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What is the name of a phobia of water? Water phobias or obsessive fears related to water

The fear of being in deep water without solid ground under your feet, or even the fear of the very existence of depth, is a common phobia not only among those who cannot swim. This rhinestone has a number of individual features, which we will talk about in this article. You need to know what to fight with.

When asked why a person is afraid of depth, people often give a purely personal answer. That is, they talk about a list of their reasons that preceded the emergence of this fear. More precisely, not even fear, but phobia, and it even has a name - bathophobia.

In psychology, this phobia is compared to the fear of dying, because, basically, it stems from the fear of drowning. Do not confuse the fear of depth with a banal fear of water from a person who does not know how to swim. As we have already said, fear of depth can manifest itself in even the most experienced swimmers. Bathophobia is one of the most terrible and obsessive fears; do not underestimate it.

What is bathophobia?

A phobic disorder called bathophobia is simply called “fear of depth.” This disorder may appear as a result of experienced trauma associated with water or being at depth, as a result of which a person is haunted by an obsessive and sticky fear, and attacks by strong feelings about this.

However, this phobia does not always appear against the background of a traumatic situation. Bathophobia can exist from birth, even in people who have never been to the depths. There are also several reasons: a dysfunctional family, distrust of the environment and others.

Bathophobia causes the so-called feeling of the abyss, from which the following symptoms arise:

Panic attacks.

Strong emotional arousal.

Fear of even the mere mention of depth.

Fear of falling into underwater vegetation (algae) and becoming entangled in it.

Following from the above, it is worth understanding that the initial stage of bathophobia can manifest itself in any person. There have been situations when bathophobia made itself felt even while viewing photographs of deep-sea reservoirs.

Often fear overtook people in a boat that had sailed far from the shore.

The child is afraid of water

Often, a child cannot realize the true nature and cause of his fear - he is simply scared. However, of course, there are reasons for everything. Often this is:

Fear of a new and unknown sensation. Finding yourself in an environment that is unusual for the child.

Inability to swim and stay on the water.

Disturbing associations with some film or cartoon.

Bad mood during the first swim.

The water temperature is too cold and the child is uncomfortable in it.

Not a particularly pleasant feeling of pebbles, stones, sand, etc. under your feet. In such situations, adults resort to “emergency measures” to introduce their baby to water. Quite often this ends badly, because the child must first of all feel safety and comfort; in the absence of this, the child is subjected to severe stress and anxiety, as a result of which the child only begins to be more afraid of water. His thoughts state that swimming is scary because he was forced to do it.

Because of this approach, the child may well be overcome by panic or even horror when he is at depth. This sometimes leads to very sad consequences.

Fear of the deep sea

This phobia causes quite controversial discussions and opinions. Some experts argue that this particular phobia has its own reasons, some sigh in bewilderment, saying, how can it be so “afraid of a magnificent sea holiday”? Panic fear of the sea and swimming in it is called thalassophobia. Some people tend to feel wary at the sight of huge amounts of water. Of course, this concerns the sea first of all. However, there are brave souls who are ready to swim very far without any fear of depth or anything else. If a person is overwhelmed by a feeling of inexplicable fear and panic just at the sight of the sea, then it’s worth forgetting about a complete and relaxing holiday, and there’s nothing to say about water sports.

Thalassophobia is also widespread among children. For example, a baby can happily play on the shore, rummage in the sand, but categorically refuse to swim alone. Psychologists even assigned this phenomenon its own classification, called neurotic symptoms.

Fear of dark water

From Greek, “estuary” can be attributed to bodies of water with calm water, and “phobia” is translated as “a state that causes a feeling of fear.” Based on this, we can derive a definition of phobia, which is the fear of lakes, swamps and ponds and its name is limnophobia. People may experience panic while being near these bodies of water or while swimming. For some, panic arises at one glance or mention.

The mirror-like surface of the water is perceived as something causing concern. There are often cases when thoughts enter your head that something inexplicably terrible and deadly is being revealed underneath. For people suffering from this disorder, it is necessary to ensure that swimming is only in a shallow pool with clear water, due to which the bottom is visible.

The causes of this disorder should be sought in childhood:

A child can survive shock by swallowing water or almost drowning. Basically, this happens in village ponds.
The cause could also be a boat overturned in the middle of a swim.
Surprisingly, even children's jokes, such as pulling your heels under water, can cause this phobic disorder.
The sight of a drowned man also leaves a deep imprint on the psyche.
The reason may be a horror film you once watched in which a pond appeared. Even the mildest form of this phobia can cause people to feel anxious and afraid when in a body of water.

Sea monsters

Any phobia presupposes the presence of a serious subconscious fear. This fear is expressed in rapid breathing and rapid heartbeat. The standard fight-or-flight defense mechanism is activated. It’s great, of course, if the object of fear, a dog, for example, is standing before your eyes - here you can escape or do something else. But when such fear arises in the depths, it is many times worse and more terrible.

It's quite normal to be afraid of being eaten alive by a shark. But if a diver simply has an unreasonable fear of coral reefs or something similar, this is already a phobia. For some divers, their fear of sea creatures with fangs, such as sharks, is so intense that even swimming in a regular pool becomes an unbearable ordeal.

