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Symptoms, treatments… Four things to know about phobias

Do you know about paraskevidekatriaphobia? This complicated and barbaric word defines the fear of… Friday the 13th! Yes, yes, it does exist. But if this is your case, rest assured: there will be no Friday the 13th this summer. Among the hundreds of phobias that exist, some are much more common, such as fear of lightning, astrapephobia, or fear of speaking in public, glossophobia.

For people suffering from these pathologies, confronting these situations can become a real nightmare, going so far as to trigger panic attacks. Doctor Damien Mascret explained four things to know about phobias on Tuesday in the show “Sans rendez-vous” on Europe 1.

Are there more phobias in summer?

“In summer, we can meet more certain phobias such as fear of air travel: aerodromophobia (or aviophobia); fear of spiders, arachnophobia; or fear of bees, apiphobia”, details Damien Mascret. “If you are allergic to bees, you have good reason to fear a sting. But when you are not allergic, it is an unreasonable fear”, explains the doctor.

Another fear that can be exacerbated by summer: aquaphobia, fear of water. “Aquaphobia is quite common, especially in children and even in people who can swim. It is not always linked to a bad memory or an unpleasant experience”, in a swimming pool or at the sea for example.

What are the symptoms of a phobia?

However, phobias can also come from “rational elements”. “In apiphobia, you are right to be afraid of being stung, and in arachnophobia we can understand the fear of spiders. We are rather in aversion if we do not have an unreasonable fear. It is normal to find something repulsive, but in the phobia there are symptoms that will manifest themselves “, explains Damien Mascret, before drawing up a list of the effects, sometimes painful, of the phobias.

“Where he goes to shiver, Where he goes sweat, we will be too much in a hurry, we are going to have a feeling of suffocation and we can even have nausea and diarrhea. In short: the body manifests fear. When we are overwhelmed by anxiety, it can go as far as the fear of dying if we do not escape the situation “.

Damien Mascret takes the example of aquaphobes, who can go so far as to fear taking a shower. “When you suffer from aquaphobia, you are afraid to put your feet in the water. It has nothing to do with knowing how to swim. Some aquaphobes, for example, will wash themselves very quickly and will avoid splashing water. water on the face. But we don’t have too many explanations for the origin of this fear. “

Some phobics have thus developed an exacerbated sensitivity. “If they just see a photo or hear the name of their fear, it can trigger the phobia and symptoms.”

How to react to a phobic?

If you have to deal with a phobic person, don’t try to reason with them. According to Damien Mascret, “it won’t work unless you’re a professional”. “A phobia is in fact a disproportionate fear compared to the threat. Arguments have no hold in these moments, the emotions overwhelm us,” he explains.

“The worst thing is to force a phobic to face his phobia brutally”, warns the doctor. “This is unfortunately what we still see with some parents, who want to force a child who is afraid to go in the water, for example.”

How to cure phobias?

Damien Mascret immediately warns: “We no longer look so much for the origin of phobias, we rather seek to treat them because knowing their origins does not change much in the management.” Treatment will therefore depend “on the intensity of the phobia.” “Sometimes, anxiolytics will simply make it possible to pass the course, with a tablet on medical prescription. But these are transient solutions which will last only a few hours”, warns the doctor.

But other solutions exist in the longer term, such as cognitive behavioral therapy. “If the phobia is very intense, such as social phobias for example, we can prescribe antidepressants at lower doses. There are other techniques, such as hypnosis or relaxation. There are also cognitive behavioral therapies ( CBT) which are effective. We will not try to understand where the fear comes from, but how you react to the fear, what are your thoughts and your emotions. We will gradually teach you to acquire new skills to manage this fear “.

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