Hermofob is who? What are phobias?

Man is a being inclined to experience. Throughout life, we find ourselves in various situations that cause anxiety, discomfort or more serious consequences, as a result of which we develop stable fears. Some of them are understandable, others are understandable, but they are extremely exaggerated, and some are simply irrational. Under certain conditions, fears tend to grow into obsessive states - phobias.

Phobic symptoms

A person suffering from a mental disorder of this kind experiences a persistent fear of high intensity. The latter is often irrational, so beliefs on the patient do not work. Even the idea of a possible contact with a phobic object makes him panic, so he avoids such situations with all his strength. If this does happen, the person pales, begins to tremble. His pulse is getting much faster, there may be a urge to vomit. In severe cases, there is a loss of self-control.

What are phobias?

Phobia is a very individual fear. To date, psychiatrists have described more than 1000 types of such disorders. Some of them were witnessed back in the days of antiquity. Among them we can mention agoraphobia and claustrophobia (fear of open and enclosed spaces, respectively), hypsophobia (fear of heights), film phobia (fear of dogs). In a row with them is germophobia. This disorder, which in ancient times is not very popular, has now become widespread.

Where does the fear of infection come from?

So, the germophobe is a person who is panic-stricken with microbes. Fear of contact with microorganisms - germophobia - is associated with other similar conditions: bacillophobia, verminophobia, coprophobia. Another related to them ailment - fear of dirt, or misofobia. Causes The occurrence of these states can be different. Behaviorists assert that obsession is formed on the principle of conditioned reflex. A classic example is found in the memoirs of Vladimir Mayakovsky: after the father of the future poet died of blood poisoning caused by a shallow scratch, the boy began to develop germophobia. It also happens that it is learned by imitation: if a mother has a habit of washing off her outer garments daily, boiling repeatedly the ready-made soup and wiping the door handles with vinegar, the children are more likely to inherit her fear of bacteria. The development of hermophobia in impressionable people is stimulated by commercials that encourage consumers to disinfect everything, as well as news reports about epidemics and fantastic films.

Similar ailments: nosophobia and its special cases

All fears associated with microorganisms have a certain kinship with hypochondriac phobias, that is, fear of contracting something specific (AIDS, fever, helminthiasis, etc.) or getting sick in principle. Such disorders complicate the lives of millions of people around the world. The phobia of diseases, or nosophobia, is often provoked by reading highly specialized literature and by viewing "near medical" transmissions that fuel the situation.

Manifestations

Misophobia or germophobia is a person whose life goes on in constant struggle with the environment. He often washes his hands, constantly uses disinfectants, maintains in the house sterile purity. Even in their own apartment, misophobes use disposable napkins and gloves. They avoid touching the surfaces to which other people have touched, never take things in their hands and jealously guard their own. Germophobes can experience a panic attack if someone sneezes in their presence. Even a simple handshake turns into torture for them, so people try to avoid making personal contacts. Of course, you can not find miso-phobics at any entertainment events, as well as in public transport - for them there is too dirty. Such people do not breed animals and are very demanding about cooking.

All the rituals that a patient with a misofobia is forced to perform take a lot of time. In addition, the bacillophobe is forced to restrict its social circle, and this, in turn, leads to the development of depression and neuroses. He may even have other strange phobias: for example, fear of vegetables or cats.

The most famous "keepers of purity"

The extravagant behavior of the Misophobia, naturally, does not add to its attractiveness. Sometimes it even leads to conflicts with other people. Therefore, patients often choose voluntary retreat, abandon their ambitions and do not even try to fight the disease. Moreover, sometimes they even refuse to recognize the existence of such a thing. But this, of course, does not happen to everyone.

It should be noted that hermophobia is not a lost person for society. There is a paradoxical, at first glance, situation: among celebrities batsillofobov quite a lot. On the one hand, the obsessive fear that they experience can be triggered by the need to constantly interact with people. But on the other hand, this publicity does not allow them to completely submit to the disease, although it causes inconvenience.

So, various manifestations of mizophobia are discovered by actresses Jodie Foster, Megan Fox, Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, model Denise Richards and writer Teri Hatcher. A heavy obsession of this kind suffered the pop idol Michael Jackson and the millionaire Howard Hughes. Nikola Tesla had a number of phobias, and very specific. Misophobia was, perhaps, the most ordinary of his disorders.

Methods of treatment

As has already been said, the germophobe is not a label for life. If a person realizes that he is sick, he has a chance of healing. With complaints of phobia, you should contact a psychotherapist, not a psychologist. To combat phobias, various methods are used: for example, relaxation training for overcoming fear or modeling with participation. In the latter case, the physician interacts with the phobia object, and the patient follows his example. The method of paradoxical intention is effective, which consists in the fact that the patient learns to present his fear in a comic manner. For patients who are spiritually strong, they use flooding techniques. Regularly undergoing (under the supervision of a specialist) the effect of an object that horrifies them, they gradually come to the conclusion that he does not represent any danger to them. In some cases, patients are prescribed antidepressants, which accelerate and consolidate the effect of psychotherapy. With timely access to a doctor, positive changes are observed after a couple of months.

Danger of phobias

There is not much point in listing what phobias are. All of them without exception refer to severe obsessions, which means they significantly decrease the quality of life of the person suffering from them and his loved ones, cause bewilderment and aggression of others who believe that the patient "disdains" or neglects them. The presence of a phobia (any) may indicate a beginning depression. At least, therefore, obsession should be identified and treated on time.

It is also worth noting that people suffering from germo- and misophobia need to be treated with understanding, not to condemn their behavior and not to blame for "individualism".