Fear of getting tangled in algae

Panic occurs not only when algae actually touches your feet in the water, but also, in principle, at the mere thought that they might be there. Of course, first of all, such fear arises when a person has already had a traumatic experience of becoming entangled in algae.

It is worth remembering that the desire to avoid algae is a normal reaction, as it is indeed extremely dangerous for swimmers. It’s another matter when, in a panic attack, a person begins to move chaotically, thereby possibly even dooming himself to death. Some claim that this phobia can be treated with hypnosis.

Fear of drowning

This phobia is called aquaphobia and, like the others, has a number of symptoms: mental and vegetative.

Mental symptoms look like this:

Unpleasant sensations when the skin comes into contact with water. - Inexplicable fear of a banal bath. - Of course, we already know the fear of depth and the fear of large expanses of water. - An anxious feeling before drinking any liquid. Be it tea, coffee or water. - Fear and reluctance to go outside during rain or thunderstorms. The list of physical symptoms is as follows:

Nausea.
Dizziness.
High blood pressure.
Profuse sweating.
Headaches.

If the phobia is not treated, then sooner or later a situation may arise when the aquaphobe ends up in the water and begins to have convulsions. In this state, a complete blackout of consciousness occurs, so the person will definitely not be able to help himself. Aquaphobia is very, very dangerous and must be eliminated at the first sign.

But where does this fear of depth come from?

This particular type of phobia, bathophobia, can be both destructive and objective. The destructive form involves inexplicable fears that there are monsters or any life-threatening things underwater. There have been cases where people hear the voices of sirens or other marine life. For example, Cthulhu. There are people who believe that the ocean is a huge thinking creature that is extremely hostile to humans.

Objective fear can be explained, and therefore is not so dangerous. This is a fear of depth that occurs due to inability to swim or fear of drowning. The occurrence of this phobia is associated with experienced traumas, as a result of which a person is simply afraid of becoming drowned.

How to deal with fear?

The origin of all these phobias has deep psychological reasons and even identifying them can sometimes be extremely difficult. However, there are several recommendations, following which you will definitely feel relief.

Understand what the aquatic environment is like. Before you begin the long process of liberation from fears and phobias, try to understand what you are really afraid of. As they say, you need to know the enemy by sight. All sorts of films, TV shows, books and scientific articles will help you figure this out. Perhaps it will turn out that this is not an enemy at all.

Find the positives. To get rid of fear, you need to clearly know the positive aspects of water and being in it. Turn only to trusted sources of information and discard “revealing articles” about sea monsters. If a positive image of water is formed in your mind, it will help you cope with your fears.

Water is the basis of life. It covers 71% of the globe and also makes up on average 70% of the total human body weight. It is one of the most important resources in the world. However, many people feel a serious fear of water. In addition to the natural fear of drowning, it manifests itself in the fear of being near her or in contact with her. This is a very common phobia. It darkens the lives of about 15% of people. Therefore, it is necessary to study this fear in order to be able to overcome it.

What is the fear of water called?

In special books, fear of water is called aquaphobia, or hydrophobia. These words have the same root, only “hydro” is Greek, and “aqua” is Latin. Both roots mean “water”. Previously, the first concept was associated with the symptom of rabies, expressed in the fear of even swallowing water, and the second with a general fear of water. Now these words are considered complete synonyms.

There are several types of aquaphobia, which are distinguished for convenience when dealing with a specific cause of fear:

ablutophobia, or fear of contact with water in general, when a person even refuses to maintain hygiene;
anthlophobia, or fear of floods;
bathophobia, or fear of depth;
limnophobia, or fear of large bodies of water (lakes) and their inhabitants;
Omnophobia, or fear of rain;
potamophobia, or fear of fast flows, as well as whirlpools;
thalassophobia, or fear of the sea/ocean;
chionophobia, or fear of snow.

So, hydrophobia has many shades related to one or another state of water. It ranges from a natural fear of drowning to an irrational fear of touching it.

Reasons: where does the fear of water come from?

Why does a phobia of water occur? This question is worth asking in order to find an effective method of dealing with it. It usually occurs early in life as a result of an unpleasant physical or mental experience.

The following reasons are identified:

