Fear of cows – Bovinophobia or Taurophobia. Bovinephobia is the excessive (and often irrational) fear of cows or cattle. The word comes from the Latin bovi which means ox or cattle and the Greek phobos which means fear. His alternative terms are Taurophobia, where Taurus means bull in Latin.
People with Bovinophobia cannot bear to think of or be around cows or cattle. Fortunately, most urban places do not have these animals. Generally, cattle are only seen on farms, and, unlike other phobias, the person who has Bovinophobia is not afraid of cows or bulls all the time. Therefore, the phobia should not interfere with everyday life. However, if a cow or bull suddenly appears on television or in other less-expected places, the person could experience a complete panic attack.
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Index
Causes of Bovinophobia
- Like any other zoophobia, fear of cattle or cows and bulls usually stems from a traumatic event involving cows.
- A child could have witnessed a terrible incident involving these animals.
- Compared to most animals, cows and bulls are enormous creatures and have fierce horns.
- In Spain, bullfighting is known to kill many people every year. If the statistics are to be believed, since 1700, nearly 325 matadors have perished in the arena.
- The aggressive nature of bulls can be attributed to testosterone.
- Most fighting bulls are not castrated and in the mating season, they are generally very irritated at the slightest provocation.
- This makes them excellent fighters and many people, other than Taourophobic guys, get a kick out of watching such fights.
In places like India, cows are considered sacred and worshiped.
- They are even allowed to move freely on roads or paths in busy urban areas.
- Foreigners visiting the country often find this frightening as cows tend to cause traffic jams or accidents.
- However, being sacred and adored animals, people do not try to alienate these creatures but instead implement changes to accommodate these animals.
- Cows generally live in herds.
- Charging herds can be dangerous even though these occurrences are rare.
- Cows are generally harmless creatures known to lead relaxed lives on farms, chewing hay all day.
- However, a person suffering from some anxiety disorders or other phobias can keep thinking about the dangers associated with cows in herds, often exaggerating the whole thing.
Cows are known to be maternal; they strive to protect their young. If a cow felt threatened by a human, especially its calf, it would naturally attack the source of the damage. Having witnessed such an incident could lead to permanent Bovinophobia.
Symptoms of fear of cows and bulls
Bovinophobia usually manifests itself in the form of various mental and physical symptoms, including
- Temblor.
- Have an increase in heart rate.
- Feeling nauseous
- I am feeling like running away or hiding.
- Try to avoid encounters with cows and bulls – this includes refusing to go to farms or any other place where one might find a cow.
Treating and overcoming Taurophobia
There are five main self-help steps to overcome Bovinophobia.
- Understand that phobias are common. Thousands of people have zoophobia, and many of them are bovine phobic.
- Confront your fear of cows by studying the animal’s body language. If you come across cows or bulls daily, you must learn to deal with them. Cows are generally harmless and will do nothing unless attacked, molested, or hurt. Try to stay as far away as possible from cows with a calf.
- Avoid cows and bulls that appear angry or are accidentally growling, snorting, stomping on the ground, etc.
- Gradually desensitize your fear by first visualizing being around cattle, feeding them, etc. Call a neighboring farm and schedule a visit to see cows and bulls in this habitat. Pet, pet, or provide a cow as long as the farmer is there with you.
- Spend at least 40 minutes to 1 hour with the cattle to make sure you have overcome the fear.
If these tactics fail, see a professional psychotherapist for help. Today, many treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, NLP, hypnotherapy, etc., are available to help you get to the bottom of your Bovinophobia (or Taurophobia) and ease your anxiety once and for all.
Hello, how are you? My name is Georgia Tarrant, and I am a clinical psychologist. In everyday life, professional obligations seem to predominate over our personal life. It's as if work takes up more and more of the time we'd love to devote to our love life, our family, or even a moment of leisure.