Animal Type Phobias

Animal type phobias are phobias or intense and irrational fears of one or more species of animal. Why these phobias exist, and how they begin, are not well understood. However, depending on where a person lives, and how they make a living, these phobias could be quite incapacitating. Some of the most common animal phobias are snakes, lizards, bugs, and cats. In severe cases a person might be unable to even look at a picture without suffering an anxiety reaction. These phobias can be treated by "deconditioning" - a course of gradual exposure that tries to make the fear object less threatening. Another, and more controversial, method is "flooding" which is a a mass exposure to the fear object.