Pathologies (hypoxia - oxygen starvation, dehydration of the fetus), due to which the child develops hydrophobia even before birth.
Damage to the amniotic sac during childbirth (amniotomy).
An unpleasant experience experienced while swimming (from water getting on mucous membranes to the risk of choking).
Tales of mermaids pulling people to the bottom.
Watching TV series and reading books that talk about disasters in the water, as well as the monsters that live in its depths.
Loud reactions from parents when a child falls in the bathtub or chokes on water. They can scare the child more than what happened. At the same time, his fear will begin to be associated with water, forming a negative stereotype.
The wrong way to teach a child to swim can cause mental and physical injuries that form hydrophobia. For example, a baby is simply thrown into a pond.
Contact with the object of the phobia, leading to burns/hypothermia.
Natural phenomena (tsunamis, thunderstorms, etc.).
Emergency situations in which both the owner of the phobia and someone else becomes a participant in front of his eyes (shipwreck, risk of drowning, cracked ice), or moments in which a person witnesses someone’s death under similar circumstances.
Situations when an individual chokes while taking a sip.
Diving underwater, accompanied by a lack of oxygen and pressure.
Sometimes the cause of hydrophobia is the fear not of a body of water, but of the organisms inhabiting it.
The physical cause is diseases in which the throat swells and it is very painful for the individual to swallow (rabies, tetanus). Hydrophobia becomes their symptom and sometimes remains even after illness.
The reason is the senses. Water can get into the ears, eyes and nose, which is extremely unpleasant and can frighten the baby. Given the way in which hydrophobia appears, it is recommended to slowly get used to it. For example, touching your face with a wet towel. When water gets into your ear, there is no point in panicking as it will not damage your hearing. It is enough to simply remove it using a cotton swab. And it won’t run into your nose if you keep your head above the water surface.

Symptoms: how to recognize hydrophobia?

There are both mental and physiological indicators that a person suffers from hydrophobia.

Mental indicators:

reluctance to touch liquid;
fear of leaving the premises if it is raining or snowing outside;
reluctance to enter bodies of water;
nervousness from remembering the object of hydrophobia;
nervousness while drinking water;
reluctance to be near her;
categorical refusal to take a shower and perform other hygiene procedures;
panic, loss of self-control.

Physiological indicators:

increased heart rate;
shiver;
dizziness;
weakness;
increased sweating;
dry mouth;
numbness;
dyspnea;
lightheadedness/fainting;
convulsions;
high blood pressure;
headache;
nervousness;
dilated pupils;
muscle tension.

Symptoms of hydrophobia appear depending on the degree of this disorder. As the condition worsens, the above signs appear more and more clearly. Then you should immediately seek the help of a psychotherapist. However, some people are able to control their fear of water. Sometimes they may even hide it from others.

Why does fear of water prevent you from living a full life?

There are four reasons why a fear of water can darken your life:

He is unable to fully interact with the world.
It is difficult for him to organize spending time in nature with relatives and friends. For example, children suffering from this phobia cannot go to water parks or relax at the seaside with their parents.
He is overcome whenever he has to come into contact with or be near water.
Taking a normal bath can cause serious psychological trauma.

How to live with hydrophobia?

There are common cases when the client is afraid not of the water itself or its appearance, but of situations where it appears. For example, floods or tsunamis. There is a fear of drowning.

The starting point for getting rid of a phobia is understanding the reason for its occurrence. The next step is understanding its irrationality. It may help to look at mortality statistics from floods, as this is quite rare. Also, watching stories where bodies of water play a positive role has a positive effect.

The fear of drowning can also be eliminated independently. You need to go through the following steps:

Choose a safe swimming spot with beautiful scenery and a gently sloping coastline.
Organize a meeting with friends or relatives and spend time near a body of water with the goal of creating good associations with such proximity.
Regularly convince yourself that water is harmless. Listening to the sound of the surf and viewing attractive images of seascapes, lakes and waterfalls also help.
Don't rush anywhere. Enter the reservoir in stages - first up to the knee, then to the waist and beyond. Gradually increase your time in the water.
Perform swimming movements where it is shallow. The feeling that the bottom is close helps overcome fear.

By following these simple steps, a person can help themselves overcome hydrophobia and, although it takes time and patience, it is completely curable.

How to stop being afraid of water?

If you have a mild degree of fear, then self-healing is possible. But the action plan is different for a child and an adult.

Getting rid of a phobia for children

If your child exhibits a fear of water, you should first understand what is causing it. It is likely that it is just her temperature or the new shampoo. The baby should be taught to bathe little by little, without sudden movements.

To help rid your child of hydrophobia, you can turn the bathing process into a fun atmosphere of play and celebration. You can use his favorite toys for this. The program can include funny children's songs and beautiful soap bubbles that will interest the baby. Use a bubble bath that smells good. Then water will be associated with something good. The child will be distracted from his fear and soon will not even remember it.

Do not forget that children need independent choice. Let the baby choose the bathing time, means, and washcloth. He must feel that the situation is under his control.

Compose good fairy tales for your baby that are associated with water. For example, about a little man who was afraid of her, and then he had to forget about fear and save his drowning friend. The hero realized that he could overcome the elements, and it turned out to be not as terrible as he thought. Children love to feel like heroes.

You can try to overcome the fear of water using art therapy by asking the child to draw a “scary” object, and then take and tear up the drawing or draw something beautiful that causes a positive reaction in the child.

Under no circumstances should you call your child dirty if he is afraid to get into the bathtub. So you can instill this in him, and he will begin to consider himself that way and live up to this name. Also, you cannot compare a child with other children in the context of the fact that they are better, because they are not afraid of water.

Some parents do not know about hydrophobia and believe that the child’s reluctance to swim is just a whim. Then they begin to force the child into the bath, which is strictly prohibited, because this will only intensify the phobia.

The situation can also be aggravated by sharp reactions to the fact that the child, for example, flooded the floor while bathing or did something else careless. The baby's mental health is more important than all this. Only in a favorable atmosphere of love and understanding, feeling the support of loved ones, will a child be able to overcome fear.

