Phobia of bathing: Ablutophobia (Fear of Bathing): Diagnosis and Treatment

Ablutophobia (Fear of Bathing): Diagnosis and Treatment

Overview

Ablutophobia is the overwhelming fear of bathing, cleaning, or washing. It’s an anxiety disorder that falls under the category of specific phobias.

Specific phobias are irrational fears centered around a particular situation. They can disrupt your life. An estimated 19.2 million adults in the United States are affected by specific phobias. Specific phobias generally have common symptoms, causes, and treatments.

Ablutophobia is more common in women and children than in men.

The symptoms of ablutophobia are the same as with most specific phobias. Symptoms may occur when faced with bathing or washing. They may also occur when just thinking about it. Symptoms include:

• intense fear or anxiety that increases the closer you get to the situation
• panic attacks
• knowing that your fear is irrational but unable to stop it
• avoidance of bathing or washing to avoid the fear and anxiety
• the fear interfering with your daily life
• sweating
• rapid heartbeat
• difficulty breathing
• in children, clinging, crying, or tantrums

The cause of specific phobias like ablutophobia isn’t completely understood. However, the cause usually falls in one of the following three categories:

• Negative experience: You had some sort of traumatic experience that involved bathing or washing.
• Your genetics: You’re more likely to have ablutophobia if one of your parents had it.
• Changes in brain functioning: This includes injury, aging, and more.

If you think you have ablutophobia, see your primary care doctor. Your doctor will be able to determine if you have any physical injury or illness that may be causing the ablutophobia.

If your doctor determines it’s an anxiety disorder, you’ll be directed to a mental health professional.

The mental health professional will start with a clinical interview. They’ll ask you about your medical and psychiatric background as well as your social and family history. Through this interview, they’ll use diagnostic criteria to make a final diagnosis.

Many times, ablutophobia goes untreated because people who have it believe there isn’t a treatment that would help them. However, there are effective treatments for it.

The first type of treatment is psychotherapy. Psychotherapy treatments include exposure therapy and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). In exposure therapy, you’ll gradually be exposed to bathing or washing. During this gradual exposure, you’ll learn to manage your feelings and anxiety at each repeated gradual exposure.

CBT can be combined with exposure therapy. As you’re gradually exposed to bathing, you’ll learn techniques that can help alter your view of bathing and reduce your anxiety and fear.

Psychotherapy is usually the most successful in treating ablutophobia. However, in some cases, your doctor may prescribe medications to help reduce your fear and anxiety. Medications are usually used as short-term treatment alongside psychotherapy. Medications that may be used to treat ablutophobia include:

• beta-blockers
• sedatives

As part of your treatment plan, your doctor may recommend some lifestyle changes or home treatments. These treatments may include:

• mindfulness exercises, such as meditation
• relaxation techniques, such as yoga and deep breathing
• increasing physical activity (physical exercise can help reduce stress and anxiety)

Ablutophobia is real. While some phobias can be avoided, ablutophobia is difficult to avoid while maintaining your regular daily activities. It can be devastating if you have it because bathing and washing are a part of everyday life. If left untreated, the complications this condition may include:

• Isolation: If you’re not bathing regularly or at all, you may gradually become socially isolated.
• Depression: Social isolation or just the overwhelming fear of bathing may cause you to experience depression.
• Heavy use of drugs or alcohol: Some people with ablutophobia may try to cope with their fear and anxiety by heavily using drugs or alcohol. Social isolation may also increase the use of drugs or alcohol.

The most important thing to know about ablutophobia is that there are treatments available that can help you manage and possibly overcome this phobia.

If you’re unable to bathe due to fear and anxiety, it’s important that you talk to your doctor. They can set up a treatment plan as well as management strategies to help you.

Ablutophobia: Definition, symptoms, and treatment

Ablutophobia is a specific phobia in which individuals have an irrational fear of bathing or washing. It can affect children and adults and is more common in women than men.

People with specific phobias know that their fears are not realistic, but they are unable to address them. Instead, they try very hard to avoid what it is that makes them afraid.

In this article, we look at the definition of ablutophobia and the symptoms that it causes. We also examine the different treatments that can help people with the condition live more conventional lives.

Share on PinterestAblutophobia is a fear of bathing or washing. It can cause a significant amount of distress and have a negative impact on day-to-day life.

People with ablutophobia are afraid of washing, bathing, or showering.

Bathing is a vital part of life for both medical and social reasons. For most people, bathing is a pleasant, daily routine. For people with ablutophobia, however, it can be terrifying.

With treatment, many people with ablutophobia can live productive lives with their phobia under control.

The American Psychiatric Association estimate that 7–9 percent of adults in the United States have a specific phobia, such as a fear of spiders or arachnophobia. It is possible to develop a specific phobia about almost anything.

According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of British Columbia, children tend to develop specific phobias, such as ablutophobia, between 7 and 11 years of age.

Specific phobias are twice as common in girls as in boys, and they affect about 16 percent of teens and 5 percent of younger children.

Lack of washing can have some important consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that washing the body, hair, and face regularly, along with frequent hand-washing, is an excellent way to prevent the spread of diseases and conditions, including chronic diarrhea and lice.

