Anatidaephobia....and other phobias
Anatidaephobia
A duck phobia. Seriously? Welcome to the interesting and sometimes odd world of phobias. We need to take these psychological conditions seriously. But we also find some strange, head-scratching fears.
Here’s what’s covered in this article:
Anatidaephobia definition
"The fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you."
The fear of being watched by a duck is not something you come across every day. On the scale of irrational fear, this one might be right off the scale. But people discuss this odd phenomenon in various corners of the internet.
We get phobia from the Greek word phóbos, which means 'fear' or 'panic'. Constructing words that represent phobias sometimes gives us unpronounceable words. Anatidaephobia is a good example. The pronunciation is ant-uh-tid-uh-fo-bee-uh.
Anatidaephobia far side
We can thank (or blame) Gary Larson for Anatidaephobia. He is a famous cartoonist and creator of The Far Side comic series. What was he thinking? I'm not sure.
A real phobia?
Does anyone actually have anatidaephobia? Not sure. It is possible (technically). However, there appear to be no published studies on the subject, let alone reliable prevalence statistics. Despite this, we'd be on reasonably firm ground to suggest that it is rare (if it exists at all).
Specific phobia
One thing we can say with certainty is that many phobias do exist. A duck-watching fear may be far-fetched. But people avoid many other animals, objects or situations.
A specific phobia is an actual mental health condition. It is an intense fear of a particular situation or object. Approximately 7% of people experience this problem at some point in their life (1).
Professionals use the DSM-5 to identify phobias. This guide is called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (5th Edition). The American Psychiatric Association publishes it. The DSM-5 sets out the following elements of a phobia:
An unreasonable, excessive fear (of the situation/object). Fear is out of proportion to the situation or degree of actual risk.
There is an immediate anxiety response. The object or situation triggers a rapid fear response.
The person avoids the situation/object, or endures the source of fear with extreme discomfort.
The phobia has a significant impact on a person's day to day life.
The phobia has to be present for at least six months.
Another psychological condition (e.g., anxiety disorder) must not cause the symptoms.
Based on these criteria, anatidaephobia would only be a genuine phobia if a person had suffered from an intense, unreasonable and excessive fear for at least six months, whereby the presence of a duck consistently and immediately triggers their fear. There would have to be a great deal of distress if the person did not (or could not) avoid ducks, and this fear would clearly interfere with daily life.
Other phobias
How many phobias are there? In a word, heaps. Here are a few examples. Remember, all of these would have to meet the above criteria to be classed as genuine phobias:
Pistanthrophobia: Fear of being hurt in a romantic relationship
Thalassophobia: Fear of large bodies of water (e.g., ocean)
Anthropophobia: Fear of people. Read about social anxiety in this article.
Unusual phobias often receive the limelight, but the most common fears involve animals, heights, and flying (1). All phobias, rare or otherwise, fall under one of the following categories:
Animal (e.g., fear of snakes)
Environment (e.g., fear of heights, extreme weather)
Situation (e.g., driving)
Blood & Injection (e.g., seeing blood, receiving a vaccination)
Other (e.g., fear of ducks!)
Ornithophobia is the fear of birds (animal phobia category). This phobia can be specific or general (one species or all birds). Therefore, the fear of ducks is possible. But the fear of being watched by a duck is far less likely.
Related problems
A specific phobia may seem like a clearly defined problem. However, this condition co-occurs with other physical and psychological issues. For example, one study found an association between phobias, migraines, and respiratory illness (2). Further research has suggested a link between phobias and depression (3). This co-occurrence is called 'comorbidity'.
The presence of multiple problems complicates treatment and can lead to poorer outcomes for people (4, 5, 6).
What causes phobias?
Specific phobias can develop in various ways. One theory suggests the involvement of multiple factors (7). The process may play out in the following way:
Specific fears are common (and normal) in childhood.
Most of these fears reduce, but some keep going over a long period of time.
Phobias start to develop when children 'learn' to fear objects/situations (e.g., a dog unexpectedly barks), see another person being fearful, or is told to be afraid of something.
Inaccurate thinking patterns maintain a phobia. Parts of the brain involved in fear responses are also more active (8)
Other researchers have examined a link between a traumatic experience and phobias. For example, some people develop phobias after traumatic medical procedures (9).
What can we do about phobias?
A mental health professional can provide treatment for specific phobias. Exposure Therapy (ET) is an effective psychological approach (10). ET is a controlled way to help people face their fears. Avoidance of feared objects or situations keeps fears going. We can reverse this process through gradual (graded) exposure.
These might be the tasks involved in ET for fear of spiders:
Look at a picture of a spider
Watch a video of a spider
Look at a toy (but realistic) spider from a distance
Sit beside and look at a toy spider
Touch the toy spider
Hold the toy spider
Watch a real spider in a glass container from a distance
Sit beside a real spider in a glass container
Put hand against the glass container
Rest hand in the container
Touch spider
Rest hand in the container and allow the spider to crawl over it
We repeat each step several times. We only move on to the next step when fear has reduced. This example illustrates 'in vivo exposure'. 'Imaginal exposure' is also used in treatment (imagine the above steps) as a stepping stone to in vivo work.
The latest development in ET is Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET). There is evidence that VRET is effective for some phobias (11).
Other treatment options
Other psychological treatments exist for phobias. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), for example, adds the process of challenging unhelpful thought patterns. Medications are also available. But this option is often discouraged. Medications come with disadvantages, such as side effects and the inability to directly 'treat' the fear.
Summary
The fear of being watched by a duck might be funny, but real phobias are no joke. Specific phobias are actual clinical conditions. We have effective treatments. So please seek some help if your phobia generates lots of fear and messes up your daily life. Get in touch if you have questions about psychological interventions.
Anatidaephobia meme
Yes, there are memes for this. Here is a sample.
We are Coaching & Clinical Psychologists with extensive experience helping people conquer a range of wellbeing and performance issues at home and in the workplace. Read more about our work, watch practical skills videos or browse other articles. Get in touch anytime.
References
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7233312/
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875678/
(3) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010440X06001349
(4) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76546-9
(5) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28284107/
(6) https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.162.6.1179
(7) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0272735896000141
(8) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pcn.12055
(9) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/eos.12090?casa_token=4dR6YPO3PjUAAAAA%3A3qH2m9nHCDHdpuU1bkFnlKP9DRBQl_fXy2l2RBruMm7W2fiVghrqYCWUKDB4OLFF1TSZjStRyHTwZa8
(10) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7096216/
(11) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34173160/
