ORNITHOPHOBIA: FEAR OF BIRDS

Birds are the most free and known species of the world. They are warm blooded vertebrates characterized by toothless beak, feathers, wings,  jaws and lightweight body along with hollow bones that help them fly. All birds consist of wings but few species cannot fly like Ostrich, Emu, rheas, kiwi and more. Such beautiful species are acknowledged worldwide for their beauty and free living style but few people are afraid of them. There are two categories of people: one who dislikes birds and one who has an exaggerated form of fear towards birds. They are known as ornithophobic patients, they suffer from ornithophobia. The word ‘ornitho’ is a Greek word for bird. Ornithophobia or fear of birds makes a person horrified with the thought of birds around them. They are uncomfortable with the presence of birds and few think that birds like vultures, eagle, pigeons, parrots and sparrows can even harm them . Fear of birds is quite an irrational fear, a fear that is overpowered with any object or any living creature.

WHY DO WE HAVE THEM? 

There are different reasons why people face this fear. Some face due to personal experience some are genetically scared of birds. Phobias are something that can develop at any age and the reason, why these phobias are caused is often unclear. Here are some reasons why people suffer from ornithophobia:

● Learning and monitoring: Mostly caused in childhood, when children observe their parents or close one’s suffering from ornithophobia. The phobia develops in children when they see people around them being scared of birds. They start thinking about the same fear and slowly the phobia grows in their mind. This not only happens during childhood but adults do gain phobia by observation and monitoring. Children affected with phobia have more tendency to cope with it than an adult.

● Knowledge and information: There are two types of information provided, positive and negative. Reading and learning something that is negative can give a rise in fear. For example: when a person reads about ghosts, he/she starts to fear ghosts, similarly reading and gaining negative knowledge about birds can make an individual fear them. When people read about birds that prey on the dead and are dangerous like vultures they start to build a fear towards all kinds of birds that they may harm them.

● Personal experiences or incidents : Any past incident witnessed by you or experienced by you where you have a negative impression of birds develops a fear that the same thing could happen again.

● Hereditary or genetic: Some people are born with this fear. There is no particular reason behind it, they just fear birds and birds can make them anxious. Sometimes phobia can be hereditary where you gain the phobia from your parents.

Well in ornithophobia people fear almost all kinds of birds but the most commonly feared bird is a pigeon. Ornithophobic people usually have a negative encounter with pigeons because pigeons are found in the urban as well as in rural areas, they are the birds that fly through an open window and come inside our home regularly, so they create a panic in the house which can trigger the phobia. Once the phobia is triggered then the person starts to fear all species of bird.

SYMPTOMS OF ORNITHOPHOBIA:

Symptoms are feeling or any unusual state of the body, where the body goes through certain changes. Whenever a person suffers from any kind of phobia, they undergo two types of symptoms: psychological and physical. Some common symptoms seen in a person suffering from ornithophobia are:

● Feeling of anxiety and fear. This feeling can be an arousal for panic or anxiety attacks.

● Excessive fear can make a person vulnerable and he/she could be out of control, where they are not able to control their body or mind.

● Feeling of running away from the birds and stay hidden.

● Hypertension and stress that can lead to racing heartbeat, shortness of breath.

● Anxiety and fear usually give nausea and dizziness. A person or child can feel pain in their chest along with sweating, dry mouth and low body temperature.

● People having problems with blood pressure can be at high risk of getting an attack.

HOW CAN PEOPLE COPE WITH IT: 

People think that treating a Phobia is impossible. Well no, phobia can be cured but if not then at least the tendency to endure the fear can be reduced. The treatment provided to deal with a patient suffering from ornithophobia are:

•  Psychotherapy and counselling: There are several mental health professionals, counsellors and therapists who deal with patients of phobia on a regular basis. These professionals can help a person cope with the fear by using Psychotherapy and counselling as a method. In psychotherapy the therapist makes the patient aware about birds and their characteristics. He teaches the patient how to relax themselves when they encounter a bird. Your therapist works on your mind and uses different techniques to change the way you think. Psychotherapy also includes exposure to birds and how one can control their emotion after witnessing a bird. For example: The therapist will first show the patient some pictures of birds and will try to make them comfortable then slowly taking the process further will make the patient see real birds and then will move the towards the next step and make the patient touch them. This will help the suffer understand and relax their mind and slowly the fear will fade away.
• Medication: In some of the extreme cases, medicines are prescribed to reduce the feeling of anxiety or panic. The medicine is given to control the rapid heart rate and anxiety of a person when he/she sees a bird. Mostly antidepressants and sedative are used for the treatment of phobias.

IS ORNITHOPHOBIA RELATED TO FEAR OF FEATURES: 

Yes, we can say that fear of features are some or the other way related to fear of birds as a patient suffering from fear of features is sacred to witness any animal with features. The fear makes a person uncomfortable with artificial features also. They have disturbing dreams about feathers. So, indirectly fear of feathers is related to fear of birds as birds are the animal that comprises features on their body. Patients who comprises fear of features and ornithophobia avoid going to places like farms and barnyards as they are aware of the fact that birds like chickens, hens and ducks are located in that area.

People suffering from ornithophobia are always in constant tension and anxiety as birds are free living creatures and can be found anywhere in the sky. They have a hard time while traveling or living in their homes. So, it’s better to treat the phobia to live freely without any fear or tension. Our world has advanced itself in every field and there is a cure for every illness, one should just try to take a step to face their drawbacks and enjoy living happily.