Phobophobia
Encyclopedia
Phobophobia is a phobia
defined as the fear
of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxiety
and unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia
. When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.
word phobos (φόβος), translating literally to "fear of fear".
Phobophobia is the fear of phobia(s), and more specifically, of the internal sensations associated with that phobia and anxiety, which binds it closely to other anxiety disorders, especially with generalized anxiety disorders (free floating fears) and panic attacks. It is a condition in which anxiety disorders are maintained in an extended way, which combined with the psychological fear generated by phobophobia of encountering the feared phobia would ultimately lead to the intensifying of the effects of the feared phobia that the patient might have developed, such as agoraphobia, and specially with it, and making them susceptible to having an extreme fear of panicking. Phobophobia comes in between the stress the patient might be experiencing and the phobia that the patient has developed as well as the effects on his life, or in other words, it is a bridge between anxiety/panic the patient might be experiencing and the type of phobia he/she fears, creating an intense and extreme predisposition to the feared phobia. Nevertheless, phobophobia is not necessarily developed as part of other phobias, but can be an important factor for maintaining them.
Phobophobia differentiates itself from other kind of phobias by the fact that there is no environmental stimulus
per se, but rather internal dreadful sensations similar to psychological symptoms of panic attacks. The psychological state of the mind creates an anxious response that has itself a conditioned stimuli leading to further anxiety. Phobophobia is a fear experienced before actually experiencing the fear of the feared phobias its somatic sensations that precede it, which is preceded by generalized anxiety disorders and can generate panic attacks. Like all the phobias, the patients avoids the feared phobia in order to avoid the fear of it. Phobophobia is also the name of a Halloween show in London at The London Bridge Experience
.
which is linked to an event in which phobia was experienced with emotional trauma
and stress, which are closely linked to anxiety disorders and by forgetting and recalling the initiating trauma. Phobophobia might develop from other phobias, in which the intense anxiety and panic caused by the phobia might lead to fearing the phobia itself, which triggers phobophobia before actually experiencing the other phobia. The extreme fear towards the other phobia might lead to make believe the patient that his condition can develop into something worse, intensifying the effects of the other phobia by fearing it. Also, phobophobia can be developed when anxiety disorders are not treated, creating an extreme predisposition to other phobias. The development of phobophobia can also be attributed to characteristics of the patient itself, such as phylogenetic influence, the prepotency of certain stimuli, individual genetic inheritance, age incidence, sex incidence, personality background, cultural influence inside and outside the family, physiological variables and biochemical factors.
Phobophobia shares the symptoms of many other anxiety disorders, more specifically panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder:
The main problem with this disorder is that we do not know what we are troubled about, which may lead to our desire to escape. Anxiety becomes a disorder only when we experience psychological trauma, in which our knowledge of past events trigger a fear of uncertain danger in the future. In other words, the primarily event is anxiety which arises for no accountable reason, panic might develop from anxiety and the phobophobia is developed in the very end as a consequence of both of them, sharing some of the symptoms. If either of these initiating disorders are not treated, phobophobia can be developed because an extended susceptibility and experience of this feelings can create an extreme predisposition to other phobias. Anxiety is mainly fixed to a certain specific event or specific events, a strong learned drive which is situationally evoked which is stressful to one person but not to another, and this makes it much easier for phobophobia to develop, as well as other phobias.
Nevertheless, they can differentiate themselves by the fact that phobophobia is a psychological fear of the phobia itself that intensifies it, while panic attacks are extreme fear of encountering the calamities of an imminent disaster, and in this particular case, of encountering other phobias, which can be often accompanied by the at least four of the following common symptoms of panic attacks:
Panic attacks can also be accompanied by disturbance in heart action and feelings of desperation and angst. Being closely related, phobophobia and panic attacks, the first one can be treated like a panic attack with psychological therapy
. Moreover, in combination with phobophobia, a patient might be more susceptible to believe that his continuing anxiety symptoms will eventually culminate in a much more severe mental disorder, such as schizophrenia
.
