which states that a stimulus is more likely to become phobic when it poses a threat to the survival of the species. That would include fear of attacks provoked by different animals.

On the other hand, animal phobias are often explained by the sociocultural variables surrounding our interaction with them, as well as by early learning about danger and possible threats..

In other words, fear expectancy has to do with the transmission of threatening information, which refers to the warnings received about the dangerousness of the stimulus.

Thus, chiroptophobia may also be generated with the negative connotations associated with bats. In this regard, it should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, of the 1100 species of bats that exist, only 3 feed on blood. The vast majority eat insects and fruits, and in some cases small vertebrates.. They are therefore an important species for pest control and seed dispersal.

Finally, as with other phobias, one of the main causes is previous negative experiences with the stimulus. previous negative experiences with the phobic stimulus (in this case with bats). stimulus (in this case bats). Such experiences may have been direct or indirect, and are potential triggers when they fit with the previously acquired expectation of danger. Likewise, fear expectations are reinforced by not having had positive experiences with the same stimulus.

Psychological treatment

There are different psychological techniques that allow to modify the fears converted into phobias, as well as to diminish the anxiety response. One of the most commonly used in the case of specific animal phobias is the technique of live exposure and some techniques of exposure in the imagination.. Both have effects such as reducing fear, avoidance behaviors and negative appraisal about the stimulus that causes both phobia and repulsion.

In combination with the above, participant modeling or observational learning is used, which is a form of accompaniment in which the person observes the behavior of another person and tries to imitate it. At the same time, he/she receives feedback on both physical and verbal or behavioral responses.

The problem specifically in the case of animal phobias, such as chiroptophobia, is the difficulty of live exposure to their natural environments. In view of this, virtual reality exposure techniques, imagination exposure techniques and systematic desensitization have been generated.

Bibliographical references:

• Bados, A. (2005). Specific phobias. Faculty of Psychology. Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics. Universitat de Barcelona. Retrieved October 08, 2018. Available at http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/bitstream/2445/360/1/113.pdf.