Nelophobia (fear Of Glass): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
Nelophobia is the persistent and intense fear of glass. It can be described as a specific type of phobia, and as such, there are many elements that can cause it. Likewise, there are different ways to reduce a person’s anxiety responses.
In this article we will see what nelophobia is what else is it called, what are its main causes as well as some strategies for its evaluation and treatment.
Nelophobia is the persistent and intense fear of glass. As it is a phobia, this fear occurs irrationally, that is, it is not justified by the person’s cultural codes. Another term used to refer to glass phobia is “icelophobia” or “hyalophobia” and “crystallophobia”.
The term “hyalophobia” is one of the most commonly used synonyms for nelophobia. It is composed of the Greek “ýalos” which means “crystal”, and “phobos” which means “fear” or “dread”. While it is a fear that is not generalized, but rather manifests in response to a specific stimulus (glass), this could be considered a specific type of phobia.
As such, this fear is considered a specific phobia when the anticipation, avoidance or discomfort related to the stimulus significantly interferes with the person’s daily routine (their academic, work, personal responsibilities, etc.), and this is not the case. It can be explained by other diagnoses such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, post-traumatic stress or social phobia.
Finally, the person may be aware that their fear is excessive, although not necessarily.
Symptoms
In general, the main symptoms of specific phobias are those related to an intense anxiety response. They are caused by the activation of the autonomic nervous system once the person has been exposed to the stimulus and include manifestations such as sweating, hyperventilation, increased heart rate, decreased gastrointestinal activity, and in some cases a panic attack can be triggered. This is most common when the stimulus causing the phobia does not present significant opportunities to be avoided.
In the same sense, specific phobias cause some secondary manifestations, which are those that are not easily observed, but can have a negative impact on the person’s functionality. It is for example constant avoidant and defensive behaviors
Likewise, fear is caused by perceiving the possibility of harm, which in the case of nelophobia could be suffering an injury caused by glass. However, other types of specific phobias can be caused by a different worry, related to making a fool of yourself, losing control, experiencing unpleasant physical sensations, or suffering a panic attack.
Probable causes
One of the most accepted explanatory theories about the development of phobias is the preparation theory, which says that it is enough to have had a direct or indirect aversive experience with the stimulus to increase the probability that a fear becomes a phobia. In other words, one of the causes of specific phobias is having had a direct negative experience of the stimulus or have witnessed this experience.
In the case of nelophobia, it would be, for example, having had an injury or accident where glass was involved, or having seen someone else suffer from it.
Along the same lines, another element that can increase the probability of developing a phobic fear is the severity and frequency of negative experiences, that is, how much real damage was caused by exposure to the stimulus and how many times this has occurred. Therefore, it is more likely develop fear of stimuli that represent a significant threat for physical integrity and biological stability.
However, some studies have reported that this criterion is not always met. There are fears that do not correspond to the history of direct and indirect negative experiences, which is why it is important to have a thorough evaluation of the way in which the threatening information has been transmitted, acquired and consolidated.
The clinical evaluation should begin by exploring the feared and avoided situations, as well as the behaviors that are generating problems in terms of functionality. For example, expectations of danger (the cognitive level), avoidant or defensive behaviors (the motor dimension), the degree of anxiety response (physiological dimension), and the experience of fear (the emotional level).
Subsequently, it is important to detect which elements of the problem are aggravating or reducing, especially with respect to the stimulus. This refers, for example, to evaluate the frequency of exposure to the stimulus and the degree of danger it represents, as well as the related escape alternatives. In the case of this phobia, it would be about determining the level of exposure of the person to environments with glass, how risky they can be and what risk reduction alternatives exist.
Likewise, it is important to know the person’s life history and the associations made with respect to the stimulus that they perceive as harmful. From there, detect resources and coping strategies to determine which factors need to be reinforced, reduced or accompanied.
Treatment
Regarding treatment, the theory of non-associative explanation, which says that phobias can be generated without the need for associative learning, has postulated that the fear response can decrease when the person is exposed in a non-negative and repeated way to the feared stimuli
In the same sense, some of the most used techniques are relaxation techniques, systematic desensitization, imagination techniques, exposure through virtual reality, the vicarious exposure model, among many others.
The effectiveness of each largely depends on the intensity of the anxiety response as well as personal history and the degree of risk that the phobic stimulus represents.