. Also, exposure based techniques have formed the basis of the armamentarium of behaviour therapists
in the treatment of phobic disorders for many years, they are the most effective forms of treatment for phobic avoidance behavior. Phobics are treated by exposing them to the stimuli which they specially fear, and in case of phobophobia, it is both the phobia they fear and their own sensations. There are two ways to approach interoceptive exposure
on patients:
Cognitive modification is another method that helps considerably to treat phobophobics. When treating the patients with the method, doctors correct some wrong information the patient might have about his disease, such as his catastrophic beliefs or imminent disaster by the feared phobia. Some doctors have even agreed that this is the most helpful component, since it has shown to be very effective especially if combined with other methods, like interoceptive exposure. The doctor seeks to convince patients that his symptoms do not signify danger or loss of control, for example, if combined with the interoceptive exposure, the doctor can show him that there is no unavoidable calamity and if the patient can keep himself under control, he learns by himself that there is no real threat and that it is just in his mind. Cognitive modification also seeks to correct other minor misconceptions, such as the belief that the individual will go crazy and may need to be "locked away forever" or that he will totally lose control and perhaps "run amok". Probably, the most difficult aspect of cognitive restructuring for the majority of the patients will simply be to identify their aberrant beliefs and approach them realistically.
Relaxation and breathing control techniques are used to produce the symptoms naturally. The somatic sensations, the feared stimuli of phobophobia, are sought to be controlled by the patient to reduce the effects of phobophobia. One of the major symptoms encountered is that of hyperventilation, which produce dizziness, faintness, etc. So, hyperventilation is induced in the patients in order to increase their CO2 levels that produce some of this symptoms. By teaching the patients to control this sensations by relaxing and controlling the way they breathe, this symptoms can be avoided and reduce phobophobia. This method is useful if combined with other methods, because alone it doesn't treat other main problems of phobophobia.
Phobia
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
defined as the fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
of phobias, or the fear of fear, including intense anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
and unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations and the feared phobia ensuing. Phobophobia can also be defined as the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. Phobophobia is related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks directly linked to other types of phobias, such as agoraphobia
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...
. When a patient has developed phobophobia, their condition must be diagnosed and treated as part of anxiety disorders.
Definition
The word phobophobia is an English adaptation of the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word phobos (φόβος), translating literally to "fear of fear".
Phobophobia is the fear of phobia(s), and more specifically, of the internal sensations associated with that phobia and anxiety, which binds it closely to other anxiety disorders, especially with generalized anxiety disorders (free floating fears) and panic attacks. It is a condition in which anxiety disorders are maintained in an extended way, which combined with the psychological fear generated by phobophobia of encountering the feared phobia would ultimately lead to the intensifying of the effects of the feared phobia that the patient might have developed, such as agoraphobia, and specially with it, and making them susceptible to having an extreme fear of panicking. Phobophobia comes in between the stress the patient might be experiencing and the phobia that the patient has developed as well as the effects on his life, or in other words, it is a bridge between anxiety/panic the patient might be experiencing and the type of phobia he/she fears, creating an intense and extreme predisposition to the feared phobia. Nevertheless, phobophobia is not necessarily developed as part of other phobias, but can be an important factor for maintaining them.
Phobophobia differentiates itself from other kind of phobias by the fact that there is no environmental stimulus
Stimulus (physiology)
In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....
per se, but rather internal dreadful sensations similar to psychological symptoms of panic attacks. The psychological state of the mind creates an anxious response that has itself a conditioned stimuli leading to further anxiety. Phobophobia is a fear experienced before actually experiencing the fear of the feared phobias its somatic sensations that precede it, which is preceded by generalized anxiety disorders and can generate panic attacks. Like all the phobias, the patients avoids the feared phobia in order to avoid the fear of it. Phobophobia is also the name of a Halloween show in London at The London Bridge Experience
The London Bridge Experience
The London Bridge Experience is a popular tourist attraction located on Tooley Street, in vaults below the southern abutment of London Bridge, immediately outside London Bridge Station and rival attraction London Dungeon. It is also opposite The Shard a london skyscraper currently under construction...
.
Cause and symptoms
Phobophobia is mainly linked with internal predispositions. It is developed by the unconscious mindUnconscious mind
The unconscious mind is a term coined by the 18th century German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling and later introduced into English by the poet and essayist Samuel Taylor Coleridge...
which is linked to an event in which phobia was experienced with emotional trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
and stress, which are closely linked to anxiety disorders and by forgetting and recalling the initiating trauma. Phobophobia might develop from other phobias, in which the intense anxiety and panic caused by the phobia might lead to fearing the phobia itself, which triggers phobophobia before actually experiencing the other phobia. The extreme fear towards the other phobia might lead to make believe the patient that his condition can develop into something worse, intensifying the effects of the other phobia by fearing it. Also, phobophobia can be developed when anxiety disorders are not treated, creating an extreme predisposition to other phobias. The development of phobophobia can also be attributed to characteristics of the patient itself, such as phylogenetic influence, the prepotency of certain stimuli, individual genetic inheritance, age incidence, sex incidence, personality background, cultural influence inside and outside the family, physiological variables and biochemical factors.
