Any organism is capable of experiencing certain feelings. Despite the general opinion, this is not only the prerogative of man, but also a completely familiar feature of each animal. But only in the case of a person, the painful sensation of fear can take completely unexpected forms.
Definition
Algophobia is a subconscious fear of severe pain. In scientific circles, it has a second name - alginophobia. Fear of experiencing pain is built into the human instinct of self-preservation, aimed at maintaining the health and life of its owner. But in some cases, this emotion gets out of control and significantly worsens the quality of human life.
Description
Naturally, a person does not like to be afraid of pain, because he understands that it is a harbinger of something threatening. Healthy people relate to this adequately and do not make problems out of a meaningless feeling. But in the case of sick people, the situation is exacerbated. A potential carrier of fear of physical pain panics in the presence of the slightest discomfort.
For example, you can recall adults, sometimes these are representatives of the older generation who have to give an injection. At the thought of a possible pain, they experience real horror, panicking and twisting themselves with thoughts about the impending consequences of such a step. This does not have to be an injection. A person may be afraid to get into an accident while moving in transport, or fall, pacing along the street.
Such a painful condition leads to constant stress of a person. He is afraid of either the existing unpleasant sensations, imagining how they will develop into something more, or the possible pain from any act. Such a person can be proved for a long time that even the bites of a flock of mosquitoes do not threaten the state of health in any way, but he will be firmly convinced that after that he will be at least on his deathbed.
Diagnostics
Today, there are many methods that allow you to identify phobias in time and successfully deal with them. But the phobia of fear of pain is quite secretive, and often it is detected only in very advanced forms. The main reason is that its symptoms are characteristic of other pathologies, which greatly complicates the diagnosis.
Each patient has a phobia in its own way. Therefore, the behavior of several patients may differ from each other. Often, patients with progressive algophobia gradually limit their social circle, refusing to attend social events, friendly meetings, and try not to leave home without good reason. For the initial stages of the disease, such a measure helps, but a gradually progressing phobia draws the patient into depression and insomnia, making him afraid of pain even within his own home.
An important role in the identification and treatment of such patients is played by their environment. The carrier of a panic fear of pain can be recognized by characteristic reasoning. He believes that having visited a specific event, he will experience a sensation that will harm one aspect of his health, so it is better to refrain from such a visit. If you insist, then his fear can develop into a panic, horror or rage against his interlocutor.
Signs
To understand how to overcome the fear of pain, it is necessary to clearly identify all the symptoms that will indicate the form and neglect of this disease. Despite their uniqueness in each specific person, they all have common features:
- during the influx of experiences, the patient feels nauseous, accelerated heartbeat, high blood pressure or tachycardia;
- when a potential patient is afraid of something, it is difficult for him to breathe, his face is covered with droplets of sweat, and his skin turns red;
- the hands tremble, general weakness is felt, and the legs are bent while walking;
- after several such attacks, the patient begins to acutely feel the approach of death, which only worsens the situation.
Most alginophobes are well aware of their condition and try to control themselves, despite the belief that they will not be able to survive even the slightest pain. This disease is insidious in that it can provoke the development of other phobias, so you can not do without the help of a psychologist and psychiatrist. What is the difference between them is not so important. Any of them is able to correct the development of phobia, preventing more serious complications affecting the psyche and physical health.
Causes
Psychologists believe that modern people are especially sensitive to pain. They closely monitor the slightest changes in overall health and immediately treat any deviation from the norm. This is inherent only in today's time. The generation that existed about 100 years ago was more indifferent to this factor and was not afraid to risk its own health, relying on the principle of natural selection.
Thanks to the development of science and technology, the current generation is carefully protected from many dangers of antiquity. Humanity is so accustomed to security that now any deviation from the norm provokes the development of new phobias.
But not everything is as simple as it seems. Fear of physical pain alone is not enough to recognize the presence of pathology. This requires several factors:
- Overstated susceptibility. There is a type of people who are very worried about the slightest reason. Their favorite habit is to scroll through all the options for developing the current situation in their heads, and most of them will certainly not be very good. As a rule, this is due to the children's tendency to remember bad situations and dilute them in your head with non-existent details over time. After going through all stages of growing up, a person loses such a character trait. But sometimes it remains, providing fertile ground for the development of psychological deviations.
