Psychologists have studied in detail the impressive number of phobias that haunt modern man. Life makes its own adjustments, adding new fears. Among them there are those that, at first glance, seem quite absurd. Fear of fun is precisely one of these.
Fear of fun is one of the rare phobias that prevent a person from living life to the fullest.
Diagnostics
Most often, emetophobia is a syndrome of some disease . To make such a diagnosis, a patient must pass a test using the Yale-Brown scale. To do this, he must answer ten questions. Each question is given five answers and a corresponding number of points from 0 to 4. At the end you need to sum them up and look at the result. If a person scores from 0 to 7, this indicates the absence of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
From 8 to 15 is a mild degree, from 16-23 is a moderate degree of severity, from 24 to 31 is a severe degree, from 32 to 40 is an extremely severe degree of severity.
The emergence of fear
The fear of any fire is called pyrophobia. Also combined here:
- fear of being burned alive;
- fear of burns;
- phobia of losing property as a result of fire.
It is worth distinguishing between a fire phobia and a simple fear; not everything should be taken at face value. If a person simply takes safety precautions to take care of himself and his property, there is nothing far-fetched about this. Precautionary measures must be observed in practice in any home. Fire extinguishing means must also be available. Members of the entire family should be instructed in case of an emergency.
Don’t be scared and think that something is wrong with your psyche if you experience natural horror at the thought of a fire; the flames are merciless and all-consuming. People learn to follow safety rules and behavior in case of a natural disaster.
Type of phobias
To determine whether vomitophobia is a separate disease or part of another disease, you can use another test. To do this, it is necessary to answer the question - why does the fear of vomiting appear?
Answer:
- An attack of nausea occurs due to a serious illness;
- Afraid that someone you know will see him vomiting. It's humiliating;
- Fears of not having time to get to the bathroom when vomiting appears;
- A disgusting feeling from the very process of vomiting.
If the patient answered yes to questions number two and three, then he has agoraphobia. Fear of nausea is just one of the signs of a phobia .
A person is not afraid of nausea itself, but of not having time to escape from prying eyes during it. Such manifestations often occur in public places.
If you answered yes to questions 1 and 4, then the person has vomitophobia. Such patients are afraid of the feeling of nausea and consider this a manifestation of some serious illness.
People with social anxiety will choose answer 2 or 3. The difference between patients with agoraphobia and social phobia is easy to determine: nausea not in public places does not cause panic in socially anxious patients. With agoraphobia, on the contrary, there will be increased anxiety due to the feeling that they will not be able to provide help on time .
It is possible to have a combination of vomitophobia, social phobia and agoraphobia in one person.
What is pediophobia
Pediophobia is a mental disorder expressed in the form of a strong panic fear of dolls. There is also another disorder – glenophobia. This is the fear of a doll's gaze. The patient feels as if the toy is watching him with its eyes.
Pediophobia manifests itself differently in different people. Some people are afraid of all dolls in a row, while others experience panic attacks only when meeting specific specimens. The intensity of fear also varies from mild anxiety to real terror.
In the modern world, we are surrounded by many dolls: children's toys on store shelves, mannequins in shopping centers, all kinds of humanoid robots. It is not easy for pediophobes to live in such a world, so they try at all costs to avoid dolls. Women deprive themselves of the pleasure of shopping, men refuse to get acquainted with the latest robotics, parents do not buy dolls for their children. At first glance, fear of dolls seems like an insignificant disorder, but upon closer examination, it significantly worsens the quality of life.
Causes
The emergence of vomitophobia is facilitated by situations in which a person experienced feelings of shame during vomiting in a public place. People susceptible to this phobia are susceptible and impressionable. When people find themselves in a similar situation or have just thought about it, they begin to get nervous and a feeling of nausea appears. Such people very rarely eat in cafes or restaurants, as they are afraid of poisoning. Products are carefully checked and their expiration dates are checked. Girls are afraid to get pregnant, as toxicosis may develop. This phobia often originates in childhood, when the child was ashamed while vomiting or saw someone vomiting.