Phobophobia shares the symptoms of many other anxiety disorders, more specifically panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder:
- DizzinessDizzinessDizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. The term is somewhat imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....
- Heart Pounding
- SweatingSweatingPerspiration is the production of a fluid consisting primarily of water as well as various dissolved solids , that is excreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals...
- Slight paresthesiaParesthesiaParesthesia , spelled "paraesthesia" in British English, is a sensation of tingling, burning, pricking, or numbness of a person's skin with no apparent long-term physical effect. It is more generally known as the feeling of "pins and needles" or of a limb "falling asleep"...
- Tension
- HyperventilationHyperventilationHyperventilation or overbreathing is the state of breathing faster or deeper than normal, causing excessive expulsion of circulating carbon dioxide. It can result from a psychological state such as a panic attack, from a physiological condition such as metabolic acidosis, can be brought about by...
- AngstAngstAngst is an English, German, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch word for fear or anxiety . It is used in English to describe an intense feeling of apprehension, anxiety or inner turmoil...
- Faintness
- Avoidance
- Loss of bowel movement
- Loss of all bowel control
- Alienation of close friends/relatives
- An excess of perspiration in ear, nose, and throat
Association with generalized anxiety disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder is when our minds are troubled about some uncertain event, or in other words, when we feel threatened, although the source of the threat might not be obvious to us. It is a disorder when it happens frequently and disables to do some of our daily activities. Generalized anxiety disorder always comes before phobophobia, and of its symptoms are listed below:- Paleness of skinPallorPallor is a reduced amount of oxyhaemoglobin in skin or mucous membrane, a pale color which can be caused by illness, emotional shock or stress, stimulant use, lack of exposure to sunlight, anaemia or genetics....
- Sweating
- Dilation of pupilsPupillary responsePupillary response or dilation of the pupil is a physiological response that varies the size of the pupil of the eye via the iris dilator muscle...
- Rapid pounding of heart
- Rise in blood pressureBlood pressureBlood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
- Tension in the muscles
- Trembling
- Readiness to be startled
- Dryness and tightness of the throat and mouth
- Rapid breathing
- Desperation
- A sinking feeling in the stomach
- A strong desire to cry, run or hide
The main problem with this disorder is that we do not know what we are troubled about, which may lead to our desire to escape. Anxiety becomes a disorder only when we experience psychological trauma, in which our knowledge of past events trigger a fear of uncertain danger in the future. In other words, the primarily event is anxiety which arises for no accountable reason, panic might develop from anxiety and the phobophobia is developed in the very end as a consequence of both of them, sharing some of the symptoms. If either of these initiating disorders are not treated, phobophobia can be developed because an extended susceptibility and experience of this feelings can create an extreme predisposition to other phobias. Anxiety is mainly fixed to a certain specific event or specific events, a strong learned drive which is situationally evoked which is stressful to one person but not to another, and this makes it much easier for phobophobia to develop, as well as other phobias.
Association with panic attacks
When people experience panic attacks, they are convinced that they are about to die or suffer some extreme calamity in which some kind of action is done by the individual (such as fleeing or screaming). In case of phobophobia, a panic attack might be encountered as the fear that they will in fact experience the calamities of the feared phobia and see it as something inevitable. Also, the nature of the panic is of profound personal significance to the individual, on a similar way phobophobia is related to the individual. This is why panic attacks are closely related to phobophobia.Nevertheless, they can differentiate themselves by the fact that phobophobia is a psychological fear of the phobia itself that intensifies it, while panic attacks are extreme fear of encountering the calamities of an imminent disaster, and in this particular case, of encountering other phobias, which can be often accompanied by the at least four of the following common symptoms of panic attacks:
- DyspneaDyspneaDyspnea , shortness of breath , or air hunger, is the subjective symptom of breathlessness.It is a normal symptom of heavy exertion but becomes pathological if it occurs in unexpected situations...
