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Animal Phobias

Molluscophobia – Fear of Slugs and Snails

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Fear of Slugs and Snails: A Phobia or Disgust?

Do you avoid going to gardens or wetlands during the rainy season? Have you still not watched the animated movie Epic, because it has talking slugs?

Do you get chills at the sight of a slug or snail? Do you stay away from gardens or moist places that may have slugs or snails?

If you answered yes to the above questions, you might have molluscophobia, the phobia of snails and slugs.

Seeing your family and friends unaffected by these slimy creatures probably leaves you feeling silly. This might make it difficult for you to express yourself and tell others about your phobia.

However, there are many different kinds of phobias, and you never know what someone may be going through.

Also, there is hope. Expressing yourself and seeking treatment can go a long way toward coping with your anxiety. Additionally, you can reach out for professional help and learn to live a phobia-free life.

To learn more about molluscophobia, read on.

 

What Is Molluscophobia?

Molluscophobia is the fear of gastropods, that is, snails and slugs. Gastropod fear causes a person to fear slugs and snails.

Both mollusks are harmless. However, one suffering from the phobia is repulsed at the sight of these creatures and avoids them at all costs.

The fear is most likely because of the gooey and slimy mollusk bodies, which have an unpleasant and wet feel. The creatures leave a line of slime in their path and lack visible facial features.

Moreover, they are unpredictable—at least to those who fear them. A slug or snail may quickly change paths, making them seem to advance toward the phobic.

Those suffering from fear of snails or slugs may wish to wipe them off the face of the earth, or at least from their garden. But that’s not a good idea. Slugs and snails are an important part of the food web and are critical for the ecosystem.

This slug and snail terror may limit a person to the four walls of their home, especially during the rainy season. One may also avoid venturing into wetlands or forest areas for hiking and camping in fear of encountering mollusks.

Causes of Molluscophobia

What do you think causes snail or slug phobia? Most psychologists believe that phobias mostly stem from experience, but environmental and genetic factors also play a role.

So, the most probable reason why you might be suffering from a phobia of gastropods is because of a bad encounter you had in early life. It may be that you don’t remember the incident, because you were too young. But your brain still remembers the reaction and reproduces it each time you encounter the object of your fear, in this case, snails and slugs.

Also, if you live with a mentally ill person or in a stressful environment, you have a higher risk of developing mental issues such as anxiety or phobia.

The behavior can also be learned. Suppose you went to school with a friend who was terrified of snails and slugs. Their vivid description of what they feel about the disgust or terror may make you imagine the same things. As a result, your thought process becomes similar to that of a person suffering from the phobia, and you begin to fear the same.

Another important factor is genetic predisposition. Someone with a familial history of mental issues carries in their genes the possibility of a mental illness. Some are fragile to external factors, and certain triggers may lead to the onset of a phobia.

 

Symptoms of Molluscophobia

Symptoms of molluscophobia are similar to those of other specific phobias. Depending on the severity of the phobia, one may experience a few or more of the following symptoms:

Physical Symptoms

  • Trembling
  • Sweating
  • Increased heartrate
  • Hot and cold flashes
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Fainting
  • Increase in blood pressure

Mental/Emotional Symptoms

 

Treatment of Molluscophobia

Treatment of molluscophobia involves helping the individual cope with their anxiety and symptoms. After treatment, there is no guarantee the fear of snails and slugs will end, but it is likely the extreme fear reaction will be reduced.

Some of the best treatment options for fear of snails and slugs are:

Self-Help

The first approach to dealing with phobias is often self-help. Through self-help, you can become aware of your triggers and reactions and come to understand that the phobia is irrational.

Self-help means actively working on your anxiety and finding ways to cope with it. It includes trying mindfulness strategies and physical activities such as:

  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Exercises
  • Keeping a journal

You can also try relaxation techniques during an anxiety or panic attack.

  • Deep breathing
  • Counting numbers (forward or backward)
  • Progressive muscle relaxation

Try to rationalize your thoughts and focus on the positive. Begin openly talking about your fears without the worry of being laughed at or ridiculed.

Exposure therapy is generally provided by a mental health professional, but it can also be done as a self-help technique. This therapy involves gradually exposing yourself to the subject of your fear until you no longer exhibit fear symptoms.

