WHAT IS FELINOPHOBIA?
Felinophobia is one of many specific phobias some people develop
throughout their lives. Like the fear of spiders (arachnophobia),
the fear of flying (aviophobia) and the fear of heights
(acrophobia), felinophobia (also known as ailurophobia) is an
irrational fear that does not respond to reason.
"People suffering with a phobia will totally avoid any circumstance
relating to their fear, or approach those circumstances with
intense anxiety, stress, dread and fear," said Reid Wilson, Ph.D.,
a psychologist who directs the Anxiety Disorders Treatment Program
in Chapel Hill and Durham, N.C., and author of "Don't Panic: Taking
Control of Anxiety Attacks."
"In the case of felinophobia, it's not about disliking cats. It's
about having a tremendous fear of them. Typically, people with this
problem avoid cats and eventually avoid anything that even reminds
them of cats," Wilson said.
The anxiety can be overwhelming when a person with felinophobia
finds him or herself in the presence of a cat. "A person with this
problem can experience mild to severe anxiety and apprehension when
they are either exposed to a cat, or simply anticipating exposure
to a cat," said Lucinda Bassett, founder of the Midwest Center for
Stress and Anxiety in Oak Harbor, Ohio, and author of "From Panic
to Power."
"Symptoms vary for each individual," Bassett said, "but can include
difficulty breathing, feeling that one is choking, panic feelings,
heart palpitations, sweating and nervous discomfort, and
unreasonable, fearful feelings that something bad will happen as a
result of being near the cat. It is common for the sufferer to
experience avoidance behaviors such as staying away from the area,
room, or even the house where the cat is present."
"Walking down the street and seeing a cat can cause people with
this phobia extreme discomfort," Wilson said. "Even knowing a cat
is in the same building can be too much for them."
Because felinophobia is not rational, it is not based on the
assumption that the cat will actually cause physical harm,
according to Wilson. "It's not usually a fear of being scratched or
injured, or a fear based on superstition or old wives tales," he
said. "People with this phobia are simply terrified that the cat
will touch them or even look at them. Often, their greatest fear is
that the cat will suddenly leap up on them. It's about contact with
the cat, and sudden contact is the most traumatic."
UNDERSTAND THE PERSON
Cat lovers are often baffled by people with felinophobia, and often
struggle to understand where this irrational fear comes from.
According to Wilson, mental health experts don't completely
understand the basis for felinophobia either.
"Some people have traumatic events that cause this fear, but in
most cases, it's a slow and gradual process that occurs without a
trauma," Wilson said. Some researchers believe the tendency to
develop phobias, such as felinophobia, may have a genetic
link.
What may be surprising to cat lovers is that people with a fear of
cats are not necessarily anxious people in other areas of life.
Most likely, these individuals have come to associate cats with a
time of stress in their lives. "When they see a cat, they associate
that stressful feeling with the cat," Wilson said.
Cat owners with friends or family suffering from this phobia often
find themselves put out by the problem. If you know someone with
this phobia, he or she may refuse to come to your home or demand
that your cats be locked away when visiting you.
While the demands of the felinophobe can be extremely confusing and
even irritating to cat lovers, keep in mind how difficult it must
be for the affected person, who must find completely avoiding cats
in modern society nearly impossible.
"Unfortunately, for most felinophobes, their most effective method
of avoiding the fear is by avoiding cats," Bassett said. "This can
be effective to some degree until they fall in love with someone
who is a cat lover or become best friends with someone who owns
three cats. And certainly, they will confront the occasional cat on
the street in their neighborhood."
Consequently, people suffering with felinophobia are plagued by a
tremendous fear that may confront them at any time in their
lives.
HELP FOR THE AFFLICTED
If you know someone who is tormented with a fear of cats, you can
take steps to help him or her.
First, have compassion and understanding for the problem. This
means avoiding the temptation to talk the person out of his or her
irrational fear.
Whether a person with felinophobia is willing to seek treatment or
not, it's important for friends and loved ones to be compassionate.
"Fear of cats is a very powerful phenomenon," Wilson said. "People
with this problem feel quite scared and out of control."
"Basically, leave the person alone about the problem," Wilson said.
"Don't degrade him or her and don't talk to the person like a
child. Don't make suggestions and, most of all, don't tell him or
her to relax. Doing all these things will make the person feel
misunderstood. Instead, read articles about phobias, so you'll have
more information. If you want to help, ask the person to tell you
how he or she is feeling, and help them cat-proof their
environment. Don't try to talk them out of their fear."
While Wilson doesn't believe you should go out of your way to
restructure your home to accommodate a felinophobic friend or
relative, it's important to keep the problem in perspective.
"People with this phobia have been made to feel ashamed. If you
want to help them, treat them with compassion and respect."
"The worst thing friends and family members of felinophobes can do
is make fun of the person who suffers or try to expose them to cats
without his or her approval," Bassett said. "Do not run out and buy
a gift kitten in attempt to warm him or her to the idea of cats. If
you do, be prepared to own a new kitten. The best support you can
give your loved one who suffers with felinophobia is to take his or
her fear seriously."
Some people are eager to get help for the problem, while others
appear not quite ready to face it. "If the person is not looking to
tackle the problem at the moment, just help him or her avoid cats,"
Wilson said. "Arrange to meet him or her in a neutral cat-free
environment."
Second, for those looking to confront their felinophobia, there is
hope. Treatment involves gradual desensitization to cats. This can
be done with the assistance of a therapist.
"Cognitive behavioral therapy is the treatment of choice for
phobias," Wilson said. "Specific phobias like felinophobia cannot
be treated with medication. The most current way of treating this
problem is to help the patient stay with his or her fearful
feelings and maintain the stress level at increasing intensity. The
person begins to tolerate more and more exposure until the fear
eventually subsides."
Wilson points out this treatment is done gradually, starting with
something as seemingly benign as looking at a picture book of cats,
to holding a stuffed cat, then standing outside a facility where
cats are caged and then going in a friend's house with a cat in the
next room.
source: http://www.catfancy.com/
