Bibliophobia (fear Of Books): Causes, Symptoms And Treatment
Phobias are a fairly common type of anxiety disorder. Human beings can be afraid of many stimuli and it can be normal; However, phobic disorders are characterized because the fear they cause is irrational.
Virtually everyone would be afraid of being alone with a lion, but not a clown. There are individuals who feel terror when they are close to these funny characters, which is known as coulrophobia.
Phobias create discomfort and anxiety in the person who suffers from it, who tends to avoid the phobic stimulus that produces this unpleasant sensation. There are different types of phobias, one of them is bibliophobia or fear of books and reading. In this article we will talk about this phobia and explain its causes, symptoms and consequences.
Bibliophobia is a phobia and, therefore, an irrational fear of a phobic stimulus, in this case of books and reading. It usually starts at an early age, for example, at school when children may have some unpleasant experience with reading. Imagine a child who has difficulty reading and has to read a text aloud because the teacher asks him to do so.
In front of the class, the child begins to read, but he does so very slowly and his words get stuck because of his nerves. The child becomes more and more nervous, and the laughter of his classmates makes him feel so bad that he never forgets this experience. As the years go by, he continues to remember this situation every time he has to read a text. This unpleasant experience marks him, and he feels great discomfort when he sees a book or has to read it to him. In fact, he avoids having books in his hands at all costs because they cause him great anxiety.
As you can see, one of the origins of this phobia can be a traumatic experience, and as in the previous example, it usually begins at an early age. The learning of this irrational fear can occur through a type of associative learning called classical conditioning, and the reasons for these unpleasant experiences can be a lack of understanding of the text and low self-esteem, different learning disorders or bullying and ridicule for not read correctly.
One of the most important characteristics of this type of learning is that it involves reflex or automatic responses , not voluntary behaviors. Classical conditioning is the connection between a new stimulus and an already existing reflex, therefore, it is a type of learning according to which an originally neutral stimulus, which does not provoke a response, ends up causing an associative connection of this stimulus with the stimulus that usually provokes such a response.
Characteristics of classical conditioning
One of the great theorists of classical conditioning was Ivan Pavlov, who dedicated part of his life to its study, and is famous for his experiments with dogs.
Ivan Pavlov was not a psychologist but a physiologist who wanted to investigate the salivation process of dogs. His experiment consisted of measuring the dogs’ saliva when he presented them with food. Now, this intelligent character noticed that, after repeatedly showing them the food, the animals salivated even when the food was not present, simply in the presence of Pavlov, because the dogs knew that when he appeared through the door they would receive the delicacy. This happened because the dogs had learned that the presence of Pavlov was equal to the presence of food.
Without a doubt, Pavlov was important for providing knowledge and data on this phenomenon, but the first scientist to investigate conditioning with humans was John Watson. He is known for one of the most famous experiments in history and at the same time controversial, but which served to understand what happens in our body when we have a phobia. In the following video you can find Watson’s experiment explained.
Other causes of fear of books
Learning phobias through classical conditioning refers to the fact that the environment plays a determining role in making a person phobic. However, other theorists have stated throughout history that this disorder could have a genetic origin, that is, that some people could be more likely to suffer from this pathology thanks to heredity.
In addition, there is another theory called Seligman’s “preparation theory,” which states that the fear response is key to human survival, as it activates the fight-flight response in dangerous situations. Therefore, biologically we are programmed to be afraid of certain stimuli more easily. These types of associations are called primitive and non-cognitive, which are not easily modified by logical arguments.
Symptoms of this phobic disorder
Although there are different types of phobias, they all share the same symptoms, the only thing that varies is the phobic stimulus that causes them. Phobias are characterized by the discomfort and anxiety they generate and the avoidance behaviors they cause.
When a person feels an irrational fear of books or reading, tends to avoid those situations in which it may be in contact with this stimulus that causes an unpleasant sensation.
Like the vast majority of phobias, the treatment that has the greatest scientific support is cognitive behavioral therapy , which consists of correcting and modifying those thoughts or behaviors that cause discomfort in the patient. There are several techniques used, including relaxation techniques or exposure techniques.
The latter is the treatment par excellence, and more specifically the expository technique of systematic desensitization, which consists of gradually exposing the patient to the phobic stimulus while learning effective coping tools.
However, other types of psychological therapy have also demonstrated their effectiveness in different studies, for example, Mindfulness or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
In severe cases, drug treatment can also work, as long as it is not the only therapeutic option and is combined with psychotherapy.