You can start with photos. Look at one photo for about 5 seconds on the first day, 10 seconds on the next, and so on. When you are completely immune to a photo, you can use other photos and adjust the exposure time likewise.

As a next step, you can try to expose yourself to a real life slug or snail. Initially, keep the exposure short, like 5 seconds, and then gradually increase the timing. Stop the exercise if you feel too uncomfortable.

Professional Help

A professional will be able to correctly diagnose you and propose the best course of treatment. You can openly talk with them about your fears without worry of being ridiculed.

Based on your diagnosis and the progression of your fear, your mental health professional may suggest therapy. The most common types of therapies for phobias are exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, if the patient is slow to respond to these therapies and is experiencing repeated panic attacks, antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed.

The goal of medication is to reduce anxiety symptoms. It is not a cure. Additionally, such medications can be addictive, and their use will be discontinued as soon as possible.

 

Coping with Molluscophobia

Molluscophobia can limit your lifestyle, and if you’re a person who loves the outdoors, you’ll receive the hardest hit.

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can talk to your family and friends about your fears. You can also seek help from professionals and learn to live a healthy and phobia-free life.

 

Conclusion

Molluscophobia can affect your quality of life. It can limit you both personally and professionally.

Additionally, having any type of phobia can lead to other mental health issues, such as depression. For these reasons, molluscophobia should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Try self-help techniques or reach out to a professional to help you overcome your phobia. It’s possible to return to a normal life with the right methods.

FearAZ.com is looking for personal stories of any 'fear of' or phobia. If you have an interesting story you'd like to share, we welcome your submission. If the story fits with our content and guidelines, we'll add it to our site.
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Your Fear Goes Up and Down

Are you someone who would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator? You call it squeezing in a workout after being sedentary the whole morning. Or perhaps you claim it's a faster route. These are both typical, normal, and acceptable reasons. But what if you need to be in the conference room on the eleventh floor in five minutes, and you're wearing your business suit and wingtips? Would you still prefer to take the stairs? If your answer is yes, then maybe it's time to take a closer look at your reasons for avoiding elevators. Elevators stir all sorts of emotions in passengers. From the discomfort of closeness to strangers to the sensations in our gut, elevators can be a source of the heebie-jeebies for many, but for some, they can also be a source of terror. Let's dig a little deeper into the latter, and see what this terror is all about and what can be done to manage it. To begin with, does being inside an elevator give you chills or the sweats? Or does it trigger an unpleasant memory? Perhaps you remember movies you've watched where something terrible happens inside an elevator. From Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, Final Destination 2, or the king of all elevator horror films, 2010’s Devil, the elevator becomes witness to something sinister and horrible. And you want nothing to do with any of it. You know that you're not claustrophobic. You can deal with heights just fine, too. And you know that you're not going to be trapped inside. All of these contribute to a fear of elevators—but they don't apply to you. Yet being inside one does something to you. It's hard to explain.

What is the Fear of Elevators Called?

What you have is a fear of elevators, which is called elevatophobia. It is most commonly triggered by an experience of getting stuck inside either due to a power outage or technical maintenance. Hearing about other people's experiences or watching a movie about similar circumstances can prompt a fear of elevators getting stuck with you inside. Usually, claustrophobics and agoraphobics may also develop elevatophobia because the triggers and objects of these fears are related. Claustrophobia is the fear of closed and cramped spaces, while agoraphobia is the fear of being trapped without any means of escape. Put the two together, and the elevator becomes the perfect combination of both phobias. The space is limited and closed, with only one means of entry and exit. You can add another point of access if you consider climbing the cables like they do in the movies, but that certainly isn't ideal.

Symptoms of Elevatophobia

If for some reason an elevator stops due to an outage or some technical difficulty, passengers with elevatophobia may go into full panic mode. Even if the maintenance team advises that it will just be a matter of minutes, by then, the person's mind has become irrational with the fear of the elevator falling, being stuck for hours, or other unpleasant thoughts. You would expect a person to exhibit the following physical symptoms: Additionally, you would be filled with that overwhelming anxiety where you feel that you have zero control over the situation. You start fearing the unknown and are filled with negative thoughts about death and imminent doom. You become irrational and unresponsive.

