One of the most common psychological disorders is specific phobia; However, it is not necessarily disabling because people who suffer from it tend to avoid what causes them fear, or it is difficult for them to find it in their usual environment. However, not all phobic stimuli can be easily avoided.
In this article we will analyze fear of water, also known as hydrophobia or aquaphobia. We will explain what it consists of, what its causes are and how live exposure is applied, the most effective treatment for specific phobias, in the case of hydrophobia.
Hydrophobia or aquaphobia is a type of specific phobiathat is, an anxiety disorder in which exposure to a specific stimulus causes intense fear and discomfort that induces the person to avoid and escape from the situation. In this case, the object of fear is water.
Among specific phobias we find the environmental or natural subtype; Hydrophobia can be included in this category, along with the fear of heights (acrophobia), the dark (nyctophobia) or storms (astraphobia).
People with hydrophobia present different symptoms related to the avoidance of water. The most common thing is that they have fear of drowning when swimmingbut they may also not want to drink liquids or avoid showering and bathing to avoid coming into contact with water, especially if the phobia is very irrational.
Thus, the fear of water can interfere with the lives of those who suffer from it in multiple ways. For example, people with hydrophobia who do not shower may have hygienic and social problems, and those who avoid drinking water may suffer from dehydration, which causes fatigue, pain and heart failure.
The most common thing is that the fear of water appears in childhood and subsides spontaneously as the child grows. Nevertheless, if the fear is very intense or persistent (and therefore meets the diagnostic criteria for specific phobia) it is advisable to consult with a specialist, since phobias tend to worsen over time.
Causes of fear of water
Many hypotheses have been offered from psychology about the causes of specific phobias. Currently, behavioral and cognitive-behavioral models predominate, although the evolutionary perspective has also made relevant contributions in this field.
Seligman’s preparation theory suggests that, as our species evolved, humans consolidated through inheritance biological predispositions to associate certain stimuli and responses because these favored our survival.
In the case of hydrophobia, fearing water could have mainly prevented deaths from drowning. Nowadays, many people would retain this “prepared association” to a greater or lesser extent, which would partly explain the different degrees of hydrophobia.
Whether or not there is a biological preparation, during our life we can associate through classical conditioning fear with any stimulus through anxiety-inducing experiences. Furthermore, if exposure does not occur, these fears are intensified by negative reinforcement, as proposed by Mowrer’s two-factor model.
However, it is also possible to acquire a phobia without a direct negative experience, but rather through observation or transmission of information. For example, a girl or boy might become afraid of water after seeing a drowning person in a movie or hearing a similar story.
Rabies and hydrophobia
It is very common for fear of water to appear in the advanced stages of rabies because the pharyngeal spasms characteristic of this disease cause pain when swallowing. In fact, the word “hydrophobia” is sometimes used as an alternative name for this disease.
Rabies is a viral disease that affects all mammals. It causes inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) that ends up killing the affected animal or person. Currently there are vaccines that prevent and eliminate the rabies virus.
In this case, hydrophobia arises as a natural consequence of physical symptoms of the disease, which is why it has different characteristics than psychogenic hydrophobia. The same applies to the fear of water produced by other organic causes.
Aquaphobia Treatment: Live Exposure
When hydrophobia is due to medical causes, correcting the condition usually causes the symptoms to subside. On the other hand, if the fear is explained by psychological factors, they would apply treatments for specific phobiabased mainly on the live exposure technique.
In vivo exposure consists of remaining close to the phobic stimulus (the object of fear) until anxiety is reduced. Through this procedure the person learns to manage anxiety and verifies that their fears do not come true.
Generally many exposure sessions are necessary: Practice by the patient is one of the best predictors of the success of this treatment. The most common thing is to create hierarchies of phobic situations and progress from those that cause mild fear to those that caused true panic at the beginning of therapy.
Since most people with hydrophobia They fear falling into the water and drowningthe feared situations to which they will have to be exposed are usually related to staying near water and swimming, or learning to do so. In cases where the fear is different, such as drowning, the exposure situations may vary.
Those with this phobia are also likely to interpret normal sensations that occur when swimming, such as shortness of breath, as signs that their life is in danger. In these cases it may be advisable to use interoceptive exposure to physical sensations to facilitate cognitive restructuring.