- Having a similar experience. Having experienced unpleasant sensations in a specific situation, the human subconscious mind will warn its owner from repeating an undesirable moment. For example, you can recall a completely everyday situation. If the patient donates blood to an inexperienced laboratory technician, he can, for a long time, get used to veins for a long time and accidentally hook parts of the tendon. A person will experience severe pain and will continue to be wary of such procedures. But in the case of alginophobia, it will be difficult to prove that the problem lay in the lack of knowledge of the young laboratory assistant, and not in the procedure itself. Therefore, the mere mention of the repetition of blood donation will cause him only horror and rejection.
- The opinion of society. The whole point of this factor will be demonstrated by one situation. Under the door of the dentist is a line that is waiting for an appointment, and there is a potential alginophobe in it. From the office, cries and screams of other patients are heard. The carrier of a phobia of fear of pain will begin to wind up itself, thinking how it will withstand such torment. He will not even remember that he came on a different occasion and, accordingly, will experience other sensations.
Treatment
This phobia has many names that complicate the search for someone who cures the fear of pain. But few people know that experts use the same methods for its treatment: certain medications, psychotherapy and special trainings. In more advanced cases, when the phobia was supplemented by depression, anxiety and other similar moments, one cannot do without the help of a psychologist and psychiatrist. What is the difference between a normal situation and a severe form of the disease, they will immediately understand and help to quickly eliminate the disturbing symptoms.
Medicines
A similar treatment method is based on the regular intake of psychotropic substances, with the help of which stability of a previously floating mood, relief of symptoms and improvement of patient behavior are achieved. The independent use of this method is strictly prohibited, since the patient will not be able to correctly combine the drugs and not exceed the permissible doses:
- Antidepressants improve mood and tone the body, helping to temporarily forget about apathy and general weakness. The correct dosage favorably influences logical thinking and prolongs the period of relative calm. Paroxetine and Amitriptyline are often found in recipes.
- Drugs from the sedative series relieve stress at the level of the psyche, calming painful consciousness without sleeping pills. Doctors recommend tinctures of lemon balm, motherwort, valerian and so on.
- Tranquilizers that help relieve current symptoms of phobia: irritation, anxiety, anxiety, poor sleep patterns. The most popular are Phenazepam, Gidazepam and Clonazepam. But despite their apparent harmlessness, experts warn against self-medication, urging not to risk their own health.
Psychotherapy
"If I'm afraid of pain, what should I do?" - People often ask. In some cases, when the patient is contraindicated in taking the necessary medications, psychotherapy is prescribed. Specialists try to limit the intervention in the painful consciousness, giving preference to autotraining, which the patient will be able to perform independently, with only minor adjustments by the observing physician.
If a sick person does not cope with conducting auto-trainings, then they are replaced by behavioral therapy, which is under the supervision of a physician. He regulates the entire process, using hypnosis for greater impact.
Behavioral therapy forms a different human attitude to the world, purging it of any manifestation of fear. During therapy, the specialist carefully studies human behavior at the time of the next attack and helps the patient independently analyze these details. As a result, he understands what triggered an exacerbation of phobia, and tries not to make such mistakes in the future.
The benefits of fear
Fear of pain is part of the instinct of self-preservation, which warns against possible dangers. Thanks to him, a person who does not know how to swim will not go far from the coast and will not drive a car if he cannot drive.
The feeling of fear in a life-threatening situation spurs the entire energy potential of the body to overcome a threatening problem and preserve the life and health of its owner. Thanks to this feature, there are legends about the incredible abilities of some people.
Fear controls immoral criminals, making them afraid of a repeat punishment. That is, if a person had to be tight in a correctional institution, then the opportunity to get there again will restrain him from most crimes.
Particularly sensitive people avoid repeating bad experiences. For example, the following situation: the child got burned when he came too close to the fire during the game. Next time, he will stay away from the threat, not wanting to experience similar sensations.
Fear mobilizes human acumen and recognition of the necessary information. That is, even the most absent-minded people in a life-threatening situation will remember in detail all the words they heard, expecting that they contain details that are useful to them.
Under the influence of fear, the interaction between the brain and the sensitive sphere of the body improves, making it possible to predict life-threatening situations and avoid factors that can cause pain.
People who constantly overcome any fears improve and develop their own personality. That is, fear pushes them to changes in life, to correct possible errors.