Possible Complications of Elevatophobia

When the panic sets in, the possibility of emergencies related to pre-existing conditions may make themselves known. This might include serious health crises like heart attacks or asthma attacks. When this happens, fear becomes a medical emergency. Elevator rides do not last long; it's just a matter of minutes or even less. But the fact that a person can escalate from panic to a near fatal medical situation classifies the fear of elevators as a 'hard phobia.'

Trying Some Self-Help Methods

Your fear of elevators can likely interfere with your social and work life and relationships. Not everyone understands that elevatophobia, like most phobias, can be crippling. But don't be disheartened. Depending on the level of your fear and level of control, you can gradually face and manage your phobia. Here are some recommendations you can try:
  1. Make a List of Everything that Entails Riding in an Elevator This is a systematic approach to getting over your anxiety. By following a step-by-step process, you can identify where the fear kicks in at its strongest. You can write a list of steps like pressing the topmost button and waiting to arrive on that floor, watching as the door closes and opens, being alone inside the elevator, or having delays with the doors opening. Now try doing the opposite. For example, face away from the door or occupy yourself with your phone so that you are distracted.
  2. Create Your Fear Ladder Although the name says fear of elevators, it is not the whole process that scares you. There are just phases and parts of the elevator riding experience that cause you to panic. So go back to the list you initially created and label the fear level you feel. You can do it numerically, too, like ten being 'really scary,' six, 'manageable scary,' and one, 'not scary at all.' You can put the corresponding fear levels so you can focus more time and effort into activities that are more scary to you.
  3. Face Your Fear By now, you have identified what scares you the most. You can try repetitive action to minimize your fear and increase your sense of ‘normalcy’. Remember that the longer you expose yourself to your fear, the better you get at handling your emotions. If you are feeling overwhelmed, stop. Pushing yourself too fast and too soon can backfire. Modify your pace and go slower instead.
  4. Talk About Your Fear People by nature, unfortunately, are not quick to offer understanding and support. You need to tell them what's wrong before they can empathize. Talk to someone who you trust and ask for their support, especially in the initial phase of overcoming your fear. If you are too afraid to ride the elevator alone, you can ask them to go with you, and before you realize it, you are on your floor, and there was no indication of panic.
  5. Learn To Be Patient Be patient with yourself and your predicament. This is, after all, your fight against fear. It might take hundreds of elevator ride practices before the fear gets under control. Even then, there might be some hesitations and episodes of nervousness. These are acceptable and expected, so cut yourself some slack and congratulate yourself for every progress.

Seeking Professional Help

Along with self-help, you can always enlist a medical professional's aid to support you with your elevatophobia. Talking to someone who has experience with similar cases can be comforting, because you know that you are not alone, and this situation can get better. Talk to your doctor about the severity of your fears and the symptoms that you experience. Explain how you deal with it in an attempt to control it. An exam and a health history are made to ensure that there are no unrelated or underlying problems that your symptoms might mask. Usually, phobias like this are approached with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Your doctor will talk about these options with you, and it's entirely up to you, with your doctor's recommendation, what you want to pursue. For psychotherapy, the most common type is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which aims to help you find different ways of behaving, thinking, and reacting when about to step inside an elevator or when already inside it. With medications, there are beta blockers and benzodiazepines, but note that these can have side effects. Whatever these side effects are, you should promptly share it with your doctor.

Simple Tips to Overcome Elevatophobia

Elevators are not perfect, but their likelihood to malfunction, fall, or get stuck is very low. If you are not fully confident with this information, you can help overcome your elevatophobia by learning common elevator safety tips and basic elevator operations. These should help curb your mild fear until you become more self-assured. In addition to that, here are some of the things that you can do to gradually overcome your fear of elevators—both in getting on and riding one.

Conclusion

Yes, elevatophobia can be a challenge in today's world, but don't allow the elevator to win. Don't let it stop you from taking a job on the top floor or attending a social gathering on the rooftop. Sure, you can take the stairs if you insist and arrive winded and sweaty, with the party about to wrap up. But is this the quality of life you seek? Elevators are designed to make life easier. There are guaranteed ways to help you overcome elevatophobia. Take the first step and seek help. Soon, you’ll see yourself breezing through the floors with those arduous stair climbs little more than a memory.
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