Treatment
Self help
In mild cases of vomitophobia, a person is able to cope on his own . You need to learn as much as possible about your phobia, how and why fears appear. This will be a significant step towards solving this problem. If the patient begins to experience anxiety, negative emotions need to be attacked. It is worth doubting that this feeling of fear and disgust can have a negative impact on others and the person himself.
Practice relaxation, relax and meditate. All these methods will help a person avoid nervousness and anxiety. With practice, the patient learns to relax in a matter of seconds.
Psychotherapy
If the patient cannot cope on his own, then he needs to consult a psychotherapist. There are a number of techniques that will help get rid of the fear of the gag reflex:
- Cognitive-behavioural;
- Hypnosis;
- Gestalt psychology;
- Behavioral;
- Autotraining.
The regimen and methods are selected individually for each patient. The most effective technique is cognitive behavioral therapy. A person is exposed to a factor or situation that causes a feeling of nausea.
Watch a video about the possibility of treating phobias with hypnosis
Drug treatment
The basis of this treatment is to suppress the patient’s fears and panic. Antidepressants, tranquilizers, tricyclics and other psychotropic drugs are used.
Antidepressants help fight depression and obsessive thoughts. Such drugs include “Fluoxetine”, “Moclobemide”.
Fluoxetine - tablets, the active substance is fluoxetine. It is used to treat depression of various degrees of severity, obsessive states, and lack of appetite. Take one tablet in the morning. If the dosage is insufficient, the doctor can increase it to a maximum of 80 mg per day. Elderly people up to 60 mg. The course of treatment is three or four weeks. Contraindication: hypersensitivity to any of the components contained in the tablets. If you have liver or kidney failure, this drug should not be used. If you are prone to suicidal behavior, during pregnancy and breastfeeding, the medicine is not prescribed. Use with caution in diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, symptoms and Parkinson's syndrome.
The average cost of a package of 10 tablets is 16 hryvnia, 20 tablets are 25 hryvnia.
Moclobemide is available in the form of tablets with dosages of 100, 150 and 300 mg. Take 0.3 g per day three times a day for social phobia and depressive syndrome. This drug should not be used when carrying a child or breastfeeding. It is also contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity to the substances contained in the drug. In case of pheochromocytoma, childhood, selegiline should not be taken. The cost for 30 tablets of 300 mg is 1200 hryvnia.
Benzodiazepines are medications that relieve panic attacks. These include Phenazepam, Imipramine.
Phenazepam - tablets with a dosage of 0.0005, 0.001 or 0.0025 g of phenazepam and solution for intravenous and intramuscular injections. It has antixiolytic, muscle relaxant, anticonvulsant, amnestic, sedative, and hypnotic effects. Suitable for neuroses, reactive psychosis, phobic conditions, panic reactions, tics, muscle rigidity. Contraindications to the use of the drug are shock or coma, myasthenia gravis, acute respiratory failure, breastfeeding and pregnancy, and hypersensitivity to substances in the drug. The average cost of tablets is 0.0005 - 100 rubles, tablets with a dose of 0.001 g - 139 rubles, with a dosage of 0.0025 g - 185 rubles. For 10 ampoules of 0.1% solution - 190 rubles.
Imipramine is available in the form of tablets, dragees and solution. It is used for depression, psychosis, phobias and panic conditions, obsessive-compulsive syndrome. Take from 6 to 8 years old - 25 mg per day, from 9 to 12 years old - 25-50 mg per day, over 12 years old take 50-75 mg. Adults are prescribed 150-250 mg, intramuscularly 25 mg three times a day in combination with 25 mg tablets. Contraindicated when carrying a child, breastfeeding, when taking MAO inhibitors, children under six years of age, intolerance to the components of the drug. The price for 50 tablets, dosage 25 mg is 350 rubles.
Psycholeptic drugs - reduce the level of anxiety and panic symptoms. The drug "Buspirone" is recommended.
