Automisophobia (fear Of Getting Dirty): Symptoms And Treatment
Dirt, grime, scuffs, impurities, etc. There are countless words to describe the lack of hygiene and cleanliness and they all have something in common: they generate a whole series of feelings of aversion and disgust in people.
Although these feelings are normal and justified, when they become disproportionate fear or fear It is very possible that we are facing a case of automisophobia a type of specific phobia that we will describe throughout this article.
Automisophobia is classified as specific anxiety disorders or specific phobias. These psychological alterations are characterized by causing in the person an exacerbated and irrational fear towards a specific stimulus or object and in the case of automisophobia It is about the fear of being dirty, stained or dirty
If we take into account the etymological roots of the term we can separate the phrase into three different words of Greek origin. The first of them “autos” can be translated almost literally as same or own, “mysos” refers to dirt and finally we find “phobos” which means fear or trepidation. Based on this, we can define automisophobia as experiencing an exaggerated fear of one’s own dirt or the possibility that oneself is dirty or could get dirty.
As with the rest of phobic disorders, when people with automysophobia encounter or think they are going to encounter 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 being dirty or stained can generate feelings of repulsion and disgust, in the case of automisophobia, disgust turns into terror. This feeling of fear can lead the person to carry out all kinds of behaviors such as washing compulsively.
If the phobia is present at a very high level, 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?
With the aim of differentiating between an aversive feeling or habitual 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 this has on the development of the person’s daily life.
A whole series of requirements and characteristic qualities of fear disorders must be taken into account, which define a phobia and make its diagnosis possible. These requirements are the following:
1. It results in disproportionate fear
The main difference between a normal aversive reaction or sensation and a phobic fear is that in automisophobia the person experiences a fear that is completely exaggerated and disproportionate in comparison to the real threat that the phobic stimulus, in this case the dirt itself, represents.
2. It is irrational
In a phobia, the fear experienced does not have a logical basis, but is fed by irrational ideas and beliefs. lPeople with automysophobia themselves are unable to find a reasonable explanation to the fear they are experiencing.
3. The person cannot control it
Furthermore, the fear suffered by a person with automisophobia is completely uncontrollable. This means that, although the person accepts that the phobic stimulus may be harmless, this is unable to prevent the appearance of symptoms of anxiety and fear
4. Lasts over time
Finally, for a fear to be considered phobic or pathological, the fear reactions and responses must have occurred on more than one occasion and in a constant and consistent manner throughout the situations that involve the appearance of the feared stimulus.
Since automisophobia is classified within the category of specific phobias, The clinical picture presented is similar to that of other anxiety disorders of this type. These symptoms of an anxious nature appear every time the person feels or perceives that they are dirty or may become so.
This will generate a high anxiety response in which physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms and behavioral symptoms appear.
1. Physical symptoms
Upon the appearance of the phobic stimulus, or just when thinking about it, hyperactivity of the nervous system occurs, giving rise to all types of organic changes and alterations. The main physical symptoms of automisophobia include:
2. Cognitive symptoms
In addition to physical or organic symptoms, people with automisophobia are characterized by having a series of distorted ideas, beliefs and speculations related to the fear of one’s own dirt
These cognitive symptoms favor the development of automisophobia and may also include mental images of catastrophic content about the possible dangers or effects of dirt on the person.
3. Behavioral symptoms
The third and final group of symptoms of automisophobia is the 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
Those behaviors that the person executes with the intention of avoiding encountering the phobic stimulus are known as avoidance behaviors. These may include obsessive washing or cleaning routines, which are done to avoid experiencing feelings of anguish, anxiety and fear
Regarding 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 he executes all types of behaviors and behaviors necessary to escape from the situation in which he has found himself involved.
Both in automisophobia and in the rest of the 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 which, in addition, appears as a protective response to it.
However, trying to determine the specific origin of a phobia is a complicated task, since in most cases not even the person themselves is able to identify when it appears or what situation has caused it.
Is there a treatment?
In all those cases in which automisophobia represents a highly disabling fear or causes great interference in the person’s daily life, as well as in their health, Psychological therapy emerges as one of the best treatment alternatives for this disorder.
Psychological intervention or 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 bodily dirt.
Usually this is accompanied by in vivo exposure techniques or systematic desensitization , through which the person is gradually exposed to the feared stimulus. Either directly or through exercises with mental images.
Finally, this is accompanied by training in relaxation skills, which reduces the levels of excitation of the nervous system and helps the person face their fears in the best possible way.