- Palpitations
- Chest painChest painChest pain may be a symptom of a number of serious conditions and is generally considered a medical emergency. Even though it may be determined that the pain is non-cardiac in origin, this is often a diagnosis of exclusion made after ruling out more serious causes of the pain.-Differential...
or discomfort - Choking or smothering sensations
- VertigoVertigo (medical)Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
or unsteady feelings - Feelings of unreality (depersonalization or derealization)
- Paraesthesias (tingling in hands or feet)
- Hot and cold flushes
- Faintness
- Trembling or shaking
- Difficult breathing
- Sweating
Panic attacks can also be accompanied by disturbance in heart action and feelings of desperation and angst. Being closely related, phobophobia and panic attacks, the first one can be treated like a panic attack with psychological therapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. Moreover, in combination with phobophobia, a patient might be more susceptible to believe that his continuing anxiety symptoms will eventually culminate in a much more severe mental disorder, such as schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
.
Treatment
There are many ways to treat phobophobia, and the methods used to treat panic disorders have been shown to be effective to treat phobophobia, because panic disorder patients will present in a similar fashion to conventional phobics and perceive their fear as totally irrationalIrrationality
Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate reasoning, emotional distress, or cognitive deficiency...
. Also, exposure based techniques have formed the basis of the armamentarium of behaviour therapists
Behaviour therapy
Behaviour therapy, or behavior therapy is an approach to psychotherapy based on learning theory which aims to treat psychopathology through techniques designed to reinforce desired and eliminate undesired behaviours.-History:...
in the treatment of phobic disorders for many years, they are the most effective forms of treatment for phobic avoidance behavior. Phobics are treated by exposing them to the stimuli which they specially fear, and in case of phobophobia, it is both the phobia they fear and their own sensations. There are two ways to approach interoceptive exposure
Interoceptive exposure
Interoceptive exposure is a behavioral therapy technique used in the treatment of panic disorder. It refers to carrying out exercises that bring about the physical sensations of a panic attack, such as hyperventilation and high muscle tension, and can be contrasted with in vivo exposure, which...
on patients:
- Paradoxical intentionParadoxical intentionIn psychotherapy, paradoxical intention is the deliberate practice of a neurotic habit or thought, undertaken in order to identify and remove it....
: This method is especially useful to treat the fear towards the phobophobia and the phobia they fear, as well as some of the sensations the patient fears. This method exposes the patient to the stimuli that causes the fear, which he avoids. The patient is directly exposed to it bringing him to experience the sensations that he fears, as well as the phobia. This exposure based technique helps the doctor by guiding the patient to encounter his fears and overcome them by feeling no danger around them.
- Symptoms artificially produced: This method is very useful to treat the fear towards the sensations encountered when experiencing phobophobia, the main feared stimuli of this anxiety disorder. By ingestion of different chemical agents, such as caffeineCaffeineCaffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
, CO2-O2OxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
or adrenalin, some of the symptoms the patient feels when encountering phobophobia and other anxiety disorders are triggered, such as hyperventilation, heart pounding, blurring of vision and paresthesia, which can lead to the controlling of the sensations by the patients. At first, panic attacks will be encountered, but eventually, as the study made by Doctor Griez and Van den Hout shows, the patient shows no fear to somatic sensations and panic attacks and eventually of the phobia feared.
Cognitive modification is another method that helps considerably to treat phobophobics. When treating the patients with the method, doctors correct some wrong information the patient might have about his disease, such as his catastrophic beliefs or imminent disaster by the feared phobia. Some doctors have even agreed that this is the most helpful component, since it has shown to be very effective especially if combined with other methods, like interoceptive exposure. The doctor seeks to convince patients that his symptoms do not signify danger or loss of control, for example, if combined with the interoceptive exposure, the doctor can show him that there is no unavoidable calamity and if the patient can keep himself under control, he learns by himself that there is no real threat and that it is just in his mind. Cognitive modification also seeks to correct other minor misconceptions, such as the belief that the individual will go crazy and may need to be "locked away forever" or that he will totally lose control and perhaps "run amok". Probably, the most difficult aspect of cognitive restructuring for the majority of the patients will simply be to identify their aberrant beliefs and approach them realistically.
Relaxation and breathing control techniques are used to produce the symptoms naturally. The somatic sensations, the feared stimuli of phobophobia, are sought to be controlled by the patient to reduce the effects of phobophobia. One of the major symptoms encountered is that of hyperventilation, which produce dizziness, faintness, etc. So, hyperventilation is induced in the patients in order to increase their CO2 levels that produce some of this symptoms. By teaching the patients to control this sensations by relaxing and controlling the way they breathe, this symptoms can be avoided and reduce phobophobia. This method is useful if combined with other methods, because alone it doesn't treat other main problems of phobophobia.