Getting rid of a phobia for adults

Hydrophobia occurs not only in impressionable children, but also in adults if they were never able to learn to swim or were involved in a stressful situation where water played an important role.

It is useful to use the following exercise: take out a blank sheet of paper and write down all your fears that are in any way related to water. Now assign them a numerical value from ten to one, where ten is the most terrible and unbearable situation, and one is slight discomfort. Take a deep breath and exhale, with your pulse, and only then proceed to analyze the recorded situations. Start by imagining situation number one. As you plunge into it, do your best to keep your heart rate and breathing normal. Now that you have all your physical indicators under control, you can move on to number two. Process the first three situations in this way. It is possible to have a loved one present if you do not feel strong enough to do it yourself.

You can move on to other situations the next day. Take your time, do it step by step. If the current item causes you anxiety, then you do not need to move on to the next one until this one no longer causes problems. Don't forget to reward yourself with something useful when you complete this difficult task. A good reward is a trip to a water park, where you can try swimming and learn how to do it if you haven’t already. These are the ideal places for learning.

Psychotherapeutic sessions will be able to identify the real cause of hydrophobia, although this may take more than one session. In particularly severe cases, treatment with hypnosis may be necessary. But the decision on the treatment method is always made by a specialist, determining the cause of the phobia and prescribing the necessary set of exercises aimed at making the client realize that water is not dangerous. The main methods are based on self-hypnosis - a person comes into contact with water, first slowly, and gradually progressing to classes in the pool with a trainer or loved ones. By going through these stages one by one, the client learns to confront his fear.

Interacting with the water element, the hydrophobe panics, and this is precisely what leads to tragedies. The water itself brings a calm person to the surface. The perception of water as an uncontrollable element, the feeling of depth, the impossibility of orientation in space can lead to a critical loss of self-control. You should always remember that water is not your enemy, it will support your body weight, and tragic cases are provoked by incorrect behavior.

How can a specialist help in overcoming fear?

If the problem worsens, you need to immediately find a good specialist. For example, contact a hypnologist

Hydrophobia - fear of water, was described in past centuries. This is a fairly common phobia of children and adults. A person cannot respond adequately to a glass of tea, rain outside the window or large bodies of water. An irrational fear of water causes panic, adrenaline rush and other physical symptoms. People susceptible to this phobia cannot live a full life, because water makes up 70% of our body, it is everywhere and is simply necessary for humans.

What is hydrophobia

Aquaphobia is characterized as having fear at the sight of water, the mention of it, or even the thought of it. It occurs as a reaction to psychological trauma.

Psychologists write about the name of the phobia - fear of water. Official name: hydrophobia or aquaphobia.

Fear provokes vegetative-vascular reactions. So, a patient, seeing a filled bath, may experience dizziness and a panic attack. An incorrect reaction of the brain gives a protective reflex: adrenaline is released into the blood, which helps to escape from danger. The heart begins to beat faster, the pressure rises.

Symptoms of aquaphobia include: cold extremities, trembling in the body, rapid breathing. There may be a feeling of lack of air, tingling in the arms and legs. Discomfort can occur without contact with water, but only at the thought of it. The brain does not need to receive a picture or contact; it is enough to give a signal that “danger is approaching” and a reaction will appear.

Types of disorder

The forms of hydrophobia differ, since water is a multifaceted substance. Some may be afraid of rain. Someone is afraid to be near the seashore, but feels calm in the bathroom. And there are people for whom even tea in a mug causes fear.

Forms of hydrophobia:

Chionophobia is a manifestation of the fear of ice or snow. The reaction is caused by water in a solid state. Quite a rare occurrence.
Thalassophobia is the fear of the open sea, the ocean. Often occurs in children who read fairy tales about sea monsters.
Ablutophobia is the fear of medical procedures involving water.
Bathophobia is the fear of large volumes of water: lakes, rivers and oceans. Occurs due to a traumatic situation.

The forms are different, but the symptoms are similar.

Causes of fear of water

The cause of hydrophobia is most often psychological trauma. This could be an unpleasant event that happened during rainy weather. Hydrophobia often occurs in people who, under certain circumstances, have drowned or fallen through the ice. A phobia of water can be associated with medical procedures where water is present: enema, injections. If the enema caused pain, another time even the sight of it will cause a panic attack in the child: ablutophobia.

When people witnessed others drowning, someone being drowned, this also becomes the cause of aquaphobia. Any negative events that occur in water cause an association with it.

Example. They tried to drown the girl. She is afraid of water and does not bathe anywhere except in the shower. Fear is devoid of logic because it is irrational. The water is not a threat, it was the person who tried to harm it. But it is water that the girl is now afraid of. He can calmly look at his ill-wisher, but he doesn’t come close to the water. This is the peculiarity of the work of the psyche.

In psychological practice, there have been cases when a person, having choked, began to be afraid of the water in the mug. At the same time, he calmly swims in the sea. Theoretically, even if a girl breaks up with a guy while swimming in the river, this could provoke hydrophobia in him.

