Phobias can present themselves in a thousand and one ways, even in things that are totally beneficial for our health. This would be the case of hydrophobia. This phobia consists of having an atrocious and irrational fear of water. The person who suffers from hydrophobia is unable to go to places where it is abundant, such as the pool or the beach, for fear of drowning. In other cases, they are so afraid that they are unable to drink water, which is a big problem for their health. In this Psychology-Online article, Hydrophobia: meaning, symptoms, causes and treatmentwe will delve into its definition and what can be done about it.
Hydrophobia: meaning
What is hydrophobia? What does hydrophobia mean? Next we will see the definition and etymological meaning of hydrophobia.
Hydrophobia is born from the two Greek words “hydro” (water) and “phobos” (fear), so it is easy to assume that the meaning of hydrophobia is afraid of water.
Hydrophilicity and hydrophobia
Hydrophilicity and hydrophobia are two concepts that can be confused due to their similarity in name, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. It is important to know how to differentiate between the two when we refer to them.
- Hydrophilicity. The term filia It corresponds to the word friendship or affinity in its Greek etymology. It is used above all in the description of chemical substances that can be soluble in water or in botany to refer to plants that use water as a medium for their pollination. In psychology, its closest simile would be aquaphiliaa type of paraphilia or fetish that is used to refer to people who enjoy engaging in sexual activities underwater.
- Hydrophobia. Hydrophobia is an overwhelming fear response to water and many activities related to it, such as swimming.
Hydrophobic: definition
“I don’t like going to the pool or bathing, Am I hydrophobic?“A hydrophobic person is one who suffers from a specific anxiety disorder or phobia called hydrophobia or aquaphobia, that is, a person who is afraid of water. Hydrophobia is characterized by a intense, irrational and excessive fear to commit any activity related to immersion in or contact with water.
The hydrophobia It can be expressed in different ways. High anxiety can be caused by fear of drowning when swimming, whether due to the false belief or not that one does not have sufficient skill to swim or that an accident may occur. This type of hydrophobia does not have as its main focus the fear of water itself, but is more focused on the fear of dying suffocated by the environment in which one is, which then generalizes to the deep water phobia. At first, this type of phobia usually goes unnoticed because it is rare for the hydrophobic person to find themselves in situations where they have to swim and does not usually affect the quality of life for this reason, although it could happen if the fear extends to the use of maritime vehicles such as ships.
Another type of hydrophobia would be panic over water as such. People who suffer from it feel an extreme aversion to water and try to avoid contact with it as much as possible due to the amount of anxiety they suffer. This can lead to avoiding baths or getting into the shower or stopping drinking water. In these cases the quality of life could be affected, leading to hygiene and health problems by not showering, consequently affecting their social life. Not drinking water would clearly lead to dehydration already serious health problems if not treated.
Hydrophobia: symptoms
Being part of the specific ones or phobias, hydrophobia shares many symptoms of anxiety. They usually appear in front of the stimulus that causes fear, in this case water, or even imagining situations where it is present. Each person can suffer different symptoms and experience them in a unique way, but they are usually grouped into the following categories:
Hydrophobia: physical symptoms
- Dizziness
- Hyperventilation
- Tachycardia
- Vomiting
- Stomachache
- Nerves
- Sweating
Hydrophobia: cognitive symptoms
In cases of phobia, fear occurs together with irrational thoughts or beliefs intrusive that aggravate and maintain high anxiety. These types of thoughts are dedicated to catastrophic ideas and negative occurrences that could happen in situations where the element causing the fear would be present. When the fear resides in drowning from swimming, the thoughts that would form the symptomatic picture would be those that would exaggerate the chances of drowning or that would highlight the inability to swim. While in cases of aversion to water, the thoughts would be focused on the person he would drown if he drank water or the mistaken belief that water is a harmful substance.
Hydrophobia: behavioral symptoms
To avoid having the aversive stimulus in front of them as much as possible, people end up developing tactics and methods to avoid facing their fears. These tactics are known as avoidant behaviors and they are usually present in all phobias. The main avoidance behaviors that hydrophobics would use would be:
- Don’t go to the beach
- Don’t go to the pool
- Don’t shower
- Don’t drink water
Causes of hydrophobia
What causes hydrophobia? Hydrophobia can appear in two main ways:
1. Multifactorial
The first cause of hydrophobia is the most common and would be the same way that other phobias appear. That is, there is no exact causality but there are a number of factors that can determine its appearance. For the acquisition of the most common hydrophobia, these would be the most common factors associated with the appearance of hydrophobia:
- having lived or observed traumatic water-related events. Like for example, having been on the verge of being drowned.
- Not having developed swimming skills at an early age.
- Low self-esteem. In the following article you will find.
- Acquisition of false beliefs about the danger of water in childhood.
- Genetic predisposition to anxiety.
2. Hydrophobia from rabies
Why does rabies cause hydrophobia? Anger is a infectious viral disease which can affect all mammals and its most common form of transmission is by bite. The rabies virus attacks the brain, causing encephalitis and with it a large number of symptoms that evolve over a series of phases until ending with death.
In an advanced phase is where hydrophobia usually appears. QWhy does rabies cause hydrophobia? Its presence is due to the inflammation and the emergence of spasms in the pharynx that make it difficult to swallow any liquid in addition to being a painful process. This naturally creates an aversion to water. Hydrophobia occurs so often that the name “hydrophobia” is often an alternative name for this disease.
Distinguishing hydrophobia due to rabies from a more classic one is quite easy, since the origin and the physiological symptoms that accompany it make for a completely distinctive clinical picture. Luckily, rabies can be prevented and cured thanks to the existence of rabies vaccines.
Hydrophobia: treatment
In this type of case, it is normal to wonder if hydrophobia can be cured. Luckily, like all phobias, it can be treated with psychological therapies. In the case of hydrophobia due to rabies, its corresponding medical treatment is usually sufficient to remit its symptoms.
To overcome the fear of water, they will be used that will mainly focus on making the fear disappear little by little. from the exhibition from water or stressful environmentstontesgiving tools to cope with anxiety and work on the irrational thoughts and beliefs that maintain the fear. The techniques most used in the treatment of hydrophobia are:
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Hydrophobia: meaning, symptoms, causes and treatmentwe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association (2013). DSM-5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Washington: American Psychiatric Publishing.
- Bonet, JIC (2001). Effective psychological treatments for specific phobias. Psychothema, 13(3), 447-452.
- Orgilés, M., Rosa, AI, Santacruz, I., Méndez, X., Olivares, J., & Sánchez-Meca, J. (2002). Well-established and highly effective psychological treatments: behavioral therapy for specific phobias. Behavioral Psychology, 10(3), 481-502.