What is Pteronophobia? (A Summary)

In this blog we will summarize the causes, symptoms and treatment of Pteronophobia

Pteronophobia is an irrational fear of being tickled by feathers. It is an intense fear of feathers or being tickled by feathers.

The people suffering from Pteronophobia are afraid of feathers, maybe due to an aversion towards birds or ducks or the feel they get by the touching of the feathers.

They will undergo a full-blown panic attack even if the thought of feathers crosses their mind.

The sufferer is disgusted by feathers and the sensation they bring with it.they will avoid visiting parks, farms and zoos, places where they can encounter birds, ducks or the like.

Pteronophobia has been coined by a Greek word ‘Ptero’meaning ‘feathers’ and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear’and the people suffering from this phobia cannot even use any item that has feathers or feather like composition. Pillows and hats are also avoided.

Symptoms of Pteronophobia

To avoid the experience of anxiety itself the individual may develop Pteronophobia, so as to avoid the very cause of the uncomfortable condition.

Even the image of dancing people grings about the symptoms with an intensity that reels the sufferer. 

• Anxiety at the thought of going to a park or a farm.
• Anxiety at the thought of birds with lots of feathers.
• Unable to attend any event that involves birds or the like.

Physical Symptoms

These are intense and can begin without any prior warning.

The person suffering from Pteronophobia experiences the full physical intensity of either all of these or some of these in combination with others.

• hot flashes or chills
• headaches
• sweating
• trembling
• shortness of breath a choking sensation
• rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
• nausea
• dizziness
• feeling faint
• numbness 
• dry mouth
• ringing in ears
• confusion 
• hyperventilation
• raised blood pressure

The Psychological Symptoms

During panic attack the person suffering from Pteronophobia may experience the following

• fear of fainting
• feelings of dread
• fear of dying
• guilt
• shame
• fear of losing control
• fear of harm
• fear of illness
• self-blame
• withdrawn
• feeling Of hopelessness
• feeling of disconnect
• confusion
• lack of concentration
• anger
• irritability
• mood swings

Causes of Pteronophobia

As with most phobias and anxieties, there is no clear consensus about what causes Pteronophobia The most common explanation is a childhood traumatic episode where a child may have experienced an accident that occurred with birds or ducks involved and the fluttering of feathers, in a way that the feathers were the fear inducing agents.

They might have had a bad experience with a feathered pillow, or a flock of birds scaring or hurting.

People may also be afraid of losing control because this is something that is not in their hands and not controlled by them, no matter how powerful a person is.

Thus, at the time he is suffering from the symptoms of Pteronophobia, he/she feels totally helpless, aggravating their already hiked anxiety.

There are plenty of people with Pteronophobia who cannot even recall the traumatic incident that would have developed this fear, but they do not forget that happiness preceded the drastic event and was the cause of their sorry state.

Scientists believe that a combination of genetic tendencies, brain chemistry, and other biological and environmental factors could cause such fears to develop. 

As is common in specific phobias, the cause Pteronophobia may lie deep in the person’s childhood or its onset may be due to an environmental factor.

Genetics also plays a pivotal role in the cause of developing Pteronophobia

Other causes can be as follow:

• Learned behavior

• Traumatic experiences

Etiological Models of Pteronophobia

1. Biological (Genetic) Model

Genetics also determines how a person reacts and feels. Therefore, people inherit fears and phobias as well from their families.

The brain cells (neurons) release certain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Serotonin and Dopamine are two neurotransmitters that in depleted states can cause anxiety like symptoms.

2. Psychodiagnostics Model

If a person has suffered from a traumatic experience in early childhood it can have a severe dire impact on his later life. 

A childhood traumatic experience could be where children experienced a negative impact of events due to a change in their life.

This may leave a long lasting impression. Therefore to avoid this anxiety they start fearing and evading what they fear.

The intensity is more because they know that death cannot be avoided, only the thought of it can be.

3. Behavioral Model

According to this model, irrational fears may be caused through behaviors that are learned by replication.

Children often replicate unique behaviors of their adults, parents or a favorite aunt or uncle.

If a family member is already suffering from anxiety or is scared of one or another thing, then chances are higher that only by observing this, the child may develop fears.

Treatments of Pteronophobia

Pteronophobia can be treated through different treatments.

These include Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy, Neuro Linguistic Program (NLP), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction MBSR) and forms of meditation.

1) Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

In CBT the therapist helps the client to amend his thoughts so that a desirable behavior can be achieved.

This therapy is effective, because if the thoughts or cognitions alter then there will be a lasting impact on behavior.

The therapist helps the client to discover the reason for this thought, his behavior in regards to changes in life.

This therapy is goal oriented and short termed. Therefore, the results are seen soon. It changes the way a person thinks and feels.