Non-psychological cause of phobia

Hydrophobia is also a sign of a deadly disease - rabies. This is often how animals that are sick are tested: if they drink water, they don’t have rabies.

Hydrophobia due to rabies occurs when the brain is damaged by the virus. It is so powerful that a person begins to shake if he is near a glass of water or sees a drop on the table. Convulsions and panic begin. Patients with rabies are isolated and kept in rooms without even heating pipes. The sound of water can also provoke such a reaction.

Remember! Rabies is incurable. It occurs upon contact with sick animals. More likely - through contact with his blood or a bite. If you are bitten by an animal - it doesn’t matter whether it’s a fox, a rabbit or a domestic cat, you need to go to the hospital. There are only a few days for this.

How to recognize hydrophobia

If your child cries every time in the bathroom, he probably has some degree of hydrophobia. If the child is already talking, you can ask him about fear. If not yet, just watch the reaction.

An adult can recognize hydrophobia by the following signs:

an attack of fear begins in front of a certain type of water;
every time the thought of going to the bath or the beach causes an unpleasant reaction;
if you have had traumatic situations in the past related to water, this is a contributing factor, a predisposition;
Sometimes I have dreams about someone drowning.

Only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis. If a person does not have a physical factor, vegetative-vascular manifestations of aquaphobia, then it may not exist. Or it occurs in a mild form. You can find anything on your own: most often people make mistakes because they don’t see the full picture. To figure out whether the disease is present, you will have to contact a professional psychotherapist or psychologist.

Hydrophobia in children: how to help a child overcome hydrophobia

The fears of young children are deep, to the point of despair. The child does not have a complete picture of the world. If an adult can understand the bias of his fears, then a child’s fear is similar to that of an animal, primitive. Therefore, children's fears almost always develop into mental disorders: hypochondria, OCD, neurosis.

The best option is the help of a psychologist. This will bring the fastest results. Another option: help your child cope with the problem yourself.

Explain that this fear is temporary and will soon pass.
Replace fear with positive emotions every day.
You can show pictures of children frolicking in the water, show the inhabitants of the underwater world. Cartoons and documentaries that show water in a positive light.
Show that the water is not dangerous.
Teach swimming so that the child can see with his own eyes that the water is safe. Just do this carefully so as not to cause a panic attack. Only if the child agrees to try.

The main thing is to do no harm. Hydrophobia is a complex disorder. And it is better to consult a psychologist. If you are unable to attend an appointment, you can always call the helpline. There are toll-free psychological help numbers in every city. There, a qualified psychologist will tell you what parents can do on their own in each specific case. For one child, swimming in the pool will serve as a way to get rid of hydrophobia, while for another, a more severe form of the disorder may begin. Everything is individual.

Features of hydrophobia in adults: how to live with hydrophobia

The fear of water has its consequences. The person seems to be physically healthy, but the disorder prevents him from living normally.

When friends' holidays are held at a water park, you have to come up with reasons for your absence.
The man doesn't go to the beach.
Constantly or periodically faces panic attacks and vegetative-vascular manifestations of phobia.
Taking your own child to the pool and teaching him to swim is also a problem.

Any phobia limits us. And hydrophobia completely interferes with living a normal life, because water is everywhere: bathroom, kitchen, bathhouse, refrigerator. Hospital, store, fountain near the house. Aquarium. Huge puddles after rain. Autumn showers. Snow and ice 4-5 months a year. You yourself are made of water. And without it there is no life, water is life. And it is simply necessary to develop a normal attitude towards it.

How to treat a fear of water

Phobias are treated with psychotherapy. There is no need to be afraid of this word. Psychotherapy is a conversation with a person who understands the mechanisms of the psyche. He will help you find the cause of fear and eliminate it. It's like finding and untying a knot inside. The psyche will no longer react to water as a danger.

In addition to psychotherapy, sedatives are used to alleviate the condition. These may be mild herbal sedatives or antidepressants. Depends on how strong the fears are.

Remember: phobias are unsafe for health. Adrenaline, constantly released into the blood, undermines health. The heart and blood vessels weaken. And overcoming fear is a necessity.

Conclusion

Hydrophobia is a common phenomenon. It is very versatile, each case is individual. The physiological manifestations of a phobia and the events that provoke fear differ. Some are afraid to drink water, others are afraid to swim. Someone loses consciousness at the sight of the sea or a wide river.

Fears could be triggered by traumatic events from deep childhood or the recent past. An experienced psychotherapist will help you figure this out. If you remember what caused the development of aquaphobia, make an appointment. For your part, you can engage in introspection and provoke positive associations with water. Remember: it is not the water’s fault that people drown in it. She is life. Water only causes death if it is used incorrectly.

We wrote that an obsessive fear of water can have different causes and manifestations and manifest itself as symptoms of varying degrees of intensity. In this article we will take a closer look at various obsessive fears associated with water: limnophobia, potamophobia and thalassophobia, bathophobia, anthlophobia, chionophobia, ombrophobia and ablutophobia.

Phobias named after bodies of water: limnophobia, potamophobia and thalassophobia

All three phobias, which will be discussed below, are named after bodies of water that cause fear. But not only the reservoirs themselves cause the listed phobias, but also their inherent properties.