Americans tend to be frequent bathers, with 66 percent taking a shower at least once a day and only 7 percent bathing once a week or less.

The symptoms of ablutophobia are quite different from the difficult behavior of a cranky child who does not want to take a bath or adults who are not too picky about their grooming habits.

The most prevalent symptom of ablutophobia is fear. This fear is not based on any realistic dangers associated with bathing. The fear is also persistent, which means it lasts for a long time, usually more than 6 months.

Physical symptoms associated with ablutophobia include:

• racing pulse
• difficulty breathing
• feeling faint or light-headed
• heart palpitations
• feeling suddenly hot or cold
• shortness of breath
• shaking or trembling
• dizziness
• sudden sweats
• dry mouth
• nausea

As well as the fear that people with ablutophobia experience, they may also feel disconnected from reality and detached from their bodies. They may be afraid that they will:

• have a nervous breakdown
• pass out or faint
• lose control
• die

Often, one of the ways people try to deal with distress is to avoid the situation that triggers it. For people with ablutophobia, that means trying to avoid bathing and washing, which can lead to different problems for health, well-being, and social acceptance.

Consequences

Share on PinterestAblutophobia may cause social isolation and low self-esteem. In some cases, alcohol or drug dependency may develop.

People who avoid bathing due to ablutophobia can get into trouble at work or school and may become socially isolated and depressed.

Their self-image and self-esteem can suffer. Children with ablutophobia can face a greater risk of bullying, particularly as they approach their teen years.

There is a risk that some individuals may try to deal with their fear with drugs or alcohol, which can lead to problems of chemical dependency.

Experts have yet to determine the cause of specific phobias, and for ablutophobia, in particular.

Environmental factors

Many think a genetic factor may contribute to the development of the condition, along with environmental factors and individual developmental experiences. At times, it can be difficult to tell where the impact of genetics ends and upbringing takes over.

For example, if someone in the family has a bathing phobia and a child develops the same behavior pattern, it could be because there is a genetic link. Or, it could be because the child has seen the behavior modeled by a key family figure.

Trauma

Some people may develop ablutophobia after a frightening or traumatic experience with bathing or water, such as a brush with drowning or an abusive family situation.

It is also possible for people to develop a specific phobia, such as ablutophobia, after learning about some tragic or dangerous event associated with the trigger. One example would be a news story about someone getting hurt in a freak accident in the bathtub.

Therapy and medication have both been found to be effective in treating people with this condition.

The first step will usually be to see a doctor to check no medical problems are causing the issue.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Share on PinterestCognitive behavioral therapy is an effective form of treatment for phobias.

Therapeutic approaches, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, can help people change the way they monitor, think about, and respond to their feelings and the world around them.

Individuals can learn how to manage their emotional reactions, which will help them live with ablutophobia and bring it under control.

In general, cognitive behavioral therapy helps about 75 percent of people with specific phobias find relief.

Medications

Medications can sometimes be used to treat specific phobia. This is especially the case when other forms of therapy have been ineffective, or someone has other psychiatric issues that require separate treatment.

Anti-anxiety drugs, such as benzodiazepines, and antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may be prescribed to provide relief from symptoms.

People should use these drugs as a doctor prescribes, as they can have severe adverse effects.

Exposure therapy

Facing one’s fears by exposure to what it is that is causing the phobia is done in a planned and gradual manner. In doing this, individuals patiently follow a series of steps that bring them closer and closer to what frightens them.

A person with ablutophobia might first simply turn a shower on, or step into a shower fully clothed, and gradually work up to more complete and longer bathing experiences.

Management

Self-care practices, such as meditation, exercise, and avoiding caffeine, can help people keep symptoms of ablutophobia in check.

They can also practice other self-help techniques to manage their fears and prevent relapses, but treatment is usually an essential first step.

It is vital for children with ablutophobia to get treatment. Without treatment, there is a possibility that their phobia could stick with them and, perhaps, become worse.

Fact-based explanations and loving support from parents are not, on their own, enough to make the problem go away. However, with professional help, children with phobias can learn healthy ways of dealing with their fears.

Aquaphobia: fear of water

Aquaphobia is the fear of water, which manifests itself in the fear of swimming in ponds, sailing on a ship, and even taking a bath. It is considered one of the most common types of phobias and is dangerous, as a person in a state of panic can harm himself and others …

The famous American actress Michelle Pfeiffer spent half of the film “What Lies Behind” wet – she was “drowned” in the lake, in the bathroom, poured with rain and even dipped in puddles. The situation was complicated by the fact that Madame Pfeiffer was terribly afraid of water.

The danger of aquaphobia is that it is accompanied by somatic reactions of the body.

Only the constant presence of a professional diver nearby helped the actress overcome fear and shoot a picture. Even during the shooting of episodes with puddles and swimming in the bathroom, the actress demanded that the lifeguard be a couple of meters away from her. This is not a whim – for people who are faced with such a phobia, water, even in the most harmless manifestation, can be associated with great danger.

