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Animal Phobias

Chiroptophobia – Fear of Bats

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The Phobia of Bats: An In-Depth Discussion

Are you scared of bats? Not just scared, but terrified? Do you shake and tremble when near bats?

What is the phobia of bats called?

Chiroptophobia is the technical term for fear of bats. You may suffer from an excessive fear or you may have an actual phobia of bats.

Chiroptophobia can cause horrible anxiety. It can induce panic attacks in the presence of bats. In extreme cases, the sounds, images, drawings of bats, or even just the mention of bats can trigger this phobia.

A Phobia or Fear or Disgust?

Remember: a phobia is not the same as a simple fear. It’s much stronger and can sometimes feel like a weight on your chest that you just can’t get off. It’s an overwhelming situation that can cause panic, disorientation with your surroundings, and many other symptoms.

Chiroptophobia Causes

In most cases, the fear of bats stems from misconceptions about bats, some of which may be based in superstition.

Did you know that in medieval Europe, it was considered a bad omen if a bat entered your house? It was believed this was a sign that someone in the family would die in the near future.

Today, movies and popular culture associate bats with darkness, Halloween, and vampires, which tend to paint rather gloomy images of bats.

Another possible cause of chiroptophobia, as is the case with most phobias, is a traumatic experience. You may have had an unpleasant encounter with a bat in the past. Although bat attacks are rare, they can act aggressively if they feel threatened or cornered. The phobia may also stem from a bad dream involving bats.

The Reality of Bats

Yes, bats can be unpleasant-looking creatures with their beady eyes, fangs, and leathery wings. Bats are also carriers of some serious diseases such as rabies. So it’s no wonder they’ve earned a bad reputation.

But did you know that about 70 percent of bats consume insects alone? This makes them insectivores, a subclass of carnivores. Some bats even limit themselves to fruits and nectar from flowers.

But regardless of diet, even vegetarian bats can have sharp canine fangs. And this can make bats look intimidating. However, in reality, they pose no threat to humans and often fly away if approached.

There are only three species of bats that feed on blood, and they all reside in Latin America. So unless you’re trekking through the tropics of central or South America, you don’t have to be concerned about bats.

Symptoms of Chiroptophobia

Fear causes a variety of symptoms. Depending on your reactions, you may find that you are simply disgusted by bats, rather than afraid of them. The way to tell concern or disgust apart from a phobia is by the symptoms you experience. If your concern or disgust is causing severe anxiety, physical palpitations, and/or breakdowns, you probably suffer from chiroptophobia.

Here is a list of the physical and psychological symptoms of chiroptophobia:

Physical Symptoms

  • Feelings of dizziness
  • Palpitations
  • Stomach discomfort
  • Dry mouth
  • Excessive sweating

Psychological Symptoms

  • Anxiety
  • Inability to relax
  • Panic attacks

How to Overcome the Fear of Bats?

First things first: a phobia is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a completely natural occurrence. Most people suffer from some kind of phobia and are often completely unaware of it.

The good news about chiroptophobia is that it’s not a phobia that necessarily gets in the way of living a normal life. That is, of course, unless you live in an area with a dense population of bats.

However, if your phobia is making you squeamish at the thought of simply going out at night or exploring the wilderness, you should start working on overcoming your fear of bats.

Self-Help: What Are the Options?

Chiroptophobia is a relatively straightforward phobia to understand because it’s the fear of something specific rather than a concept like darkness or asymmetry. It’s usually rooted in misconceptions, superstitions, or traumatic past experiences involving bats.

To overcome your phobia, you can brush up a little on your knowledge of bats. Learn more about the different types, their temperaments, habitat, and lifestyle. You’ll be surprised to learn just how many similarities we share as mammalian species. People often fear what they don’t understand.

Knowledge can equip you to better respond to bats if you ever find yourself in a confrontational situation. Not that you should go looking for one. (And don’t ever try exposure therapy with chiroptophobia on your own.) But reading up about bat behavior can help you know how not to trigger their animal instincts and how to stand your ground. The more information you have, the less likelihood of you being afraid and the more confident you’ll be the next time you accidentally cross paths with a bat.

Professional Phobia of Bats Treatment

There are various options for clinical treatment of phobias. The most popular form of treatment for chiroptophobia is cognitive therapy.

This involves talking to a professional psychiatrist/therapist about the feelings you experience and your memories.

They assess you based on the information you provide and try to suggest what thinking or behavior patterns you need to change to overcome this fear. It’s a one-track approach and usually only requires four to ten sessions.

Another interesting treatment for chiroptophobia is hypnotherapy. It focuses on helping people find their inner strength and become independent. This approach tends to have a more holistic outcome since it helps you get rid of your fears by yourself. That is, the therapist helps you so that you’re mentally equipped to deal with fear in the long run.

Coping with Chiroptophobia in the Long Term

A question you may have at this point is why even bother to treat your intense fear of bats when you can just avoid bats? But it’s not just about making you stop fearing bats. Addressing your chiroptophobia will also help you to combat the irrationality of your fear. Learning how to overcome phobias is an important skill. It allows you to come out a stronger person, capable of maintaining composure in stressful situations.

Any irrational fear can get in the way of living a normal life. That’s why it’s necessary to learn to manage fear. The long-term plan for dealing with any phobia should involve professional treatment and practicing self-help methods.

Final Thoughts
If you’re planning to seek professional help with chiroptophobia, make sure your healthcare practitioner is well-reputed, licensed, and experienced. Chiroptophobia is a unique phobia, so it requires an experienced hand. If you’re in school, don’t hesitate to approach your counselor to talk about it. That’s what they’re there for.

Stories Submitted by Our Readers

Chiroptophobia – Fear of Bats

As a young child, I loved going barefoot. The problem was every time I went running through the backyard barefoot, I would step on a bee. My entire foot would swell, and I would be in pain. As young as 5, I began wearing shoes anytime I went outside. The fear of these stinging creatures began to grow after a wasp got in the house. I ran and hid under the covers on my bed until Mom killed the wasp. Now, I had a fear that there would be one on the floor and I might step on it, so I started wearing shoes inside the house as well.
As an adult of 65 years, I still cannot go barefoot. I have shoes right beside the bed so I can slip them on before taking a step. The same goes with taking a shower, I have flip-flops right there so when I step out of the shower, shoes go on my feet. If a bee or wasp gets inside, I run outdoors until someone kills the bee.
I go outside, but I automatically tighten up when I hear a bee buzzing. If one lands on me, I freeze, scream, hold my breath, and wait until someone gets it off me.
I’m better than I used to be since I don’t run as soon as I see a bee or wasp. I just keep an eye out when I hear one buzzing, to make sure it doesn’t come close to me.

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

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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