Limnophobia

Estuary translated from Greek means harbor, bay, that is, it is a body of water with calm water, and we have already translated the word “phobia” as fear. Limnophobia- this is the fear of lakes and what lurks under the surface of the water. Limnophobia also includes fear of swamps and ponds. Those suffering from limnophobia experience fear of swimming and being in the water of a lake or pond; in some cases, panic is caused by the contemplation of these bodies of water and the prospect of relaxing on their shores. The surface of the water seems deceptively treacherous, and the dark depths of the lake are fraught with invisible dangers. For those suffering from limnophobia, shallow pools with crystal clear water and a bottom lined with beautiful multi-colored tiles are much more suitable. Unfortunately, Baikal or the lakes of Finland are not the places where such people should go.

The causes of limnophobia are usually “buried” in childhood: he swallowed water and almost drowned in a village lake; capsized in the boat and got scared; one of the friends made a bad joke, suddenly grabbing him by the legs and pulling him to the bottom; I saw a drowned man. I heard a lot of horror stories about evil spirits from the swamp or watched horror films about monsters living in dark waters. People who experience even mild limnophobia, finding themselves in lake water, are subject to excessive anxiety and loss of orientation. Accordingly, the stronger the phobia, the brighter and stronger its manifestations.

Potamophobia

Word potaphobia comes from the Greek potamos - stream and denotes a state of fear that arises when contemplating rapid moving water, fast river flows, whirlpools, stormy waterfalls.

Once caught in a stormy stream, current or whirlpool, afraid of his helplessness, a person will remember this experience for a long time. The muddy waters of the river also contribute to anxiety, because you can’t tell for sure what they contain and what is underneath them at the bottom. In some tropical countries with untouched nature, crocodiles still live in murky waters. Awareness of the danger posed by turbulent streams and muddy waters is inherent in any person with a healthy instinct of self-preservation, but a traumatic experience or excessive sensitivity can contribute to the emergence of a phobia.

Thalassophobia

Thalassa means "sea" in Greek. Thalassophobia- obsessive fear of swimming and swimming in the sea or ocean, or of traveling by sea. An irrational fear of the elements of the sea prevents those suffering from thalassophobia from enjoying seaside holidays and sea cruises; such a person will probably spend the entire holiday frying on the shore if there is no pool nearby. Even among people who know how to swim well, there are those who do not strive to test their strength by swimming gracefully among the waves. Some consider fear of huge masses of water to be a completely natural manifestation of the instinct of self-preservation, while others, on the contrary, fearlessly rush into the endless waters. The degree of development of the instinct of self-preservation (as well as the degree of stupidity) is a slightly different question, but a panicky irrational fear of the sea is already a phobia.

As with other phobias, thalassophobia is usually caused by a traumatic experience and the negative emotions associated with it: from an unsuccessful swim with highly salty water getting into the nose and eyes to shipwrecks and shark attacks.

Bathophobia - “deep” fear

An obsessive fear of depth is called bathophobia(from the Greek bathos - depth). This fear usually arises when a person feels an endless abyss of water beneath him, especially when the distance to the bottom is unclear. Severe fear and a panic attack can lead to loss of control over your body and drowning. Panic fear of depth can be associated both with the fact that a person once almost drowned himself or saw a similar misfortune happen to someone, and with the fact that an unprecedented monster lives in the dark depths.

Bathophobia goes well with limnophobia, potamophobia and thalassophobia. Like thalassophobia, bathophobia can occur in people who are good swimmers. Some people panic only when the bottom is not visible or it is very far away. Treatment of bathophobia is recommended for people who work on water. As for the usual (that is, not panicky, not paralyzing) fear of depth, this is a completely natural mechanism of self-preservation. And people who swim poorly have nothing to do at depth.

Antlophobia - fear of floods

Antlophobia called obsessive fear of flooding (from the Greek word antlia - pump). Most often, this phobia affects people who themselves suffered from a flood or personally know survivors of a flood. Such a person is afraid of the destructive power of the flood, the material damage it causes, and the possible loss of life. A person suffering from anthlophobia may also be afraid of heavy and prolonged rains, avoid bodies of water during the rainy season and spring floods. Antlophobia can become a serious obstacle in a person’s life and work if he lives in regions where floods are possible or is forced to travel to such places on duty.

When precipitation is not a joy: chionophobia and ombrophobia

These two water phobias are related to weather phobias. Weather phobias most often develop from a traumatic weather-related event experienced in childhood. Most often, weather phobias manifest themselves in the form of insomnia, anxiety, diligent avoidance of places of residence where disturbing weather phenomena often occur, not leaving the house during these weather phenomena, the desire to hide, and obsessive monitoring of the weather forecast. With a more strongly developed weather phobia, other symptoms characteristic of all phobias may be observed - nausea, trembling, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, panic, disorientation. Water weather phobias include chionophobia and ombrophobia.

Chionophobia

Term chionophobia comes from the Greek word chion - snow and means an obsessive fear of snow and aversion to it. Chionophobes are afraid of snowfall, snowballs, getting stuck in a snowdrift, getting caught in a blizzard, being “cut off from the world” due to the abundance of snow, driving a car on a snowy road, etc. Naturally, people prone to chionophobia and living in regions where there is snow do not like the winter months.