CBT does not focus on probing the past to resolve current problems, rather it concentrates on the present situation. 

Our thoughts determine how we act or react to certain stimuli and situations. Therefore, negative thoughts bring about a negative behavior response or an undesirable behavior.

Whereas, positive thoughts propagate desirable and healthy attitude and response.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of CBT and designed by Albert Ellis. According to Ellis, “people are not disturbed by things but rather by their view of things.” This is what subjective perspective is. 

2         Exposure Therapy 

It is one of the most frequently used ways of treating patients with Pteronophobia. In this therapy, the patient is exposed to the source of his fear over a certain span of time.

To begin with the therapy, the therapist exposes the patient to the least triggering stimuli, a picture of feathers.

As the therapy progresses and the patient is able to control his anxious feelings, imagery can be used to take the treatment a step further.

In this part of the treatment the patient is asked to visualize/imagine a situation in which he is surrounded by feathers.

During this process of imagery, one actually feels being in that particular situation or place, experiencing various senses.

Once the person successfully, without feeling anxious clears this step of the therapy, he is then exposed to a real time farm with chickens or birds. 

While the patient is being exposed to different intensities of stimuli during the various stages of therapy, the therapist simultaneously teaches them coping exercises.

These include, breathing techniques or muscle relaxation methods to lower their anxiety, when in an actual fear/anxiety causing situation.

This teaches them how to remain calm when exposed to the fear stimuli.

Before actually starting the exposure therapy, the therapist needs to figure out the intensity of the patient’s fear, as to deduce whether they will be able to undergo this treatment, without any physical or psychological harm caused to them during the exposure processes. 

3) Neuro Linguistic Program (NLP)

In this therapy the client is asked to 

1. Access the phobia in a safe environment.
2. Help them to replay the phobia along with happy emotions.
3. Disassociate from the phobia.

4) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

MBSR involves being aware of one’s own thoughts, feelings and reducing the interference from around the environment.

We do not pay attention to how we process the various stimuli that affect us. 

We do not process the way our bodies feel and respond, there is no focus on our thoughts and how these thoughts are influencing our emotions. 

In MBSR, the client is ‘woken up’ to actually experience the various senses. ‘Focus’ is the keyword!

In Pteronophobia treatment, the client is made conscious to pay attention to his thoughts when he is thinking of what he is afraid of.

Awareness helps to alleviate the stress symptoms. 

5) Meditation

For meditation to be effective during treatment, the mind is cleared off all the clutter of random thoughts.

The mind and body are made to be ‘in sync’ with each other, so that the feared stimulus does not invoke a negative thought.

The client will meditate during the thoughts of death and concentrate on his breathing patterns in the presence of the feared stimulus. 

6) Self-Help Groups

Self Help groups are an effective type of therapy, in which the client does not find himself as a lone sufferer.

These groups are individuals who are afflicted with the same types of phobias. 

They come together to share their thoughts, experiences and their coping strategies.

This also helps in developing a ‘sense of I am not the only one’ suffering.

7) Changing Lifestyle

Breaking down the dullness of the daily, helps break down anxiety as well. 

• Take up jogging or go for daily walks:

Developing a walk routine can damper the way our negative thoughts control our behavior.

• Indulging in an exercise regime:

Vigorous exercise like aerobics has proved to reduce or alleviate the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

Exercise helps the mind to cope with stress and stressful situations better. This is what the American Psychological Association has to say about inducting exercise to eliminate stress or phobias.

• Altering eating and drinking habits:

Cutting down on fatty foods and caffeine can improve self-image, that in turn leads to a raised self-esteem.

This finally diminishes the symptoms of stress to a bare minimum. With high intake of caffeine, the body resembles a ‘fight or flight’ response, thus giving way to anxiety.

• Improving the sleep cycle:

When we get proper rest, our concentration improves. 

8) Psychiatric Medication 

There are a number of medicines that the Psychiatrist can prescribe if the symptoms of Pteronophobia are severe.

Anxiolytics (anti-anxiety drugs)

These should only be taken after the consultation with the doctor and shouldn’t be initiated or discontinued as per personal discretion.

Antidepressants 

These medicines are not only used to treat depression, but also to alleviate the symptoms of Pteronophobia as well as other phobias.

Medicines alone might not be as effective, but if used in conjunction with therapies then the results will be better. 

9)  Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

This kind of therapy is used to regulate the emotions. A technique called “half-smiling” is used where the client is asked to lift the corners of his mouth when the feared thought comes to his mind.

Apart from this the mind is to be trained to refrain from thinking about the painful stimulus.

Coping Ahead is another technique in DBT that requires the client to sit quietly and think of the feared situation and strategize what he will do.

We are always here to answer if you have any queries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Citations 

• www.psychtimes.com
• www.fearof.net
• www.amazon.com
• www.apa.org
• www.albertellis.com