Fear of Animals, Insects and Birds etc

All fears are irrational, however one of the strangest fears is of animals which the person has never actually been in personal contact with.  A phobia of snakes is top of the list of such fears.

Even seeing a picture of a snake in a book, or on the TV will cause immense distress to someone with a snake phobia.  It does not matter that they will never come into contact with the real thing.  Their imagination runs wild, and thoughts of what the snake would actually feel like will be totally out of proportion to reality.

Whereas a person with a snake phobia may be regarded with derision by their family and friends, a person with a spider phobia will be totally accepted!  Why is that so?   Mainly because spiders are a common site, therefore it is not unusual to see someone with a fear of them.

A common dilemma for a person with a spider phobia, is that they cannot envisage life without that fear.  "I don't want you to take that fear away, because I'd hate the idea of being happy to have a spider crawl on me." Yet another totally irrational thought!

A phobia of birds can be regarded as an embarrasing phobia as the person is well aware that the object of their distress is in fact regarded with great beauty by others.  Their fear is rarely regarded with sympathy by those around them.  This fear can have a great impact on a phobic's life.  When the panic hits, they will do anything to get away from the bird and have been known to run across roads in front of cars and even abandon children in their care.

How will Jill Help me?