Ombrophobia

The Greek word "ombros" means rain. A ombrophobia- irrational fear of getting caught in the rain and of rain in general. Fear of rain can be associated with both anthlophobia (fear of floods) and aquaphobia (fear of water), and with a fear of humidity, which promotes the proliferation of pathogenic microbes. Prolonged rainy weather can plunge people prone to ombrophobia into a state of depression.

Ablutophobia is the enemy of hygiene

Ablutophobia(from the Latin word abluere - to cleanse) is a phobia consisting of a constant irrational fear of contact with water: swimming in a pond, taking a shower, washing in a bath, washing. A person suffering from ablutophobia tries with all his might to postpone contact with water until the last moment, when further delay of hygiene procedures is no longer possible. The need to come into contact with water causes acute anxiety, trembling, dizziness, nausea, a feeling of doom, and rapid heartbeat. The peculiarity of ablutophobia is also that this fear is very intrusive and at the same time not associated with danger to life. Ablutophobia due to untimely hygiene can significantly worsen the quality of life, both socially and in terms of health.

According to statistics, women and children are more susceptible to this type of phobia. The onset of ablutophobia is usually associated with traumatic events from childhood. Treatment of this phobia is difficult, since it is difficult to eliminate contact with the irritant, even temporarily. For adults, psychotherapy is usually used in combination with anxiety-reducing medications. If ablutophobia is associated with the misconception that flushing away natural products produced by the body is tantamount to reducing the body's natural defenses, then increased awareness can significantly help in the fight against the disease.

So, there are quite a lot of phobias associated with the water element. But let's remember. that a phobia is an obsessive, logically inexplicable, irrational fear. Therefore, if you are simply afraid to swim to depths or dive into a river with opaque water, do not rush to diagnose yourself with bathophobia or potamophobia. After all, the instinct of self-preservation is a healthy reaction of the psyche, ensuring the possibility of the existence of any species.

Among the phobias we can highlight the fear of water. People can experience fear for years without enjoying the process of swimming. But this situation can be easily corrected if you just take care of yourself. In psychology there is an official name for this disease. What is the correct name for this hydrophobia and how to stop being afraid?

A phobia is a common pathology that can sometimes cause severe discomfort and also interfere with living a normal life, enjoying all its delights. A striking example is hydrophobia (aquaphobia): a patient who suffers from this disease cannot plunge into water on a summer day. The phobia can appear in early childhood and accompany the patient throughout his life.

Today, psychologists call panic fear of water several concepts. What is the correct name for this phenomenon - aquaphobia or hydrophobia? Both of these names refer to the same disease. It’s just that previously the concept of “hydrophobia” was a symptom exclusively of rabies. Today, both of these names can equally be used to refer to one illness - panic fear of water and everything connected with it.

Species

Today, several variations of this disease can be distinguished. Let's look at the most common ones.

Potamophobia is a fear that occurs in a person when watching a rapid stream of moving water, whirlpools, or waterfalls for a long time.
Bathophobia is a panicky fear of depth. When an attack of this phobia occurs, a person experiences severe chills or thirst, shortness of breath, dry mouth, heart rate increases, the limbs begin to tingle, the temples begin to feel pressure and pain, the skin turns red (due to increased pressure). In rare cases, the patient may feel nauseous. This type of fear will disappear over time if the child first swims in a pool with a shallow bottom, gradually increasing the volume of water;
Thalassophobia is the fear of swimming in the sea or ocean. It should be noted that thalassophobia or fear of swimming is a very severe symptom that can haunt absolutely everyone: adults and small children. It's quite difficult to overcome it. It can haunt a person for years, preventing him from living in peace. How to overcome the fear of depth? Simple enough. First of all, you need to realize that the depths are not so scary. Next you need to go into a shallow pool, gradually increasing the depth. Over time, the fear will disappear and you will be able to return to normal life again.
Limnophobia is the fear of lakes, as well as everything that hides under the water surface. This also includes fear of ponds.
Antlophobia - panic fear of floods. As a rule, those who once experienced a flood or flood suffer from this phobia.
Chionophobia is a panicky fear of snow. People suffering from this phobia are terrified of snowstorms, as well as snowdrifts.
Ombrophobia is the fear of rain. Prolonged rain can result in long-term depression for such people.
Ablutophobia (ablutophobia) is a panicky fear of any contact with water, for example, washing in the shower, bathing, or even doing laundry. Ablutophobia is characterized by obsession, which is not associated with a danger to human life. This phobia, as a rule, worries teenagers, although sometimes it can manifest itself in children due to certain situations that arise. Ablutophobia manifests itself in a rapid heartbeat, a feeling of horror, and problems associated with breathing/vision. In addition, ablutophobia is characterized by the appearance of seizures, as well as an indefinable feeling of fear. It is important to consider that each case is quite difficult to bear. Ablutophobia is a constant fear of any contact with water. The peculiarity of this phobia is its obsession. One of the methods of combating this disease is persuasion or hypnosis. The goal of therapy is to overcome fear. It is important to clearly explain to the ablutophobe that water is not scary, that it is good, and swimming is good for the body.

