Those fairy tales in which the princess kissed a toad so that it would become a prince, and thus end up happy forever, would not have been possible if any of these princesses suffered from buffoonery.

This specific phobia of a particular type of amphibian is not very disabling, but it is really unpleasant for those who suffer from it. Next we will see what is buffoonophobia , as well as its causes, its symptoms and its possible treatment.

What is buffoonophobia?

By buffoonery we understand one of the anxiety disorders according to which the person experiences an exaggerated and irrational fear of toads . It differs from batracaphobia in that in the latter the sensation of fear encompasses everything related to amphibians including frogs, newts and salamanders.

This type of phobia never tends to be strongly disabling except in those exceptions where the person must habitually live with this type of animal. In some very extreme cases, people who suffer from buffoonophobia may think that the animal can grow in size until it devours them.

However, this anxiety disorder differs in each of the people who suffer from it due to individual differences in thought patterns associated with frogs and toads.

Unlike the simple animus that each person may feel when encountering one of these amphibians, in buffoonophobia the individual may come to recognize that the animal does not pose a threat by itself. Despite this, it is unable to resist the exacerbated fear of being provoked.

Like other phobias, a person with a phobia is likely to experience a range of emotions and physical manifestations that are characteristic of an extremely high state of anxiety.

Your symptoms

As indicated in the first point, buffoonophobia belongs to the classification of anxiety disorders. Therefore, the person’s exposure to the situation or phobic stimulus, in this case to the toads, will trigger an extreme response.

This symptomatology common to the rest of phobias can be divided into 3 groups: physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms and behavioural symptoms.

1. Physical symptoms

The appearance or sighting of the phobic stimulus causes a hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system that triggers a great amount of changes and alterations of the organism. These changes include:

  • Accelerated heart rate.
  • Dizziness and trembling .
  • Choking sensation.
  • Excessive sweating.
  • Sensation of pressure in the chest.
  • Nausea .
  • Gastro-intestinal disturbances.
  • Sense of confusion.
  • Passing away.

Cognitive symptoms

The person suffering from buffoonophobia associates toads and similar amphibians with a series of irrational beliefs . These deformed ideas of reality favour the development of this phobia, and are characterised by the fact that the person assimilates a series of unfounded beliefs about toads, as well as their attributes and qualities.

This cognitive symptomatology takes the form of the following manifestations:

  • Obsessive speculations about toads.
  • Intrusive, involuntary and absolutely uncontrollable thoughts about the alleged danger of toads.
  • Mental images of a catastrophic nature related to these amphibians.
  • Fear of losing control and not being able to manage the situation satisfactorily
  • Sense of unreality.

3. Behavioral symptoms

Any anxiety disorder of this nature is accompanied by a series of symptoms or behavioural manifestations that appear as a reaction to the aversive stimulus.

These behaviours or actions are aimed at either avoiding the feared situation, or running away once the stimulus has appeared. The latter are known as escape behaviours.

The behaviors that have as a goal to avoid the encounter with toads and/or frogs, make reference to all those behaviors or acts that the person makes to avoid the possibility of encountering these. In this way , one momentarily avoids experiencing feelings of anguish and anxiety generated by these animals.

As far as escape behaviour is concerned, if the person cannot avoid encountering the phobic stimulus, he or she will carry out all kinds of behaviour that will enable him or her to escape from the situation as soon and as quickly as possible.

What could be the causes?

As with all phobias, in most cases of buffoonery, it is virtually impossible to determine the exact origin of this irrational fear. Nevertheless, we can theorize that its etiology would have the same foundation as the rest of specific anxiety disorders.

This means that a person with a genetic predisposition to suffer from an anxiety disorder who faces, at some point in his or her life, a traumatic emotional experience or one with a high emotional burden and related in some way to the appearance of toads or frogs, will be much more likely to develop a phobia associated with these amphibians.

On the other hand, although there are also adults with phobia, this disorder occurs mainly in children, so the theories that put learning as the starting point of phobia are quite supported.

These theories establish that phobias in children are usually caused by the acquisition of behaviours observed in adults , which, on some occasion, may have manifested anxiety behaviours before a specific stimulus. These behaviours are unconsciously assimilated by the child and encouraged until they become a phobia.

Is there a treatment?

It has already been commented at the beginning of the article that buffoonery does not tend to be disabling, except in those cases where the person must live daily with toads and frogs. That is, due to the nature of the phobic stimulus, the anxiety response does not interfere with the person’s day-to-day life .

However, in the few cases in which the person resorts to professional help with the intention of reducing his or her fear of these animals, intervention through psychotherapy (specifically through cognitive-behavioral therapy) is highly effective.

Using techniques such as live exposure or systematic desensitization, accompanied by training in relaxation techniques and cognitive restructuring, the person can overcome their phobic fear and continue their life in a normal way.