A rare case of alektorophobia treated successfully with graded exposure therapy

Abstract

Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by circumscribed, marked fear or anxiety to a specific object or situation which is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the concerned object or situation. Worldwide, the prevalence of specific phobia has been found to be 16% in 13–17 years olds. In India, specific phobia has been identified as one of the most common disorders in the school-going age group, with the prevalence of approximately 4.2%. Alektorophobia is the specific term for phobia to hen/chickens. We hereby report an 18-year-old female presenting with alektorophobia and successfully treated with graded exposure therapy. It has not been described in extant literature to the best of our knowledge.

Keywords

• Alektorophobia
• anxiety
• chicken
• hen
• India
• phobia