Among the actors with aquaphobia, one can also recall Carmen Electra. The irony is that in Baywatch, the blonde beauty played the role of a girl helping drowning people in the sea. In life, Carmen flatly refuses to go deeper than waist-deep. According to the actress, she had a phobia at the age of 18, when she almost drowned in the lake. According to statistics, 86% of all people with a similar phobia experienced similar accidents. Less commonly, a phobia is born because of a tragedy or if someone close to you drowned or suffered in the water.

See also

Fear of exams

Phobias could have been avoided if, immediately after the emotional “shake”, the help of a professional psychotherapist was obtained (this is especially true for children, who experience all events more acutely). Alas, more often people prefer to think that time heals better than doctors, but as a result, shock first turns into fear, and then into phobia.

The danger of aquaphobia is that it is accompanied by somatic reactions of the body. A person who has fallen into the water has an increased pulse, shortness of breath, dizziness or convulsions. This is dangerous even in the bathroom (you can slip and fall), but at depth it is fraught with tragedy.

When the psychotherapists of the Matspen clinic carry out diagnostics, the most important thing is to find the cause of the phobia. As soon as the specialist finds the cause, sessions of cognitive therapy begin. In the Matspen clinic, a person with aquaphobia is taken out of this state in 1-1.5 months. With the help of cognitive behavioral therapy, the patient learns to recognize the causes that provoke panic, and masters techniques for managing their emotional state.

• Diseases and disorders

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How to overcome the fear of water? — blog I Love Supersport

Hydrophobia is the fear of water, it occurs in both adults and children. Sometimes, in order to reduce the influence of fears in a person’s life, it is enough not to come into contact with them. But the fear of water is almost impossible to get around. A person with hydrophobia avoids open spaces on the water, does not swim, even if he can, starts to panic if he loses the bottom. Such a phobia creates many inconveniences in life. For example, people with a phobia of water cannot visit pools, baths. For some, difficulties arise in everyday life, even taking a shower turns into a test.
What is this inexplicable, irrational fear of water? This fear is not justified, but carries information about the relationship with the elements. The elements have incredible power that changes the state of a person, both for good and for bad. For example, fire warms and destroys, water cools and supercools. We can contact the elements, for example, we wash ourselves in the morning, but not all other contacts with water will be acceptable. If it’s not scary to wash, then it’s scary to sink entirely into the water, it’s scary not to see the shore, it’s scary to dive into muddy water. Some situation is perceived calmly, some cause fear, and some panic.

Phobic reactions.

It is very important not to miss the phobic reaction in oneself among all this spectrum of emotions. The most common among them are:

Hydrophobia – an emotional request for distance from water. This is a generalized name for the fear of water.

Bathophobia – fear of deep water. Fear of depth often arises against the background of stress received in the water, an unsuccessful attempt to learn to swim. But psychologists also note that a person’s innate anxiety may be the cause. Often it is associated with an unfavorable situation in the family, which leads to distrust of the world in general and fear of the unknown.

Thalassophobia – fear of the sea, open boundless spaces. It manifests itself as severe discomfort and panic at the sight of the sea or when trying to contact the sea. Psychologists believe that the root of the problem may be distrust of the world, as is the case with other hydrophobias.

Ablutophobia – persistent obsessive fear of washing, brushing teeth or washing hands. Sometimes this form of fear is characterized by fear of any toilets and bathrooms. There can be many reasons, for example, it may not even be in the water itself, but in the accompanying stress, something could scare in childhood while washing and bathing in the bathroom.

How to deal with phobic reactions?

If we find one or more of these phobic reactions in ourselves, then it is worth asking ourselves questions:
— Do I really want to get rid of this phobia?
— How does this phobia help me, and in what way does it limit me?

You can answer these questions on your own or together with a psychotherapist. Psychotherapist Natalya Alexandrovna Borodina believes that the fear of water is a matter of trust in the world, other people and oneself, and this is what needs to be worked on in therapy.

Do not be discouraged or reproach yourself if at any point you feel fear, go back up the step to keep yourself comfortable and safe.

Psychologists also advise starting contact with water in the same way that small children begin it when they play near a pond. Find a situation in which water will not cause fear, in which contact with water will be pleasant. Concentrate on something pleasant, play in the water, go a little deeper, try to lift your feet off the ground.

Don’t be discouraged or beat yourself up if you feel fear at some point, go back up the step to keep yourself feeling comfortable and safe. Then you can try to swim at least a small segment at a shallow depth. The main thing is gradualness, do not set yourself too big tasks at once and do not try to overcome fear – act in such a way that there is no fear, but there is a sense of security and pleasure from contact with water.

If it is very difficult to feel safe, then ask someone you trust to insure you. Gradually unlearn being afraid, and everything will work out for you! But we still advise you to contact a psychotherapist, because all phobias are based on experiences in some other area of ​​life, these experiences need to be worked out.

Swimming is a great way to overcome your fear of water. First, just come to the pool and take a walk around, look at the floating people. Then try to enroll in a swimming school, where a professional trainer will explain to you all the nuances of interaction with water in an easy and accessible way.