Automisophobia

Automisophobia A specific phobia linked to dirt and stains.

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Anxiety disorder
2 Etymology of the word
3 Symptoms
4 Physical symptoms
5 Cognitive symptoms
6 Behavioral symptoms
7 Avoidance behaviors
8 Escape behaviors
9 Causes that cause it
10 Treatment
11 Sources

Anxiety disorder

Autophobia is classified within specific anxiety disorders or specific phobias. These psychological alterations are characterized by provoking in the person an exacerbated and irrational fear towards a specific stimulus or object and in the case of autophobia it is the fear of being dirty, staining or getting dirty.

Etymology of the word

If we take into account the etymological roots of the term, we can separate the locution into three different words of Greek origin. The first of them “autós” can be translated almost literally as self or own, “mysos” refers to dirt and finally we find “phobos” which means fear or fear. Based on this we can define autophobia as experiencing an exaggerated fear of one’s own dirt or of the possibility that oneself is dirty or can stain.

As with the rest of phobic disorders, when people with autophobia find themselves or think that they will find themselves facing the feared stimulus, in this case going dirty, they will experience a series of emotions and physical manifestations belonging to very high anxiety states. Although it is logical to think that the fact of being dirty or stained can generate feelings of revulsion and disgust, in the case of autophobia disgust turns into terror. This feeling of fear can lead the person to perform all kinds of behaviors such as compulsive washing.

If the phobia is present in a very high degree, it is possible that these behaviors around cleaning become compulsions, generating reactions and skin alterations due to excessive washing behaviors.

When to consider it a phobia? In order to determine the differences between an aversive or habitual feeling of disgust and a pathological fear or specific phobia, we must determine the specific characteristics of this type of fear, as well as the consequences or direct effects that it has on the development of the daily life of person. A whole series of requirements and characteristics characteristic of fear disorders must be taken into account, which define a phobia and make its diagnosis possible. These requirements are as follows:

It is a disproportionate fear

The main difference between a normal aversive reaction or sensation and a phobic fear is that in autophobia the person experiences a completely exaggerated and disproportionate fear compared to the real threat that the phobic stimulus, in this case the dirt itself, represents.

It is irrational

In a phobia, the fear experienced does not have a logical basis, but feeds on irrational ideas and beliefs. People with autophobias themselves are unable to find a reasonable explanation for the fear they are experiencing.

The person cannot control it

In addition, the fear that a person with autophobia suffers from is completely uncontrollable. This means that, although the person accepts that the phobic stimulus may be harmless, they are unable to prevent the appearance of anxiety and fear symptoms.

It lasts over time

Finally, for a fear to be considered as phobic or pathological, the fear reactions and responses must have been presented on more than one occasion and in a constant and consistent manner throughout the situations that involve the appearance of the feared stimulus.

Symptoms

In view of the fact that autophobia is classified within the category of specific phobias, the clinical picture it presents is similar to that of the rest of anxiety disorders of this type. These symptoms of an anxious nature appear every time the person feels or perceives that they are dirty or that they may be, This will generate a response of elevated anxiety in which physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms and behavioral symptoms appear.

Physical symptoms

Before the appearance of the phobic stimulus, or only when thinking about it, an overactivity of the nervous system occurs that gives rise to all kinds of changes and organic alterations. The main physical symptoms of automisophobia include:

Increased heart rate
Increased respiratory rate.
Feeling of suffocation or shortness of breath
Increased muscle tension.
Gastric disorders such as stomach pain or diarrhea.
Increased sweating
Vertigo and dizziness.
Nausea and / or vomiting ..

Cognitive symptoms

In addition to the physical or organic symptoms, people with autophobia are characterized by having a series of distorted ideas, beliefs and speculations in relation to the fear of their own dirt. These cognitive symptoms favor the development of automisophobia and can also include mental images of catastrophic content about the possible dangers or effects of dirt on the person.

Behavioral symptoms

The third and last group of symptoms of automisophobia is one that includes behavioral symptoms. These symptoms refer to a whole range of behaviors and behaviors that the person carries out to avoid or escape the phobic stimulus.

Avoidance behaviors

Those behaviors that the person performs with the intention of avoiding encountering the phobic stimulus are known as avoidance behaviors. These may include obsessive washing or cleaning routines, which are performed to avoid experiencing feelings of distress, anxiety, and fear.

Escape behaviors

As for the behaviors that allow the person to escape from the feared situation, they are called escape behaviors. These appear when the subject has not been able to avoid encountering the phobic stimulus, so they execute all kinds of behaviors and behaviors necessary to escape from the situation in which they have been involved.

Causes that cause it

Both in autophobia and in the rest of specific phobias it is hypothesized that it is an unconscious or involuntary reaction of the person caused by the experimentation or experience of a highly traumatic situation, or with a high degree of emotional content, in which the Phobic stimulus played an important role and that, in addition, appears as a protective response to this.

However, trying to determine the specific origin of a phobia is a complicated task, since in most cases not only the person himself is able to identify when it appears or what situation has caused it.

Treatment

In all those cases in which autophobia involves a highly disabling fear or causes great interference in the person’s daily life, as well as in their health, psychological therapy stands as one of the best treatment alternatives for this disorder.

The intervention or psychological treatment involves a series of techniques or tools that allow the remission of symptoms, and even their complete disappearance. Through cognitive restructuring techniques, it is possible to modify all those distorted thoughts that the person has regarding their own body dirt.

This is usually accompanied by live exposure or systematic desensitization techniques, whereby the person is gradually exposed to the feared stimulus. Either directly or through exercises with mental images.

Finally, this is accompanied by a training in relaxation skills, which reduces the levels of excitement of the nervous system and helps the person to face their fears in the best possible way.