All named species are varieties of the same disease - aquaphobia.

Reasons

In order to answer the question: “How to get rid of fear?” - first you need to understand the reason for its appearance. The reasons for the appearance of this condition may be different, however, they all usually come down to negative experiences in childhood. Among the large number of situations for stress, the most common are:

Any attempts by adults to teach their child to swim in a proven way - by throwing him into the sea so that he does not feel the bottom. In this case, quite often children instinctively begin to swim. Of course, many children learned to swim this way, however, for some this experience became too traumatic, as a result of which the child developed a fear of water;
Fear of water can also appear due to any situations that are associated with water, for example, a fright experienced while swimming to depth, a sharp fall from a pier;
Fright suffered while taking a bath. It is enough just to hear a frightening sound, lose your balance, and in the future any reminder of water will evoke negative memories;
Tales about a merman who can drag your child to the depths where evil monsters live - even a seemingly harmless statement can later cause hydrophobia.

However, fear of water can also appear in adults as a result of experiencing a shipwreck, flood, etc. Particularly impressionable people can get sick, even just by witnessing the death of a person on the water.

Symptoms

As a rule, hydrophobia or aquaphobia does not cause a person any particular inconvenience, but certainly affects the quality of life. Such people cannot walk near bodies of water; they cannot be forced to go for a “swim” or go on a boat ride. For them, even fishing is something terrible. Sometimes the fear is so strong that even bathing in the bath can cause significant harm to health. The more developed this phobia is, the more pronounced its symptoms appear.

The disease is characterized by symptoms such as:

Profuse sweating;
Increased nervousness;
Chills and trembling throughout the body;
Dizziness;
Dilated pupils;
Shortness of breath or numbness of the limbs;
Rapid heartbeat;
Pre-disturbance state;
Loss of self-control;

In addition, a person suffering from hydrophobia often suffers from muscle tension, as well as nausea.

How is the treatment carried out?

If you are struggling with a particular phobia, then over time it will certainly recede. The main thing is not to give up.

How to overcome your fear of water? Before answering this question, you should understand how you can diagnose this disease? Hydrophobia is diagnosed quite easily. The doctor conducts a survey, based on the results of which he determines exactly what you are afraid of. After this, the person’s reaction to the subject of fear is looked at. In addition, laboratory and instrumental studies may also be involved. All received data must be recorded.

Getting rid of a severe form of fear of water on your own is almost impossible. Moral support will be required not only from loved ones, but also from a doctor. It is worth understanding that it is quite difficult to determine the primary cause of fear. Doctors often resort to hypnosis in this case. In order to effectively overcome the fear of water, there are many methods, so an individual approach is selected for each patient. Only after this does the process of getting rid of the phobia begin.

Treatment will directly depend on the severity of the disease. Some people simply accept and live with their disease for the rest of their lives. But there is a risk that over time the disease will begin to progress and it will be much more difficult to remove it. Therefore, it is especially important for such people to learn to swim in order to understand that water is not an enemy.

You can often hear: “I’m afraid to swim because... I have aquaphobia." In this case, psychotherapy will help to overcome fear. The duration of treatment is quite difficult to determine, because Each case is individual and requires its own course of therapy. However, almost all experts agree that the simplest and most effective way to overcome your fear is to face your fear in person. To do this, a person is first asked to immerse his legs and arms in a small container of water, followed by a bath, a swimming pool and an open pond. It is extremely important that at this moment there are close people nearby who can support. It gives strength and removes anxiety.

Another equally popular method is visualization. This is more reminiscent of auto-training - the patient mentally imagines himself floating on the water surface, while he is not at all afraid.

What can you do yourself?

In order for your fear to go away irrevocably, it must be understood. The following methods are effective for this:

Think as often as possible that water is something pleasant, soothing, and there is absolutely no danger hidden in it;
Try not to avoid meeting friends on the beach. In addition, it will also be useful to mark some event on the beach so that only warm moments associated with water are remembered;
Thinking that water is not dangerous.

The above methods can only be used if the disease has not progressed.

On the Internet you can find reviews from girls who testify that by using these techniques, they were able to get rid of their phobia.

What to do if a child is sick?

If you suddenly begin to notice that your child is terribly afraid of water, then under no circumstances should you panic. It is enough to follow some tips:

Under no circumstances force your child to get into the water (it is quite enough to water him, for example, from a watering can while on the shore);
Teach your child to dive underwater while holding their breath.

Only after you understand that your child is no longer afraid can he be released into open water.

It is important to understand that if the disease is not treated promptly, it may begin to progress over time. And in the future the recovery process will be much more difficult.

Fear of water is a fairly serious disease. That is why do not rush to diagnose it in yourself if you are simply afraid to dive into the darkness. After all, the usual instinct of self-preservation speaks in you, which is a normal function of the body. If fear does not lend itself to logic, then we can already talk about a phobia. But it is also quite easy to overcome: all that is required is the desire of the patient and the help of a doctor. And very soon your life will sparkle with new colors.