Read our, Medically reviewed by Daniel B. Your symptoms may include, but are not limited to, shaking, crying, or running away from snakes. Lots of people have snake phobias, but most don't feel the need to seek out professional help. Van Strien JW, Franken IH, Huijding J. In addition, there are a number of common myths about snakes. See animal phobia. In children with ophidiophobia, this feature may be absent. You may also develop a secondary fear of other reptiles. It is possibly the most common subcategory of herpetophobia, the fear of reptiles. [9] Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. However, this theory would not explain why snake phobias are relatively common, while fears of predatory animals, such as tigers, are rare. Common general dream symbol meanings: Sex: a phallic symbol—in both mystical and psychological interpretations Fear: of an action, situation, or person Intuition: a subconscious spiritual or instinctual message Change: must be, or has been made Inner strength or talent: you have it, time to use it Transition: reaching for, or achieving a higher level of wisdom or understanding Pennsylvania State University. [5] Psychiatrists Isaac Marks and Randolph M. Nesse and evolutionary biologist George C. Williams have noted that people with systematically deficient responses to various adaptive phobias (e.g. With an ability to leave the old skin behind, Snake represents a fascinating metamorphosis. References: Fear of snakes. Apparently, the Psychology Department at the University of Virginia has a couple of scholars studying the ‘universal’ fear of snakes. You may even be unable to look at photographs or videos in which snakes appear. Nearly 1/3rd of adult humans are believed to have an intense fear of snakes. Ophidiophobia is a particular type of specific phobia, the abnormal fear of snakes. Different treatments work for different people, so don't be afraid to try something out of the ordinary should a normal course of treatment prove ineffective. ⸠2020 About, Inc. (Dotdash) â All rights reserved. The most common treatments for snake phobia are based on cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. You may be encouraged to talk about your fear and taught new messages to replace your fearful self-talk. It can also be a symbol of someone you fear. For Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, the snake is primarily a phallic symbol representing the penis and sexual drive. The meaning behind Snakes Dreams. Ophidiophobia. Coping with anxiety and phobias. You may avoid camping or hiking trips, or even zoos and nature preserves. . [1], About a third of adult humans are ophidiophobic, making this the most common reported phobia.[2]. It is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. Ophidiophobia can be insidious. In The Handbook of the Emotions (1993), psychologist Arne Öhman studied pairing an unconditioned stimulus with evolutionarily-relevant fear-response neutral stimuli (snakes and spiders) versus evolutionarily-irrelevant fear-response neutral stimuli (mushrooms, flowers, and physical representation of polyhedra) on human subjects and found that ophidiophobia and arachnophobia required only one pairing to develop a conditioned response while mycophobia, anthophobia, and phobias of physical representations of polyhedra required multiple pairings and went extinct without continued conditioning while the conditioned ophidiophobia and arachnophobia were permanent. Fortunately, ophidiophobia has an excellent chance for successful treatment. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (ὄφις), snake, and "phobia" (φοβία) meaning fear. Developmental Science 12: 201–207. The fear of snakes or Ophidiophobia is the second most common phobia in the world. Ms. Masters, a New York public relations executive, experiences an overwhelming panic-attack type of fear … The fear of snakes has plagued Sydney Masters as long as she can remember. Snakes can be seen as phallic, and they are symbols of sex and temptation. It also represents mystery, fear, negativity, and evilness. It is important, though, to choose a therapist that you feel you can trust to help you through this process. Coral snakes are about … Humans have many fears. Specific Psychology Profile of People With High Fear of Snakes Differentiating propensity and sensitivity of fear and disgust is important as these constructs may be independently involved in psychopathology. A Freudian interpretation of a snake dream emphasizes your relationship to sexuality and male figures in your life. My will and reason were powerless against the imagination of a danger which had never been experienced. For example, Vernon and Berenbaum (2008) found that fear and disgust propensity may both play their role in spider fear. Harvard Medical School. The psychological interpretation of snakes in dreams.