One of the most common types of phobia is fear of water. People can suffer from it all their lives, without knowing the pleasure of swimming. Fortunately, the situation can be corrected if you take the problem seriously and take care of yourself.
What is the fear of water called?
Phobia is a common pathology that in certain situations of life causes discomfort and interferes with living a full life. A vivid example is the fear of water: a person with such an ailment will not be able to cool off in a pond on a hot summer day or enjoy swimming. It can manifest itself in early childhood and accompany a person all his life.
There are two basic terms to indicate a fear of water. What is the correct name for this phenomenon - aquaphobia or hydrophobia? Both names are correct and are used to denote the same problem. Just earlier, the term "hydrophobia" was used to indicate a symptom of rabies. This fatal disease is manifested by a fear of such force that the patient cannot even swallow and drink water. Now, these two names are used on an equal basis to denote a phobia.
Varieties of Aquaphobia
There are special terms in psychology to indicate particular cases of hydrophobia. They were introduced for convenience, since in order to combat the disease it is necessary to determine the specific fear of water.
What is the name of each of them and what does it mean? Let's get it right. So:
- ablutophobia - fear of any contact with water;
- bathophobia - fear of deep water with a deep bottom;
- pathamophobia - fear of turbulent currents ;
- limnophobia - a person is frightened by a large amount of water, water space;
- thalassophobia - fear of the sea;
- Antlophobia - fear of a flood or flood;
- omnophobia - fear of rain;
- chionophobia - fear of snow.
Thus, hydrophobia is only a common name, which includes a lot of shades of this ailment.
Reasons for its appearance
Most often, the fear of water arises in the minds of humans in early childhood. There may be several reasons for this:
- Pathologies during the development of the fetus (for example, hypoxia) - fear arises even before the birth of a child.
- Piercing of the amniotic fluid.
- Negative experience. During bathing, the child could slip, fall, and collect water in the ears and nose. This caused strong unpleasant emotions, entrenched in consciousness and subsequently causing pathological fear. He now associates water with painful sensations and discomfort.
- Films or stories about water disasters can give rise to fear in an overly impressionable child, as a result of which aquaphobia forms, fear of water becomes pathological.
- Too harsh reactions of parents. If during bathing the child slips, and the mother reacts to it with a loud cry, the baby is frightened, negative emotions are remembered and give rise to a phobia.
How to help your child cope with fear?
If the child refuses to bathe, it is important to distinguish precisely the phobia and ordinary children's moods. If the child really suffers from aquaphobia, you need to find out the reason, understand what exactly he is afraid of, and try to help the baby overcome this fear. This can be useful bathing toys, bright and interesting for crumbs, bath foams with a pleasant aroma, uplifting. Let the child choose the washcloth or bathing toy himself, he must understand that he is able to control the process himself. Use little tricks during the procedure: sing a song or come up with a funny fairy tale about water. Active games help: when a child has fun, he forgets about his fear. It is easier for a baby to cope with aquaphobia, in the process of growing up, she can pass, the main thing is to help him in this.
What should i avoid?
You should not resort to rudeness and force the child to climb into the water - this further injures the baby’s gentle psyche and strengthens his fear. You do not need to call him a mess, a sloven - the child will believe your words and will correspond to them.
Depriving him of something as a punishment is also not worth it, as well as putting before the choice: “Either you bathe, or do not watch cartoons” - because such a method of education harms the child even more, but does not eradicate the fear of water. You need to act in a friendly and affectionate manner: in an atmosphere of understanding and support, it will be easier for the baby to cope with fear and not carry it into adulthood. Of course, it is better to closely monitor the reactions of the child, to prevent the formation of fear of water. And then the topic: "What are phobias and how to deal with them?" will not be relevant for you.
Aquafobia in adults
Adult hydrophobia is the result of overwhelming fear in childhood or a psychological trauma already in adulthood. Such fears no longer pass by themselves, as happens in children. They become a real problem and interfere with a full life. How do such phobias manifest themselves and how to deal with them? In adults, aquaphobia is associated primarily with death, with fear of drowning. Children are afraid of water as such. In psychology, there are techniques to combat the disease.
For example, on a piece of paper make a list of situations that cause fear. They need to be evaluated on a ten-point scale, where 1 is the less frightening situation, 10 is the worst, causing panic. Mentally you need to live these situations, starting with assessment 1. The purpose of the training is to normalize breathing, pulse, experiencing danger, and learn to evaluate a specific case not as dangerous as it seemed before. So move further down the list to increasingly frightening points. For each step taken, do not forget to make yourself rewards. After passing the technique, you can fix the result by going to the water park or to the beach.
When the cause is the senses
Sometimes the fear of water arises from unpleasant sensations when it gets into the nose, ears, eyes. In this case, psychologists recommend gradual addiction. At first, you can simply wipe your face with a damp towel, then drip clean or slightly salty water into your eyes. Gradual training will help reduce discomfort, and eventually the fear will go away.
Water is not dangerous for hearing, unpleasant sensations pass by themselves when removing moisture from the ear. Getting it in the nose primarily causes fear of drowning. To solve this problem, you need to breathe correctly and keep your head above water. With a phobia of this nature, only gradual addiction can be the way out.
The main enemy is panic
When a person is afraid of open water, getting into such a situation, he experiences a sense of panic. But it is she who becomes the cause of tragedy when people drown. If a person is calm, water itself raises it to the surface, but does not pull it down. Awareness of the uncontrolled elements, great depth, difficulty orientation in space leads to a loss of self-control. In this case, you need to learn to trust the water, remember that it holds. Water is not an enemy, and accidents occur only due to improper behavior and loss of self-control. For people with this form of phobia, there are special psychological exercises.