What are the phobias more common in the summer? They are the ones that remain placid and dormant throughout the year and with the arrival of the summer season they begin to re-emerge, upsetting the emotional tranquility of those who suffer from it.
To have fear of the sea, of undressing in public, of the plane, of dizziness or of traveling have a precise term and definition: we asked the experts about Guidapsicologi.it to give us some more information, illustrating the main characteristics of each of them, their causes, and they have suggested some tips to manage and overcome these phobias in the best possible way.
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mihtiander
Thalassophobia: the uncontrollable fear of the sea and places with a large presence of water
Thalassophobia is immense terror of the sea. In particular, phobia of the open sea or the ocean, which can cause panic attacks when sufferers come close to water. There is no rational beginning to this phobia: the person suffering from thalassophobia is terrified of the sea or the ocean even in the imagination, that is, it is not necessary to be physically near the sea to be afraid of it. For example, a situation may arise in which, for various reasons, by watching a film in which there are images of the open sea, or even simply swimming pools or water tanks, symptoms of anxiety are triggered in the subject.
Causes: the diagnosis of thalassophobia can be for various reasons. Although the main reason is that the person has had a negative experience in relation to the maritime environment. The lived experience can come from visualizing a water accident, a shipwreck, the sinking of a ship, seeing people drowning … Or that the person himself has been a participant in any of the previous episodes. Less common, but possible, is that thalassophobia is due to a lack of knowledge of the sea and the ocean: what is it like? What does it contain? or what’s hiding beneath me? are the questions that could trigger anxiety and distress.
Tips for managing and overcoming thalassophobia
● Thalassophobia is worked through various relaxation and breathing techniques, to achieve good management of anxiety and negative thoughts
● The therapy of exposure to the feared situation in a progressive way with the supervision of a professional, will lead to facing the fears, and reducing the anxiety towards the feared situation
● Exposure in imagination or through virtual reality produces good results.
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AaronAmat
Disabilophobia: irrational fear and / or disproportionate anxiety to undress on a social level
The disability phobia coincides with the irrational fear of the various situations in which the individual has to undress in front of others. This phobia generates a very high level of anxiety. It is known as the phobia of undressing. It interferes with the normal sexual behavior of the person, but not only, because it can extend to various contexts and hinder everyday life. In very severe cases, disabledophobia can occur even if there is no one nearby: the subject imagines that another person is staring at him when he is without clothes.
Causes: the most common concerns having experienced a traumatic situation associated with nudity. This can occur in a locker room, bathroom, or similar places. It may also be due to having witnessed a traumatic situation involving another person who was in an environment of nudity. The observing subject assumes it as a real and therefore feared danger and internalizes it as such.
Tips to manage and overcome disability phobia
● Under the supervision of a psychologist, use a cognitive behavioral approach
● Practice relaxation techniques and exposure techniques
● Understand the reason for this situation in order to be able to normalize it
● On a social and emotional level, it is advisable to discuss the situation with close people, so as not to be involved in moments that increase anxiety.
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martin-dm
Aerophobia: the fear of flying
Aerophobia is a disorder that falls under the phobic type. The person who presents it suffers from a strong fear of the flight experience and everything related to it, generating strong anxiety, rejection, fear and negative thoughts about flying and what surrounds it.
Causes: The person may have acquired wrong learning during the flight. With the same he associates an unpleasant situation with flying. For example, by experiencing a negative experience, the person identifies a real dangerous situation during the flight. Even hearing someone tell about a plane crash can lead to embedding it in memory as a real danger. Also, having another type of phobia such as claustrophobia or agoraphobia can cause aerophobia.
Tips for managing and overcoming aerophobia
● Through a psychologist, gradually do the exposure therapy: it is a fundamental step to be able to overcome the aerophobia.
● Use cognitive behavioral therapy so that the person learns to distinguish what his perception is and what reality is.
● To use relaxation techniques, awareness and psychoeducation that serve to make us more aware and to learn more about the world of airplanes, so as to better understand the fear to be overcome.
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globalmoments
Odophobia: irrational fear of travel
Odophobia is the irrational fear of travel. It can manifest itself in various forms and symptoms. In some people the fear is aimed at any kind of travel. For others, however, it is focused on specific travel and means of transport. There are those who fear having to leave home, and this produces an immense fear of traveling. This irrational fear limits the subject in various personal, social or work aspects, to the point of paralyzing the person.
Causes: It can be caused by a past experience that was traumatic for the subject while traveling. For example, the fact of getting sick or showing symptoms of discomfort during the trip, and therefore learning that it is a conditioning factor that will occur during each trip; being fired from work while traveling; the fact that they enter the house while one is away … Therefore, one acquires erroneous learning directed against the very fact of traveling.
Tips for managing and overcoming odophobia
● Working with a psychologist with a cognitive-behavioral approach
● Use relaxation and breathing techniques
● Together with the psychologist, follow a gradual exposure therapy to the feared stimulus
● Exposures can also be realized with the imagination
● Leaning on virtual reality for improved exposure
● Carry out a cognitive restructuring, in which the catastrophic vision that limits the person with ophobia is corrected.
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tzahiV
Acrophobia: feeling dizzy
Acrophobia refers to people who have one irrational fear of heights. Those with this type of phobia try to avoid situations in which they are forced to stay in places that are located at a high height, or with anything that may be attributable to their acrophobia. The person with acrophobia can find many obstacles in his daily life, dizziness prevents him from leading a quiet daily life, in which there is no possibility of living or working in high places, or climbing stairs, or visiting a tall or located monument. on a hill.
Causes: as in the case of other phobias, acrophobia can be due to the experience of a direct negative experience, to having heard an accident in a place that is at a high altitude, and therefore to associate a real fear with the height . It is about acquiring wrong learning by associating unpleasant events with height, and thus activating true fear. Experiencing unpleasant illness or symptoms in a high place can also lead to associating this experience with height.
Tips for managing and overcoming acrophobia
● Together with a psychologist, work with a cognitive behavioral approach in which exposure therapy is used gradually against the phobic stimulus (fear of heights)
● Exposure can be used in imagination through virtual reality
● Breathing and relaxation techniques will be of great help in reducing anxiety
● Implement a cognitive restructuring on the catastrophic vision of the fear of heights.
Source: Vanity Fair