Buspirone is a tablet that is indicated for use in cases of anxiety, increased restlessness and tension. The therapeutic dose is 5 mg in two doses. Then the dose is increased to 30 mg. Take the tablets with plenty of water. Contraindications for use are: myasthenia gravis, renal failure, lactation, pregnancy, hypersensitivity to the components in the drug, acute congestive glaucoma, epilepsy, childhood. The cost of tablets in a dose of 5 mg is 90 hryvnia, 10 mg is 145 hryvnia.
How to get rid of cherophobia
Before prescribing treatment, the psychologist conducts a full diagnosis. He analyzes the general well-being and current condition of the patient. Investigates whether there are any pathologies or brain injuries that can trigger the development of a phobia. A psychologist studies the characteristics of the course of a phobia, situations in which anxiety increases and decreases. The specialist also analyzes the client’s past, looking for situations that could lead to the development of a phobia.
Based on the analysis, the psychologist selects an individual treatment plan. The most commonly used psychological methods are:
- hypnosis;
- Gestalt therapy;
- cognitive behavioral psychotherapy;
- auto-training, training in self-regulation methods.
First, the client and psychologist determine the root cause, the negative experience of the past that led to the development of the phobia, the specialist helps to change the attitude towards it and re-evaluate it. After this, frightening situations from the present are analyzed, the specialist helps the client develop a new type of thinking, new patterns of behavior. To relieve anxiety directly during contact with a frightening object, breathing exercises are used. Additionally, patients keep a diary in which they note changes in their condition, relapses of the disease, and other changes.
Drug treatment is almost never used. Sometimes sedatives are prescribed, as well as drugs to relieve symptoms and treat related diseases. If the disease does not interfere with the quality of life, does not interfere with the patient’s work and self-realization, then treatment is not carried out. The client changes his lifestyle and masters self-control methods, this helps him cope with anxiety.
How to get rid of a phobia yourself? You need to voluntarily plunge into the holiday atmosphere. It's better to do it gradually. It is useful to gain the support of a loved one and attend a frightening event with him.
It is important to understand what exactly causes anxiety. A phobia is an exaggerated defense mechanism of the psyche. We need to remember what situation became traumatic. Only by destroying the associations between negative experiences and all the fun situations in the present can you regain your joy. However, psychologists do not recommend self-medication. It is better to contact a specialist, he will conduct differentiated diagnostics, make an accurate diagnosis, and determine a treatment plan.
It is important! On average, treatment takes 5–10 sessions of 45 minutes each. But the duration of therapy and prognosis depend on the moment of treatment, the individual characteristics of the patient, and the characteristics of the course of the phobia.
Prevention
Preventive measures consist of not panicking in stressful situations. To do this you need:
- Try not to overreact to stressful situations;
- Practice meditation and relaxation;
- Do physical exercise every day;
- After stressful situations, have the necessary time to recover;
- Limit the consumption of coffee and other psychostimulants.
Another useful video on this topic
Celebrities and phobias
Celebrities were no exception in terms of the presence of phobias. In many cases, fear of a gag reflex is one of the symptoms. For example, Benedict Cumberbatch suffers from stage fright and every time he gets sick before a performance. Adele is a singer who also suffers from a phobia. From the fear of performing in Brussels, she vomited directly on the audience. She herself admitted that she often has panic attacks.
Vomitophobia can and should be treated. There are different methods, the choice is up to the patient. But you need to understand that fears of something greatly influence a person’s life and can lead to isolation and complete loneliness. You need to not run away from fears, but start treatment on time. This is the right way to continue to live a full life.
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The hidden meaning of pyrophobia
The hidden meaning of the fear of fire is the loss of one’s origins, the loss of the structure of life. A person who has survived a fire, pain and loss of war is not afraid of flames. Such people are frightened by the pain experienced from the death of loved ones, the fear of being mutilated in the fire.
People who have experienced such upheavals are afraid of the dire consequences of war or cataclysm, which entail problems:
- post-war famine;
- inability to escape the winter cold;
- lack of drinking water;
- impossibility of a normal overnight stay;
- loss of all property.
The worst thing for someone suffering from pyrophobia is death from fire.
