All About Alektorophobia, the Fear of Chickens, & How To Overcome it with CBT, Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

What is Alektorophobia?

Alektorophobia is the fear of chickens and may also be related to the fear of birds more generally.

The majority of people with bird phobias worry about the ‘flapping’ and random flight paths that birds tend to exhibit when they are panicked.

All phobias, regardless of what the feared object or circumstances are, produce real feelings of Anxiety and Stress for the sufferer, and Alektorophobia is no different in this sense.

Whilst the feared object or situation may seem, to other people, to be ‘ridiculous’ or ‘silly’, the person who suffers from Alektorophobia knows only too well that the anxious feelings and panic attacks that they experience are real enough.

We completely understand this here at Tranceform Psychology and will treat you and your Alektorophobia seriously.

For many years Psychologists have been aware that our minds are more than capable of producing a real biological reaction to any given situation and so as long as the Alektorophobia sufferer “believes” that the object or situation they fear represents danger to them, then they will experience real fear.

This fact highlights the significance that our ‘beliefs’ have on the way that we experience things because the ‘meanings’ that we attribute to our experiences creates the conditions for how our bodies respond.

Much of the work we do in helping people overcome phobias like Alektorophobia focuses on the evaluation and modifications of a person’s core beliefs and values so that exposure to the phobic trigger can be ‘evaluated’ differently and given new and more useful ‘meanings’ – what is known as ‘adaptive coping’.

Most people suffering from Alektorophobia do recognise that their phobia is “irrational” but continue to experience it regardless of this knowledge. This is why simply being told to “snap out of it” rarely produces a good outcome!

Alektorophobia Symptoms

The symptoms of Alektorophobia are very similar to other specific phobias and will often include:

• Anger problems
• Generalised Anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Control issues
• Feelings of depression
• Insomnia & sleeping problems
• Low Self-Esteem
• Low Self-Confidence
• Panic attacks
• Overthinking things
• Paranoia
• Stress
• Avoidance and safety behaviours

Alektorophobia symptoms tend to be automatic and uncontrollable and can seem to take over a person’s thoughts which frequently leads to extreme measures being taken to avoid the feared object or situation, what are known as “safety” or “avoidance” type behaviours.

Unfortunately, for the sufferer, these safety behaviours have a paradoxical effect and actually reinforce the phobia rather than solving it!

Alektorophobia may be the result of negative emotional experiences that can be directly (or indirectly) linked to the object or situational fear but this is not always the case because phobias can also be assimilated (or learned) in the earlier stages of life if parents, family members or other influential people in a person’s life exhibit the phobia.

Over time, Alektorophobia symptoms may become “normalised” and “accepted” as limiting beliefs in that person’s life – in these cases, sufferers may not seek help for their problem for many years as they learn to ‘accept’ it.

In just as many cases, however, Alektorophobia may become much more pervasive and start to get in the way of normal living. This is particularly true if the safety and avoidance behaviours have grown in frequency and sophistication.

The good news is that the vast majority of people who suffer from Alektorophobia will find a course of psychological therapy helps enormously.

You can read more about the different types of psychological therapy for Alektorophobia below.

CBT for Alektorophobia

If you’re committed to overcoming your fear of chickens then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT 10 session programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic course of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand the psychological aspects of your problem.

It can also help you to identify any unhelpful thinking styles or limiting beliefs that might be reinforcing the issue.

The programme is also available as an online self-help CBT programme. if you prefer not to consult a therapist directly.

CBT is an empirically supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Free Initial Consultations for Alektorophobia

We offer all prospective clients a FREE initial consultation to discuss your Alektorophobia prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various psychological therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss any therapy treatments BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.